I own a high mileage 2011 E350 wagon that’s specd out just the way I like it and absolutely have no intention of getting rid of.
I think the car is lacking in power and I have no interest in a E63 as this is my daily and family road trip car, so really like how relaxed the car feels.
There are many crashed 10/11 E550 (m273) 4matic that I can buy cheap, so I’m thinking of swapping the entire drivetrain out of one into my beloved wagon.
Has anyone done something like this, or can point me in the direction of someone that can help? I’m based in Orlando.
I would think it would be pretty straight forward and do-able. I am no mechanic though. I would contact Bloodmotorsports North-South, they have done crazy builds and engine swaps on a lot of Mercedes. He can probably point you in the right direction on how to get started. I think it would be an awesome build as the US market did not get any V8 wagons aside from the AMG. I'm assuming all electronics would need to be swapped over as well. Good luck and keep us posted.
I would think it would be pretty straight forward and do-able. I am no mechanic though. I would contact Bloodmotorsports North-South, they have done crazy builds and engine swaps on a lot of Mercedes. He can probably point you in the right direction on how to get started. I think it would be an awesome build as the US market did not get any V8 wagons aside from the AMG. I'm assuming all electronics would need to be swapped over as well. Good luck and keep us posted.
Thank you for the awesome words of encouragement. Whilst I’m somewhat competent with wrenches, this kind of project is very much above my skill level. I’m thinking it should be doable mechanically if I were to swap over the guts from an E550 4matic from the same vintage. This would include engine/accessories, transmission, 4matic, differentials/shafts, heck, even shocks! Only thing I’m not sure of is how to marry the m273 ecu to my wagon’s ecu, or whatever it’s called.
Ideally, I’d love to find someone with the skill set locally that I can pay to help me make the project a reality.
I looked into doing this as well. From what I can tell, you'll need to swap over the engine, suspension, transmission, rear axle, and subframe to do it properly since they're different between the 6 and 8 cylinder setup. I personally thought it would be easiest to swap over all modules from the donor car and then you only need to focus on getting it to talk to the tailgate electrics (would likely mean programming). Ultimately I ended up deciding not to since my garage space is too limited to even consider it. Good luck!
