I have an OM617 out of a wrecked 85 300SD with 158K miles that will be arriving in a few days. Supposedly in perfect running condition. This will be my first diesel engine and I am putting it in my 89 Jeep Wrangler.

My question is this, while I have the motor sitting on a pallet in my garage prior to install. What are some things I could go ahead and do to ensure optimum performance? Are there any gaskets I should go ahead and replace? I know these engines run forever and 158K miles is nothing, but I would rather do anything I could while it is in my garage and I can get at everything nice and easy....

 

Definitely replace all the seals/gaskets for the turbo oil drain pipe between the turbo and oil pan. That is the primary leak point on the 617 turbo. Also, if the rear main seal shows any signs of leakage, replace that too. It's been a long time since I've owned one of these and I'm not sure what else to check while it's out...

 

I second that. I'm in the middle of the same swap.
It's also a good time to adjust the valves, remove the ALDA and tune the injection pump(remove rack limiter, advance the timing, etc. that's all much easier to do in your garage than once its in ur jeep. Good luck with the swap. You gonna do a build thread?