240D 4-speed manual swap in 300CD - Page 6 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

gavin_leslie · #1 11-30-2007, 03:01 PM

Original thread is here.. Transmission issue: No forward drive gears in 78 300CD

The long and the short...the 722.118 automatic failed(failure mode still undetermined). Car has near 350k on the chassis, engine fully rebuilt in 1995. car was purchased for $2200 by the GF and a fair amount of maintainance work done by yours truly.

The options to get the car going were..remanufactured transmission at $1400-1600 with installation @ $6-800. Install remanned transmission myself. Refurbish transmission myself with parts ($6-800?) and install......look for different car alltogether.

The GF has no other mode of transportation so time was somewhat of the essence. Others have said that rebuilding an automatic is not rocket surgery, but is challenging and time consuming. Never having worked with an auto transmission before my comfort level was/is low. With time I could figure things out, but....Franky speaking, with a lack of time, manuals and facilities there needed to be a faster option. Compounding this was the initial cost of the car. It was pretty cheap, at that price there was serious thought to just how much effort we really wanted to put into a 30yr old car...no matter how much affinity we felt for the old girl. The answer had to be quick, cost effective and a real effective solution.

While searching on information for repairing the auto trans I came across this.. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?p=581868#post581868 which lead to this.. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?p=1105195#post1105195

With a 50% off sale post thanksgiving at the Junkyards this seemed like the answer I needed.

I do have questions with the swap however that I havent seen mentioned(I admit I may have missed them however)

Copied and pasted from Transmission issue: No forward drive gears in 78 300CD

Quote:

Originally Posted by gavin_leslie

I have been going through the usual suspects http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?p=1105195#post1105195 and nothing seems too out of the order but I did have some questions.

-There was a mention of different(?) pilot bearings. Was this an issue for your conversion?

-The shift linkages need to be shortened and threaded. I notice the threads are rolled(extruded) threads. Was this an issue with thread engagement as the existing threads are thicker than the actual shaft.

-whats the installation order of the shift rods? I, er....forgot to label what went where in my haste to remove the trans in the yards

(hey, it was 50% off, I was swept up in the tide of savings)

-where are these indexing marks I keep hearing about? I must be blind because I havent seen any on the flywheel or the driveshaft.(but does this really matter since they will be on a different car and be balanced(driveshaft) and not(5-cylinder engine/4cyl flywheel))

-I hear that the 5-cyl engine is inherently unbalanced because of the odd firing sequence. What is the real day to day reality of vibration from the engine/. Also, with regards to bearing life, has there been any indication that the additional vibrations from the engine have prematurely worn crankshaft/main bearings?

-Wiring. I assume that brake lights/reverse lights will be a plug in affair..what else?

The driveshaft is at the workshop to be shortened and balanced. Just a bit of measuring of the transmission lengths (6.125" difference) and "add" that to the length of the driveshaft (stock stubby was 13.375"). Total new stubby length will be 19.5".

Any additional pointers would be a help.

Gavin