In search of wrenching help on a W126 diesel

Long time no see, GRM.

I got super busy finishing my degree and whatnot, so I haven't been around much. Fast-forward to now, and I got a job. A decent one, not what I have been doing for nearly a year (working at a Y.) Generally this is a good thing, but this job is in Saudi Arabia, and I start June 1st. Yeah. I need to relieve myself of my three cars rather quickly. My Mercedes project has been stalled since I went back to school full-time, but now I need to finish it, or at least get it to a point that it would be sellable without losing my shirt on it.

So yeah, I need help. To recap, it has a good engine now in the car, but it's not bolted in. We took the bad engine out, but everything had already been disconnected, including the engine to its mounts. The PO just couldn't figure out that he needed to lower the car in order for the lift to clear the engine bay. Suffice it to say, he doesn't remember anything he did and is of no help in the reinstallation, and this level of wrenching is above my skill level. I don't want to ruin anything, hence my tapping out and trying to call in reinforcements. I am in northeast Ohio, in southern Ashtabula county.

I mean, if you need to lose your shirt and ditch it as is, i’m always here.  I kinda wanted to mess with a Mercedes diesel to swap into something else.  Disregard me.  

In reply to Esoteric Nixon :

Young man. Congrats on the new gig. 

I've heard that it's fun place to stay. 

Patrick said:

I mean, if you need to lose your shirt and ditch it as is, i’m always here.  I kinda wanted to mess with a Mercedes diesel to swap into something else.  Disregard me.  

I'm listening.

And thanks, John.

Like i said, disregard me.  It would have to be obscenely cheap to fit in my personal budget right now.  Call me crazy but i want a diesel challenge car one year.

You can do it. Stuff will mostly make sense. Electrical harnesses will be close in proximity and will fit if right or will not fit at all. Physical connections are usually even more clear. Vacuum and coolant hose routing can be annoying but start with what you know and work from there. It's just a jigsaw puzzle that is way more fun when finished.

You can do it. 

Also, buy beer and pizza and grmers tend to just show up...

The w126 diesel engine into a w126 is so simple. They are really simple installations compared to the gas engines. I'm sure you can do it.  Is it the 5cyl om617 or 6cyl om603?

If it's an om603 (6 cylinder) I have one if you need pics of where anything goes. Either way I'd say just try to do it and see what happens. It probably isn't worth a ton of money either way, but they aren't hard to work on and it should be much easier to sell if it runs.

The big concern with this swap is the lack of pictures (which is an awesome gesture, thank you) of where everything goes, the motor mounts fighting us, and a heavy concern of whether or not the PO saved every part, especially with regards to the shock mounting hardware for the motor mounts.  I'm sorry if I made it sound as ambiguous as my first post did; I actually swapped the wiring from the old engine (OM617) to the good engine (OM617) as whomever took the good engine out was in a hurry. If I honestly could just get the engine bolted in along with all of the other drivetrain mounts then I could get the car out of where it is and store it in a garage until I eventually return home. 

You should be able to find a blow-up on the engine bay of om617 vehicles here. I no longer have it saved in my google.docs, sorry.  Start a thread here or on the forum section I linked, promise people will help. I will try and help, but it'll be based off of memory. 

Also, if you're missing parts you can get them for damn cheap. 

You could probably leave the motor shock absorbers off and it would still be fine. The mounts for them are really expensive (like $300+) but used one should be easy to get if you need them.  

To quote Frankenfurter, "I'M GOING HOOOOOME!"

Details needed, please. 

It even still has the original windshield after 23+ years.  That's a 300SD so its a 5 cylinder and not the same as mine (although I have had one before).

Yes, original windshield.

We finally got the engine/transmission mounted after hours of fiddling with the tail/driveshaft. Once we got that bolted up along with the bracing, the motor mounts went in just fine. We just needed a third, competent person to help us muddle through.

There's still a lot to do, such as mount all of the accessories/rad/oil cooler/vacuum lines, but it's at least ready for more dry storage, or for me to keep plugging away until I leave.

It needs a good bath, but it's finally home. Two of the four windows work, the radio works, the power seats work, the sunroof works, the headlights work, the fog lights don't seem to, but everything is in good shape.

The interior, however, yeesh. Mothballs and mouse pee. This ought to be fun.

Full detail to follow tomorrow. 

It cleaned up well.