Purchased an Expedition G Wagen

McBride

Adventurer
Capo,

Thanks. I thought the same thing. Getting up and down to access the tires isn't much of a problem; step on tire, step on fender by snorkel and step onto hood by the air intake. I've climbed around on it when I re-sealed the roof cap/camper roof interface.

High CG is always a concern. According to the builder's tests, current CG is 24" above the ground and 1" forward of center of wheelbase.

Good you have found a mechanic you trust. Too much snake oil salesman and products on the market today. That is one of the great things about forums; people with actual experience.
 
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McBride

Adventurer
Thanks Capo,

I think I'll do the straight across option for the reason you mentioned. I will do something on the rear that incorporates a light weight mesh type fold down rear table that is supported by the rear bump guards. Seeing as I have only owned it for about 4 months all of my trips have been in the winter. Coldest night was 2 degrees (F).

Come summer I'll be outside except to drive, get out of foul weather and sleeping. A quick fold down table would be nice.
 
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McBride

Adventurer
Thanks Tappet. While flushing the brake fluid I pulled all the tires and they are surprisingly light. I'll have to weigh one and see. My guess is 50lbs but I'll get a real number.

I love the looks of the military Hutchinson Beadlocks but I have seen posts where people say they weigh over 100 pounds. That is too much for me.
 

McBride

Adventurer
Mog,

Thanks. It is indeed pretty compact. I'm going to weigh the tires to see how much I am actually dealing with. Check out the interior pics and you will see that they kept the weight pretty low on the interior; no upper cabinets.

As a lifelong backpacker I am used to traveling with what I can carry and am hopeful that I can keep my gear and kit stuff pretty light for overlanding. Weight and bulk add up quickly.

Is the front/rear distribution pretty important?
 

McBride

Adventurer
Hi Joaquin,

As I understand it, Dave Holland sold it to a doctor in Alabama. He had the fuel pump problem, got discouraged and sold it to a dealership. I bought it from them. They installed a new pump and the problem was solved.

I spoke to the Europa mechanic who told the Doctor that it was a bad fuel pump. It was a strange gremlin. The engine wouldn't start without the use of ether. Once it was going it ran fine.

Marc, the mechanic, advised me that the pump can be sent to Germany for a rebuild. I hope it doesn't happen to me. As a preventative measure I have ordered and will have Marc install a Mercedes auxiliary fuel filter/water trap that was designed for this engine. The aux pump comes stock on the IFAV.

I hope it doesn't happen to me as it is an expensive pump.

Not sure why it happened. Based on the vehicle mileage, I expect it sat around for years without being driven; not good for vehicles at all.
 
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McBride

Adventurer
Christopher,

I hope to someday get my hands on Dave's build book for this vehicle.

The service manager at the local Mercedes dealership worked at Europa during part of this build. He said that for the most part, Dave ordered every part new from the factory. Lucky me!

I don't know if he got to take it out. I hope he did. It is a blast to drive, especially on the dirt.

I think you mean Marc, rather than Eric (or maybe there is an Eric too). Marc's is slammed every time I have been by. People send bikes from all over for him to work on. His detail is incredible. What ethic too! Cleanest work I have ever seen.

Cool on your Europa connection. I actually live between the two places you mention - near the old Cash Ranch.

I'll definitely PM you. My spring is filling up as I am planning to canoe the Gila on the wilderness run; water permitting.

Wouldn't it be great to do the Bursum Road and come out at Mogollon? What a road. Just south of Glenwood there is a dirt track that goes into Arizona and heads to the NW. I will do some recon on it in a few weeks. I can get us from Santa Fe to Mogollon on less that 100 miles of asphalt.

William

I am planning an offroad route to the Overland Expo in May, part of it thru the Gila.
 
