W201 w/OM603T?

[Geeky1]

Hi all,

I may have a chance to pick up a 190D 2.5 (not a turbo ) with a 5spd and about 280k later this week. Given the difficulty of finding a 190D with a stick, particularly a Turbo model, I've been considering buying this one and then swapping in an OM603T out of either a 300SDL or a 300D. I know the swap has been done before, and I've spent the past few days on Google reading everything I can find on it, including this thread: W124 V8 Manual Trans Conversions which reinier posted documenting a swap into a 16 valve car.

I haven't taken on a project of this magnitude before, and I'd like to get an idea of what I'm getting into before I do. reinier's post was very helpful, but there's one thing I'm not really clear on; is there any kind of fabrication required to get the engine bolted into the car? I understand the driveshaft will probably need to be shortened, the wiring harness, radiator & heater hoses, a/c hoses, p/s hoses and fuel lines will need to be adapted, but I think I can handle most of that myself (save for the driveshaft, which I can have a shop shorten for me). It's just getting the engine in the car and bolted up to the transmission that concerns me.

Thanks.

[Geeky1]

I think I've managed to talk myself into giving this a shot... Everything I can find points to this being relatively easy, as far as engine swaps go, so... With any luck I'll be able to pick up both cars next week, assuming I hear back from the seller of the 300 and the dealership with the 190 manages to get their act together. I probably won't attempt the swap right away; I'm sure the 190 has been neglected (a lot of older Mercedes, particularly 190s and diesels seem to get run into the ground in my experience ) and there are a few other issues that I want to address before I go putting another ~50hp and 100lb-ft of torque under the hood, namely the laughable diesel brakes, the suspension (including wheels and tires) and the steering.

[Zeitgeist]

You'll need to cobble together a throttle linkage and I'm not sure the engine mounts attach at the same point, so that's probably your most important consideration. The bell housings are the same, but the cooling fan will probably have to be swapped with a slim set of electrics. Sounds like a fun project.

[Geeky1]

Thanks Yeah, my major concern is mounting the engine (and relocating the transmission back a few inches, if necessary) simply because I can't weld. I can operate a mill, and it wouldn't take me long to remember how to operate a lathe or program a CNC mill, but if I have to weld or braze anything up, I have a BIG problem. That and the fact that I'd be borrowing a lift at work to get the engine in, which means that once I get started (Friday afternoon), the car has to be movable by 7:30 Monday morning-not necessarily movable under its own power, but able to be pushed off the rack and out of the way. And I'd kinda like to get some sleep at some point during that weekend too. So yeah. The ancillary stuff I can deal with, but the engine swap itself has to go pretty smoothly.