Yeah, yeah, I hear 'ya... Computers are like women: Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em...

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Scratch the S10. The shifter location puts it under the dash. I still think the T5 camaro or mustang would work. Some of the other trannys that look like they might work on paper have the bellhousing made to the trans. I don't have any other trannys to measure but I would like to see this idea move forward. I just bought another 300 with a bad trans.

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1982 300DT 260,000 miles 1980 300D 209,000 miles 1979 240D 329,000 miles (totaled)

I think there was another thread on adapting a 5spd. Someone mentioned an AX-5. I was thinking AX-15 or NV 3550. Both have a seperate bellhousing. The starter location is on the same side as a MB 123W diesel. I think they used the NV 3550 in the KJ (Patriot) with the diesel (motorii). I think the Motorii motor was a copy of an older MB design. The early AX-15s are internal slave, while the later 96+ are external. The NV 3550 is external. I think the NV3550 was replaced with a Getrag or ZF about 2005(??). Does anyone have any demensions for the MB transmission? Bolt patterns etc.
I do have a BA-10/5 laying on the floor. Peugeot used it in the 87-89 Jeep Comanches and Cherokees. I think it was also used in their 505 cars. So it should be strong enough for diesels of that era. The AX-15 and NV3550 are stronger than it.
Tom

Looks like this may be a good idea. Ok guys the t-5 BW trans and the T-5 tremec trans are the same. Tremec bought out BW. The T56 is a great trans withe the double overdrive but I was thinking of a swap that cost maby $1000 total not starting with a $1000-1500 trans. The 5.0 mustang guys have been using T5's for years and they do have problems with them if you abuse it enough but I dont think the meanest 617 will hurt one. The reason I thought of this is the 93 up camaro V6 uses almost the same world class trans as the earlier V8 cars and there is no demand for them so they are pretty cheap. Getting it in the car would be easier than my jeep I think but this trans uses an electronic speedo and im not sure about changing that. The most important thing will be shifter position. Can someone measure from the front of the trans to the shifter in a 123 and let me know I have a tranny in my 95 camaro I can measure. I have a machine shop that would like to make a batch of say 25 adapters at a time if I can get them going.

I have a bad 89 v8 camaro trans in my shop. Input shaft length is right on this trans no problem there if you have a MB flywheel and PP the rest is fairly easy. My tailhousing is missing but I think the shifter will be 16-18 inches back from the bellhousing. Is this close to right?
On another note the ax5 and ax15 transmissions are junk they wont live in a 4cly jeep I dont think they are suitable for this. Toyota trans might be Ok not sure but they wont live in a truck. These transmissions are all hard to find and expensive because most are bad. I have only seen a few bad T5's from 6cyl camaros and they are cheap on ebay.

If I remember correctly, the "world class" T-5 is different than the ones commonly available in most cars. They did something to beef them up. I see a lot of T-5's advertised on ebay as "world class" and I'm not sure if they're the genuine article...

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

I think all 88 up cars have the world class tranny. The counter shaft is bigger and you can identify them by the part of the bearing you can see printing on the bearing its a WC if not if its just a plain cap its not WC. I think thats right its been a little while since I swapped one. Ill check and see.

Yeah, it's been almost 20 years since I was swapping actively. Some of my memories are a little sketchy...

Here's the Tremec factory website with all the specs for their tranny's:

http://www.ttcautomotive.com/English/products/tremec.asp

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Well that didnt help as much as I thought it would. But it does show that the weakest t5 is god enough for this. Looks like the best canidate is a 96-02 camaro it has an internal slave and the correct clutch splines. That shifter position i gave is wrong. I think 20 to 24" will get it. This may be much easier than I thought.

If you do your conversion so that you don't have to modify the transmission to bolt it in then changing a bad transmission is not a bad job anyway.

Google transmission swap and you can find all kinds of information on swaps for various vehicles. Refine the search for more specific information.

An adapter to bolt a SBC bell housing to a 617 would be a boondoggle. Would the starter location, etc keep this from working?

What's cool about 240D Jeep's swap is there isn't a change to the transmission other than a few extra holes drilled in the case. The bellhousing, which won't break or wear out is the custom piece. That's what makes a conversion like this smart, especially in the truck that will likely see some abuse off-roading. If, on the odd chance there is some damage to the tranny, swapping one out is an easy job and doesn't require any custom or machine work. Stock clutch parts too. Smart.

jim

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http://www.seriestrek.com

My 300d's tranny is starting to slip....

I know this is a super old thread, but what ever became of this? I have a 300D Turbo that desperately needs a 5 speed conversion. A T5 would be great, they're all over the junkyards.

240d jeep the original poster has not been around since 1-16-08,
and a good portion of the others are not active either.

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

I've done several swaps on Jaguars, but none on Benz's. Jaguar is more complex because there isn't room for a plate, so you need to start with a cast bellhousing, of which several are available. I don't know if anyone makes adapter bells for Mercedes, but the bodies hopefully have a bit more room between engine and firewall.

As was mentioned here, all T-5's aren't equal. There are low end units for light cars and heavy duty units for performance cars and trucks. The shifters come in various positions and the tail housings are of different lengths. The input shafts are various lengths and are turned to accommodate various pilot bushings. All of this needs to be taken into consideration when picking the transmission. Machining a case hardened transmission shaft isn't as easy as it sounds.

Most important are the gear ratios, which are different for every application. Don't get stuck with a transmission that has a super-low first gear, or you will be miserable.

There are also aftermarket parts available for T5's, including straight cut gear sets and special ratios.

T5's used to be made by Borg Warner, BW sold their transmission business to Tremec, so confusingly all T5's are now Tremecs, while the original Tremec 3550 range is no longer produced. Not to be confused with the transmissions used in Mustangs about 20 years ago, which were Tremec 3550TKO's, long out of production. All made in Mexico, which is ironic since folks here are so picky about where their parts come from.

Toyota transmissions, generally referred to as "Supra boxes" also come in a bewildering variety. Most of them are light duty, but the heavy duty boxes used in Supras and Lexuses were outstanding. The shifters are 'way back...I think about 21" from the face, but there are relocation kits available from down under. Spare parts can be a problem. And while you may think there are lots of these in the yards, what you're going to find are the light duty "iron case" transmission.

Shop manuals to be found here:

Supra: MK3 TSRM On-Line

3550: http://www.tremec.com/anexos/TRSM-TKO-0711-R1_3.pdf

T5: http://www.tremec.com/anexos/TRSM-T5-0510-R1_173.pdf

Calibrating the speedometer is a snap with T5's, which have easily replaceable drive gears. I have a calculator for selecting the right speedometer gear if anyone gets that far.