1987 OM617 Turbo Diesel Swapped Toyota 4x4

This is my truck Sparkles, its a 1987 Toyota pickup 4x4 that i bought stock for $1000. I solid axle swapped it and converted the motor to a OM617 Mercedes turbo diesel out of a 1985 Mercedes 300d (MABEL). Watch and ask questions in the comment section and please like and subscribe for more videos like this one.
/ redwizardism
Owner Builders Unite! More videos coming for 2023!

[@RUintuit]

Sparkles thrives! Awesome diesel work...

[@somisx3]

I did this swap 4 years ago on my 88 4runner, it’s not a daily driver but I’ve put 21,000 miles on the rig after the swap. I run the mechanical fan and aluminum radiator that Joe recommend from summit. I had to use the old gaser water pump from a 1965 Mercedes because it’s 2” shorter than the diesel om617. I use a Chevy 1 wire 100 amp alternator and factory Toyota AC that works great. All Doomsday diesel parts are the bomb

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

Nice man i kind of wish I kept the mechanical fan but it was super tight in there and I was pretty sold on the serpentine kit, I’m a big fan of doomsday, I still think there are a few kinks that needed to be worked out and every build is different and that must be hard for joe

[@benjilacombe7478]

Seems like everyone of these I see has a electric fan which defeats the purpose to me. I wasn't sure if the mechanical fan settup would work, this is good info to know. Can you say the swap is worth the work, how does yours run at 65-75 speeds?

[@Hanks1938ELKnucklehead]

I laughed really hard about @1:58! I'm glad you made it home and I hope you get a better fix on there soon. -Andrew

[@inphiknit]

Sweet. Im building an OM617td swap myself right now

[@ChuckCassadyYT]

Not everyone can earn those badges

[@aretardridesmotard6128]

I like the Merc crosshairs on the bonnet. The 5 cyl mercs sound so damn good. I'm yet to wrench a 5cyl motor or anything diesel powered so I could tick two boxes at once with one of these. Good stuff.

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

Thanks man! It's been fun wrenching on this project... Diesel engines are awesome

[@libres12]

Nice ride !!

[@inphiknit]

Perfect! I'm building something similar right now. Cheers.

[@slyscafe]

I love the Mercedes emblem on the hood of the toyota

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

Thanks! JB weld

[@Greg-pz9nt]

That's sic ive seen a diesel conversion on fourwheel show on a jeep Cummins 1.9 small motor

[@Toyotamudbogs85toyotapickup]

Can you do a detailed video on the drag links and clearance on the oil pan ?

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

Dude that was maybe the hardest part, the chances of me doing a video anytime soon is slim because of how busy I am right now you can DM me on instagram and I can tell you about it @redwizardism

[@Toyotamudbogs85toyotapickup]

I agree with you. It's the worst part of this swap if you have high steer. I'll message you on Instagram

[@brookesmilbourn3188]

Using Joe's kit in our 87 yota 617 build right now, what radiator and fan are you running ?

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

I just ordered the thinnest one I could find on Amazon, it was like 1-1/4” or something, I had to put the fan INSiDE my shroud to clear everything, it’s tight in there even with the serpentine kit

[@recluse7979]

I don’t know if you still look thru these comments but @owner or anyone do you know what manual transmission you can you use on a om617 engine that isn’t the 4 speed or the that 6 speed conversion that cost a arm and leg.

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

@redwizardism , I used the stock w56 tranny, you can use the r150 which I would recommend, doomsday diesel and 4x4 labs sells adapter kits/plates but nothing about this swap was cheap

[@FranciscoGonzalez-ro7ht]

I have an 86 Toyota pickup I'd love to perform this engine swap. How much would it cost me, I have the engine already.. extra parts and labor?

[@franzjimeno8322]

Hi man! I had a couple of questions you could help me please, my main questions are regarding the transmission of the mercedes an adapting it to toyota. did you modify the carter? what gear box are you using? are you modifying the transmission of the car? is it manual transmission?

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

I bought an adapter plate from doomsday diesel, I’m using the manual w56 transmission that was in my Toyota

[@DUDENOHELP]

How difficult would this be for a 2wd 22r? Its got the motorhome dually rear axle. Just doomsday diesel kit plug in? Or would i have to modify dri eshaft or anything? Thank you

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

Yeah you’d have to modify driveshaft, it’s not the easiest thing to do, I wouldn’t call it a “plug n play” type job. Also I’m not sure on the ifs trucks, I solid axle swapped my rig and fitting the engine in around a moving front axle was a huge challenge, im sure someone out there has done this swap to a 2wd motor home, might want to check the Facebook page “om617 swap” I’ve met a ton of helpful people on there

[@nirpy]

Does this mean that you no longer have to downshift into 2nd driving over the interstate passes?

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

Hopefully not, I haven’t done too much highway driving yet, I will let you know

[@user-rm3wr5cc2u]

What transmission did you use?

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

My stock w56, I wish I did the r150

[@Greg-pz9nt]

How much hp tq do you think it gets?

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

Not sure prob just under stock specs of a 1985 300d

[@MrJrakk]

What you got for a rad and fan setup?

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

I bought the thinnest fan I could from Amazon and then I put the fan inside the shroud, I got really lucky, I can search for part numbers if you want, I literally just zip tied it to the inside of the shroud and then screwed the shroud to the radiator sandwiching my fan and then got lazy and put the fan on a manual switch, I plan to put it on a temp switch set at 190 degrees F Let me know what you think

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

And the radiator is just the aluminum one that joe from doomsdaydiesel recommended on his website, I think it matches with a 94 3.0 truck but don’t quote me on that

[@MrJrakk]

@@OwnerBuildersUnite if you've got part #'s I'd really appreciate it! Have been looking at mustang aluminum radiators with inlet/outlet on the passenger's side, but idk... You believe yours is a 3VZ rad? I know he was recommending a Summit universal one, a while back

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

@@MrJrakk hit me up on Facebook messenger Matthew J Evers