Question about an engine:

HARPERC

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Spokane, WA
Not a car guy at all, but looking at smaller to mid-size RV's

I came across a Mercedes that has a V6 3L diesel. Vehicle over all doesn't meet my needs, but the engine wasn't familiar.

It seems a little small for an RV motor to me.

Your thoughts?
 
I currently work for Daimler Commercial Vehicles.
The Mercedes-Benz OM642 engine is a 3.0 litres, 24-valve, aluminium/aluminium block and heads diesel 72° V6 engine manufactured by the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler AG.
It is a verry reliable engine, power output is 188-261 hp (140-195 kW)/3,600-4,000
Torque, lb ft 325-457 lb-ft (440-620 Nm)/1,600-2,400.

The first thing that starts to fail on this engine is the crankcase ventilation system. Driving mostly in the city and low-quality fuel contribute to the formation of a large amount of deposits inside the intake system. The crankcase ventilation system vents to the intake of the turbocharger. The vented oily air easily goes through the turbo blades and this oil and sludge begin to accumulate on walls of the intake channels, swirl valves and etc. Mercedes-Benz has stated that this engine feature is "normal". Therefore, for vehicles equipped with an OM642 3.0L diesel engines, it will be helpful to clean an air intake manifold, intake pipes, and crankcase ventilation pipes every 60-80k miles. Otherwise, the swirl valves may be stuck and an overloading electric drive motor will blow a fuse that controls other sensors. If it will happen, the vehicle enters the "limp home" mode and limits engine speed.

The next problem applies to engines manufactured before 2010. The pre-2010 OM642 engines often had oil leaks from the oil cooler. This issue happened due to heat-related seal degradation. In 2010, the manufacturer replaced the previous orange seals with more durable Viton seals. New seals have a purple color.

Injector copper seals are known to fail, causing a build up of heavy carbon deposits around the injector. The car begins to smoke and lose power. As a result, it all ends with the failure of the fuel injectors (known in the shop as "Black Death").

These engines are fitted to just about 98% of ambulances in Australia and they do a great job.
 
Not a car guy at all, but looking at smaller to mid-size RV's

I came across a Mercedes that has a V6 3L diesel. Vehicle over all doesn't meet my needs, but the engine wasn't familiar.

It seems a little small for an RV motor to me.

Your thoughts?
Carl, You gonna get a Motorhome and come see me ?
 
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Driving mostly in the city and low-quality fuel contribute to the formation of a large amount of deposits inside the intake system.

As a result, it all ends with the failure of the fuel injectors (known in the shop as "Black Death").

These engines are fitted to just about 98% of ambulances in Australia and they do a great job.
Thank You! Would never be used around town.

Kind of saw the Black Death in a VW diesel I owned briefly many years ago.

I see them in the Ambulance, and "mid size" vans and trucks, how heavy a vehicle do you think they would be suitable for?
 
Carl, You gonna get a Motorhome and come see me ?
If I'm driving again post op I may end up anywhere. If that's an invitation I would love to take you up on it.

Just day dreaming right now. Lots of folks I'd like to meet first hand, and you're high on that list. Lots of sights I'd like to see, maybe share with my grandson on a road trip.
 
If I'm driving again post op I may end up anywhere. If that's an invitation I would love to take you up on it.

Just day dreaming right now. Lots of folks I'd like to meet first hand, and you're high on that list. Lots of sights I'd like to see, maybe share with my grandson on a road trip.
Your always welcome at my place anytime
 
A friend is renting a Class C with this engine for a week in July. This engine is reported to have a lot better mileage and climb hills better than the typical RV gas engines. Diesel is about 10 cents a gallon less here as well.
 
Another one those threads that makes me love this Forum.......where else! I always have a kind of a morbid curious about RV's......we lived in a Rv trailer while building our house, and it made me swear off ever owning one😁
It felt like I worked on it as much as my house. It got to the point where my father in-law started telling me to drag it down the road 10 miles and back and whatever was wrong would be fixed. It was only 6 years old, but had been lived in my several family's while building. So it had been used continuously, definitely not what they were designed for. Finally after 14 years it's wearing off and taking a trip in one has a slight pull at my heart strings.
 
Thank You! Would never be used around town.

Kind of saw the Black Death in a VW diesel I owned briefly many years ago.

I see them in the Ambulance, and "mid size" vans and trucks, how heavy a vehicle do you think they would be suitable for?
4490 kilograms
9898.756 pounds
Is max GVM on most vehicles this engine is suited to.
 
Some of the late model Fords have a crankcase ventilation problem of to much oil going through it to the intake. There are some kits to put a catch can inline to collect the the oil instead of it going into the intake. You have to periodically empty the can but it should help reduce intake and turbo oil and carbon buildup.
 
Always been curious on the smaller diesel motors. We bought a 2015 Ford chassis based class A with their V10. At 29700 miles, we had to replace the engine.... ford's customer service was garbage and they tried everything to get out of the warranty. This is the one time that I was happy we had the extended warranty. We had $16k of work done(about 9k worth, but that's a different story) I hate to recommend something I feel is fear based and bad investment, but get the warranty! We use ours all the time, long trips for months on end and are living in it while building our house right now... most folks who buy an RV just have an expensive lawn ornament with a storage bill. RV rental for a guy in the fence is a good idea. Also make sure you can service the unit locally. Some outfits won't do motor work. There's only one place in the Spokane area that could replace the engine in a gas class A....
 
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