The Conversion of My
1985 Mercedes 190D

I will have a heated tank, heated filter and injector heaters.
I want to keep it simple.
I'm in Saint Louis and it gets pretty cold in the winter, therefore, lots of heat.

I started my conversion at the rear....the fuel tank. I found a 190 in the salvage yard and bought the fuel tank. While there, I bought an evaporator tank off a Mercedes Turbo. It's about 6" x 18" and made from aluminum. I chose an aluminum evaporator
tank over a copper tranny cooler because it will not react with the VO and the
heat transfer is better. Here is my tank:


After I cut the access panel in the top of the fuel tank, I decided to weld the aluminum
outlet pipes to the bottom of the tank so it would be easy to install. (The picture
shows the pipes on the side I didn't end up using).
Here are some in progress pictures:

Access panel cut.


Here is the evaporator tank installed right next to the fuel pickup.


Here is the brass fitting on the bottom of the tank. Soldered and JB Welded!



Bottom of tank: coolant in-return-vent-fuel supply-coolant out (L to R)


Completed tank with top soldered and sealed.
Notice the sending unit. This will come in handy later!

I installed two 3 port pollack valves on the drivers side fender well.
Here, you can see one of them.



I replaced the original inline fuel filter with a Tee. I attached the return hose, the diesel line
from the pollack valve, and the engine supply to the Tee.





I attached the diesel supply from the tank to the pollack valve, with a new filter.
(Notice the return line to the tank is plugged with a bolt, this was changed
when I put in the second valve.)





Next, I ran the hoses from the trunk to the front. I cut holes in side trunk wells. This
gave me a way to get around the drivetrain. The channel runs to the back seat, exits
through another access hole and then out the floor.
Drivers side trunk:


Back Seat:



Passenger side trunk:


Back seat:



Under the car (return side)



Here is the trunk with the tank in place and hooked up.



Here is the fuel line heater that I made. I wrapped it
with some "Magic Tape" I found at Lowes with a 200 degree rating.



Here is the inline filter on the return side. It helpes me determine my switchover
times by looking at the fuel inside.



This is the passenger side of the engine. I have heard that it is hard
to get a Mercedes to flow back to the trrunk. My solution, put a shut-off
where I tied into the heater line. You can barely see the red handle.
This is on the return side, but that's the
only side where there is any room.



Here is the drivers side, supply side. I installed a radiator drain
cock to bleed the lines. TIGHT FIT!



Here is the control panel I made for under the left dash.
The blue LED/switch is for the heater. The temperature is taken
just before the valve. The green
light tells me that the veggie tank is at 160 degrees. The silver switch is
to change over to veggie.



So far, so good. I have 1000 miles on my conversion with no problems.
At 800 miles I had to change the inline filter in the trunk. $2.79, 5 minutes.
I am lucky to have a great restraunt called Salvatores that supplies me
with my veggie oil. If you want to help the cause, give them a visit! The food
is fantastic and I can use the oil!


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