I'm starting this as a separate thread from my main 404 build thread since it will be done at a @Sceeps pace and will be easier to keep posts grouped together.
Scotty .... I need more power! The M180 in my 404 is feeling pretty tired and leaks oil out of damn near every place it could. The previous owner knew nothing about the engine, he bought it and drove it so I don’t know much about its life. The stock 80HP M180 engine pushes a 404 to a top speed of 60mph. These are certainly factory numbers as most report 45-50mph going downhill with the wind. The overall gearing plays a major factor but ... 80HP is 80HP.
Lots of people have swapped in other engines for more power, the selection is pretty limited since there is so little space under the hood. I’ve looked into early Golf TDIs and the Jeep 4.0. Both have been done with a good amount of mods to the 404. As a long time Jeep guy, I was leaning towards the 4.0 because it’s arguably one of the best carb’d inline 6 engines out there. The only other option is the Mercedes M130. The M130 was based off the same block the M180 is, this series of blocks were made for nearly 20yrs. It’s ‘almost’ a bolt in, I’d call it a bolt in considering the amount of work the other two options would need. I preferred this option to keep the Unimog as MB as possible, the version I wanted was just impossible to find at a decent price.
The M130s were in the Mercedes 280S vehicles from the late 60s / early 70s. Many of the late M130s were fuel injected but the M130.920 had a dual carb setup. It was the last and largest of the “mid-sized” straight six engines MB made. They had all the bells and whistles as far as these engines go …. Which also made the M130.920 a bit of a unicorn. If somebody had one, they wanted $$$ for it, rebuilt stock versions go for $10k+. Luckily, I found a guy scrapping a rusted out mostly gutted but running 280s. For $1,500 that was a hell of a deal so I jumped on it.
So with this engine I'll nearly double the horsepower and keep it all MB. I'm pretty happy about that. Aside from that this M130 has a few other advantages. I'm currently running a propane setup on my mog so the higher compression head will help as far as that goes. 10:1 to 12:1 is an ideal compression range for propane. This gets me closer to that and with the 7 main bearings I'd feel safe adding a small turbo to bump that up more. Again, I know nothing about this engine other than it was running and the guy did a shit job pulling it from the car. So it's off to the machine shop to be cleaned up, checked out and rebuilt.
As I said it's "almost" a drop in conversion. Here is what has to be done, most of this info comes from Scott at Expedition Importers
Scotty .... I need more power! The M180 in my 404 is feeling pretty tired and leaks oil out of damn near every place it could. The previous owner knew nothing about the engine, he bought it and drove it so I don’t know much about its life. The stock 80HP M180 engine pushes a 404 to a top speed of 60mph. These are certainly factory numbers as most report 45-50mph going downhill with the wind. The overall gearing plays a major factor but ... 80HP is 80HP.
Lots of people have swapped in other engines for more power, the selection is pretty limited since there is so little space under the hood. I’ve looked into early Golf TDIs and the Jeep 4.0. Both have been done with a good amount of mods to the 404. As a long time Jeep guy, I was leaning towards the 4.0 because it’s arguably one of the best carb’d inline 6 engines out there. The only other option is the Mercedes M130. The M130 was based off the same block the M180 is, this series of blocks were made for nearly 20yrs. It’s ‘almost’ a bolt in, I’d call it a bolt in considering the amount of work the other two options would need. I preferred this option to keep the Unimog as MB as possible, the version I wanted was just impossible to find at a decent price.
The M130s were in the Mercedes 280S vehicles from the late 60s / early 70s. Many of the late M130s were fuel injected but the M130.920 had a dual carb setup. It was the last and largest of the “mid-sized” straight six engines MB made. They had all the bells and whistles as far as these engines go …. Which also made the M130.920 a bit of a unicorn. If somebody had one, they wanted $$$ for it, rebuilt stock versions go for $10k+. Luckily, I found a guy scrapping a rusted out mostly gutted but running 280s. For $1,500 that was a hell of a deal so I jumped on it.
M180.928 Specs:
| M130.920 Specs:
|
So with this engine I'll nearly double the horsepower and keep it all MB. I'm pretty happy about that. Aside from that this M130 has a few other advantages. I'm currently running a propane setup on my mog so the higher compression head will help as far as that goes. 10:1 to 12:1 is an ideal compression range for propane. This gets me closer to that and with the 7 main bearings I'd feel safe adding a small turbo to bump that up more. Again, I know nothing about this engine other than it was running and the guy did a shit job pulling it from the car. So it's off to the machine shop to be cleaned up, checked out and rebuilt.
As I said it's "almost" a drop in conversion. Here is what has to be done, most of this info comes from Scott at Expedition Importers
- Oil Pan
- The M180 oil pan has to be adapted for use because there are two struts attached between the sump and the bell-housing. These keep the engine and the rest of the drivetrain aligned.
- The M180 oil pan is stout and the M130's rod bolts won't clear. Need to grind 1/16 - 1/8" of material from the pan to clear.
- Oil Pump
- With the M180 oil pan on, the M130 pump does not clear the front of it.
- Plan to remove the pressure relief, plug the hole and screw it into the front oil galley. One pressure relief valve is apparently enough with these.
- Flywheel Mods
- Needs to be balanced. A lot of the 1/2 moon will as to be removed since it was designed to balance the M180 crank
- Need new stretch bolts and the holes need to be drilled out to 12mm
- Alignment Dowels
- The M130 dowels are much bigger than the M180's, these will have to be replaced.
- Intake/Exhaust
- I know I don't want dual carbs like the M130 has.
- Engine space is tight, a custom plenum will allow me to get the intake in a better spot for cold air/snorkel in the future
- I'm leaning towards headers power and to get that heat out and away faster. 404 engine bays and cabs are HOT
- Going to fabricate both with the help from our latest vendor (that I hope we announce soon!)
- Misc
- Plug heater hose pipe at rear of head
- Mount & Plumb new engine oil cooler
- Need a pilot bearing
- Drop in and send it
