so i am debating on making my manual windowed 240D into a Auto Window 240D. the wiring inside the cabin is not to tough, but the cables go under the dash, and i cant see where to. i was going to swap dashes also, so if i can do them at one time, then it would save me lots of time and effort.

How hard are the window assemblies taken out of the doors and what all do i have to remove/add from the 300D to the 240D. is it possible?

thanks

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Grey '91 350SDL 214k Dad's car
Beige '81 240D 4 Speed 254k SOLD
Blue '82 300D 225k SOLD
White '95 E300D 46k SOLD
Blue '87 190D 2.5 Turbo 315k SOLD
Brown '80 240D 4 Speed 716k SOLD
Beige '80 300D N/A 119k SOLD
Blue '85 300D Model 186k T-Boned

Swapping the window regulators is the very easy part, the will swap without much of an issue. The wiring is whats a killer.

I put a manual window into the driver's door of my wagon. The regulators and motor, or regulator and crank are very easy. I don't know about the wiring going the other way.
But, you are going to have a hole in all 4 of your inner door panels from the window crank shaft........

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

The previous owner did this to my Euro 300D. I would rather have the manual windows.

As would most people here, for the simplicity, and economy. Ditto, the manual sunroof.

Manual sunroof and windows considered positive selling points with these

Conversion possilbe, yes. (Even one touch up/down with the proper module)

Desirable for resale/maintenance? No

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I put electric regulators in a '65 Oldsmobile, many years ago. It was a lot of work. I had new inner door skins made at the same time so I had no holes. I got the wiring and regulators from a junkyard car. I liked being able to lower all of the windows to get hot air out of the car more easily.

The people who recommend leaving 240Ds as manual as possible have a good point. Buyers often consider "home-made" additions a negative. If you do a really good job so that it looks factory, it might not hurt. If you plan to keep the car forever, it won't matter. It's your car, you have to decide. As an engineer, I'd say "go for it." Just don't booger it up so the car looks awful and only some of the windows work

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Big dittos here. To me, the manual windows, manual sunroof, manual climate control and manual transmission are one of the main draws of the gray market models. A euro with an automatic tranny looses alot of it's appeal to me.

About the only feature I'm on the fence about is a manual steering gearbox. It would be interesting to have if it was already there, but I'm not hunting down a manual steering box to replace my powered box.

well there would be nothing homemade about it. my door panels are all coming from the 300D that had automatic windows, so there are no holes, the insides of the door will be swapped, and the wiring and console are all going to be swapped.

I understand the simplistic part and about resale, but this vehicle is not in great outside shape so i doubt anyone would buy it, but i also dont want to sell it.

__________________

Grey '91 350SDL 214k Dad's car
Beige '81 240D 4 Speed 254k SOLD
Blue '82 300D 225k SOLD
White '95 E300D 46k SOLD
Blue '87 190D 2.5 Turbo 315k SOLD
Brown '80 240D 4 Speed 716k SOLD
Beige '80 300D N/A 119k SOLD
Blue '85 300D Model 186k T-Boned

I love the manual sunroof, as the cable and gear cause fear in my heart. However, I would rather have automatic windows. If a rear regulator gets chewed, just replace it. And I have pretty much had to do that to all of mine. Cheap pot metal. But, after having China for awhile, with manual windows; while they certainly break less, it is a monumental pain to have to roll up and down the windows, or even crack them on a hot day, compared to automatic windows. Much easier to just hit the button and crack them as opposed to leaning way over to roll 3 of them down.
Too bad Mercedes didn't just make them better.......

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

At least two of the older Mercedes with power windows I have driven had windows on the fritz.

German cars, whether it be Audi, BMW, Mercedes, or Volkswagen - love to eat window regulators, switches, or what have you.

Consider this: Whenever I see a W123 240D that I'm looking at has power windows/sunroof, I consider it a strike, not a bonus. No sunroof, no power windows - that's the way to go. I'd be fine with manual door locks too...

You've been around VW's too long.....

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Perhaps, but whenever you see an older German car, at least half the time, if something electrical isn't working, it's window-related.

I've seen it happen on all older brands of German cars...but yeah, maybe I have seen it happen on almost all of my Volkswagens...