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McBride

Adventurer
I have the same motor in my Jeep Scrambler (named Mayahual). The OM602 DE2.9LA was never imported into the USA except in the first Marine Corp "fast attack" G-wagons. When I fitted it in my Jeep, the hardest part (by far)was getting the electronic control for the VE pump to work correctly. I got it though... Then a year and a half later while exploring in DEEP Baja, I dropped into an arroyo a little hard & my throttle potentiometer quit communicating with the computer.:eek: Luckily, I just had to shut off the motor and turn it back on again. After that the "no throttle syndrome" happened at the weirdest times, on the freeway doing 70 mph, stopped at a stoplight. No rhyme or reason.
I lived with this problem for a couple of years, then last January I built a hybrid 100% mechanical pump for the motor with the help of a top-notch Bosch pump house.
Now the motor has about 30% more power and is 100% problem free. PURE JOY!!! I will eventually be building a hybrid turbo for it and expect to probably double my horsepower.

http://www.superturbodiesel.com/std/Thread-OM602-DE2-9LA-V-electronic-to-V-mech-Pump-Swap?highlight=om602



Congradulations on your SWEET rig!

Joaquin,

Wow! A Scrambler with 290GD. It must be a beast. Turbo would be insane.

If I ever have problems I'd love to go mechanical. I didn't know it was possible. Of all things on this Camper the engine electronics make me the most nervous. I am hopeful that because my engine is unchanged from the factory and I will be feeding it the best and cleanest fuel (auxiliary filter and water trap + additives) that I won't get stranded in the middle of no where.

Do you think it would be a good idea to change fuel filters at each oil change or is that overkill?
 

McBride

Adventurer
I have the same motor in my Jeep Scrambler (named Mayahual). The OM602 DE2.9LA was never imported into the USA except in the first Marine Corp "fast attack" G-wagons. When I fitted it in my Jeep, the hardest part (by far)was getting the electronic control for the VE pump to work correctly. I got it though... Then a year and a half later while exploring in DEEP Baja, I dropped into an arroyo a little hard & my throttle potentiometer quit communicating with the computer.:eek: Luckily, I just had to shut off the motor and turn it back on again. After that the "no throttle syndrome" happened at the weirdest times, on the freeway doing 70 mph, stopped at a stoplight. No rhyme or reason.
I lived with this problem for a couple of years, then last January I built a hybrid 100% mechanical pump for the motor with the help of a top-notch Bosch pump house.
Now the motor has about 30% more power and is 100% problem free. PURE JOY!!! I will eventually be building a hybrid turbo for it and expect to probably double my horsepower.

http://www.superturbodiesel.com/std/Thread-OM602-DE2-9LA-V-electronic-to-V-mech-Pump-Swap?highlight=om602



Congradulations on your SWEET rig!

Also,

What did you do with your old pump? Is it available or was it the donor for the mechanical pump, if that is possible?

I remember my mechanic telling me that the chief culprit of "limp mode" with this engine is not the pump but the associated electronics associated with the throttle control. Would that be the potentiometer?
 

chris505

Observer
If you live by the old cash ranch you must be on my old road, unless they paved that award winning washboard you are definitely driving the right vehicle, some of my craziest driving experiences have been trying to get in or out across that awful road, sometimes only passible in a G wagen... or a 4x4 Kubota tractor.

Is there anything particular you would like to learn about your Gs construction? The frame extension and camper box construction process are still fresh in my memory banks thanks to the large impression this G project had on my 16 year old brain. I think watching its slow buildup at Europa played a huge part in inspiring me to go into metal fabrication, industrial design and ultimately Gwagen re-power/outfitting.

The Mogollon track sounds killer, my family bought 1200 acres and built ourselves an airstrip north of Zuni salt lake (High Lonesome airport), what a staggeringly beautiful and harsh place, the perfect environment for your Gelandebego! Watch out for 'mud heads' and mountain lions.:snorkel:

Mark is the guy, so glad his business took off. Nice to hear Anthony is still at it too.
 

McBride

Adventurer
If you live by the old cash ranch you must be on my old road, unless they paved that award winning washboard you are definitely driving the right vehicle, some of my craziest driving experiences have been trying to get in or out across that awful road, sometimes only passible in a G wagen... or a 4x4 Kubota tractor.

Is there anything particular you would like to learn about your Gs construction? The frame extension and camper box construction process are still fresh in my memory banks thanks to the large impression this G project had on my 16 year old brain. I think watching its slow buildup at Europa played a huge part in inspiring me to go into metal fabrication, industrial design and ultimately Gwagen re-power/outfitting.

