OM606 into a Defender.

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HAGGISBIKER

Member
Posts
10
Location
Near Dufftown, Scotland.
Hi looking for some pointers and advice from anybody who has done a Defender engine swap using a Mercedes OM606.

I have read about Gaz Fab doing the conversion plate allowing the OM606 to mate to a Land Rover Auto Box and fitting a mechanical pump to the engine to overcome the electronic issues.

Sitting here I have a complete low mileage e300 Mercedes with full service history and everything works a treat but rust has eaten the body...can the engine and auto box from the car along with the ecu's be used to do a swap for the V8 auto that's in my 110 hi cap?

I know you get standalone ecu's for the Mercedes engine and auto box but this adds around £2000 to the cost of the swap, even trying to find a mechanical pump then having it modified with bigger elements adds to the cost of the swap..

Lots of people say that going the mechanical pump route saves the ecu worries and the issues they get when water gets near them but having a heavily modified P38 that with some carefully placed waterproofing has managed some deep water crossings without issue.

Plan would be take all ecu's, harnesses and the like from the Mercedes and along with a divorced transfer case set-up try and get the OM606 and auto box to work in standard configuration as it does in the stock Mercedes.

Any constructive comments or pointers most welcome as plan A would be use as much as possible from the donor car, plan B take just the engine and fit a mechanical pump and use a Gaz Fab conversion kit to fit it to the currently fitted auto box.
 
Not that I know that particular engine but why are you looking at swapping from your v8? It would seem to me an awful amount of work compared to dropping in a Td5 or tdi... Enlightened me, is it worth the money and hassle?
 
My P38 runs LPG as does my Jeep but sadly were we now live the nearest LPG garages are many miles away and also one of them charges around 80 odd pence a litre when most people can get LPG for under 50p per litre..This makes running V8's even on LPG that bit expensive for everyday use!

The diesel route seems logical and the Mercedes OM606 is an engine that has a great reputation for reliability and good power with lots of extra power if required without internal engine upgrading.

The fact I have a complete car with good running gear makes sense to try and use as much as possible from it in the conversion, I appreciate that swapping to one of the diesel engines already used in other Defenders may be an easier conversion but the fuel efficiency and reliability offered by the Mercedes and the fact I have one sitting here is pushing me in that direction.
 
I appreciate that, but my 300tdi gives around 30 mpg and given the comparative complexities of a straightforward swap verses the merc swap is it worth it? I get that you've got a perfectly good engine and transmission but shoe horning it in seems a massive ball ache in comparison.
 
Hi looking for some pointers and advice from anybody who has done a Defender engine swap using a Mercedes OM606.

I have read about Gaz Fab doing the conversion plate allowing the OM606 to mate to a Land Rover Auto Box and fitting a mechanical pump to the engine to overcome the electronic issues.

Sitting here I have a complete low mileage e300 Mercedes with full service history and everything works a treat but rust has eaten the body...can the engine and auto box from the car along with the ecu's be used to do a swap for the V8 auto that's in my 110 hi cap?

I know you get standalone ecu's for the Mercedes engine and auto box but this adds around £2000 to the cost of the swap, even trying to find a mechanical pump then having it modified with bigger elements adds to the cost of the swap..

Lots of people say that going the mechanical pump route saves the ecu worries and the issues they get when water gets near them but having a heavily modified P38 that with some carefully placed waterproofing has managed some deep water crossings without issue.

Plan would be take all ecu's, harnesses and the like from the Mercedes and along with a divorced transfer case set-up try and get the OM606 and auto box to work in standard configuration as it does in the stock Mercedes.

Any constructive comments or pointers most welcome as plan A would be use as much as possible from the donor car, plan B take just the engine and fit a mechanical pump and use a Gaz Fab conversion kit to fit it to the currently fitted auto box.
Most of the Mercedes engine swaps I've seen have used the existing drive train and gearboxes. I would expect this to be the best way to go with a Land Rover unless you want to make the vehicle 2WD.

I agree with you that the OM606 is a pretty nice engine - although it is more complicated than the earlier OM603 which had less electrickery and a simpler single cam design which is slightly cheaper to maintain.

The best place on the internet to ask this question is probably www.peachparts.com - you'll get a fair amount of encouragement from the members on that forum especially if you post in the diesel section.

Most people would probably go down the custom adapter plate route mating the engine to the existing gearbox. I'd take all of the vacuum and electrickery from the Mercedes though. Don't forget the glow plug control unit!

As with many Mercedes engines the sump will probably be a problem. The sump is at the front of the engine which will probably clash with the front axle on the Land Rover. Engine conversions with the OM61X series engines involves sump modifications - this will probably be the case for the OM606.

Points to consider on the OM606 is the vacuum pump - change this when the engine is out. I'd also check for timing chain elongation with the engine out. If necessary a timing chain replacement with new cogs is slightly easier to perform with the engine out of the car.

An alternative gearbox and transfer box situation might be to play about with G Wagon bits - these, however, tend to be blinking expensive...
 
Thanks for that, I will have a look around Peachparts, also thanks for the pointer on what to consider replacing once the engine is out, Gaz Fab had a write-up in one of the mags a few issues back he offers a package including adapter, engine mount and alternator relocation brackets allowing the fitment into a defender he has one in his 90 with a LR auto and to do away with the ecu part it runs a modified pump from a 603 Mercedes I think it is, think he gets the OM606 sump to clear without modification.

This may be the simplest route to fitting the engine with all the head scratching of the adapter parts already done...It would be nice to hear from others who have possibly used a Gaz Fab kit to see how they got on with the conversion.
 
Sounds like an interesting project. But I think you've got to do it for the fun. Not for any sensible or practical reasons.

Wiki says 174hp. So not really better than a tuned TD5. And less than a good V8.

Some Jeeps use the latter 3.0 Merc engine that replaced the OM606. They are lighter and more aerodynamic than a 110. And are rated at 27mpg combined. So I'm not sure how much mpg benefit you'll get either.

It does sound a lot of work. Would probably be a nice vehicle at the end of it. But probably no advantages to using easier to swap engines. Just a lot more work, money and R&D.
 
I'm not really "in tune" with Land Rover engines - 'cos I'm fairly familiar with Mercedes engineering I'd choose that every day of the week. On the whole it is really nice solid stuff (with a few exceptions).

Interesting to hear that the OM606 doesn't need sump modifications - I'll believe that when I see it!

Good luck if you do choose to go down this route
 
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