5 speed compatibility?
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Newbie
Joined: Jul 2006
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From: Santa Barbara
300e sedan
5 speed compatibility?
I have a 86 300E with the five speed manual trans. This car is a lot of fun, as I get to look like an adult and drive like a teenager. It will also get 30mpg at a steady 70mph.
Lots of little stuff is going- like the blower fan, the A/C, sunroof. It burns a quart every 4000 miles etc.
I would like to put the tranny in a 300CE or E320 convertible.
Where can I get the cross reference info on which engines this transmission will bolt up with?
If this can be made as a all MB bolt in, I'll be looking for a cab with a bad transmission.
Lots of little stuff is going- like the blower fan, the A/C, sunroof. It burns a quart every 4000 miles etc.
I would like to put the tranny in a 300CE or E320 convertible.
Where can I get the cross reference info on which engines this transmission will bolt up with?
If this can be made as a all MB bolt in, I'll be looking for a cab with a bad transmission.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2006
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1990 300ce 24v I6
I had a similar thought, because I have a 300ce and my father (used to be MB mechanic/salesman) said that a 300d transmission can bolt right on and I would get wicked acceleration... If you like, i can check further with him and see what it would entail and post what he says here? or you could even talk with him perhaps?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2006
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1990 300ce 24v I6
lolz 
I wish. If that was the case, my baby would have the mosselman turbo and the full raft of ups listed on cksperformance and the Demec body kit i want. No, he owns nothing :C He is a salesmang at Diffeo Lexus right now, was a salesmang at Millennium Automotive, and before that at Markham Motors. He was also head mechanic at Markham. Right now, hes thinking of changing back to selling benzos at Morristown Benz. But yeah.. I wish we had that kinda income.. Right now its a like, big deal to order clear corners and euro headlights... Thats about all i can afford for the summer at this point. I mean, Ill be up about 3k by Septemeber, but I have to build a new computer so really I only have about 1k to play with, most of which I need for a year of life at college, so MAX I have 400$ to play with.. Definately not enough for a 300TD tranny :C .crap.
I wish. If that was the case, my baby would have the mosselman turbo and the full raft of ups listed on cksperformance and the Demec body kit i want. No, he owns nothing :C He is a salesmang at Diffeo Lexus right now, was a salesmang at Millennium Automotive, and before that at Markham Motors. He was also head mechanic at Markham. Right now, hes thinking of changing back to selling benzos at Morristown Benz. But yeah.. I wish we had that kinda income.. Right now its a like, big deal to order clear corners and euro headlights... Thats about all i can afford for the summer at this point. I mean, Ill be up about 3k by Septemeber, but I have to build a new computer so really I only have about 1k to play with, most of which I need for a year of life at college, so MAX I have 400$ to play with.. Definately not enough for a 300TD tranny :C .crap.
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i dont recall too many diesels coming with the manual tranny, so id say that ones a pipe dream.
instead, try looking for one from an early 300E. call the mercedes recyclers, and dont be afraid to piece it together bit by bit.
instead, try looking for one from an early 300E. call the mercedes recyclers, and dont be afraid to piece it together bit by bit.
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 6
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From: CT, USA
1995 E320 wagon
That trans will bolt up to any inline 6 in a 124. It won't work on 8-cyl models. Not on diesel, either....it might bolt up but you don't have the proper flywheel and maybe other stuff....forget diesel. A couple of modifications may be needed, depending on what year vehicle you are going into. Example...to put that trans into my M104 1995 wagon, besides all the driveline stuff, etc from the 5-spd car, I'd need to modify the manual trans flywheel. It has two 'lobes' on it for the camshaft position sensor to read (spaced 180 deg apart from eachother), but my car has 3 lobes (spaced 120 deg apart from eachother)to read. The car simply won't run unless I were to cut the "bottom" lobe off the flywheel and weld on two new lobes at 120 and 240 degrees. Then I'd have to insure that the flywheel were balanced properly at some machine shop. This has been done a few times that I am aware of by other owners.
Vac line to my auto trans modulator would have to be blocked.
There's an electrical connection going into the auto trans....I forget what it is...dammitt...but I know it can be unplugged and looped back on itself and tucked out of the way.
You'd want to replace lots of parts like clutch, throwout bearing, pilot bearing, slave cylinder, the flex plates, etc etc....
Most or all of the 5-spd driveline would have to go into the new car. Driveshaft, differential. The diff ratio is 3.07 on your car. Its 2.46 (?) on my car. I'd need the 5-spd's differential for a conversion. That means diff seals, diff bushings....lots of work, but all doable.
I have a donor sitting in my driveway. Just need the time to do it!!
Brian
Vac line to my auto trans modulator would have to be blocked.
There's an electrical connection going into the auto trans....I forget what it is...dammitt...but I know it can be unplugged and looped back on itself and tucked out of the way.