The Mogollon track sounds killer, my family bought 1200 acres and built ourselves an airstrip north of Zuni salt lake (High Lonesome airport), what a staggeringly beautiful and harsh place, the perfect environment for your Gelandebego! Watch out for 'mud heads' and mountain lions.:snorkel:

Mark is the guy, so glad his business took off. Nice to hear Anthony is still at it too.

I live nine miles down that road - at the very end! Notice the mud in my pics"? (And it's not even bad right now as most of it fell off during several hundred miles in the snow). In addition to the big river crossing I have two others to get to my place. You'll remember that sometimes they are raging torrents! Don't even mention the washboard - it is 6" deep right now - the road the county forgot. When I picture the Canning Stock Route I see my road.

That is weird. I grew up in Quemado. A week and a half ago I drove the road from Ramah to Quemado via the salt lake. Just as I was coming off the Mesa, where the view gets big, I met up with a bicycle traveler - middle of nowhere. He was about to make camp so I gave him a cold beer.
 

chris505

Observer
It's a tiny world, isn't it?

I think I still know the combo to your first gate (Forest let me hike on his pueblo)!
 

McBride

Adventurer
It's a tiny world, isn't it?

I think I still know the combo to your first gate (Forest let me hike on his pueblo)!

A tiny, tiny world indeed.

The "bath tub" of the pueblo and numerous other prehistoric sites are on my property. I'm superstitious so I don't go poking around much.

Forrest sold the pueblo a few years ago. He still comes out a few times a year. Have you seen his new book on the treasure? My wife stays in touch with him and we cross paths at parties and such. The new owner is a great guy and we've become friends. He comes out 3-4 times a year.

The first combo is the same but we've added two other gates for livestock purposes. All on automatic openers now. The road to the back (and my residence) is no longer a jeep trail, although I kind of wish it was.

We will definitely do some G adventuring when you come out. Give me as much notice as possible as I schedule my work pretty heavily and well in advance.

Question on the camper floor - do you remember how the structure was built? I know about the walls and ceilings but haven't had to access the floor. From the bottom I can see that the undercoating is like a bed liner and on the inside I see the 3/8" or so rubber matting. Is there a frame? Insulation? Double wall construction?

William
 

McBride

Adventurer
For all my research (and I did a butt-load of it) I am the first person to do it.


This is very important because unlike linear injection pumps that are lubricated by motor oil, the VE pumps are lub'd by the diesel flowing through it.
I mounted a Standyne filter/ trap with a purge pump on the left fender so that if I had to change the filters I could easily purge the air from the lines. If you haven't experienced purging the diesel fuel system, you should do it ASAP. It is the kind of PITA you don't want to learn in the bush. You might also might want to swap the fuel filter/ bracket to one of the older styles that have banjo fittings rather than the stock ones with the plastic fittings/ bracket. easier to bleed.

Yes, no, sort of... It is A LOT more complicated than that! I had to machine some of the parts from the electronic pump to fit into a mechanical body. then there is getting the timing correct. The whole process was not easy.

You have to remember that this was the first electroniclly controlled TDI motor that Mercedes developed for small vehicles. The logic is EXTREMELY complicated! If you want to get a good "head spin" read the section about these pumps and controls in the Bosch book "Diesel Engine management".

If you haven't gathered by now... I'm sort a kook about this stuff (Some think I'm a "diesel snob").

Joaquin,

Good info. I'll have my mechanic give me a tutorial on bleeding the system. I've done every other fluid on the truck but had him do the filter as I heard it could be tricky.

Do you have pics of your Scrambler and of the banjo style filter? I'd love to see some.

Is your Stanadyne filter in addition to the original filter?

My aux filter/water trap should be in next week. I've done about 2K of trips in the last month so I'll do a full service when the new part goes in. I always do the first few services pretty close together whenever I buy a pre-owned vehicle - you never know if the previous owner stayed on top of maintenance.

If I run into problems with the current system I'll consult with you.

When you do the turbo add on are you going to beef up any other parts of the engine. I have read that certain things are recommended. Will you do an intercooler?

How is Baja? Was it heavily populated or is there still some remoteness to it?
 

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