My 81 240d Build - Printable Version

My 81 240d Build - Printable Version

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My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 02-04-2015

Well, it was never supposed to be a "project" when I bought it from a buddy 3 years ago. I planned on doing maintenance a little cosmetics hear and there and driving the thing. Which I did for over a year and got avg of 29 MPG. It was great. But then the motor blew so it then became a project Undecided

Now, I'm getting closer to completion of this thing so figured I'd start a thread.
These pics are pretty much over the course of the last 2 years. I been working pretty slow as I dont have a lot of free time to work on my own stuff.

This is how it looked when I got it. Except that I had cut the springs before this pic. Completely shot wheel bearings, clunky axles, hardly any fluids in the diff and trans and mismatched hubcaps to name a few.

This was after tucking the bumpers, and a little love on the paint

Dynoed it once for a lowest HP trophy. Got inched out by an automatic 240d Dodgy

Bought a set of BBS RS's off CL

Rebuilt them with 3.5" lips and had to roll the front fenders quite a bit

Bought a set of 3 piece Euro bumpers on CL. Cut out the bars that had been welded in, cleaned and polished them.

And then this happened. Sitting a a stop light, idle and oil pressure went down, started making a knocking noise. Limped it back to the shop, pulled the oil filter and found this.

I searched a little for a used motor to put in but ended up getting a California turbo 617 with 280K miles from a buddy for free. I just had to pull it in a gravel lot on a hill... F***IN SKETCHY!!!

So instead of simply putting it in with that many miles, I figured I'd rebuild it first. So thats when this whole "project" began LOL

Turned an old body lift spacer on the lathe to make the oil pan centering tool. Also worked great for tapping in the seal

Also fabbed up a 3/16" thick skid plate for the oil pan. I busted a hole through the 4 cylinder pan once and figured I'd fix this one for good.

I made a plate to mount the turbo directly off the Cali manifold but it wouldnt clear the inner fender.

So I bought a set of flanges from simpler=better and made my manifold.

Meanwhile I had also custom mounted an old PLX gauge I had into the original clock location.

A few weeks ago got the old 4 cyl out. Pressure washed and scrubbed the engine bay. Bead blasted and painted the battery tray area. Now Its ready for the 617.

So this is where I got last weekend. Motors in, intercooler fits so I have to finish fabbing it up.

So, there it is, its a lot closer than 2 years ago!! Still have a bunch of work to do. I will eventually upgrade the turbo and maybe the pump if money permits. But right now, I'm hoping to drive this bitch again by spring Smile

RE: My 81 240d Build - raysorenson - 02-04-2015

Beautiful build. Just great. The wheels are perfect. This gets me in the frame of mind to build the 617 in my wife's wagon. Thanks!

RE: My 81 240d Build - sassparilla_kid - 02-04-2015

I have three things to say:
1. Cleanest 617 on the planet probably
2. Bitchin'
3. Any more pictures of that exhaust?

RE: My 81 240d Build - TKMad - 02-05-2015

Fantastic project!

Did you glue that skid plate on? If so what did you use?

RE: My 81 240d Build - w123love - 02-05-2015

Very nice. Did you do anything special to the internals?

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 02-05-2015

(02-04-2015, 09:57 PM)raysorenson Beautiful build. Just great. The wheels are perfect. This gets me in the frame of mind to build the 617 in my wife's wagon. Thanks!

Ive got all my information and inspiration from this forum, so I'm happy I can give some back!

(02-04-2015, 11:47 PM)sassparilla_kid I have three things to say:
1. Cleanest 617 on the planet probably
2. Bitchin'
3. Any more pictures of that exhaust?

Thank you sir! Pics do make it look a little better than real life Wink

I am gonna send it down to get ceramic coated, I'll take some more pics then.

(02-05-2015, 01:17 AM)TKMad Fantastic project!

Did you glue that skid plate on? If so what did you use?

Its tig welded on. I used silicone bronze rod, it works good for filling gaps and joining non structural pieces together

(02-05-2015, 09:24 AM)w123love Very nice. Did you do anything special to the internals?

No, just balanced everything very well. resleeved, new bearings, rings ect. Our head guy did do me a nice three angle valve job and found a set of springs with more open and seat pressures. They should do good with more boost and rpms.

RE: My 81 240d Build - MFSuper90 - 02-05-2015

This is a sweet build! That engine is gonna look spiffy in there.

