MB 1120 Coming to America! Purchase, Build and Now Travel!

VerMonsterRV

Gotta Be Nuts
Just a quickie and not truck replated. We are in Spain for the next few days visiting an overlanding friend. Went on a great 5 day hike in the Pyrenees. Unfortunately our time is coming to an end here and we are starting to pack for the return trip. Will be good to be back in the truck again. When we get back the truck projects begin...

PXL_20210916_064222342.jpg
 

VerMonsterRV

Gotta Be Nuts
Well my much talked about, long awaited turbo upgrade has started. Things are all apart and the modifications needed on the new turbo are complete. I will go in the morning to a local welder to see if he has time to modify the air intake pipe, fix a rattling heatshield and sand blast the turbo heatshield. With any luck I can start the reassembly tomorrow afternoon!
IMG_20210929_151817.jpg

And as I type a higher capacity radiator and new Marquart shocks are crossing the Atlantic. Hope is the turbo upgrade will be complete by the time they arrive so then I can jump on those upgrades.
 

VerMonsterRV

Gotta Be Nuts
I am looking forward to seeing this project develop!
Me also ;) , I will say I am no pioneer with this update. It has already been done a few times in Germany, and I am lucky enough to have been given guidance from someone with heaps of experience with these trucks. Once it is all bolted back together I will need to do a minor (or at least I have been told) injector pump adjustment to get the full benefit.
 

Geo.Lander

Well-known member
Well my much talked about, long awaited turbo upgrade has started. Things are all apart and the modifications needed on the new turbo are complete. I will go in the morning to a local welder to see if he has time to modify the air intake pipe, fix a rattling heatshield and sand blast the turbo heatshield. With any luck I can start the reassembly tomorrow afternoon!
View attachment 684649

And as I type a higher capacity radiator and new Marquart shocks are crossing the Atlantic. Hope is the turbo upgrade will be complete by the time they arrive so then I can jump on those upgrades.

It would be really cool if you could make a dedicated and detailed post about the upgrade Jon! exciting stuff!
 

Geo.Lander

Well-known member
I see there is a lot of back and forth on the LN2 forum about this upgrade, suggesting that the differences between the Euro-0, 1 and Euro 2 engines are pretty significant in terms of cooling, pistons, injectors, nozzles and a whole load of other parts.. I know you have done your research in this area so wanted your thoughts :D
 

VerMonsterRV

Gotta Be Nuts
I see there is a lot of back and forth on the LN2 forum about this upgrade, suggesting that the differences between the Euro-0, 1 and Euro 2 engines are pretty significant in terms of cooling, pistons, injectors, nozzles and a whole load of other parts.. I know you have done your research in this area so wanted your thoughts :D
The LN2 forum was my main source of information, and the fact that several tuners in Europe will do a power upgrade on the Euro-0 engine (I am not sure but I think all of the 204hp variants were Euro-0). There were 2 people on the forum in particular that I trust their information. A guy named Ulli and Stefan. Ulli works for Borg Warner and part time at his family business converting these trucks for overland use. His family are the ones that contracted with Kronprinz to have the SRW rims built for our truck and they supply retailers (like Fabian I got ours from). Ulli was working towards a "kit" for this upgrade, but going the route I am going I will save a bit of money (it should come in around $800 for this swap, which if it works and is reliable will be dirt cheap). The second one is Stefan, he is a retired MB truck mechanic who owns an 917 overlander. He has swapped in a OM366LA with this turbo upgrade, the split 6-speed transmission and new ring and pinions for higher speed/lower revs (so sounds like just what I would like). He has also guided me one other upgrades/fixes and has always been spot on(and when I say spot on I mean down to the thread pitch of fittings I would need). He helped the German overlanders we travelled with last winter (and hopefully this coming winter) with ring/pinion upgrade and also injector swap in their OM352. Hopefully he is correct and we will be happy. With this turbo I could always put in a lower vacuum wastegate actuator, this one is set to 30psi. But Stefan has told me he never sees that much boost, at most the mid 20's. He didn't seem to be a fan of the injector/pump mods for more power (though I never specifically asked him that). With this turbo I should see more boost at lower revs, so I am hoping the 3rd-4th gear change in hills will be easier.

So anyone reading this should understand I am not an expert in this and am going on my trust in someone who I think is the most knowledgeable guy I have talked (well email as I do not speak German) with. Because of our previous coolant loss problem and the resultant tear down of the engine I feel pretty good that the internals are in great condition. Part of this upgrade is replacing the radiator (which is not part of the $800, it is another $400) with one that was spec'd for the 240hp engine, it is supposed to arrive today so once the new turbo in I will start swapping the radiator. I was not happy with the engine temps when it was 115f out so regardless of the turbo upgrade I was going to put this radiator in.

