what small diesel cars/trucks came with cast iron heads?

[Rabbit on Roids]

im looking for an engine to drop in a 4runner, and i wanna run as much boost as possible. and a set of compounds.

didnt most mercedes engines come with cast iron heads?

along with diesel toyotas and nissans? (toyotas might have cast Al heads.. not real sure)

i want to find something old and cheap, with a cast iron engine. i feel the urge to build a diesel with @ss loads of compound boost.. mercedes cars are cheap around here, atleast the old ones are.

but how do they handle boost? do you need all the fancy studs and gaskets to make them handle higher boost like a vw?

a 5 cylinder merc would probably fit in the engine room of a toyota pickup fairly easy, right?

[maxfax]

Mercedes had cast heads on the 4 and 5 cyls till the later 80's..  I think the Toyota also had a cast head..  Isuzu typically has a cast head as well.. I dunno about the Mazdas used in the early Rangers.. I think the later Rangers had an aluminum headed Perkins TD.

Bang for the buck may be to yank one from a rusty Benz..  they can be had pretty cheap..

[MJF]

Why do you want as much boost as possible? WouldnŽt as much power as possible be nicer
MB om616 and om617 have cast iron head, but those will not flow much. YouŽll get maybe 350hp out of 617a. From newer MB engines, youŽll get much more hp easier. 500+ from 605 and 600+ from 606. Aluminium head is not any kind of problem. MB turbodiesels are very different than NA engines, start with original turbo engine.

Toyota engines have iron head, but itŽs not that good flowing. Best IŽve seen is still under 300hp with compound turbos and years of work.

[Rabbit on Roids]

Mercedes had cast heads on the 4 and 5 cyls till the later 80's..  I think the Toyota also had a cast head..  Isuzu typically has a cast head as well.. I dunno about the Mazdas used in the early Rangers.. I think the later Rangers had an aluminum headed Perkins TD.

Bang for the buck may be to yank one from a rusty Benz..  they can be had pretty cheap..

rangers had mitsubishi 2.3L turbo diesels.. same engine that was in the mighty max..

[Rabbit on Roids]

so you suggest a mercecdes engine? and i dont really need all that boost, i just threw out a number.. i want it to be capable of handling alot of boost. im going to run whatever it takes to make me happy.. what year engines should i try and find? and i wasnt gonna start with anything besides a factory turbo equipped engine..

[maxfax]

That's right, the TD Rangers were Mitsu..   Was it Jeep that used the Perkins?? I thought they used a Renault engine...  You could always looks for a Lincoln Mark VI TD.. That had a BMW I6..  Pretty rare though..  I'm guessing head gasket failure was their problem as the only time I find them for sale is spewing antifreeze...

Cheap and bulletproof would be an om617..  I think it was the OM603s that came next.. Better power but they did have some correctable (I think) issues.. Early 3.0L heads could crack if overheated, later 3.5L had weak rods.. Probably more money initally for one of those engines though......


There's also the....... GM 350     

[rs899]

The OM616 was used until 1983 in the US 240D and the OM617 was used until 1985 in the 300D and 300SD.

[Rabbit on Roids]

i know a 350 could take LOTS AND LOTS of boost, but its not a diesel. this is the point. i want a DIESEL with loads and loads of boost. there are 6 whole big block chevys in my shop. 2 forged 4 bolt main 454s under the bench, a L88 corvette 427 on the rolly cart, a 396 in pieces under the other bench, a 402 in the jet boat, and another 454 in the 72 chevy.. i could use one of them if i wanted, and it would make something go very fast, but it would get 4mpg while doing it. where as a diesel will not. and a 350 or 454 wont as easily fit in a toyota. Vortec 4.3's were made for toyota swaps..

om616 is a 4 banger 2.5l engine right? im not positive, but the length of the 617 engine might be a bit much for an un-molested toyota engine room.

[maxfax]

I was referring to the GM 350 diesel..   C'mon, you know you want to be a glutton for punishment, let's see how much boost one'll take!!!  

 Looking at a 4 runner today I think the 617 would be pretty tight..  The 616 is a 2.4L 4 banger..  Didn't think they came with a turbo though.. THen again not like that's ever stopped anyone..  I bought a Pinto wagon years back with a turboed 615 (2.2 4 banger) and 4 speed in it..  They did a nice job on the installation, but something went horribly wrong as it had no compression when I got it...

[Rabbit on Roids]

I was referring to the GM 350 diesel..   C'mon, you know you want to be a glutton for punishment, let's see how much boost one'll take!!! 

i would use a 6.2/5. ive never seen a 350 diesel engine.. so i imagine they would be equally hard to find.

some day, if i ever run across one, i want to build up a toro-flow 4.3 diesel. they were actually good engines, or so says most of the sources ive read about them..

[maxfax]

Most of the GM 350 D's are scrapped at this point..  Or eccentric collectors are hoarding them..  There's a gentleman in Lancaster PA with literally 100's of em stashed...  He's managed to build several of them into decently smooth and reliable engines.. He even managed to get away with a few lbs of boost on 2 of them...  From what I have also read have said the 4.3's were pretty good, but once again, find one...

[MJF]

I bet most existing 350 diesels are here in Finland :lol:

[745 turbogreasel]

I'm pretty sure most of the 350  diesels gave their guts to the drag racing cause, as the block and crank work in an Olds gas engine.  I see them now and again, usually in a non running state, but cars last a long time here.

[maxfax]

I found about 5 or 6 350's on Craigslist over the last year..  Blown head gaskets usually..  They seem to sell within hours of being posted...  The 4.3's on the other hand.. Haven;t even found on on ebay..  Saw one a few years back at the fuel station.. We were fighting for the diesel pump...  I let him win hoping he would want to sell..

[Rabbit on Roids]

one thing tho, i would NEVER use a 350 diesel. a 6.5 is much easier to find.. and much easier to get parts for.

either way, i think im leaning towards a merc diesel.