RE: My 81 240d Build - mike-81-240d - 02-08-2015

So um what do you charge to rebuild one? Lol

RE: My 81 240d Build - w123love - 02-08-2015

Its good to know that sunnen machine can handle the inline 5. Did you have to make an adapter to hold the block to the boring machine? I ask because I work part time at a performance engine shop for V8's and what not. Looks like a similar machine.

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 02-08-2015

(02-05-2015, 10:13 PM)MFSuper90 This is a sweet build! That engine is gonna look spiffy in there.

Thanks man, I'm just hoping it runs as good as it looks Confused

(02-08-2015, 06:51 AM)mike-81-240d So um what do you charge to rebuild one? Lol

The amount of money I spent in parts is insane (and my labor is free). If I did this again, it would be getting an LS motor or even a big block. Which, btw, we have one of those plastic mock up big block chevys at the shop, set it in there while the motor was out and it fit rather nicely Tongue

(02-08-2015, 12:11 PM)w123love Its good to know that sunnen machine can handle the inline 5. Did you have to make an adapter to hold the block to the boring machine? I ask because I work part time at a performance engine shop for V8's and what not. Looks like a similar machine.

Yes, we have to make adapters for honing and surfacing. Got a wall full of them but apparently we had never machined a Merc 5 cylinder LOL

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 04-11-2015

An update, its been kinda slow going, but Ive got most of the major stuff done. Now its just LOTS of small bullshit left.

Action shot

Had to buy 12 damn ARP bolts. Mercedes went a little overkill on that one...

The motor sat way too high. Not sure if the arms are different for the 4 cyl vs 5 cyl. But ended up making a jig and building some that were 1 inch lower than stock.

Now I got an overdive gear Smile

The Camaro T5. Cut a bit off an old auto trans and welded a bit of an S-10 bellhousing together. Which BTW is some porous junk ass aluminum, I know it will hold but it welds horribly!!

S-10 slave cylinder. Its 1/16" different bore than original. Not sure if the clutch engagement will be right until its running.

Diff yoke for Chrysler 7.25 and 8.25. The seal fit somewhat loose in the housing, I put a decent amount of silicone around it so I'm hoping it stays put...

One piece driveshaft. This thing has some history, it was on my bosses 40 Ford with a Pontiac motor that he and his father ran 1 mile runs on Daytona beach in the early 60's. It has been 130 MPH up the beach.... LOL
Turns out it was the right length and he said I could have it Smile

so I changed u-joints and trans yoke and left the paint as-is (probably lead based paint anyway...)

RE: My 81 240d Build - NZScott - 04-11-2015

That's neat! What are the chances of finding one just the right length (which happens to have quite a history). I've wondered about a single driveshaft for a while. I thought the handbrake cable stuff would get in the way? Awesome if it doesn't.

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 04-12-2015

The shaft was about an 1" too long but I was pretty determined to use it as-is so I found a pretty short spicer trans yoke. Cost me an extra 60 bucks but it was worth it!
It does clear the cable and brackets by about half inch, which should be fine since the diff isnt moving. Thats actually why I built motor mounts, the trans was at a bad down angle.

RE: My 81 240d Build - NZScott - 04-13-2015

Pretty cool, and good to know. No slip joint thingy (whatever they're called over there)? Wonder how the bearings will hold up with the vibration front/back as the car moves around. Anyway, should've asked about your gearbox you've got in there too, any more pics of that? Cheers

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 04-13-2015

It's still got a slip joint, its just on the transmission end now. Same thing you'd find in any solid axle car or alot of independent setups too. I'm glad to get rid of those stupid flex discs!

I usually forget to take pictures until I'm done LOL so thats all I got.
The gearbox is a BorgWarner T5 from an early 80s Camaro. The GM V-8 T5s use the 1-1/8" 26 spline input shaft so I simply used a clutch disc from a late 80s 190 Mercedes.

RE: My 81 240d Build - mike-81-240d - 04-16-2015

So how well does the shifter fit? Does it come up through the correct spot?

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 04-16-2015

No, It's 2.5" forward of the stock shifter. I thought I could get away with an offset (bent) shaft, but it just wouldnt work. And, offset shifters are just awkward feeling.

So I was working on this tonight, need to check it in the car and make sure my ratios work.

RE: My 81 240d Build - raysorenson - 04-18-2015

If you turn the yoke down some on a lathe it will work with the original seal. The only thing is you need a nice finish to keep from chewing up seals.

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 04-22-2015

Yeah, in hindsight, that's probably what I should have done. I had that seal in hand at the time, so went with it. We'll see if it stay there. I think it will be fine.

