Can anybody tell me, when were turbo diesels introduced?
G'day from a wet and wintery Bunbury, West Australia.
I am at present between G-wagens, having left my cherished 463 300GD behind in S Africa when we moved a few months ago. The 463 G is as rare as 5-legged 'roos here.
It appears that there is a good chance of securing a RHD vehicle from Japan. It needs to be 15 years or older, so I am trying to find out when I should start looking for a turbo diesel automatic.
Was the 6 cyl 300GD ever offered as a TD? The next TD would have been the 350TD? And then the 290TD a few years later. Can anybody confirm this and say when these were released please.
Thanks
Adrian
The first factory Turbodiesel was the 463 350 TD in 1992.
No 460 was ever factory fitted with Turbo.
The first turbodiesel 461was the 290 GDT in 1998.
Your only option is to fit a OM617A from a W123 Turbodiesel (300 TDT or American-only 300 CDT or 300 DT) to a standard 230 GE, 280 GE or 300 GD (They all share, as standard the same axles), or to buy a car with this conversion already made.
Or alternatively to fit an STT Turbo into a 460 300 GD or buy an already converted truck. I know that this was sucessfully done by a garage named Scandinavian Motors in North Narrabeen (Sydney) and that some 50 to 100 conversions were made in the eighties between 300Ds and 300 GDs so there must still be a few around. This setup, however, should not be abused or otherwise the engine will break since it id not as durable as the factory turbodiesel.
This STT conversion can also be done on the OM603 (six cylinder diesel) but it must also be treated with care.
Cheers
Hi
The problem with 463 MB turbo diesel Gs is that they are LHD only . None were ever made in RHD in the 463 series. The 461 series had rhd turbo diesel but they are fairly rare here in the UK. There are probably some in SA also. No idea about Japan The problem with your situation is Australian rules prevent regeristing any LHD vehicle for road use. So that limits your choice to 461s or aftermarket turbos.
The stresses on a turbo engine are high and the internals need to be rebuilt to prevent premature failure especially in the Oz heat
Thanks Roly
There seems to be no clear choice for me at the moment. I am pretty sure that MB S Africa offered the 290GD in RHD in the late 1990's (at a price that in hindsight seems very reasonable).
I am wary of taking a vehicle into the outback with any questions over reliability. perhaps I should move to petrol, in the 300GE.
Can we see the production numbers of the G anywhere? Iit would be a good reference when considering a purchase.
Thanks for your help.
Adrian
Adrian
The 463 300 GE is a fine vehicle. They are for sale here in the UK "fairly often" in RHD.They were sold 'till 94 here. I imagine impossible to find in Oz.
Check autotrader.co.uk and exchangeandmart.co.uk for Gs in UK and also this board. Shipping would be circa 2500£ + import duty in Oz. There are privatly imported 460 280 Gs in Oz not many though.
Landcruisers are very common :oops:
Can we see the production numbers of the G anywhere? Iit would be a good reference when considering a purchase.
Production figures for the 350 GDT/G350DT:
Convertible with fixed windshield 160
Station Wagon Short 1,681
Station Wagon Long 2,451
Total 4,292
All LHDs
You'll see the production numbers until the end of 2003 in the 25th anniversary book on the G.
Cheers
Thanks Roly and Jesus
The G350DT will not do me as it is LHD. That leaves the 6 cyl diesel or petrol. Now I need to find out when these were introduced, to see when I should start looking in Japan.
In sourcing a car, the Japanese market, as opposed to UK, makes a lot of sense as the vehicles are low mileage (small distances) and their road tax system is such that it costs a lot to keep older vehicles therefore their resale value is low. There are a few companies doing importing from Japan, they locate, evaluate, take photos, do importation, help arrange compliance mods. Only problem on the horizon is that the Aus government is talking about increasing the time 'limit' beyond 15years.
I appreciate info on when these models (463) first appeared.
Regards
Adrian
There are no diesels in Japan at all..... I don't know whether this is because they are not legal (for private use, I mean) or it's just that the Japanese don't want them (as it actually happens).
The first RHD 463s were manufactured in 1991 (LHDs started in 1989). So the oldest would now be approaching 13 years. As far as I know these are the models and years of 463 production:
300GD/G300D: 1991 to 1994
300GE/G300: 1991 to 1996 (SWB) and 1991 to 1997 (LWB)
G500: 1998 to 2000 (Cabrio and SWB) and 1997 to 2000 (LWB)
All things considered, your best bet would be an early RHD 300 GE (1991).
Perhaps you might like to put to the test the English-speaking abilities of the Japanese G-Wagen club:
http://gelaende-wagen.net/gindex01.htm
Or the main local G-Wagen specialist:
http://www.g-saeki.com/
Good luck,
Thanks Jesus
You are a mine of information! And thanks for the links to Japanese owners, that is my next step on this long road... I have joined the MB Club of W Australia to keep my eyes and ears open for other G owners, I know of only 3 in our immediate area.
Happy driving
Adrian
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Thanks for all the info.
The aftermarket turbocharged 5cyl reliability issues, is this purely a result of increased mechanical stresses I wonder or can reliability be improved by substantially increasing the engine cooling setup?
I have never seen a 350GDT, does anyone know how many were built?
Thanks again.
Adrian