Hello all,

I would like to use this thread to introduce myself. I used to visit 190rev infrequently - hardly ever posting - and stopped for some unknown reason. Today, I tried to remember the name of that forum and Google was not being helpful until this thread jogged my memory.

I’m disappointed to learn that 190rev is gone, but look forward to actively participating here. I have a 2.6L automatic that has been sitting for a few years. I originally intended to mod the heck out of it, but ultimately decided against it after reading this thread. I will keep it true to the design as the engineers had intended.

Like others, I’m not happy with the development of modern social media. It’s making it truly difficult to archive information in an accessible manner. I’ve eschewed most forms of social media, with the exception of forums because it’s a great way to share information with likeminded folks.

Earlier today, I encountered a mid-30s man driving a lovely 2.3L. Seeing that beautiful car on the road encouraged me to want to get my car running. Ultimately, my goal is to set it up as a daily driver.

I’m in love with the boxy shape of the W201, and the solid clunk of the closing doors. I would much rather have a manual transmission, but maybe this automatic will grow on me.

Thank you all for your contributions!

Welcome smgak, the more 190e owners the better! Excited to see what your first projects will be. After mine sat a long time. I started with fluids ,plugs, new alternator and stayed prepared for rubber(joints and bushings) to start failing at any time. You might need to refresh those, key fuel components and replace the o2 sensor to trust it as a daily. My sway bar is currently knocking due to failed bushings, just got new ones from dealer this week!

These cars had a huge hype phase which I’m excited has died down recently and weeded out the trendy social media folks. Prices are coming back down too and if you can, try to get a parts car. I’d say almost all of us here are serious and/or long time owners.

Other than that they are fun and reliable car. It could be a bit faster but they don’t really need to be modded outside handling and cosmetics. I have been researching small turbo set ups admittedly though. But again welcome and we would love to see your car!

Thanks for the warm welcome, BetterDaze. I remember replacing the plugs, but I’m sure I’ll have to address the fluid and rubber bushings.

Thank you for the tip about the O2 sensor. Is it still an easily found part?

I don’t think I would be able to get a parts car due to limited storage space, but I could find room if it were a 16v!

I don’t mind the fact that these cars are a bit slow. In fact, I’m actually pleased. A fast car is fun, but terribly boring at sane speeds. I think I’d like to chuck on some cheap all-season tires for some low-speed entertainment.

… and now I’m already breaking my rule about not modding the car! I’m contemplating changing the final drive to something shorter. The reason is twofold: it will enhance the drivability/entertainment at lower speeds, and I don’t see any reason for this car to attempt to reach the advertised top speed.

That honestly doesn’t seem like a bad idea. I always felt like the gearing is kinda long on the 2.6 auto too, and that will make the car quicker on the low end. It already spins tires as is so I can imagine the fun.

the o2 sensor should be easy to get but can be hard to remove. There are also two types, lift the passenger carpet closest to the center console and seat you should find the connector to be able to tell.

Also I recommend getting ahead of any rust, check the bottom door trim seal, jack points and front wheel wells near bumper. I’d even pull the plastic buckets in the trunk “cubbies” to make sure water hasn’t crept in there over the years. I have been lazy about fixing my rust but only because I’m waiting for a body kit so I can cover it after permanently sealing it all.

Welcome to the forum smgak. Good to have you. You mentioned changing the differential of your 2.6. I should comment. Both my cars are the preferred 3.27 diff from the factory but I had picked up 3.07 and 2.87 diffs from the junk yards as well. I decided to not change mine to 3.07 at the end but I'm thinking... If changing from 3.07/2.87 to a 3.27 is worth the hassle on an automatic. May not even be desired. I say this because I assume it will mess up the ABS situation because the sensor in the back would not match the front sensors and something else had to be changed. I do not have experience in this but those are my initial thoughts.

If you are going to change anything in the car, I would recommend a 5 speed swap for that 2.6, but they are rather hard to find. The good news is that MB dealerships still carried all the parts needed for refurbishing a manual transmission which would be needed after 30+ years. But sourcing the transmission is a problem in the US. They are quite rare now.

- Cheers!

Thank you for the guidance. I’ll have to poke around first before I order some spare O2 sensors.

And good idea about checking for rust. That’s something I’ve never thought about. Although I live in California and rust is typically a minimal concern, I didn’t check to see whether the car is fully sealed from the elements, which it probably isn’t given that it’s 30+ years old.

So if I found a used 5 speed transmission, I could buy the remaining parts from the dealership? They would have the clutch pedal and other ancillaries?

Ultimately I think a manual transmission would be ideal for me. With or without it, I would still think a rear differential swap would be fun enough to wake the car up. I found a diagram of the available rear diff ratios for the W201, and have decided that the 3.92 would be a hoot.

https://www.benzworld.org/attachment...s-gif.2891828/

You do bring up an excellent point about the ABS sensors. I will have to do some research about its functionality before I proceed to consider this further. I’ll let you know what I find.

