Hi all. I'm looking for information on swapping a 2.0 or 2.3 M111 Kompressor engine into my 1998 w202 C180 before I commit to it. The main reason is for more power. I've thought of turbocharging my 1.8 but I believe an engine swap might be a more reliable solution.

Before anyone says "just buy a C200k or C230k", they are as rare as hens teeth here in Ireland as nobody wanted to pay the road tax on bigger engined cars. They virtually do not exist here. I cannot justify importing one from the UK as VRT registration tax is insane.

I want to use an M111 Kompressor engine as it should drop straight into my C180 using the same mounts etc. I understand I might run into electrical issues which is what I want help with.

I plan on using a w208 CLK200 or CLK230 Kompressor donor car as they are the most widely available Kompressor donor car here in Ireland and share a very similar chassis to the w202.

I believe if I find a CLK with the same Bosch ECU as my C180 it will work by just changing the ECU, engine loom, key, key reader and steering lock from the CLK donor car. I know these all swap straight over from the CLK to the C180.

Can I keep my C180 instrument cluster or is this coded to the CLK ECU? The kompressor will have 150mph clocks whereas my C180 has 140mph clocks.

Are there any other modules or wiring looms that will have to be transferred over?

Can I keep my C180 central locking etc and just change the immobiliser/key chip to suit the CLK key reader and ECU? I have heard people saying door locks will have to be changed as well.

My car is manual and I'm trying to find a manual donor car. If I cannot find one would an automatic donor car work in terms of electronics or is the ECU and other modules coded to an automatic gearbox?

Any help from someone with knowledge would be much appreciated. I have spoken to a few knowledgeable people through Facebook posts but am getting mixed feedback on the difficulty or possibility of the engine swap.

 

Forgot to update but the engine swap was completed last year.The engine, gearbox, radiator and electronics were a direct fit. I had to change the flange on my LSD differential to match the larger flanges on the Kompressor prop shaft. There were already fixings/mounts for a lot of the engine ancillaries such as intercooler, piping, hoses, radiator expansion tank etc. The front anti roll bar had to be changed as the C180 anti roll bar was mounted slightly different and would hit the alternator on the Kompressor engine.

The only necessary electronics to change were the key, ignition barrel, ECU and steering lock. I also swapped the 160mph kompressor instrument cluster into my w202. For this I had to change the surround on the instrument cluster to suit the dashboard but it all fits perfectly.

So far I have no issues with the engine. The only slight problem is my rear electric windows do not work and my sunroof does not close in the correct position. I will try and get the ECU version coding changed to a w202 to see if it fixes the problem. I believe the CLK ECU is the issue as the CLK does not have rear windows.

 

Wow, that looks great. By the way, you said you swapped your cluster, is that possible? I thought you will need the same cluster part number, thus cannot swap clusters. I asked because I am looking to replace my dead cluster with part number 2025406047 but cannot seem to find one with the same part number. Is it possible to replace it with another part number but with the same plugs and it will work?

 

I used the cluster from the w208 CLK with the 160mph speedometer. The surround on the cluster is different (to fit the respective dashboards) but the surround itself just clips on and off. The instrument cluster itself is the exact same fitting and plugs. I'd hazard a guess a w210 cluster is the same story. I also think a facelift CLK / w210 cluster will plug straight in and apparently the multi-function steering wheel can be wired to work in a w202 as well.

 

I have a c180 w202 face lift 1998 and it doesn't have drive by wire and i am wondering if i will have to change the loom or can i just use the c180 throttle body because the clk has drive by wire

Any help appreciated

Thanks

 

A 1998 car should have an electronic throttle body afaik. There's a cable on the pedal that connects to a throttle position sensor in the engine bay as the facelift throttle body is electronic. I think only pre facelift w202's had a manual throttle body, I could be wrong.

It depends what ECU is in both cars. It sounds like the CLK is a facelift (siemens ECU) with the EVO engine? Two fellas in Ireland went chopping and changing looms to try get a Siemens ECU to work in a w202 but half the functions in the car will not work, door locks & windows etc won't work. What ECU is in the two cars you have?

 

I am not shur on the ecus that they have but could i not just change looms