240D Automatic Transmission Swap To Manual - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

eugesd · #1 02-18-2011, 09:42 PM

I have a 1980 240D Mercedes with a automatic transmission, I have been thinking about switching over to a manual transmission because I hear that acceleration to free way speed is far superior than a automatics.

Anyways, today I took a trip to a junk yard down the road to hear that they just brought in a 1978 I believe, Mercedes 240D. I go down to check it out and its a Manual transmission! I couldn't really tell if it was a 4 speed or a 5 speed I believe 5 speed since I ran it though all the gears and it felt like 5, but I have never owned a manual car so I wouldn't really know.

I was so happy to find that they had it, I went to go ask how much it was for and the man said he wanted $300 and wouldn't go lower. (This is when I realized I was broke

) Haha.

So my questions are:

Are these transmission hard to come by?

Is it worth the $300 they want for it? (I don't know if it works)

Is the project itself not worth taking on? Both performance and difficulty wise. I do have a brother who is a mechanic and is pretty familiar with transmissions, but he is a bit more comfortable with automatics opposed to manuals.

FYI I am 17 which means I have a tight budget. Ha ha

charmalu · #2 02-18-2011, 10:41 PM

Hi, welcome to the forum, I see you just signed up a few weeks ago.

I also have a 80 240D, but a 4-spd. I have never driven a 240 auto, so nothing to compare. just what I have read here on the foum of others that have autos. seem they are a little doggy compared to a stick.

So is the $300 just for the transmission? or for all the parts related to doing the swap?

You will need the flywheel, transmission, transmission cross mount. You have the wider one for the automatic that has the 4 mounting points to the body. the 4-spd one is narrow and uses 2 mounting points.

the shift lever assembly and the 3 shift rods. I think the auto is longer than the manual trans, so you will need the front piece of the driveline, or get the whole DL from the donor car. you will need the clutch/brake peddle assembly also. there is the hydraulic line from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder on the side of the trans.

this would be a good time to replace the 2 rubber flex discs on either end of the DL and the center support bearing. that is if they look bad.

Before removing the auto FW, make match marks on the crank and FW. there may be some already, so check before removing. the FW is balanced to the crank assy. so you will need to have the manual FW matched balanced to the auto FW. doing a search on this swap, you will read some saying that some FW are nutural balanced. you just don`t know which ones are.

You will need a pilot bearing, clutch disc, pressure plate, master cylinder and Slave cylinder.

Everything is pretty much plug and play. all the holes are already there, no cutting or welding to do. Unless you have to modify a front section of the driveline as I had to do with this swap to my 300D.

If you are not in a hurry, you can slowly assemble the parts with in your budget. this will cost a few Bucks from start to finish.

Check the PNP yards for the parts you need. a trans is around $150, Fw around $30, shifter maybe $25.
www.picknpull,com you can check their inventory of the various yards, and locate where the yards are.

the early 240 trans are a 2 piece, aluminum bell with an iron box, and 82/83 have an all one piece alum box. not a big deal, all work. you never know when pulling the box as to it`s condition inside. turning the shafts and shifting the levers can give you a feel as to how smooth they are.

move the lever to the left and forward is first, straight down is second. over to the right and up is third, and straight back is fourth.
reverse is over to the left. lift the lever and push forward. 5 spds are really rare, as they were not sold over here, only sold in europe. if you find one, they can be sold for a good price. the 5th would be overdrive.

Acceleration will be better with the 4-spd, but you are still only dealing with 67HP.

Charlie

vstech · #3 02-18-2011, 10:45 PM

Excellent reply! I totally agree on all counts, and feel everything I was going to post is covered!
just want to second that the 78 trans is iron, and you will be better served waiting for an aluminum box. and if the 300 is JUST for the trans, it's a rip off!
I paid 325 for my aluminum trans with EVERYTHING covered in this swap ALREADY PULLED FOR ME!
and it's VERY unlikely it's a 5 speed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by charmalu

Hi, welcome to the forum, I see you just signed up a few weeks ago.

I also habe a 80 240D, but a 4-spd. I have never driven a 240 auto, so nothing to compare. just what I have read here on the froum of others thave autos. seem they are a little doggy compared to a stick.

So is the $300 just for the transmission? or for all the parts related to doing the swap?

You will need the flywheel, transmission, transmission cross mount. You have the wider one for the automatic that has the 4 mounting points to the body. the 4-spd one is narrow and uses 2 mounting points.

the shift lever assembly and the 3 shift rods. I think the auto is longer than the manual trans, so you will need the front piece of the driveline, or get the whole DL from the donor car. you will need the clutch/brake peddle assembly also. there is the hydraulic line from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder on the side of the trans.

this would be a good time to replace the 2 rubber flex discs on either end of the DL and the center support bearing. that is if they look bad.

Before removing the auto FW, make match marks on the crank and FW. there may be some already, so check before removing. the FW is balanced to the crank assy. so you will need to have the manual FW matched balanced to the auto FW. doing a search on this swap, you will read some saying that some FW are nutural balanced. you just don`t know whuch ones are.

You will need a pilot bearing, clutch disc, pressure plate, master cylinder and Slave cylinder.

Everything is pretty much plug and play. all the holes are already there, no cutting or welding to do. Unless you have to modify a front section of the driveline as I had to do with this swap to my 300D.

If you are not in a hurry, you can slowly assemble the parts with in your budget. this will cost a few Bucks from start to finish.