And thank you for your warm welcome dolucasi!

Welcome smgak. We do like vehicle pictures in this group. I agree with your overall view of social media. I do like this group in this forum. Everyone is friendly and tries their best to help whoever has posted a problem they need help with. We'll do the same for you. Now to be the group, party pooper. If you want my 2 cents of advice, swapping in a manual transmission and changing out your differential is more trouble than it's worth. Such swaps always lead to more trouble because W201s are known to be cranky when pars different from the parts they left the factory are used. You certainly want to take care of any mechanical issues, swap out deteriorating rubber hoses and bushings along with any frayed or warn electrical wiring and of course change all of the fluid Be sure to only use MB coolant when you flush the radiator. W201 radiators have plastic insides that can be seriously damaged if non-MB coolant is used. You also want to be sure to check for rust as Betterdaze has suggested. You'll likely find some in a car that's more than 30 years old. Rust only gets worse, not better if it's let untreated. Again, happy to add a new member to our group.

I'm glad you're back. I was beginning to think that I needed to check up on you to make sure everything is ok. You need to install your suspension bushings asap so nothing more gets damaged. I would also urge you to get after your rust because rust only gets worse not better and the worse it is, the more expensive it is to fix it. I also wouldn't add a turbo to your car. It was never designed for a turbo and will be more trouble than it's worth. Turbos can be very finicky in addition to the annoying turbo lag that too many turbos still do. As for W201 values, the really high quality well documented cars are still continuing to go up in value. They really have to be top notch to get the high prices. W201s today are still selling for way more than bargain beaters now that the classic car community is beginning to discover what great cars they are and the by gone automotive era they represent. Just my 2 cents..

Hello 190Efan,

Thank you too for welcoming me. I appreciate the warning about selecting the proper coolant, as well as being a party pooper about the manual swap. I think it’s important to remain realistic about all possible outcomes, and am eager to learn from your experiences.

From what you all have said, I will devote my time into addressing all the consumable, maintenance items as well as identifying and stamping out traces of rust.

Regarding the wiring: was this car also equipped with biodegradable wiring harnesses, like the ones that plague the mid-90s SL and S-Classes?

Thanks!

One of my favorite quotes. If people are not laughing at your dreams, your dreams aren't big enough.

Its your car and your money do what makes you happy. Its not like you are moding a 300sl gullwing and really even then its your car. I am building a 190e right now but I don't think may here would appreciate it, that doesn't stop me though i just don't post about it here.

Enjoy your car, do what you want and have fun while you do it.

So if I found a used 5 speed transmission, I could buy the remaining parts from the dealership? They would have the clutch pedal and other ancillaries?

Ultimately I think a manual transmission would be ideal for me. With or without it, I would still think a rear differential swap would be fun enough to wake the car up. I found a diagram of the available rear diff ratios for the W201, and have decided that the 3.92 would be a hoot.

https://www.benzworld.org/attachment...s-gif.2891828/

You do bring up an excellent point about the ABS sensors. I will have to do some research about its functionality before I proceed to consider this further. I’ll let you know what I find.

And thank you for your warm welcome dolucasi!

DOLUCASI>> 3.94 ratio is way too tall for a standard auto/manual grearbox. I would discourage that. I think the only plug and play drive replacement for these cars is a manual swap. And you will actually add $2000 - $3000 value to the car once it is done as opposed to devaluing the car with a diff swap. My personal opinion.

When/if you do find a manual transmission, it has to come with all the parts (shifter, links, pedals) and they usually do. You can not find most of these from the dealer. The dealerships will sell you the wear items only: throwout bearing, clutch, pressure plate, link bushings (not links), transmission seal kit, reverse gear yoke in the transmission, shifter bushings and various parts in the shifter, master and slave cylinders, etc. I have purchased most of these 2-3 years ago when I rebuilt my original clutch at ~210K miles. Shifter rebuild made a huge difference and it now shifts like it was brand new again.

On the drive issue here is my experience: When I purchased the car in '89 I had to own a 6 cylinder because I wanted smoother idle and, did not want to be able to tell if the AC compressor kicks in while on the highway, wanted to climb any hill in 5th gear. The 3.27 diff on a 2.6 accomplishes all this. After the break-in period I took the car to over 100mph and was amazed how smooth it was, free of engine noise and it was just gliding thru the road. The 5th gear in the manual helps a lot of course. Also, I have not encountered any hill that I can not climb at 80mph in 5th gear at ~3000 rpm.