RE: My 81 240d Build - Brewster - 04-24-2015

What an awesome amount of work your "project" ended up being. I've wondered between making an adapter and a custom trans belhousing to adapt a transmission up to an OM617. How difficult was it to fabricate, getting the length correct and the parts mated together square?

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 04-24-2015

It wasnt really difficult getting the bellhousing length right, I had a spare block with the crank still in that I mounted on a engine stand through the headbolt holes so the ass end was straight up. Made it pretty easy to measure depths of the flywheel and pressure plate.
I rough cut the two bellhousing pieces with a sawzall then milled them to the length I needed. Also made a centering jig for welding the two pieces together. For crappy aluminum, it all stayed pretty square after I welded it.

It might have been easier to use an adaptor plate. But I was concerned about a full size Chevy bellhousing fitting in the tunnel of the car.

RE: My 81 240d Build - Brewster - 04-25-2015

Yeah, I can imagine it would be a lot more work if you didn't have access to all the machine shop jigs for getting square and centered. Looks like quite the custom shifter you have had to fabricate. Maybe I missed, what did you end up using for clutch disk and pressure plate? Looks like it would be pretty difficult to adapt the MB crankshaft to something else, not sure if they used enough bolts for the flywheel to the crank. ;-)

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 04-25-2015

The disc is for a 190D I think mid-late 80's, it has the same spline and diameter as the GM V-8 transmissions from the 80's to today (imagine that, WTF!!!) The pressure plate is from the 240 or 190, all the same, flywheel is stock. Since its a stepped flywheel design, you can get the bolt surface cut a little more to increase clamping force on the disc.

Yeah, I could only imagine the sheer strength of all those flywheel bolts. It would probably take eleventybillion foot pounds of torque to break a flywheel off a 617!!!

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 04-25-2015

So today was a good day. I didnt even have to use my AK...

Got like 10 things marked off my list. Of course I added 5 more but whatever Smile

All the oil cooler lines are done and installed, radiators in for the final time. This is my block with temp sender for the gauge and switch for the fans. Looks kinda weird in the pic but it sits flush on the shroud and I'll have it bolted down to a mount or something in the end.

So, I was gonna get the manifold ceramic coated, It's been in a box for the past month, I just needed to make a ups label and send it to the coating place. I kept forgetting, and today said fuck it, need to get this shit done, plus there was something at the gun store that I had to have, so now I have no money Dodgy

Spray painted it with some of that VHT high temp stuff. Cured it in the oven per the directions. I cant wait to see if it actually sticks....

And a stupid video of the shifter in action... I had to cut a bit more metal out of the tunnel and some of the plastic out of the console

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 05-23-2015

Update! I've been able to work on the car about 8 hours total in the past month, but got a lot of shit done. Its down to exhaust, fluids and a few hoses, then this thing WILL make noise (good noises or bad, I dont care, just need to hear it!)

Got some wiring done. Gotta wire headlights, horn and wire loom it all still. Did away with the original relays and wired in a little more updated unit. It has relays and fuses for the fans, IC pump, 2 ign circuits and extra fuses/relays if needed.

IC done and installed. I built it double pass. water will flow in the engine side and out the other. Still have to build a fill/reservoir.

I think I'll paint the IC with the black wrinkle like the valve cover. It looks kinda out of place as is.

I've got most all of the exhaust parts I need, should have that done in a couple weeks. I'm gonna do a full 3" all the way back. Some of the front part will be oval since its only 2 1/4" tall and I had ground clearance issues as it was.

Also, when I powered everything up, I checked the glow plugs with a multi-meter and I only had 10.5 volts to them. Does the glow plug relay drop voltage to the plugs? Or do I have a problem?

RE: My 81 240d Build - Captain America - 05-26-2015

Holy son of a bitch! How have I not seen this before!?! Sick made sir!!!

So you work at a machine shop then? Sounds like I should send my 617 to you! Did yours have any sleeve rot? I have heard of that happening.. Any other weird shit that I should look for? I feel kinda sketchy about having machine work done, I don't trust many people other than myself

This thing is way to legit with the fucking wiggins trollololololol

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 05-30-2015

Thank you sir!

Yeah, work at a machine shop. I don't think I had any sleeve rot? Block looked fine. Our block guy bored on it till the old sleeves were paper thin and pulled out. I cleaned alot of carbon and crap from the block before we heated it, froze the new sleeves and hammered them in. He ran the line bore through the mains to clean them up but nothing was out of spec. I put new wrist pin bushings in but didnt touch the big end. The old rod bearings were fine so I felt the big end was still round or at least in spec (and I was too cheap to buy new rod bolts as opposed to stretching the old ones a few more times). Fortunately for me, there really wasnt anything wrong with the motor, other than 300K miles and one melted ring land on a piston. Yours might be different, spun rod bearing or something will suck.

