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Old 02-10-2015, 12:48 PM
jbrianfoto jbrianfoto is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Fredericksburg, VA
Posts: 444
Rats....

Quote:
Originally Posted by tjts1 View Post
Pretty much all W124 differentials will bolt into the suframe BUT there are 2 limitations. One is the size of the imput flange. The diesel used a larger imput flange than most of the 300e variations except for the 24valve. You can swap your input flange onto any W124 diff but you will need a special 12 point 30mm (i think) socket.
The second limitation is the differential ratio. You have a 2.64 differential and most of the gasoline diffs are much shorter (aka higher numerical ratio). If you were to use that 300te (2.87) diff which would give you better acceleration at the expense of more noise on the highway. The differential and speedometer are also paired so you would also have to chance the speedo in order to keep it accurate.


differentials, gear-ratios and compability | Mercedes-Benz turbo
Scroll down to W124. Going from 2.64 (300td) to 2.87 (300te) is not a huge difference and you might enjoy the improved acceleration. I would go for it. Don't forget to also swap the speedometer.
That's exactly the info I needed - and was also dreading. Seems I really need to find a 300D differential - I have a 50 mile one-way commute everyday on I95 - so being able to spend quiet time at 75mph is important to me. Guess I'll post in the Parts Wanted section should I find out that I need a differential. I'm not feeling like rebuilding a diff.

Thank you again !
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1987 300TD named Klause
1987 300TD named Spouse
1987 300D named Seabiscuit
1980 300TD names Chloie (now sadly gone)
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