You'd want to replace lots of parts like clutch, throwout bearing, pilot bearing, slave cylinder, the flex plates, etc etc....
Most or all of the 5-spd driveline would have to go into the new car. Driveshaft, differential. The diff ratio is 3.07 on your car. Its 2.46 (?) on my car. I'd need the 5-spd's differential for a conversion. That means diff seals, diff bushings....lots of work, but all doable.
I have a donor sitting in my driveway. Just need the time to do it!!
Brian
Last edited by kidmobile; Jul 26, 2006 at 09:59 PM.
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Newbie
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
From: CT, USA
1995 E320 wagon
Yes. All you need is parts. I recommend a complete donor car to pull parts from, otherwise you'll never know whether or not you have everything you'll need. Unless, that is, you have done it before, or are a really skilled shadetree or prof mechanic. Saw a complete donor in upstate NY on Ebay a month or 2 ago; IIRC it went for $600 or $700.
It's bolt-on and go, especially for an M103 car like yours. Realize this can get very expensive if your donor car parts are not in good shape. Chances are, they won't be, otherwise it wouldn't be a donor car!
Even if everything is in decent shape, you'll still likely be spending some money...could be lots. Search this and other MB forums (mercedesshop.com); the conversion has been done several times.
Brian
1995 E320 wagon
It's bolt-on and go, especially for an M103 car like yours. Realize this can get very expensive if your donor car parts are not in good shape. Chances are, they won't be, otherwise it wouldn't be a donor car!
Even if everything is in decent shape, you'll still likely be spending some money...could be lots. Search this and other MB forums (mercedesshop.com); the conversion has been done several times.
Brian
1995 E320 wagon
Senior Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 382
Likes: 4
From: Midwest
Was 89' 300E, Now 93' 500SEL
Originally Posted by kidmobile
Yes. All you need is parts. I recommend a complete donor car to pull parts from, otherwise you'll never know whether or not you have everything you'll need. Unless, that is, you have done it before, or are a really skilled shadetree or prof mechanic. Saw a complete donor in upstate NY on Ebay a month or 2 ago; IIRC it went for $600 or $700.
It's bolt-on and go, especially for an M103 car like yours. Realize this can get very expensive if your donor car parts are not in good shape. Chances are, they won't be, otherwise it wouldn't be a donor car!
Even if everything is in decent shape, you'll still likely be spending some money...could be lots. Search this and other MB forums (mercedesshop.com); the conversion has been done several times.
Brian
1995 E320 wagon
It's bolt-on and go, especially for an M103 car like yours. Realize this can get very expensive if your donor car parts are not in good shape. Chances are, they won't be, otherwise it wouldn't be a donor car!
Even if everything is in decent shape, you'll still likely be spending some money...could be lots. Search this and other MB forums (mercedesshop.com); the conversion has been done several times.
Brian
1995 E320 wagon
man! whats the ball park figure you think? And will it benifit our car?
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
From: CT, USA
1995 E320 wagon
Put it this way....worst case scenario is buying all the stuff one piece at a time. I haven't priced it all, but my ballpark guesstimate is somewhere in the neighborhood of $6K to $7K.....obviously not worth it.
I really want to do this for some stupid reason which I can't explain with any rational thought. It makes no sense to do it from a financial perspective, and if not done properly it will mess up a perfectly good car. But I'm still going to do it. Don't know how much it will be. My donor trans has an issue with the output shaft bearing set...it makes noise when the car is in neutral and running. Need to address that...worse case is a $2175 rebuilt unit sent from Germany. Hopefully I won't need to go there. The donor car has over 250k miles on it and the odometer is busted
A five speed will make the car feel noticeably stronger. Auto trannies by their nature rob some power from the engine. Standard shift robs much less power. I'm doing the swap just because I think this car should have been a manual trans at birth. It's like doing transgender surgery on my confused car. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I just want to shift! Plus it's a good project to get me into the garage and away from wiping preschooler's noses.
Brian
I really want to do this for some stupid reason which I can't explain with any rational thought. It makes no sense to do it from a financial perspective, and if not done properly it will mess up a perfectly good car. But I'm still going to do it. Don't know how much it will be. My donor trans has an issue with the output shaft bearing set...it makes noise when the car is in neutral and running. Need to address that...worse case is a $2175 rebuilt unit sent from Germany. Hopefully I won't need to go there. The donor car has over 250k miles on it and the odometer is busted
A five speed will make the car feel noticeably stronger. Auto trannies by their nature rob some power from the engine. Standard shift robs much less power. I'm doing the swap just because I think this car should have been a manual trans at birth. It's like doing transgender surgery on my confused car. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I just want to shift! Plus it's a good project to get me into the garage and away from wiping preschooler's noses.
Brian
