Diesel Spinter available!
 

2003 Dodge Sprinter
While the Chrysler Crossfire benefits directly from the parts-sharing opportunities proffered by the Chrysler/Daimler merger, no product has taken more advantage of the corporate portfolio than the Dodge Sprinter van. A direct transplant from Europe, the Sprinter offers Dodge a rather unique vehicle for the U.S. commercial market. The big box will be sold in three wheelbases (118, 140, and 158 inches) with two available roof heights, offering from 247 to 473 square feet of storage space. Motivation comes from an efficient five-cylinder Mercedes-Benz 2.7-liter turbodiesel engine, producing 154 horsepower and 243 lb-ft of torque. Pricing starts at $26,765 for the cargo van and $28,260 for the passenger van.

Wow!!!
 

473 square feet of storage space with a 158 inch wheel base - folks gonna need a wider garage door:eek:

My brother in-law bought the Dodge Sprinter cargo van a couple of months ago for his business. I drove it at Thanksgiving. Great fuel mileage, but it just up and died will doing 55 mph down the road. Pulled over and it started right back up. It's done this a few times for him as weel so he'll have it looked at when he takes it in for an oil change.

Been available for a couple of years. There's a group at Yahoo devoted to them. Lots of info there. I believe there has been a discussion of that failure mode. I think there should be a forum here devoted just to them.
Fedex and UPS use a lot of them. They were reviewed on Motorweek this week. They gave inaccurate mileage figues. They said 30mpg. The truth is around 22mpg. (They were probably using imperial gallon figures)

mplafleur,

How did it run?

I'd like to see a few of these engines/tranny's end up in the wrecking yard. Then I'd like to make a 114 diesel coupe or maybe a 115 diesel sedan with a modern CDI engine in it.

Sholin

We're eagerly awaiting delivery of our '04 Freightliner Sprinter. Freightliner has been selling them for a couple years.
We ordered the 118" WB low-roof (still taller than an Econoline!)passenger van. The pass. vans are in very short supply so they had to order it from the factory.
A Sprinter engineer from Dodge gave a good presentation at the SAE truck & bus expo in November. The North American 2004 model gets quite a few changes, mainly to the engine. New cylinder head, new injectors, injection pressures up from ~20k psi to ~23k, new EGR valve (now water-cooled), new EGR valve actuator, etc. I believe the EGR valve has been one of the problem areas; I hope the changes make it more reliable.

It ran fine. Started well, good acceleration. I didn't take it out for a long run. We were getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner. I just didn't like the placement of the gear shift.

I didn't like the gear shift placement in the last Dodge full sized van I drove either. That combined with the way the steering wheel was placed made me feel like I was driving a bus! Its driving position was very uncomfortable. It belonged to my cousin. I drove it on a trip that was about 100 miles long and I was worn out after that.

Its the Freighliner Sprinter that UPS and Fed-Ex use for expediting..... it could be the Dodge under another name, i dunno. But bad news is they are known to be chain breakers - with fleets of 10-12 vehicles having at least one that has snapped the timing chain at/near 100k miles which is one year service for commercial vehicles. Its also been reported that its the same identical engine to what's being used in Mercedes automobiles - the twin cam?

Dodge or Freightliner, same vehicle. I've talked to a Fed Ex mechanic. He did not mention any problems with chains, and I specifically asked him about any problems. He said, EGR's were a problem and they go thru a lot of tires. Apart from that no problems and he was looking after a fleet and had to be connected with the whole system of Fed Ex maintenance mechanics. I don't think anyone on the Yahoo group has had problems with chains. Some people there have over 100k on their vehicles and a few over 200k.
It is the 160hp 2.7 5 cyl diesel. I think it is also used in automobiles. I have no idea if it has twin cams.

See? We've had CDI's running all around us and we never even knew it!

When you guys refer to the OM61x engines you are referring to the old battle tanks, right? Well when you say OM61x now, you are also including the five cylinder 2.7 liter CDI.

Ah, now we can have two OM61x 5 cylinder turbodiesels. The 2.7 liter CDI, and the old 3 liter cast iron monster. The OM612 vs the OM617.

Can you relieve me of my ignorance and explain what CDI means?

Common-rail Diesel Injection

More please. What's the difference between that and non-CDI?

I'll try, but don't grade me on accuracy or anything.

The principle of the common-rail is to more accurately measure equal fuel distribution through each injector solenoid connected to the system.
A computer monitors injection pressure at all times ensuring optimal combustion rates and producing less noise than previous non common-rail diesel systems.
The CDI's are electronically fuel injected. Because of electronic fuel injection, and adaption of the common rail, more fuel is able to be used efficiently. Better power, and better MPG are the results.

Hey, I don't know much about the system, so please somebody else please pickup where I left off. Or feel free to correct me. I am trying to understand the concept myself.