Having said all that I do know a guy that swapped in a OM366LA that had been upgraded (not tested though and no internal check so an unknown engine) to 285hp from a known tuner in Europe (as his truck had an OM352 everything was custom with the cooling system, including the intercooler). On his maiden test run the engine grenaded with the #6 piston exiting the block. Must have been exciting...
 

VerMonsterRV

Gotta Be Nuts
Hey all, well the new turbo is bolted into place. I still need to adjust the injector pump to supply more fuel when needed but I am hoping to get the English manual in a couple of days with the steps to do it. We went for a test drive and I did notice more power in the lower revs, not really anything much in the higher revs. The power down low helped up a steep hill, didn't have to drop down into 3rd, was able to keep 4th. I'll have to say it was a bit more work than I had hoped it would be, not difficult just tedious with all the adjustments needed as you moved through the install. I am still planning on a stainless heat shield between the exhaust manifold and air intake. Just need access to a brake and a welder to do it properly.

PXL_20211005_142635498.jpg

And the new Marquart shocks are in. We haven't had a chance to test them thoroughly but I think I already notice a difference with some of the bounciness removed from the front end which started with the new springs. Now onto the not so successful upgrade, I have had the 240hp radiator on order for over a month from the UK, well it finally showed up and I was pretty pleased I would be able to swap it in. Well, FedEx managed to damage it, breaking off one of the fittings in shipment. Now trying to work through that with the vendor.
 

Geo.Lander

Well-known member
Hey all, well the new turbo is bolted into place. I still need to adjust the injector pump to supply more fuel when needed but I am hoping to get the English manual in a couple of days with the steps to do it. We went for a test drive and I did notice more power in the lower revs, not really anything much in the higher revs. The power down low helped up a steep hill, didn't have to drop down into 3rd, was able to keep 4th. I'll have to say it was a bit more work than I had hoped it would be, not difficult just tedious with all the adjustments needed as you moved through the install. I am still planning on a stainless heat shield between the exhaust manifold and air intake. Just need access to a brake and a welder to do it properly.

View attachment 685568

And the new Marquart shocks are in. We haven't had a chance to test them thoroughly but I think I already notice a difference with some of the bounciness removed from the front end which started with the new springs. Now onto the not so successful upgrade, I have had the 240hp radiator on order for over a month from the UK, well it finally showed up and I was pretty pleased I would be able to swap it in. Well, FedEx managed to damage it, breaking off one of the fittings in shipment. Now trying to work through that with the vendor.

Nice! we need some step-by-step shots Jon! :LOL:

I hear ceramic coating the exhaust manifolds also significantly lowers the radiated heat, no experience there..
 

VerMonsterRV

Gotta Be Nuts
Nice! we need some step-by-step shots Jon! :LOL:

I hear ceramic coating the exhaust manifolds also significantly lowers the radiated heat, no experience there..
I was on the fence with the ceramic coating, but the science behind it is a bit short. I did find a shop that would "flow coat" the inside of the manifold along with coating the exterior. He claimed it would increase gas velocity and reduce temps. In the end I asked Stefan (the guy helping me via email with this swap) and he felt a heat shield was better. So I am going to fabricate one once I get somewhere with a brake.

Unfortunately I didn't document the process. I do have some photos from Stefan explaining the process. The air intake, dump pipe and oil return pipe need modifications. The oil return and air intake require welding. The rest of it is just lining up the parts so they fit well, drilling 2 holes in the turbo flange to the manifold, drilling/tapping 2 holes in the turbo for the oil inlet, drilling out the dump pipe for 10mm studs instead of the original 8mm. Clocking the turbo so things line up. Slight bend in the oil feed hard line and elongating the hole in the mount for the charged air pipe. All in all not difficult just slow since I do not weld, if you can then this swap would be faster.
 

VerMonsterRV

Gotta Be Nuts
Jon I'm glad to see things are coming together. Looks real good!
What hill did you do your test run on?
Hope to see you Two and your truck before you leave.

Brian at N.A.P.A. Auto
Hey Brian, glad you found my build thread. We went out on 55 past Brundage till we got to the bottom of the hill. The truck pulled better in low revs but not much difference higher up. I still need to adjust the injector pump to 11 :cool:. I am awaiting the English manual on this pump with a bit of guidance from my retired mechanic friend. We are heading out in the morning to head out into the back country to test the turbo and the new shocks. Will be there a couple of nights then back into town, will swing by when we return.
 

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