Diesel Bombers - New member from ME

Greetings! I joined a while ago but haven't really done much lurking yet. Saturday morning I'm picking up a Mercedes OM617 turbodiesel that's going in my '90 Wrangler, and I can not WAIT to get this project started! :jump: I blew the original 4.2l in it while mud-bogging 2.5 years ago and it's time to get this thing back on - I mean, OFF -the road!

I actually rebuilt the 4.2l but had problems with getting the head gasket to seal - coolant leaking out from between the head and the block is a bad sign - and I found that this was due to the PO having put a 4.0l head on. Some research told me that you have to fill in the outer row of coolant passages in the head in order to get a good seal, and this was never done. I guess he just lucked into getting one somehow, because it never leaked before I blew it. Anyway, it sat over the winter and in the spring the cylinder bores were badly rusted. I'm a diesel guy, anyway, and the 2X fuel economy will be nice too LOL

I'm keeping the build simple for now, I'm just doing the engine. The narrowed Dana 60/14-bolt will come later, as will frame patches of my own design to take care of the weld nut issue, an SRS, and SOA.