zedzilla

Hi all,
New to the forum and have been looking around a bit trying to figure my problem out. Unfortunately time has run out for me and I needed some help quickly, so here goes.

I am contemplating buying a 1993 300CE with a "cracked block" on the 24 valve engine. The current owner told me that he has owned the car since 1995 and has always kept it well mainained. About a year ago, the rad started to leak and he had it replaced. Apparently the hoses were hooked up wrong and the motor overheated, causing the cracked block (is it even possible to hook up the hoses the wrong way on these cars??). He could not get compensated for the damage because the shop went out of business. He had it checked and was told that a cylinder lining/sleeve has cracked. He doesn't know if there is a way to repair that, or, if it would be wiser to get a replacement engine...

The car is in great shape other then the engine issue and it shows he took care of it. He wanted to get it fixed up but never got around to it and it has sat around for a year. He recently advertised the car and has a couple of interested buyers, including myself. There is someone else coming to look at it tomorrow. I am afraid it may sell before I have the answers I need, to make the purchase.

In the meantime, I have sourced out a running 24 valve engine approximately 2 1/2 hours drive from where I live for $700. I have also checked around locally and found a decent 2.6L engine for $350, which would obviously be easier for me to get to.

This is my delima....should I go for the 3.0 24 valve which would be a headache and a half for me? (though I am willing to do it if that is the right thing to do), OR, can I use the 2.6 engine in this car?

I am really hoping someone can help me out. Thank you everyone in advance.

koalabear

If I had a crack block, I would either buy a new one or go to a junk yard and pull one out from a wrecked 300e or ce. The bottom end of our cars can outlast the next nuclear disaster. I would also find a wrecked sl,sel pull the engine and install it in my car.

ps2cho

Well if you go with the 2.6 you are going to need to change stuff as it is not the same engine. The easiest would be to swap M104 with M104.

If it can be done like the M103, just disconnect the intake manifold at the head, take off the head then pull the engine and you won't have to remove any intake-side elements. It would be the easiest engine swap ever! Just pull it out, put new one back in, attach intake manifold, done!

zedzilla

Thanks guys. I appreciate the help. Sounds like the longer drive is the better option.

fredtga

stay with the same m104 engine and save yourself the headaches of changing the aux stuff too in the engine bay... you will have enough headaches maintaining the m104

Bigpete123

might be worth it to have the donor motor rebuilt before installing... It might cost a bit of cash, but how much would it suck to install a worn engine and have it need a rebuild in 20k miles?

Just a thought.

Saijin_Naib

What is the huge headaches of the m104? I think I've been hella-lucky with mine then because aside from MAS and ignition wires,it has treated me well. I beat on the thing mercilessly :|

fredtga

i've got the 104.980 engine ... i've done every possible maintenance on it and still sometimes runs like crap, other times runs beautifully

the only thing left on this one to do is the wiring harness which looks like it might be part of the issues i have currently ... i think i have more fuses out from the sockets than plugged in.

i like the car, i don't want to treat it like crap or anything, but i was just unlucky with this 300ce... i'm gonna wait until something major fails (and send it to the junk) or if i see a c36 or c43 at a dealer i'll just trade it in...

zedzilla

Hey all, thanks so much for the suggestions thus far. I am trying to avoid doing the 2 1/2 hour run to get the M104 engine. Other then the obvious stuff like, having the engine and the car not matched up properly...are there any other issues with transplanting a M103 engine into a M104 bay.

Its only because, I have access to a complete 300E with the 2.6L engine. So just a thought, can I get the M103 to fit in the M104 bay? and if so, what "auxiliary items" need to be transplanted?

Thanks so much.