When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
i there,
Here is a story about how my beloved clk320 went through another surgery… this time it’s 5.0 v8 swap (previous episode is here)
I’ll try to answer couple of questions first:
Why not simply buy clk500? Very simple: I have an emotional attachment to my car, I spent too much money on it already, I don’t want to redo all the work I’ve already done (e.g soft top, interior, suspension, etc). Plus I have 3.27 rear diff gears (with LSD) vs 2.82 on clk500.
Why 5.0 not 5.4? 5.0 engines are much cheaper (I’d say 3 times cheaper) and since I have manual transmission which was designed for 3.2 engine it will last a little bit longer with 5.0
Engine removal.
It was straightforward as with any other engine swaps. I disassembled the front of the car as much as possible to make it easier since I was working alone. Drained coolant, engine oil, power steering oil. To remove the engine you don’t need to disconnect any AC lines, I simply unbolted the AC compressor and left it in the engine bay. Not sure whether it was a smart decision or not but I also decided to keep a transmission in the car.
New engine.
There are 3 “easy” donor cars for w209: r230, w211 (rwd) and …. w209 . They all have the same oil pan configurations. BTW not 100% sure but w219 should be in the list as well. Although r230 has different engine mount brackets and w211 has different exhaust headers. I bought an engine from 2004 r230 (with 37k miles). I had to swap mount brackets, driver side is unique for m113 and passenger side is the same as on m112 w209/w211. Unfortunately my engine didn’t have an intake manifold and fuel injectors so I had to buy them separately.
Assembling the engine.
I had to do a couple of things with the engine: replace lower oil pan (was damaged during shipping), replace valve cover gaskets, rear main seal, spark plugs, clean intake ports since the engine was shipped without the intake manifold, replaced all air houses, pulleys, etc. Clutch and flywheel fit perfectly as well.
Accessories.
Most accessories are interchangeable between m112 and m113, but it’s better to upgrade at least alternator and starter. Radiators are the same, but different radiator houses. Radiator shroud is also supposed to be different, but I left the original one, it fits perfectly. AC compressor fits perfectly as well, although I had to bend just slightly one line. Technically I need to upgrade my fuel pump as well, I’ll do it later, for now fuel pressure is fine.
Other parts.
Since the donor car was r230 exhaust headers fit perfectly (clk320 and clk500 have the same exhaust diameter), but I had to buy positive cable and engine harness from clk500/clk55. For the engine harness I had to replace all ignition coil connectors since they are very brittle. Different MAF required as well. Funny thing is that I always thought that m112 and m113 are using different air boxes…. but they are the same, the only difference is the front cover with the Mercedes star.
New engine is in.
Installing the new engine was relatively simply except the part where I needed to connect transmission and the engine…. I spent about 3 hours doing this :-D
ECU coding.
That part was the simplest, I prepared the ECU way before I started the swap, I bought used SL500 ECU from eBay, with K-TAG copied immo data and VIN from my m112 ECU to the new one (Ideally you need both ECU to have the same HW version) and then reconfigured new ECU to be clk500 with manual transmission.
Looks good ! Why didn't you put in a M113K engine ?
Thanks!
Lot's of reason why not m113k (i covered couple of them regarding to 5.4 m113), the main one is in my opinion it would ruin the car, w209 is a heavy car as is and m113k is very heavy engine, plus cooling, plus I'd really need to beef up all drivetrain which would make the car even heavier. I think clk dtm amg convertible is about 4000lbs (and most of its panels are made of carbon fiber) which is insane , my goal is to make my car much lighter (yeah.... swapping v8 is not helping :-D ), about 3400lbs.
I hear you but I would love to have a supercharged v8 that can be cranked to 600 hp . I got a clk500 convertible and its quick but man would love to have 500+ hp
I hear you but I would love to have a supercharged v8 that can be cranked to 600 hp . I got a clk500 convertible and its quick but man would love to have 500+ hp
Wow, that's one hell of an undertaking. Great job.
I think I would have just sold the V6 and bought a V8 lol. All I would have to do is my easy job to pay for it. But I guess that wouldn't be nearly as adventurous, and it's probably good exercise for your brain to do extensive problem solving like you did with your project.
Wow, that's one hell of an undertaking. Great job.
I think I would have just sold the V6 and bought a V8 lol. All I would have to do is my easy job to pay for it. But I guess that wouldn't be nearly as adventurous, and it's probably good exercise for your brain to do extensive problem solving like you did with your project.
Thanks!
It's just a hobby (I'm a software engineer) which helps me to keep myself away from computers, couches and TVs :-D
I would really like to do this swap. I have the mechanical ability ( I am a milwright been working on cars for nearly 40 years) but lack the ability to do the computer up grade and don’t have the software to do it. I could get the engine in it like it belongs but could not make it run because of that.
I would really like to do this swap. I have the mechanical ability ( I am a milwright been working on cars for nearly 40 years) but lack the ability to do the computer up grade and don’t have the software to do it. I could get the engine in it like it belongs but could not make it run because of that.
As I mentioned in my transmission swap thread I help with ECU codings for free. Simply ship your ECU to me (in this case two ECUs, I'll explain how to choose v8 ECU) and I'll do the coding
hello from miami,.. i would like to pick your brain if you dont mind.. i own a performance and restoration shop in miami and i want to do the same v8 swap to my w203 c320 ., first question is does the manual gearbox you are using with the v8 is from the v6 ?... second question is which would be the engine mounts that fit better 211 or 209 v8 ., would you be able to do the coding for the key immobilizer etc and any performance flash..? thank you ..
hello from miami,.. i would like to pick your brain if you dont mind.. i own a performance and restoration shop in miami and i want to do the same v8 swap to my w203 c320 ., first question is does the manual gearbox you are using with the v8 is from the v6 ?... second question is which would be the engine mounts that fit better 211 or 209 v8 ., would you be able to do the coding for the key immobilizer etc and any performance flash..? thank you ..
Hey Frank, yes I'm using v6 manual transmission (in my case from Crossfire, although it's almost identical to c320/slk320 transmission for some reason Chrysler rated this transmissions as 370nm max torque and "Mercedes version" rated as 400nm).
As for engine mounts... e500 and clk500 have the same engine mounts (oil pans as well except 4matic version, but be aware that e500 headers won't work). Sure I can help you with ECU coding (I don't do performance flashes, I'm only DIY guy how knows only where IMMO data is located and how to copy it, and maybe couple of other tricks but that's all ) or if you want I can teach you how to do it yourself, very simply and the only tool you need is K-TAG (I bought mine for around $70, it's "very original" version :-D ).
Hi, am in kenya . I would love to do the same swap . how can i ship my ecu to you.
Hey, unfortunately i won't be able to code your ECU (I sold my car, I decided to play with another platform ), but I can teach you how to do it yourself
There are two options, but for both of them you need to buy/get/find K-TAG (you can find it for around $80):
1. If you have an access to MB Star then it's very easy
2. If you don't have and access to MB Start then you can find an ECU from identical car (obviously with only different engine). In this case you'll need only K-TAG.
Feel free to ask as many questions as you want And once you get K-TAG I can walk you through the process how to use it.
09-15-2020, 01:31 PM