Check the PNP yards for the parts you need. a trans is around $150, Fw around $30, shifter maybe $25.
www.picknpull,com you can check their inventory of the various yards, and locat where the yards are.

the early 240 trans are a 2 piece, aluminum bell with an iron box, and 82/83 have an all one piece alum box. not a big deal, all work. you never know when pulling the box as to it`s condition inside. turning the shafts and shifting the levers can give you a feel as to how smooth they are.

Charlie

eugesd · #4 02-18-2011, 10:55 PM

Wow, thanks for the reply

I will be sure to see what he says about selling me all those parts together and for what price.

I was looking at that PNP website and I don't understand what it means when its talking about supplying an old part:

"Some parts have a Core Deposit that you pay until you return your old part. If you supply the old part at time of purchase, you don't have to pay this amount"

charmalu · #5 02-18-2011, 11:07 PM

Most parts will have a core charge, unless it is trim, molding, door panels etc...

things line wiper motor, starter, trans, engines etc... will all have a core charge. bring back the old part, and you will get the core price returned to you.

I bought some window regulators with the motors, and the core was $2.99. I bring back an old one with in 30 days, and get back my core charge.

The automatic cross mount from your 240, can be sold to some one doing a swap into their 300D which need this mount. so don`t toss it.

EDIT:

Just noticed, I hit the 4000 post mark

Charlie

t walgamuth · #6 02-19-2011, 06:40 AM

I agree with everything the other fellows posted and will add:
1. It is a lot of work for a first project so be prepared to invest 16 to 24 hours doing it. If you were experienced you mihgt do it quicker with a lift.
2. I have converted several cars to stick from automatic and have not regretted any of them.
3. I probably would wait until the automatic acts up. OTOH if you do it while the tranny is working well you may be able to sell off the tranny and defray some of your expenses.

Welcome to the forum. I love 240ds. I've had a dozen or so, all old and all high mileage.....all ended up with either a stick or a 300d motor in them.

eugesd · #7 02-22-2011, 04:02 AM

Don't want to sound like an extreme amateur but whats a FW? I went back today to look at the car and its def. a 4 speed, shifting was pretty smooth, however I don't really know how it should feel.

t walgamuth · #8 02-22-2011, 05:55 AM

Fort Worth.....

Just kiddding....flywheel.

eugesd · #9 03-08-2011, 02:01 AM

I went back and asked how much he would charge for me to take off everything I needed to do a transmission swap and he said 350. I would need to remove it my self however, is this worth it?

charmalu · #10 03-08-2011, 03:30 AM

I was doing a rough guess for the parts.
$150 transmission
$ 25 shifter
$30 3 shift rods. (depends what they charge a piece for them. I used $10 ea, probably less)
$35 flywheel
$30 driveline ( front piece)
$15 trans X mount ( will need the one from a 240D automatic)
$25 peddle assembly

that is just a ball park figure. you will need the clutch, pilot bearing, throw out bearing. I just reread post #1. you already have the X mount from your automatic. then just get the driveline from the donor car. the whole thing. should slip right in. be sure to mark the 2 halves before taking them apart. I have a white bottle on nail polish in my tool box for marking things. bring some sandwich bags or freezer bags to put in all the nuts and bolts you remove. a felt tip marker to mark the bags. it`s easy to say you will remember what goes where at the JY. it is when you get home and, HMMMM now where this little dodad go

so his $350 depends as to how many things he lets you have, not a bad price.

Charlie

nickofoxford · #11 03-08-2011, 03:48 AM

Don't forget the pedal assembly!

charmalu · #12 03-08-2011, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickofoxford

Don't forget the pedal assembly!

Fixed.

how did I over look that one???

Charlie

lutzTD · #13 03-08-2011, 08:56 AM

at the picknpull a full swap generally costs 225-250. its a lot of work and will require a lot of tools so be prepared. also make sure to shake the car to make sure the boneheads got it solid so the car doesnt fall on you!

heres a list of what to take, likely not fully inclusive. others please chime in

1/2 drive metric socket set
1/4 drive metric socket set
metric line wrench set
combination wrenches from 8mm to 20mm
channel locks for DS nut
1/2 drive extensions, you will need about 20 inches worth for trans top bolts and starter bolt
1/4 extensions couple short and mediums, longs if you got them
1/2 to 1/4 adapter for allen sockets
1/2 breaker bar
allen socket for starter bolt, cant remember size
allen socket or wrench set for pressure plate, I think its 6mm
if your socket set is 6 point you will need a 12 point 12mm for the flywheel bolts, also a big phillips to keep the flywheel from turning

I also bring several sizes of crescent wrenches
several sizes of phillips and straight screw drivers
wire cutters
couple sizes of vise grips
small pry bar for the DS flex joints
utility knife with extra blades

panZZer · #14 03-08-2011, 09:07 PM

Im thinking the yr they started neutral balancing is 81-2 from what i have gleaned here and this thread is what caused me to stumble onto mercedesshop--and why yall have been plagued by me ever since,
R leo's
auto> manual transmission conversion has begun

Auto -> Manual Transmission Conversion Has Begun.

vstech · #15 03-08-2011, 09:43 PM

be sure and get the trans mount plate from the manual car... it is certainly different from the auto plate, you WILL need the manual plate.
then put the auto plate up for sale, or hang on to it for when you decide you want to stick a 300 motor in place of your 240... the auto plate works for the 300 motor with the stick tranny.