Feasability?- CDI drivetrain swapped into E320 wagon - Page 5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

sam735 · #61 04-10-2020, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

Thanks for resurrecting this thread! To answer your question, not really, just postponed. I have so many other projects that I have to finish. Another BIG reason is that I have not found a donor car yet. If I find a good candidate, the project may get moved forward.....Rich

Cool, glad you have not given up on the idea! I can definitely understand other projects getting in the way of a more involved swap.

I have been researching about doing this exact swap since buying a badly wrecked '06 CDI in February of '19. As best as I can tell, I think the suggestions made in this thread are spot on as far as the cars being very modular between 04-06 years. In comparing part #'s on the parts websites, there are not many components past the obvious diesel parts that are different between the gas and diesel car (and subsequently between the gas sedan and wagon). One of the biggest things I an trying to find out is the differences in the body/dash harness between the gas and diesel car. For some reason the websites (I have mainly been using mbpartscenter.com) do not list the dash or body harnesses. I have not pulled apart much of the interior of either of my cars to investigate wiring yet. I figure I will start with comparing the fuel pump wiring, as the fuel pump/sending unit is definitely different between gas/diesel cars. Fortunately the gas sedan and gas wagon use the same fuel pump/sending unit assembly, so the diesel unit should drop right into the wagon fuel tank.

Did you end up fixing your CDI with the gas parts car and just driving the blue wagon you got as is? I am jealous of the blue wagon you found; I ended up with an almost champagne-colored wagon that I do not care for much and feel lucky that I found a RWD 04-06 wagon at all. I was looking at picking up a car in florida had I not found the champagne wagon locally.

ROLLGUY · #62 04-10-2020, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam735

Cool, glad you have not given up on the idea! I can definitely understand other projects getting in the way of a more involved swap. .............................

Did you end up fixing your CDI with the gas parts car and just driving the blue wagon you got as is? I am jealous of the blue wagon you found; I ended up with an almost champagne-colored wagon that I do not care for much and feel lucky that I found a RWD 04-06 wagon at all. I was looking at picking up a car in florida had I not found the champagne wagon locally.

Yes, the wrecked CDI was put back on the road. My niece bought it not long after I fixed it. Many parts were donated from the gas parts car I bought.

vwnate1 · #63 04-10-2020, 04:51 PM

Look here :

https://www.copart.com/

ROLLGUY · #64 09-27-2020, 02:15 PM

Although it may not be a big step, I am a step closer to doing this project (Lord willing). I just purchased a STAR Multiplexer and cables. Yard sale Star system, did I do okay?
A computer and software are next.......Rich

Skid Row Joe · #65 09-28-2020, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

I think a CDI wagon with the 6 speed would be even better! I imagine this combination is available in Europe. About 18 years ago I went to Germany, and drove around in a Diesel MB 6 speed manual sedan, and it was a rocket ship! I was not into 'Benz's then, so I don't remember what model it was. I do know that it was fast and fun to drive.......Rich

The '05 & '06 E320 CDI equivalent in the EU is the E250 CDI sedan. Powerful! Smaller liters - 2.5. 6-speed MTs available in the EU?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

Yes, the wrecked CDI was put back on the road. My niece bought it not long after I fixed it. Many parts were donated from the gas parts car I bought.

How did/do you dispose of a parts car?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

Although it may not be a big step, I am a step closer to doing this project (Lord willing). I just purchased a STAR Multiplexer and cables. Yard sale Star system, did I do okay?
A computer and software are next.......Rich

I'm wondering why Jim/Engatwork hasn't jumped in this long running thread? IIRC, he transplanted a straight 6 MB diesel engine (don't recall which one?) …. into an '04 - '06 E320 wagon, years ago......

ROLLGUY · #66 09-28-2020, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

How did/do you dispose of a parts car?..........

....

I sold it along with six other cars and a yard full of parts to a guy that shipped everything to his brother in Serbia.

ROLLGUY · #67 09-28-2020, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

The '05 & '06 E320 CDI equivalent in the EU is the E250 CDI sedan. Powerful! Smaller liters - 2.5. 6-speed MTs available in the EU?
.....

I have seen a E320 CDI wagon in EU on my trip there last year. I also saw one for sale in Canada, and even inquired about it. I never got an answer back, so I assume it sold.

ROLLGUY · #68 09-28-2020, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam735

Did you end up fixing your CDI with the gas parts car and just driving the blue wagon you got as is? ...................

As a matter of fact, my niece brought her car over the other day for me to look at it. I got a photo of the two blue 211's together.

tjts1 · #69 09-28-2020, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

As a matter of fact, my niece brought her car over the other day for me to look at it. I got a photo of the two blue 211's together.

I like that blue. My friend has it on his E500 sedan.

sam735 · #70 11-09-2021, 01:41 PM

It has been a minute, but have made a chunk of progress on my CDI swapped wagon. I ended up picking up a cleaner black 06 E350 Wagon for the swap that had engine noise. Wasn't very hard to get the engine in, fit exactly the same into the wagon. Currently trying to get the wiring all situated in the car along with other electrical components/modules. I am opting to use as much of the wiring from the cdi sedan parts car, get the car running, and then try to merge some of the wagon specific components in. Fortunately it looks like the tail lights and tailgate wiring from the wagon will plug right in to the rear SAM unit. Hopefully will have more progress to update on in the next week or two.

ROLLGUY · #71 11-09-2021, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam735

It has been a minute, but have made a chunk of progress on my CDI swapped wagon. I ended up picking up a cleaner black 06 E350 Wagon for the swap that had engine noise. Wasn't very hard to get the engine in, fit exactly the same into the wagon. Currently trying to get the wiring all situated in the car along with other electrical components/modules. I am opting to use as much of the wiring from the cdi sedan parts car, get the car running, and then try to merge some of the wagon specific components in. Fortunately it looks like the tail lights and tailgate wiring from the wagon will plug right in to the rear SAM unit. Hopefully will have more progress to update on in the next week or two.

How much different is the wiring between both cars? Is it possible to use the cabin wiring for the wagon and just use the CDI front SAM and engine wiring? It seems like it would be a major job to swap over the interior wiring. Also, does the mileage on the donor engine go with the SAM and gauge cluster? So many questions, as I have not abandoned the idea of doing this to my wagon. I have since acquired a possible CDI donor, but don't want to have my wagon down for a long time. My new (to me) $1,500 '05 E320 CDI

sam735 · #72 11-09-2021, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

How much different is the wiring between both cars? Is it possible to use the cabin wiring for the wagon and just use the CDI front SAM and engine wiring? It seems like it would be a major job to swap over the interior wiring. Also, does the mileage on the donor engine go with the SAM and gauge cluster? So many questions, as I have not abandoned the idea of doing this to my wagon. I have since acquired a possible CDI donor, but don't want to have my wagon down for a long time. My new (to me) $1,500 '05 E320 CDI

So the harnesses *look* pretty similar between the cars, and now as I am putting the sedan body harness into the wagon it seems to fit up about the same. To me, it does not look like you could simply plug the cdi engine harness and front SAM right into the wagon body harness. At least on the E350 I am using, they actually do use the same connector on the body harness of both vehicles but they appear to be pinned differently. I didn't have much luck finding diagrams, but if repinned you might be able to plug and play the swap at the front SAM and ECU? I would be curious to see what the plug looks like/how it is pinned on an e320. The only other w211 I have sitting at the house is an e55 sedan which looked to have an entirely different plug into the ecu from the body harness. I'll attach pictures of both connectors, showing the difference.

If moving a few pins on that connector could make this a near plug & play swap, it would save so much trouble. Almost all of the interior has to be pulled out to switch body harnesses as most of the body harness comes out as one big piece. Was kind of surprised this was the case as other manufacturers tend to have a body harness/dash harness/etc that plug into eachother. Fortunately all of the wiring underneath the headliner unplugs just above the drivers side rear wheel.

The mileage on my car will all read as the donor (I believe it was right at 102k whereas the wagon was somewhere in the 160k range). I still need to look into it a little more to be sure, but how you go about that mileage seems to vary state by state. Being that the car is over 10 years old, I believe it is mileage exempt in Tennessee. Plus it won't have to go through emissions testing (where they log the mileage in the county clerk system that shows on carfax reports). I figure I will always just have to figure the actual mileage of the car as the difference of mileage between the cars at the time of the swap plus what is shown on the cluster as the car is driven.

ROLLGUY · #73 11-09-2021, 09:12 PM

"The mileage on my car will all read as the donor (I believe it was right at 102k whereas the wagon was somewhere in the 160k range)."
If that is the case, I probably won't use the CDI I now have as a donor, as it has 300+K miles, my wagon only has 155K. If in fact the ECU records the mileage on the car, and the ECU goes with the engine, then I would need to find a donor with similar mileage. What about the key and EIS? My wagon only has two buttons, and the sedan has three.

ROLLGUY · #74 11-09-2021, 09:28 PM

Another thing I thought of, is that the wagon has sensors on the rear seats. If your donor sedan had folding rear seats, (pass through) the harness would probably change over without issue. However, the wagon also has other features that the sedan does not have, so it would seem that the wagon rear SAM and wiring may need to remain. I wish MB made these cars more modular, it would make swaps like this much easier!!!

ccrelan · #75 11-10-2021, 06:45 AM

Look up Mercedes Swap Shop in California. He might be able to do coding on the ecu and swap the info from one car to the other