I am contemplating the purchase of a complete grey market 300D (non turbo) with a manual transmission. The owner claims that the car was running fine until one day when they could not get the transmission to shift out of 4th gear. Afterwards, the owner did not attempt to fix the car and parked it in the back yard for approx. 2 years. One thing that bothers me is that the shifter has been misplaced.

I’d like to purchase the car so that I can swap the manual transmission and all related parts into my recently acquired ’83 300D turbodiesel. However, I’m skeptical about the transmission and shifter. Could a problem with the shifter have caused the trans to be stuck in 4th gear? What do you guys think? I’m going to see the car tomorrow, any tips, tricks, or advice on what to look for will be appreciated.

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2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel - 4x4, auto, 3.54 gears, long bed
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'92 300D 2.5 Turbodiesel - sold
'83 300D Turbodiesel - 4 speed manual/2.88 diff - sold
'87 300D Turbodiesel - sold
'82 300D Turbodiesel - sold

but I am going to say it anyway...

A stick shift is not a good match for a turbo diesel engine.


There is are several reasons that MB did not make turbo engined stick shift cars.

Such as????? The only reason I can figure they didn't off it is because there were marketed as luxury cars in the USA. The trend in the 80's was moving towards laziness, I mean convenience, and they wanted to put it in gear and go.

You didn't say how much the guy wants for the car. It could be as simple as loose/broken/bent linkage in the shifter. Or, on the other end of the scale, you may have to open up the tranny to get it out of gear. It's hard to say without actually looking at the car.

I am going to play along....

lets say that in the US the reason is that people did not want to shift their $35,000 cars..

So why did they not offer it in Europe ?
Those people LOVE to shift expensive automobiles...

I don't think that the turbo engine was available in Europe.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

It was available in the 300TD, but none of them had manual transmissions either.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

That is what I said...

so why did they not offer a turbo stick in Europe ?

It has to do with the clutch and rpm that the turbo starts to work at..

if you use an automatic on a gas carb engine then it eats up gas when you floor it..
but flooring a diesel auto does not have nearly that effect....because it only affects the governor.... it does not have an accelerator pump .. only the proper amount of fuel per power stroke is delivered...
so if you have a stick and engage at a normal rpm which is easy on the clutch wear then you have put a load on the engine when it is not in its power making curve. Which means that you get to the next stop light slower than using an auto with a preset stall speed matching the turbo characteristics ( or you change out manual clutches way too often )...

A Diesel with Turbo is the most efficient engine combination... and it happens that an auto matched to it does not have many drawbacks .... putting a stick only gives people something to play with and play ' race driver' with their 120 hp 3500 lb car.... and due to the spooling properties either makes it slower overall...or wears out the clutch lining too fast relative to a normally aspirated diesel engine clutch...

Thanks for the replies. $500 is the asking price. I think its a good deal, but it would be a great deal if the trans and shifter were working properly. If necessary, I can find a trans locally for under $300.

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2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel - 4x4, auto, 3.54 gears, long bed
-------------------------------------
'92 300D 2.5 Turbodiesel - sold
'83 300D Turbodiesel - 4 speed manual/2.88 diff - sold
'87 300D Turbodiesel - sold
'82 300D Turbodiesel - sold

Have you ever driven a turbo with a 4 speed? It drives like every other Mercedes 4 speed. Seems like a fine match to me.


The shifter linkage could have been the problem but when you are bargaining for a price assume the transmission may need a rebuild. It should not be hard to find a replacement shifter assembly as the 4 speeds are common in 240Ds. It will be nice to have a flywheel from a 617 for this conversion as it will give a slightly smoother idle than the 616 flywheel that most (including myself) use in this conversion.



Edit: Didn't the C 111 have a turbo 617 with a manualy transmission? Granted it was porbably not the same transmission used in the W123, but the factory seemed to think it was a good idea. The main reason IMO that they did not offer the turbo/manual combo is that nobody wanted to have to shift their $35K car.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

Loads of turbodiesels over here, most of them have manual gearboxes. Most people in the UK drive a manual.

It's not a 5 speed is it? Does the car have euro lights?

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

You can just do what I did,and rip out the old pig,and put in a chevy 383 stroker motor,with T56 six speed,dual 2.5" exhausts,and dana 60possi rear from a Jag,ands be done with it.My '79 300CD,makes short work of a lot of cars,on the street,and strip.Very easy job,too.All you'll need from that parts car you're looking at is the pedals,and some small stuff.the rest is G.M.over the counter stuff.Lotta fun though...,just a thought.

now THAT will make the purists cringe!

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

as a old hotrodder purists make me cringe
esp in non collector cars like 300sd

swap in a chevy 6 speed and it will go fine both at low speed and hiway
with the right rear end gears
adpter plates are not hard to make or just custom do the whole bell housing
with any bolt patern you want on eathor end
why hunt for over priced rare parts when cheaper stronger stuff is in junk yards
the trans does not care what fuel is burned to make the power
a 300hp rated chevy will be fine in a 5 or 6 cyl diesel

This new 79 300CD,I want to put a stick shift in is a non-turbo car.What I seem to be getting from you guys,is that I have two good options.
1.)Put a turbo set-up in the car,as it is,and leave it an auto.
or
2.)Put the stick shift in it,and leave it as a non-turbo car.
That seems to be the message I'm receiving. I read that some of you guys put sticks in the turbo cars,and get mixed results..guess I have to make my own choice,but based on the knowledge gained it makes it a whole new thing all together.Maybe she's ok as a non turbo/auto after all,and I shouldn't bother with any of it.Thanks guys,I'll let you know what I end up doing.Calling summit racing next to order the chevy 502/502hp.big block for it.And DR.Scholl,for a giant shoe horn....lol.