Sprinter 308D questions

[fedralseth666]

Hi there im new to the forum and from the u.k.

i recently bought a 97 308d sprinter with 290000 mile on the clock. its a cracking van and a great improvement over my old transit but im a bit stuck on a few things.

its only a 2.3 normally aspirated diesel engine and it struggles a lot whilst trying to pull up long hills, on the motorway it seems like 5th gear is just too long for the motor to pull and you end up with you foot flat to the floor and the speed continues to drop off, i end up droping down into 4th and just putting along at 60mph. is this normal?

ive only filled the tank once and it returned 25 mpg and covered 430 miles on a tank, is there any advice to get better mpg out of it?

my big question is, will the 2.9 turbo diesel unit from a 310 or 312 model drop streight into the 308 in place of the 2.3 motor and will the 2.9 have the same bell housing to fit the gearbox?

any info much apreciated. Tim.

[Altered Sprinter]

Hello Tim
The 2.7 2.9 CDi will drop straight in , the engine to gearbox will also bolt up wireing looms I'm not sure about! but if you log into the local UK brickyard forum I'm sure there would be some back door jail Byrd's who could give you the full quid as to what's what.
I'd be looking for the 313 CDi as this is latest motor for ULSD fuels which you know have it can be rigged to run electronic free as your unit has no ABS or traction control with ESP unless it was a optioned up unit.
27MPG or 10 to one hundred per litre will come into a fact with careful driving if in CDB except no more than 20 to 23 mpg Hi way good flat run 30 MPG to 32 at the most, loaded or unloaded.
With the 313 you;ll fly up any hill in top gear without power loss unless you get stuck behind a lorry then its back to fourth to blow him out of your way,
Richard

[fedralseth666]

Music to my ears Richard!

when i source the right unit i think this is what ill do and recoup some of the cash spent by selling the old 2.3 lump, or maybe i could throw it my my old landrover.

a possibility is to buy a SSANGYONG Musso cheap and pull the 2.9 5 cyl turbo engine out of that. id go to a 313cdi engine but they are still very very expensive to buy used in the uk.

[Altered Sprinter]

Music to my ears Richard!

when i source the right unit i think this is what ill do and recoup some of the cash spent by selling the old 2.3 lump, or maybe i could throw it my my old landrover.
What land Rover has not had an engine transplant of some sort, over time would have me thinking forever? My guess it's had the lot:laughing:

a possibility is to buy a SSANGYONG Musso cheap and pull the 2.9 5 cyl turbo engine out of that. id go to a 313cdi engine but they are still very very expensive to buy used in the uk.

SSangtong has a Mercedes engine so that's a thought, you'd need to check it out though, There has been many arguments over this engine as to quality, and that is the metal content in the engine , many have broken down or blown up down under so, I have reservations on it's reliability, But I admit it's speculative as to fact or myth.

What ever you do to the Sprinter will cost you more penny's than it's worth, but if you do it, then Pimp it to the Hilt and enjoy your ride, after all they don't make the model any more a rebirth can be fun if it's done right.
313 CDI can be found at the local breakers yard but I'd think they are the rarer of the engines as they are in between economy of the 311 to 316 range, but in my opinion they are the best of the bunch to choose from , powerful economic and long lasting.
Richard
1576

[mickj44]

Good to see another 308D on the forum we must keep in touch with the fit outs....What was the first year of the Mercedes Sprinters in the UK in Australia mine is a August 1998 and this was two months after the release date :thinking: Also for others what was the first date of the US models.............
I put a after market turbo on 4x4 and it had a huge power increase ...On the sprinter I may try the EFI Diesel Tuning Modules they claim 35% more power but need to find out more.....
My 308D has 58kw @ 3800 rpm with 2300cc engine but 308CDI spec sheet has the 2150cc turbo at 60kw (82hp) @ 3800 rpm.......
Will think and ask about this later as the fit out is more important :thumbup: