starting my diesel swap, 4cyl MB diesel engine into 89 Astro

[tinworm]

^^^lol


ok, very tiring day, but got a lot accomplished-

First, dropped the subframe with the 616 and T5 on it-



Removed the T5 and exposed a couple issues I wanted to resolve-

Here is what the adapter looked like after I think 8k on it (guesstimate)



Once again im having an issue with the pilot bearing, as you can see here, the bearing adapter is clearly spinning in the bore-




I think most of my issue has been that this adapter was made for the NV3500 and family of gearboxes, and this T5 must have a different depth spline, which has been a fairly annoying issue, if you recall I dropped the transmission 3 separate times screwing with this issue.
Have that resolved finally I think though.

So here is the 617 and the removed 616-



here is the back of the 617, and the adapter installed and painted this time-

[tinworm]

ok, part 2.

So, I ended up doing a test fit and have a pretty blatant witness mark on the pilot bushing showing that the depth was still wrong-

few millimeters shy-



witness mark at that depth-



so I shaved a few more MM off the pilot bushing, and we are good. Long run I want to remachine the adapter so I can put a stock GM bearing in there, next time I open clutch probably, but i need the van right now, so this solution is ok for the moment.



Clutch reinstalled-



617 and gearbox assembled-



Next the new drivetrain reinstalled on the subframe-



In what im going to call an amazing stroke of fortune, I was able to take the 616 driver side engine mount I made, and use it with minimal modification on the 617 passenger side, and the reverse by drilling a few holes and a few minutes with the grinder.




However, that won't do long run and I will need to remake the mounts, but the spacing looks pretty decent so far. On those two mounts, the heavier motor is a lot closer to the drag link, not going to work.



Probably going to fabricate some new mounts to hold the engine in approximately this position-



First thing in the morning making new mounts, id like to get the subframe back up and see what im dealing with as far as brake booster clearance

[LiftedAWDAstro]

Holy busy beaver! That's a lot of work for 1 day! It's almost like you have done it a time or 2.

[mdmead]

Holy busy beaver! That's a lot of work for 1 day! It's almost like you have done it a time or 2.

^^^^^ Yeah, what he said.^^^^^

[tinworm]

lol, yes, ive become an expert on reducing this vehicle to 15 thousand little parts at high speed.

However, rethinking the motor mounts, as during disassembly, at least 40% of all the bolts were loose on this van, everything that didn't have a lock nut or spring washer on it. Half of my work was done already basically.

Because of that alarming vibration effect using the GM mounts, ive decided to use the MB style mounts this time and build in provisions for the engine shocks to limit that situation. Also every single bolt is getting locktite, spring washers, or lock washers this time

[doyoulikeithere]

lol, yes, ive become an expert on reducing this vehicle to 15 thousand little parts at high speed.

However, rethinking the motor mounts, as during disassembly, at least 40% of all the bolts were loose on this van, everything that didn't have a lock nut or spring washer on it. Half of my work was done already basically.

Because of that alarming vibration effect using the GM mounts, ive decided to use the MB style mounts this time and build in provisions for the engine shocks to limit that situation. Also every single bolt is getting locktite, spring washers, or lock washers this time

Arent you glad you found this out now rather than on the highway doing 75 somewhere far from home in a snowstorm ??!!??
Bang! What was that? Oh it just the engine falling out, Lol, no worries !!

[tinworm]

Arent you glad you found this out now rather than on the highway doing 75 somewhere far from home in a snowstorm ??!!??
Bang! What was that? Oh it just the engine falling out, Lol, no worries !!

lol, yes, that would be annoying

[tinworm]

So worked out some new motor mounts using the stock MB diesel mounts this time instead of the GM ones. The reason I didn't do this in the first place was because the MB mount has a upward facing socket head cap screw to hold the mount to the engine arm, as well as downward facing bolts on the outside to bolt the mount to the body. Its a huge pain in the rear replacing the mounts on an MB, and I didnt want to have to figure out how to accomplish the same thing in the van.
However, its become abundantly clear that the MB mounts are what these engines require for a smooth vibration free operation (in addition to engine shocks which I havent installed yet), so decided to figure it out this time.

