D24T.com  

Go Back   D24T.com > Forum Info > New Member Introductions

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 05-09-2013, 02:23 PM
Neovyte Neovyte is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 4
Default Newbie: Should I buy or convert?

I live in the Monterey Bay Area of California and own a '92 740 turbo.
I'd love to have a diesel so my question is this; should I drop a d24t and manual transmission (M46, M47, or T5?) in my current car or should I just keep my eyes pealed for an older original?

In my mind it would be a lot of fun to do the conversion, plus I would still have a car with an airbag. On the other hand, I have no real experience with working on cars so it might be too far over my head (a good way to learn?). What do you guys think? What resources should I know about (greenbooks, tools, good threads to read, etc.)?

Feel free to PM me.

I need as much help as I can get so thank you!
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 05-09-2013, 11:19 PM
745 TurboGreasel 745 TurboGreasel is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Freedom CA
Vehicle: 85 745, 84Suburban 96Ram
Posts: 509
Default

Welcome aboard

I'm just outside Watsonville, and have everything but a good motor/tranny you would need to convert a car.
I even have parts for a VIN conversion if you like to play like that

The 91 is a little nicer car in several ways, but poses a SMOG problem as the motor is supposed to be no older than the chassis you put it in.
The swap is pretty easy as such things go, after all , the D24 will run fine with only one wire hooked up, and the car itself has all provisions for the diesel motor.

Lots more work, but the E300D Mercedes motor runs fantastic, and would be legal in your car, as would a VW TDI.

Alternately, 90% of the parts from your car would bolt right to an 83-86 diesel.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 05-10-2013, 07:16 PM
Neovyte Neovyte is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 4
Default

Thanks for the input.
I appreciate the offer to help, but it sounds like the BAR makes it impossible to actually use the car with a D24t. This would be my daily driver so SMOG is important. I'd like to eventually convert to B100 biodiesel so I don't think a TDI would work, plus it sounds like with amount of work it would take to mate it with other engines I might as well get an original and fix it up. What should I know about the original cars? What should I stay away from? I know there was trouble with weak head gaskets, but there was a steel fix to that right?

Thanks Again.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 05-11-2013, 02:45 AM
745 TurboGreasel 745 TurboGreasel is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Freedom CA
Vehicle: 85 745, 84Suburban 96Ram
Posts: 509
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neovyte View Post
Thanks for the input.
I appreciate the offer to help, but it sounds like the BAR makes it impossible to actually use thedriver so SMOG is important. I'd like to eventually convert to B100 biodiesel so I don't think a TDI would work, plus it sounds like car with a D24t. This would be my daily with amount of work it would take to mate it with other engines I might as well get an original and fix it up. What should I know about the original cars? What should I stay away from? I know there was trouble with weak head gaskets, but there was a steel fix to that right?

Thanks Again.
I know a few TDI folk who've been on B100 for years, not a lot of gelling/freezing issues around here.

Metal gasket is NLA in the US, but you can get one shipped from Europe for about what some of the shops charge for the fiber one.

cooling system, and improper timing belt service are the 2 biggest killers.

leakey injection pumps and bad glow plugs are a major causes of inoperative D24s, but not that serious.

The early subframes were prone to crack, but can be replaced in a day.
I think that's the major stuff.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 09-27-2013, 04:52 PM
deimos deimos is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 6
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 745 TurboGreasel View Post
The swap is pretty easy as such things go, after all , the D24 will run fine with only one wire hooked up
There's the bare minimum of glowplug wiring, starter wiring and grounding.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 09-27-2013, 08:11 PM
745 TurboGreasel 745 TurboGreasel is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Freedom CA
Vehicle: 85 745, 84Suburban 96Ram
Posts: 509
Default

I said run, not start.
You might need the ground, a hill will take care of all the rest, as will a jumper cable.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 09-28-2013, 04:33 AM
deimos deimos is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 6
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 745 TurboGreasel View Post
I said run, not start.
You might need the ground, a hill will take care of all the rest, as will a jumper cable.
A jumper cable is still wiring, albeit temporary wiring

Although, if we're talking about using jumpers, you don't need any permanent wiring, just jumper cable the glow plugs then jumper cable the starter. Don't even need to keep a battery or alternator in the car.

On the subject of buying or converting, is the bellhousing bolt pattern on the block face the same as the 4 and 5 cylinder variants? They seem to be much easier to find, wondering how much hassle they'd be to drop in.

Last edited by deimos; 09-28-2013 at 04:35 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 09-28-2013, 08:31 AM
v8volvo v8volvo is offline
Supporting Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Montana, USA
Vehicle: '86 745, '83 764
Posts: 1,618
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by deimos View Post
On the subject of buying or converting, is the bellhousing bolt pattern on the block face the same as the 4 and 5 cylinder variants? They seem to be much easier to find, wondering how much hassle they'd be to drop in.
The 5 is the same but the 4 is different. The 4's are more plentiful but I think the 5 is no more common than the six, maybe more uncommon even...
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 09-28-2013, 09:23 AM
deimos deimos is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 6
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by v8volvo View Post
The 5 is the same but the 4 is different. The 4's are more plentiful but I think the 5 is no more common than the six, maybe more uncommon even...
Hm... yeah, probably easier to swap in an OM606 than the 4 then... plus the 4s don't have much power, especially not compared to a modified OM606.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 09-28-2013, 11:39 AM
v8volvo v8volvo is offline
Supporting Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Montana, USA
Vehicle: '86 745, '83 764
Posts: 1,618
Default

Dunno about that, OM606 is pretty long and heavy; they suck to work on too, esp after the return lines start to leak fuel into the injector wells or when you have to pull the intake manifold off to do almost anything on the LH side of the motor. Don't think there would be much that is "easy" about dropping one of those in... 4cyl VW would not be bad, there was a guy on TB that put an AHU TDI into a 245 and I don't think it was a big deal, just not a bolt-in, since BH is different. I think he used a Toyota trans and an adapter.

An Audi five would not be bad, back of it should bolt together, parts in front probably bolt on to the block and head, suspect mounts would be only big difference. Euro 2.5 TDI would probably be most straightforward way to get something more modern and capable of higher output in there, structurally very similar to the older six.

Of course a D24T would be the easiest of all, cheapest, and nicest to listen to... way better fit than a POS Benz lump, and for what it would cost to even get a stock 606 in there, you could have a D24 turned up more than enough to outrun it anyway...
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
beginner, conversion, gasser, monterey

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 08:50 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.10
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.