New 917AF Expeditions Truck

Hello Everyone,

Ok we have been reading for a while and now we thought we wanted to share our new projekt with U Guys, but first a little about us.
At the time we are in Northern Sweden :elkgrin:, but have lived in Germany and the States many years.
We want to build our Truck here and do some "small" trips around here. :smiley_drive:
Some stops here in europe will include trip around the Baltic Sea, Spain, Greece, Denmark and who knows?
I would really like to travel to India, well we will see what trips will happen first. Then we will be coming back Home (USA) and travel North & South America until we want a none rolling home again.
We are moving up, from a VW Syncro. Was just getting too full, with our 2nd one on the way.

So get ready to hear a little bit more from us in the future.
Now to our new Projekt:

It is a Mercedes 917 AF 4x4, it has the 366 engine with 170HP (at the time) in it, has the quick Axels (at the time 95-100km with the small Tires, about 60mph) and only weighs about 4500KG (9900 lbs). :wings:

The future will hold a complete change for the Truck.

First it will be streched to a 147"- 158" wheelbase, not decided yet.

Then there will be a new Box installed, about 189" - 201" long.

New Tires will be 385/65 22,5 and should boost the top end to about 110kmh (67mph)

After that there are a million small things to do, to make it travel ready.
So be on the lookout for an interesting journey.

An ex-Military Bomb respond Truck to a full blown Expedition-Truck

:victory:


Mike & Nikki

P.S.: If anyone needs help from over here just let us know, we are more than happy to help if we can.

Allroader said:

It is a Mercedes 917 AF 4x4, it has the 366 engine with 170HP (at the time) in it, has the quick Axels (at the time 95-100km with the small Tires, about 60mph) and only weighs about 4500KG (9900 lbs). :wings:

The future will hold a complete change for the Truck.

First it will streched to a 147"- 158" wheelbase, not decided yet.

Then there will be a new Box installed, about 189" - 201" long.

New Tires will be 385/65 22,5 and should boost the top end to about 110kmh (67mph)

.

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Welcome. Perhaps you'll see my blue U500/Unicat in Europe in fall 2012 on its' return from SE Asia/China/Mongolia/Russia/Central Asia.
Are you sure the 170hp 366 will be enough for what sounds like a 9-10 ton camper (5m long)?
Does the current motor have oil cooled pistons to allow intercooler addition with fuel increase to ~240hp?
The load at constant speed will increase significantly with the larger tires and weight.

Charlie

Morning Charlie,

The engine has Piston cooling, which gives me the Option to boost the power to 240HP with original Parts.

The Total weight, once finished, will be around 7,5 Tons.

Your Trip sounds very intressting, but China how are you able to get you own Vehicle in the country? What I have heard, it is not possible to take your own vehicle over the boarder.
Sure we can meet, if we are somewhere in this area. 2012 is still a way to go and we'll be on the road by Spring '10, but always stoping back here to do upgrades, before we do the big trips.

Mike & Nikki

To drive your own vehicle in China you have to have a guide from a registered guide agency in the vehicle or in a convoy. This is very expensive. Diethelm has made me a 66 day itinerary from the Laos-Yunnan border, into Tibet, Sinkiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia.
In exchange for a lot of one's money they help with the paperwork related to the vehicle.
My (and others') experience with camper weight:
When we picked up the camper from Unicat it weighed (totally empty, almost no fuel and no water) 4200kg front/5700kg rear. Now - with full tanks, and all the spare parts, tools, front winch, recovery gear, food, personal items (the last 2 don't add up to much) - 4350kg front/8500kg rear.

http://www.unicat.net/en/info/TC49compact.html
The fuel capacity is much higher than listed, 612L in tanks plus 240L in jerrycans

Charlie

Hello Charlie,

Learned something new today, did not know that is was possible to get in China with the car.

Weight, well you already have about 250-300l more fuel on board. The I believe the weight of just the Mog to a LN Mercedes is about 1000+ kg diffrenz. Just the Frame, Cab and driveline weigh in at 4300-4400kg for me.
Plus I am guesing that we will have less goodies on Board, not we dont want them but the treasury department is only so big.

