VIPclk320

hey everyone, i'm thinking of swaping my engine from the v6 320 to the v8430, a 430 motor is being offered to me at a great price and i'm thinking about it. I know everyone is gonna say just buy a 430 or a 55! but i am not going to do that this car has lots of sentimental (SPELLING?) value for me and i am not selling it or trading it so please don't come at me with all the eceonomic talk about saving the money. Now here is my question: in order to do a plug and play swap what other parts do i need other than the engine and the ECU? mine is a 99 320 withouth the tiptronic, can i use the 320 trans on the 430? i need a list of what parts i exactly need and if this would be a plug and play swap provided all the parts? any info would be greatly appreciated. thnx in advance.

SaintMiles

If you do it get the tranny with it, the whole engine electrical harness including the brain(ecu), water hoses, starter, front springs,A\C lines, and motor mounts. And there will be more, you'll figure it out.


Just know this.
Your car won't be as sentimental to you after this.

SoCalw11w123

dont forget the exhaust

VIPclk320

would the tranny off of the 320 work with the 430 motor i'm looking at the old posts and they all say that the trannys are all the same just different programings. is this true?

VIPclk320

thnx for the pointers. but why would i need the starter, ac lines,springs and the water hoses. my car has aftermarket suspension, and the starter is the same in all of them so is the ac lines and the water hoses. the harnes and ECU is main difference other than the engine itself.

CARLSS0N

I believe they share the same transmission but with different bell housings, and the ring and pinion (rear end) are different between the 430 and 320.

MilitaryBenz

good luck on your swap man, keep us updated

clk430convert01

The reason people say to just buy the 430 or 55 is because these things have bad enough resale value as it is so your actually taking value out of the 320 at a faster rate rather than putting it into the 430.

VIPclk320

Belive me I understand that I'm a portfolio manager i clearly understand the money aspect of it, but as i mentioned this car has a ton of sentimental value to me and i will never sell it, it will go down to my kids. with that in mind weather it keeps it's KBB value or not is not a factor in this situation, what matters is that the car runs great and has a powerfull engine in it. thanks for your advise, i completly agree with you but my situation is different than many other motor swaps out there.

ahmed18881

i think the best thing to do in your case is to find a salvaged clk430 (rear damage or roll over) to do the swap... you could even do it yourself if you have the space and mechanically inclined... this way you will have all the parts and not missing anything and when you finish from the salvaged car you can sell it with the old parts from your car to a junk yard...

hitneed

Thats how we do. thats how the clk came around..

Chappy

Fine....we understand you. Park your CLK320. Go and purchase a 2nd car, whether it be a 430, 55 or the new C63.

Still not convinced and want to proceed with your project?

No problem. Projected "conversion" costs are anticipated to exceed $35,000. For me to get started, I'll need a 50% deposit in advance. Would you like my Paypal info?

VIPclk320

Thnx chappy, i have already talked to a certified MB tech and $5-7k is my cost(the whole swap including motor, tranny, ECU and harness) but thank you for the offer. but i know you are very knowledgable when it comes to w208s and i was wondering if you can tell me if i can save some money and use my existing tranny if i'm going with the 430 engine, i've heard they are the exact same tranny and the codes that i found for them are also identical but i would love to hear your toughts on it.

Chappy

Who told you that? The W208 CLK320 uses either the 722.607 or 722.618 transmission and the CLK430 uses either the 722.623 or the 722.632, depending on the VIN.

Here's some light reading for you....

http://www.mobilverzeichnis.de/merce...uster_w208.htm

BTW, the research costs alone to complete your one-off/custom project could easily top 100 hours.

Let us know how the project develops.

Chappy

Never mind....I see you've already done your research on the transmission....

https://mbworld.org/forums/showpost....5&postcount=10

superstar

any updates?