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

[DiploStrat]

Hi Jon. Good to see you are still enjoying the travels! Looks great!! If you see Karsten with the snub nose (bull nose over here) tell him he has the wrong wheel nuts for that truck... He has the later wheel nuts with attached washers on it suited to yours and our trucks, wheras he should have the earlier slimmer nuts with tapered spring washer that fits into the countersunk hole on the wheel. If he uses later nuts, then he'll be forever chasing vibrations. The early trucks rely on the studs with taper spring washers for allignment.

Agreed. Jon and I have "hub centric" hubs/wheels. See the little ears on the hub in Jon's photo. Others are "stud centric", (common on most US passenger cars), in which case you need tapered lug nuts.

 

[Joe917]

Agreed. Jon and I have "hub centric" hubs/wheels. See the little ears on the hub in Jon's photo. Others are "stud centric", (common on most US passenger cars), in which case you need tapered lug nuts.

Possibly the wrong wheels?

 

[DiploStrat]

Stud centric wheels usually have beveled, or, in the case of US passenger cars, stamped, moulded holes. The stamped holes act like lock washers.

My Kronprins wheels have bevels, but I use them with flat washer lug nuts.

 

[Joe917]

Our wheels are beveled and use a cone washer with a flat wheel nut. I just wondered if that was a hub centric design wheel on a cone centric hub.
There could also be cone washers behind those nuts.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

I'll mention the wheel nuts to him, I do know that this 20" rims are relatively new and I think he switched wheel nuts then. I think the nuts you're suggesting are the ones we have, they're 2 pieces. A separate split tapered washer and a nut that needs a 27mm socket.

And I forgot to mention 2 other small projects. I decided I wanted a display instead of just Bluetooth for our battery monitor, so I installed a Victron 712. Also sometime in the history of our truck a headlight was replaced, so we had a p43t bulb on one side and a p45t on the other. The p45t's in 24v are hard to find here, but the 43 is not. So I asked my nephew to 3d print an adapter. So now we have the p43t's in both sides and in the process I upgraded to LED.

And man it is hot, drove thru a town that was 114 yesterday. Truck ran warm most of the drive, around 90c peaking on the hills around 97c. Does anyone know the max temp for these engines? The DC rooftop AC was not really keeping up, but at least it was doable.

 

[Joe917]

The OM366 says continuous operating range 70-95C ,100C for short periods up to ten minutes. This should not be exceeded.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Thanks Joe, so we are essentially up against the upper limits of heat. Not sure if it is the over 110f heat in the hills or something in the cooling system. I did have to put in an aftermarket radiator, which seems to be a single core. Wonder if I could get any better cooling using a custom radiator. I do know that since we have an intercooler it blocks a lot of the front of the radiator.

 

[DzlToy]

Paint your inter-cooler and radiator black. A 3 or 4 core after market radiator will do wonders for your cooling if you have the space for it. Sealing air gaps around your fan shroud, forcing the air through the radiator, is also a big help. Any 'air leaks' around the sides, are costly, in efficiency.

 

[Joe917]

Do you have a viscous clutch fan? If so is it working.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Do you have a viscous clutch fan? If so is it working.

Yes, and it does make noise. In normal cooler weather it will cycle on/off. In this heat it is always on.

Paint your inter-cooler and radiator black. A 3 or 4 core after market radiator will do wonders for your cooling if you have the space for it. Sealing air gaps around your fan shroud, forcing the air through the radiator, is also a big help. Any 'air leaks' around the sides, are costly, in efficiency.

Ok, will look into those suggestions (the stock shroud is in place, but the intercooler blocks most of the front, plus the hood "opening" is a bit small). Amy chance anyone knows of a reputable custom radiator shop? Preferably somewhere in the western USA.

 

[DzlToy]

CBR Performance is awesome.

Electric fans may be something to consider also. They free up horsepower and cover a larger area of the radiator than does a single, large, clutch-driven fan.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

So when I was searching for a replacement radiator the aftermarket Nissens 62743 (this is the one we have) came up as the replacement. The core is 26mm thick. More digging I found I found a different Nissens 62563 with a 43mm core. I think they are very similar, though on the drawing the 62563's bottom coolant connection shows "with reduction". Anyone know what this means?

 

[DzlToy]

There is likely a nipple or 'necking down' of the tubing to fit a different shape or size of coolant hose.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Little update, we parked the truck a few weeks ago in order to fly east and visit family and in September to visit a friend in Spain. We spent the better part of a year in Spain while sailing and loved it. Now we get to visit again for a few weeks but get to be hosted by an overlanding friend who is from Spain. Should be great fun.

So, I did end up ordering the replacement radiator, I was told by Nissens USA that the drawing is old and the reduction is not there. I am very skeptical but I did learn that this is the replacement radiator for the OM366LA with 240hp (ours is the 200hp) so I am hoping it will work. I think (key word here) this was also the "HD" radiator option for the 200hp engine. Fingers crossed.

HOLSET 4040429


And I have finally gotten off my butt and ordered the replacement turbo. Not really sure why but the turbo is way less expensive in Europe, like half to a third of the cost. Unfortunately they will not ship to the USA (the one shop I looked into that had the best price along with some other needed bits), so the turbo is coming back in luggage when we return from Spain . At the same time I will finish the install of the EGT and boost gauges. After an injector pump change we will hopefully see 230-240hp. Will be really nice in the hills. Will likely install it in Tuscon AZ in October as there needs to be a little aluminum welding done and the guy that worked on our truck last year is there. Plus I am redesigning our entry ladder to make it more stable, have 3 steps with a wider tread. This will hopefully remove the need for the small step ladder which works fine but takes up storage space in the gear garage and adds the possibility of introducing bugs.

Have to admit, we are both missing the truck.

 

[luthj]

Your not bringing back a 6 speed transmission?