- Cheers!

thanks 190efan I hope you have been doing well too! I was traveling the first part of the year and just returned home a few weeks ago and picking up where I left off with the car. A few things have gone stale on it but my goal for the summer is to install all the parts I’ve been sitting on.

in Ohio you can still get a restore worthy car for +/-2k the nicer ones for sure are going up. A parts car even cheaper but lack of space still prevents me to. There was a huge IG and YouTube wave in the past few years but I don’t see the same level of hype lately.

You're welcome. The W201 does not have the biodegradable wiring. Since your car is more than 30 years old, it's wise to check the condition of the wiring to be sure that it's not frayed or worn and to be sure that the wiring connections are free from dirt and grime. The MB Classic Center in CA> actually has a better parts inventory for the W201 than the MB dealerships. I know this from personal experience. You can browse their online parts store. Adsit Co. is my other go to parts source. The first thing you need to do with your car is sort out any mechanical and rust issues before you consider any mods. It's always good to be aware of the pitfalls than any modding may bring..

Thanks for the update BetterDaze. I hope you had a great time with your travels. The warmer spring and summer months should be more ideal for working on your car than the cold winter months anyway. You've got all of the parts you need so now you can get right to work. Kee us posted and let us know if you need any help..I just showed my car at an AACA Grand Nationals so my bank account has been drained for quite a while now.

Good advise on the differential. I would've loved a W201 6 cylinder but it was out of my budget. I was having heart failure about the amount I was already spending for the 4 cylinder. I have to say that my W201 4 cylinder has a smooth idle and I don't notice any power change when I put the A/C on. I find my 4 cylinder is a joy to drive. I'm glad we're both happy with our cars. I'm not sure about the value of a manual swap. Manuals are much more common in Europe than they are here. Most people today don't know how to drive a manual on our side of the Atlantic ocean. Just my observation.

Really good quality W201s are becoming rarer by the day. I don't have a problem with modding if it saves an otherwise non-running car from the junk yard. I draw the line at modding a high quality original car of which there are fewer and fewer good examples of. Certainly, people can do what they want with their cars. I would include having a healthy dose of common sense. Too many people are modding these cars in ways they were never designed for which can become a serious safety issue.. Too many people think they know more than the engineers who designed the cars. Having been raised by such an engineer, I know that's not the case. Again, common sense needs to prevail.

you might want to sit down before you click the link lol
https://www.youtube.com/@PFDAuto

Thanks! This is a mountain of helpful guidance. I will refer to this when I dive deep into the car for inspection.

You make a good point about adding value to the car. I’ve looked for W201s occasionally and was never able to find a manual version. Selling a manual would surely give you more control over the final price. That said, I don’t think I’d sell this car. There’s a lot of things that I really like about it, which is a rare comment from me. I typically dislike a lot of cars, for a myriad of reasons, so I’m eagerly looking forward to riding around in my 190e!

Also, I’m still infatuated with manual transmissions, so swapping it in would cement my fondness for this car. In due time…

How stable is this car at 100 mph? I can’t imagine any reason for me to want to drive that fast. For one, the safety systems are so antiquated that I don’t believe they’d work properly in the event of an accident. That’s part of the reason why I’d want to gear it down.

Thanks for sharing that! I will be taking a look. I wonder if the chassis can handle all that power. I think it’s a bit ridiculous, but I’m not against it either.

People have done way bigger HP builds with no issues. I am not shooting for crazy numbers. Just got sick of it being so slow and only getting like 20mpg. now i can get parts from anywhere, should get close to 30mpg and it will get out of its own way. Also going from a slush box to a 5 speed will be nice. If you think about it i am putting a 2.4 16v in a car that came with a 2.3 and 2.5 16v from the factory.

When you put it like that, it actually sounds very reasonable!

I really like Honda engines. I think they’re potent little power plants. My favorite is the b16a for its screaming VTEC crossover.

I haven’t taken a look at your channel yet - I want to sit down and give it my full attention - but I will be following your journey. Good luck!

My car was very stable at 100mph when new. My only worry at that speed was getting a speeding ticket is all I remember. It would probably be as stable now 36 years later since I refreshed the suspension with sportline springs and shocks as well as tie rods, etc. in the past 5-6 years.

FYI, the W201 16vs were designed to be able to cope with the greater horsepower than the W201 8 valves were. They didn't just get an engine from an entirely different manufacturer with more horsepower dumped into them .You might want to read up on them.

I highly recommend that you don't fall for the way oversimplification of putting a Honda engine into a 190E.

BRAH we get it MB for life. also the 2.6 was so close to the 16v is speed an power there was almost no difference besides front end weight. they even shared the front brakes. I am not new here. I probably bought my first 190e before you could drive and have owned 5 including a 16v and a ton of other MB cars. You really thing that the engineering from 1984 still holds up to todays tech. If you do you're delusional.

Who said it was easy. not me. i even gave him a link to my YouTube showing what it takes. You really need to calm down before it affects your health.