So I had to drive a Dodge Sprinter 750 miles last week .
Normally I'm in a big rig so this was something new for me .
Anywayz , when I looked under the hood , I see a 642 cu.in. (according to the sticker on the rad support) V8 Mercedes diesel .The sticker also said 154h.p.
Sounded pretty strange , 642 cid and only 154 h.p. ! Well when I got in and drove it , WOW !! what a rocket ship ! Right up to 65mph when the **** governor kicked in and spoiled the fun .
So after the run , I checked the fuel mileage and it was 23mpg. Pretty good I'd say .
Anybody else ever drive one ? What was your experience ?

 

Oh, that 23mpg included 5 hours of idling .

 

The wife and I looked at an original model with the inline motor and really liked them. We really liked the older one that had the low roof and short wheel base. I just couldn't get over not having 4x4 or AWD. I never did look at the new version, plus the high cost and little to none off the sticker really pushed me away from them. Overall, I liked the simplicity and options, but stuck with my pickup instead.

Have a good one.

 

We have a couple at work, 2002's. They work fairly well. Pretty peppy and yeah good mileage.

 

I dont know why the sticker said that for cubes, mostly because its a foreign engine builder so you would think it would be in litres, and those are only a v6 and 3.0l if my memory serves me correctly. I will say though, they are peppy little things!
DS79

 

Hey deerslayer , So it's a 3.0L v6 ? That makes a lot more sense than 642 cu. in. I did think that it was a V8 . I guess I should take a closer look at it next time .

 

Yeah, I thought they were 3.0 also. I have a couple customers with them and they really like them. As said, good mileage, enough pep and lots of interior room.

 

One thing I forgot to mention though, if you have to work on them, they suck! My last employer had them and the techs had to go to Sprinter specific training. The one thing that stood out to me was that you could only jack the truck up in 4 places. If you did jack someplace else you take the chance of bending the frame. Oh and the fuel filters suck A LOT to change.
DS79

 

I had a good look at the engine label again and now I saw where it said CID 182 , so yeah it's a 3.0 l . I'm lucky , I'll never have to work on it .

 

Impressive fuel efficiency, but the thing that turned me off to them other than the lack of a front drive axle was the towing rating. The efficiency numbers are shocking though. Unloaded the smaller chassis get into the 30's! And most can get 25 fully loaded.

 

I'll add my 2 cents. I had a new 2005 & loved it, great mileage, good in the snow, long run on tires. BUT at 230,000kms it threw a glow plug. I took the head off-aluminum. Toast. Parts for it were ridiculously priced by Chrysler . The engines are meant to run up to 800,000kms & toss em. You could not give me another one. It has to be built in North America. Parts accessibility here in Canada was extremely limited in the after market. I'll take the Cummins over the Mercedes diesel anytime.

 

Sorry to hear that. Parts availability should get better with time (hopefully) since Fedex and UPS are using them as delivery trucks now. Alongside UPS's old skool aluminum bodied diesel repowered ancient box trucks, that is.

I wonder if the glowplug lifespan is adversely affected by emissions driven already running cycles. IE glow plugs continue to cycle after the rig is running. On older Fords a lot of folks put the glow plug on a toggle to nearly eliminate premature wear on glow plugs.

With delivery carriers snatching them up, I see them becoming more and more common, so parts availability and aftermarket support are hopefully not far behind.

 

I've driven one a few times test driving after working on em. It drives pretty well, comfortable, and it does have decent get up and go. But yes, PITA to work on. It doesnt even come with a dipstick to check trans fluid. It just has a cap, you have to buy a special dipstick made just for it, and it doesnt stay on the vehicle, found that kinda strange. Only problem they had with it was a taillight went completely dead. Tried to repair it, but there's no wires in the thing, its all just like metal strips, never did figure it out, ordered a new one. OTR mercedes engines are a pain, too. I used to change out injector lines all the time, #4 would crack constantly