I'll be trying to maintain a build thread over the next few weeks (and beyond) of my M103 Megasquirt 2 build plus 5-speed manual swap for my 190E Sportline LE. I'll probably post this here and on 190Rev.net
Let's start with my car. It's a 1993 190E 2.6 Limited Edition with now 206K miles. I have owned this car for two years and put around 12k miles on it. Last year, I rebuilt the suspension which included every rubber piece plus the shocks and new Goodyear tires. It has brakes from a 1994 E420, adjustable camber arms, and an upgraded rear sway bar, from the stock 13mm Sportline bar to a standard 14.2mm 2.6 bar. Yes, for some reason or another, Mercedes used the smallest W201 rear swaybar on the Sportline models versus the larger 16v bar of even just the regular 2.6 bar. I also have a set of Hella euro headlights installed in it currently.
So as some of you may relate, I have a love-hate relationship with the M103. I previously had a 190D with the OM602 NA and I loved working on that engine because there's not too many access issues but the 2.6 is completely opposite. I hate working on the front end because the lack of space requires you to remove the radiator in order to remove the fan and get at the belt drive. I don't particularly like the belt tensioner design because it has been a PITA for me, even after replacing all of the components with German-made parts, I had the tensioner fail after 6 months. So I've researched if there is a better way and eventually, I found out that the
AC compressor/power steering pump/tensioner bracket from a late M104 would fit onto the M103. I gotta thank this forum for great information such as that. The other thing I didn't particularly like about the M103 was the CIS system. I finally got it running 99% correctly about a month ago, previously I had several part failures that meant that the engine ran but not at 100%, besides when my first EHA valve failed. I would commend the CIS system for being pretty robust otherwise, it's incredible it works at all when certain key parts go bad.
So I had always wanted to swap the tensioner bracket and upgrade to Megasquirt but over the past few months, I've had a few lucky breaks.
First I found a 3.0L M103 for $100 that supposedly had a head job done before the car was wrecked. Then last month, a 5-speed for an M103 showed up a state away for a reasonable price. I wasn't really planning on swapping to manual because I've never had luck finding W201 manuals within driving distance of me that were reasonably priced, but I have always wanted to so I could have overdrive. My dad also was really interested in the manual because he misses driving his 240D while we are doing extensive work on it. I'm picking up the transmission on Saturday. It is a 717.432.
I was planning just to run CIS with this setup then later get all of the parts together for a Megasquirt conversion but then Mattmon on 190Rev.net put his setup up for sale for how much I was expecting to spend for the all of the parts I would need for the conversion but this already had the wiring harness and everything else figured out, saving me hundreds of hours of research, parts yard trips, and figuring out how to get it all to work.
The guy who made this did a better job than I ever would have. Every part is high quality and the wiring harness is incredible. He stuffed the Megasquirt board into the stock ECU housing and wired it so that it'll plug into the harness with the stock ECU's connector. I have to splice this harness into mine, mainly at the MAS relay because he designed the MS computer to work in tandem with the car's original systems. I also have to change the crank pulley damper to the modified one in the kit. Here's a video of his setup:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee8i6BbHbkQ&feature=youtu.be
So I have a few jobs to do in the near future. The first thing after I pick up the manual transmission is to do a leakdown test to determine if the 3.0L M103 I bought is healthy enough to be used in my car. If it is, I am going to spend a few day resealing it. If it isn't, I will be using the 2.6 in the car as it runs great and doesn't lose a measurable amount of oil between oil changes. It had all of the seals in the front replaced a few years ago by the PO. I've got to get the manual transmission mated to whichever engine I decide to use, plus the tensioner bracket. I'm also installing a new AC compressor, the one in the car was starting to make some weird noises. I also have a new fan pulley bearing bracket, which I will install though I am planning to leave off the clutch fan and install some small electric puller fans as
lsmalley has done on his 190E 2.6. Also, of course I am installing a new water pump. The hope is to also clean up the engine and engine bay so it is more presentable.
While the engine is out, I will be attending to a few other issues on the car. The first and most important is replacing the radiator crossmember. I have no other rust on the car but this crossmember is rusted out and is dangerously close to breaking off. I found a car in the parts yard that had a rust-free crossmember with the mounting bolts for the OM602 turbo oil cooler (not sure why it was on a 2.6 but it was) so I cut that off of the car. I'll need to trim off the excess then either learn how to weld or find someone who can weld it for me. It's the wrong color so I need to paint it black as well. I'll try to strip it before I weld it, that way I can start with a base coat of Corroseal then probably some black Rustoleum. The other issue I'll attend to is the blower motor. Mine is squealing so I picked up a new German-made Behr blower motor assembly for $95 on a site that was for some reason clearancing that part for 1/3 of the normal cost. I'll also clean out the evaporator box because that is leaking into the cabin and my attempts to clear the drains were fruitless even though I pulled a ton of gunk out.
The last project I have to work on outside the drivetrain job is fixing the sunroof, I ordered all new felt pads ($120 for all of them, ouch) and pulled a good used cassette out of a 190E in the parts yard. Hopefully I can get my sunroof to work and seal correctly.