I got a call today from a customer of mine today. He wants me to design and build a limited slip differential for his 82 300D.

I asked him if there was already such a thing he could just buy, and he said that he could not find anything. I have not looked myself, but bet it would be a rare thing if it was available, but rare is still cheaper than a custom made one off.

Any thoughts as to where he should be looking?

Thanks,

Dave

Probably the only answer I know of is to get the differential and axles from a 126-107 chassis and install the quaife. I have been thinking of looking into this for my wagon.

I have heard of some early 126 parts fitting 123 the chassis. Are you saying that a diff and axels from a 126-107 would swap directly, or would it require some fab work to adapt them to the rear frame?

For some reason I am thinking that the 126 is wider, are the axels the same length?

The spines that plug into the hubs are probably the same?

If it is a direct swap, I'll have him start looking for specific 126s that had a limited slip diff.

Mean while I am putting together a quote to build a new carrier that uses an aftermarket locking mechanism. I need to find out how many spines the 123 axel has at the DIF end, and its OD.

Thanks,

Dave

I am pretty sure the diff will just bolt in. The axles may have to be shortened though.

Well... MB only made 185mm and 210 mm ring gears. Said another way- there is 1.1 liter and 1.3 liter cases.
Figure out which case/gear it is.. then you can get a carrier which is posi depending on the gearing.
The 126, 210 mm is on order with MB right now- with a delievery tenative date of Feb 28th.
107's had posi as options too. W201 uses the small 185mm in the 16 valve engined cars...

I think your probably looking at 10 hrs labor, $771 list for the carrier, plus $200-300 for the side bearings, shims and seals.

Is he up for that?

Michael

WOW! That is very good information!! I like the idea of just buying off MB parts over reinventing the wheel. I would imagine that the 123 uses the smaller gear.

Do you by any chance work for a dealer or parts depot? I ask because I would rather give you the business if the project gets approved.

Many thanks!