Once ours is finished It will be weighed and then we will see the exact Nr.

But, heh stop by and we'll get the grill going and chat, inspect and have fun all night.

Mike

A friend of mine has just got one of those !

You can see it here http://www.theoverlander.org/my-wheels/trucks/mercedes-917-af.html

They look a good bus, a lot less complicated than a mog, good luck with the build.
We are in Frankfurt in our truck at the moment, so if you are this way give us a shout.
Stan

Oil cooled Pistons?

Hi all. First post after a while lurking......

I've had a 917 AF for about 5 years now and reckon I now know a fair bit about these trucks but the oil-cooled pistons point is new to me. The reason I'm interested is that at 9 tons GVW the truck is pretty under powered and I've been pondering inter cooling the motor for some time. How does one find out (e.g. from the engine number/type etc) whether the motor has oil-cooled pistons? I'm not quite sure I understand why it's necessary to have these pistons other than the extra power the engine will produce; after all the the temperature of the intake air will be reduced which in turn will allow extra fuel to be injected.

Can someone help?

Regards

Q

You could ask the question of the Benzworld Unimog forum:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/unimog/
or you could one of the Hellgeths at
www.hellgeth.de
who are experts at Unimog tuning (which includes the 352 and 366 engine series)
However, if the engine is a 170hp 366A (5.9L), I'd make an educated guess that it does have spray cooled pistons. But someone else on the Benzworld forum or one of the Hellgeths would know much better than me if the motor can safely be increased to 240hp.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie. Much appreciated.

Q

Hello Everyone,

Well the Project is on it way.
So far it has been tons of prep and getting parts.
In the first week of Jan. the Truck will be extended, after that fitted with a new Box and then the fun shall start.

They look a good bus, a lot less complicated than a mog, good luck with the build.
We are in Frankfurt in our truck at the moment, so if you are this way give us a shout.
Stan

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This is the reason we didn't go with a mog. Lots of Parts, that we don't need but will have to be repaired.
If you are heading North to sweden, stop by.


@ Quintin
It sounds like you have my Truck. :smiley_drive:
What are you looking for? More Speed or more Power?
You say you have a 917 AF, like mine then you have the 366 engine with Turbo. That would include the oil-cooled pistons.
A Couple things you can do to get more Power & Speed:
- larger Tires for more Speed, I got them at Fabian Heidtmann
- You can add a Inter Cooler, original Mercedes
- Change Transmission to a 6 Speed or 6 Speed Split, the 6 Speed would be a pretty easy swap and not that expensive
- Also you can have the Diesel Pump worked over, can safely gain about 30HP


These are just some Ideas, we are looking to have a High Speed of 110-130kmh (~69-82 mph) . This will give us a nice cruising Speed of 90-110 kmh (~55-69 mph).
To reach this goal we have the Quick Axels, Larger Tires = ~110kmh
To gain the extra Speed I will be looking for a 6 Speed Trans, Intercooler and/or have the Pump tweeked. This will be depending on what becomes avalible for a reasonable price.


That's all for today

Mike

Hi Mike

Yes we have the same truck. You can see pictures of mine here http://picasaweb.google.com/Bridget.Quintin (as well as piccies of a trip we did to W Africa).

I've done lots to the vehicle-bigger tyres (365/85 R20 Continental MPT-with a 110 Km/H rating), 'fast' axles, rebuilt injectors/pumps etc, separate exhaust brake, 450 litre fuel tank, 2 spare wheels etc, etc. Truck has smart charging for the leisure side, solar and generator, LED lights etc. I've lost count of all the changes. I didn't convert the interior though! (see pictures).

I don't want to go faster; I'm quite happy at 90KmH but I would like to remain at that speed. Merest sight of a hill, the speed drops off and down the (6-speed) box I go. It can be embarrassingly slow on occasions but it is heavy. So I need to intercool and work the injector pump. You don't happen to know the Mercedes part number do you? My Parts DVD won't install on my new computer and the local Mercedes dealers are hopeless. In exchange I'll give you the part numbers for the 'fast' (4.3:1) crown wheels and pinions!