Yes, I know what you mean about trusting no one... I sure as shit dont either!!

I have a pile of wiggins clamps left over from a job back when I had my shop. Been saving them for a rainy day or crack money Smile

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 06-06-2015

So exhaust is done. Mark that off the list

Magnaflow muffler 24" long 7" diameter, same as original and fit pretty nicely in there. I cut the old hangers off and reused them. Had to "clearance" the rear valance a little for my turn down.

It all 3". I used some oval tubing in the front where ground clearance was tighter. I think I got the whole thing tucked up alot tighter than the factory exhaust would have been so the 3" shouldnt be an issue.

RE: My 81 240d Build - Keino - 06-07-2015

Looks nice. Rolleyes

You don't use any support for the exhaust, will it work fine anyway you think?
Originally there is a support arm mounted from the gearbox to support the exhaust system.

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 06-07-2015

Ok ya got me. Guess exhaust isnt completely done Smile

Yes i will put a mount/support somewhere in the middle. I also still need to put a joint somewhere just so its not 1 piece

RE: My 81 240d Build - Captain America - 06-09-2015

Who's tubing you use? There is a local place to me that makes some. Also what valve springs did your guys use on your head?

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 06-09-2015

The oval tube came from Spintech. It was leftover from something a while back and I only really needed a straight section. I made the transitions (aka vise). And the rest was aluminized bends and straight from Atech or Summit. They're about the best price your gonna find, even with shipping.

I really wish I knew what valve springs they were. I bought new factory springs, he checked them and then dug around in his random stash and found these. They were new but weren't in the box from the manufacturer so unfortunately I dont know.

RE: My 81 240d Build - Simpler=Better - 06-10-2015

Awesome! Glad the flanges worked out for you Smile

The VHT stuff will stick just fine, I ran it for years. It takes a salty road spray to remove it.

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 06-10-2015

Thank you sir! Flanges worked great!!

So I started it up. It took about 30 seconds total of cranking before it finally started to bobble and a few blips of the gas before she came to life and idled. I was worried I'd have to crack inj lines and shit but that wasn't the case so I'm real happy!!!

I have an oil leak at the plate on the bottom of the inj pump. I took it off when I cleaned it up and tried to come up with a good o-ring that would seal, but it didnt. Not a big deal, I got a couple solutions in mind.

Other than that, It runs really well (on 2 year old diesel I might add). With that radiator, the fans cycle for maybe 15 seconds. Oil pressure was close to 2 bar hot and went to max with a little throttle.

I got quite a few things I still have to do but maybe in the next couple weeks I should be able to move it off the rack and get it on the dyno to break in the motor and then get some power numbers Smile

First idle vid
https://youtu.be/_XeRxbiBDnM

RE: My 81 240d Build - turbojeep - 06-10-2015

Sounds good and looks sharp!

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 07-12-2015

So I got some stuff done last weekend and was finally able to drive it. Drives good, most everything operates smoothly.

I had a pretty good oil leak from the valve cover studs on the passenger side, a couple copper washers and some thread sealant seemed to fix that.

Heres my heat exchanger. I made a couple new core support rods that didnt have a bend like the factory ones. Looks like the AC's never going back on now Sad

I built a little reservoir/fill unit. Also painted the IC with the wrinkle black, much better!! And a "ziptie mod" to keep the air filter from bouncing around Tongue

So, my first impression after driving was that it feels ok but doesnt seem to have the power I was expecting. At least I wasnt full throttle ALL the time like I was with the 616, LOL.

Did a couple runs on the dyno out of curiosity.

Not even double the tq or hp, I was hoping for more. Guess its time to start tweaking Smile

Boost was 10 PSI at 2500 RPM and fell off to 8.5 by 4500. EGTs were in the 700 to 900 range. Guess she needs more fuel now!!!

RE: My 81 240d Build - MFSuper90 - 07-13-2015

Does that say 84hp?

RE: My 81 240d Build - wolverine - 07-13-2015

Lol, yep. Better than 49 that the 4 cyl made!!

RE: My 81 240d Build - MFSuper90 - 07-13-2015

It's got soooo much more potential. My om617 with an A/W, hx30 at 18psi, and a turned up stock mw made 124 on the rollers.
And that's with a power sucking automatic! And I've messed with the pump more since then and guarentee it's got more than when I first ran it.

Your setup has a lot of potential! Just need more fuel Big Grin