Here is the eventual shape I wanted to go with, the two ears would make the tabs of the mount accessible, and the open pipe would make the inside upwards facing cap screw accessible as well from underneath on the inside face of the mount

passenger side-



driver side, shows more of the idea on usability (this one is also removable, I welded it to the spacer on the subframe)-



Passenger side welded in and finished- (I was worried about this, as its going to make it difficult to remove the upper control arm if I need to for any reason. I almost bailed on the stock arm, but then remembered that the control arm bolts are splined and can be driven out, so it would still be removable, just more of a PITA)




driver side-




This is the back side accessibility for the inner socket head screw, you can get a ratchet in there and do about 3 clicks at a time

[HPbyStan]

Damn, you find a way around everything. Good on ya mate.

[tinworm]

Damn, you find a way around everything. Good on ya mate.

Thanks!

[tinworm]

so I took care of some things like the wastegate snap ring and torching off this rusted out bolt holding a cut support and replacing it I took care of before dropping the body-




(only two things having to be torched! personal record. The other thing I torched was the upper bolt for the passenger stock GM motor mount, I didn't want to screw around with that extension struggle, not with the motor sitting on wooden blocks and the possibility of it falling while I tried to remove that bolt)

After that, the body and subframe were ready to reassemble-



and the 617 fits very nicely indeed!





issue with the power steering and the brake proportioning valve. However, some playing with the bracket and lines should make enough room, its really a problem with the fittings more than anything




Here is the passenger side motor mount access, its actually not as bad as I assumed



I will have to remake the entire downpipe situation with a much much bigger flex pipe. My exhaust setup was a dismal failure with the 616, it was too tight and broke all but one exhaust mount, including the heavy bracket I made on the transmission bellhousing. Fortunately I caught it before the turbo housing was damaged.
there is decent room though, room enough I think for a stock downpipe hopefully

[doyoulikeithere]

I will have to remake the entire downpipe situation with a much much bigger flex pipe. My exhaust setup was a dismal failure with the 616, it was too tight and broke all but one exhaust mount, including the heavy bracket I made on the transmission bellhousing. Fortunately I caught it before the turbo housing was damaged. there is decent room though, room enough I think for a stock downpipe hopefully

Awesome work there TW.
Do you have more room to route the exhaust from the turbo because this engine sits the turbo a bit further forward than the other engine did?
kinda looks like theres more room there now. Do you have room to run a normal fan at all, or electric only?
Looks great so far.
Keep it posted ....

[tinworm]

Power steering issue worked out-

Here is the GM stock proportioning valve-





Here is the stock bracket removed with the valves-



I moved the valves to the driver side portion of the stock bracket, and welded a brace to keep it stiff (the brace is bent to compensate for the master cylinder)-



Here is the new arrangement after replumbing everything in the new position-



This created considerable breathing space for the power steering pump fortunately-

Awesome work there TW.
Do you have more room to route the exhaust from the turbo because this engine sits the turbo a bit further forward than the other engine did?
kinda looks like theres more room there now. Do you have room to run a normal fan at all, or electric only?
Looks great so far.
Keep it posted ....

I think there is actually a possibility that I can use the MB fan and fan clutch with the GM radiator if I remake the mounts so the radiator does not need the shroud to be secure, not sure yet though, but it does look promising

[tinworm]

so wasn't able to do much today (actually had to work, unacceptable) but did get the oiling hooked up.

I screwed around with different ideas, but decided Just to weld JIC fittings to cut down stock oil line stubs. My only concern is potential vibration, but the stubs are short enough and the pushlock line has enough play that I think I should be fine.

I ended up drilling out the O-ring side of the JIC fitting, and pressing the steel tube into the fitting a bit before welding.





I have a new exhaust down pipe on order that should be here later this week.

Things left to do before a test drive are-

Hook up fuel
Hook up throttle
Hook up oil pressure gauge
Hook up cooling
resolve glow plug wiring
hook up alternator
make new exhaust

Hopefully I should have all this done by the time the downpipe arrives later this week

[tinworm]

so ive decided this is how im going to do my new shutoff arrangement. Its brutally simple and elegant.

Watch how the owner shuts down his nissan with a mercedes diesel and the same vac shutoff-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scSj48Sd8Qk

all hes done is run a direct line from the vacuum pump to the shutoff valve, T-ed into it, and run a vacuum line to the dash which he glued into place. When he holds his finger over the hole, he closes the vacuum circuit, and the engine shuts off.

Its spectacularly simple and effective.