Thanks for the info about the pistons

Best wishes

Q

Hello Quintin,

Nice Truck, some questions. How long, wide & Heigh is your box "Shelter".
What wheelbase do you have and the travel ready weight of your rig.

I don't have the part Nr's yet, still very early for me, but I send a mail to a friend who will get them for me. Might take a couple days, with X-mas and so. Yeah please send me the part numbers for the 'fast' (4.3:1) crown wheels and pinions. Either PM, email or here.

Other then that there is nothing new, collecting my parts for the heating system and so on.
Can't wait to start working on it. Then start planing the first trip, so far the AMR Meeting in Germany is on the list, in july heading up North (well more up north) with some friends.

Mike

Hi Mike

Overall height of the truck is 3.65 Metres, width 2.5M and overall length about 9 Metres. The box is 7 metres long. The box is too big really; in fact the whole truck is too long and if I were starting from new I'd limit the overall length to 7 metres Max. If you're going to mount the new box using a 3-point link, unless you go for one of those smart Unicat or similar boxes with a roof that you can raise, you'll struggle to get the height much less than 3.6M-especially if you fit R 22.5 tyres. I don't find the height or the width much of a problem (though it can be a bit over-powering and threatening in small African villages). However I have had a truck license for many years. I think the truck weighs about 9 tonnes. It weighed 7.49 before I put the big tank on and the rear wheel carrier but to be honest I've never had the courage to weigh it since!

The part numbers are as follows:
Front axle



A 383 330 16 39 RING GEAR AND PINION 40:7 This was the ratio fitted to my Vehicle



A 383 330 02 39 “ “ 42:8



A 676 330 00 39 “ “ 43:10 *** This is the ratio you want.



Rear Axle



A 383 350 01 39 RING GEAR AND PINION 40:7



A 383 350 07 39 “ “ 42:8



A 383 350 04 39 “ “ 43:10



There theoretically are a number of other ratios 48:7, 41:6, 39:8 and 38:8 but as these are all much 'shorter' than the others, I haven’t listed their numbers. The parts are bloody expensive, Rear nigh on (UK prices) £1,000 + VAT and the front £1,274 + VAT. However, to give yourself a reasonable speed without red-lining the motor you've no option.

I'm not in a rush to do the intercooling job (it's too cold right now!) so anytime will do. I suspect I'll have also to change the inlet manifold as well to plumb-in the intercooler output. Incidentally, what Mercedes trucks have the intercooled 240bhp fitted? Might be able to find what I need from a scrap yard.

Incidentally, I can put you in touch with a friend of mine in France who is doing the same job as you on a Volvo FL6 4x4 and has done a lot of work sourcing suitable box bodies to convert.

Best

Q

Hi Mike and hello again Quintin (I'm 'ClassicCruiser on the 'Hubb'),


Just to confirm that I'm running a 917 on Michelin XZY 22.5" and I have a top speed of +/- 110kph 70mph no probs.

The engine will do the 70mph but both the engine and the chassis/steering feel better at around 60 - 62 ish. Much quieter and less lane wander at that speed.
If you know the A38 'Holden Hill' just south of Exeter towards Plymouth, it's a long and steep climb, I dropped to 45mph getting up there but otherwise constant 60 - 65mph is a breeze meaning that I can often run in the middle lane outside of the 56mph limited trucks and hence not get caught up in that logjam.

I have always understood the the 366 engine as standard has 140hp (non-turbo), 170hp (turbo), and 240hp (turbo + intercooler).
These are all standard Merc designations as in 914 - 917 - 924 etc.

Cheers,

Steve

Hi,

After getting my Truck to our home, we had a top speed of 117km on GPS.
Main thing is to have a nice traveling speed.

I have always understood the the 366 engine as standard has 140hp (non-turbo), 170hp (turbo), and 240hp (turbo + intercooler).
These are all standard Merc designations as in 914 - 917 - 924 etc.

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You are correct, those are the most commen. But the intercooler Version was also made with 200hp and 220hp. But if we upgrade we'll go all the way to 240hp. :victory:
But one thing at a time.

Mike