1989 300SEL Engine Swap
 

Does anybody know if I can transplant an engine from a 1990 300E into a 1989 300SEL without major conversion issues? Would the transmission be interchangable as well?
Thanks for your help.

I’ve decided to edit my post with a little more information to see if I could get an answer.

The donor engine is a 103.983 from a 1990 300E. The recipient is my 1989 300SEL with engine 103.981.
I’m also thinking about swapping, or at least keeping around the transmission from the 1990 300E, a 722.358 for a potential transplant into my 1989 300SEL with trans 722.351

I guess my real question is with the .XXX suffixes on each engine and transmission number as it relates to compatibility. For instance; is the 722.358 transmission irreversibly incompatible with my 300SEL with the 722.351 transmission? Or is it a simple conversion by switching out modulators or something? Additionally, if the transmission was swapped out “as is” would there be a noticeable difference in drivability? I’ve spent the last several hours researching this topic and can’t seem to find my answer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.

Bump
 

Is there anybody out there that knows something about these number suffixes? I could really use some help.
Thanks.

Yes the motor will swap, just mind the accessory brackets as they added an air pump for 1990. '89 or '90 MB also changed the aux fan switches so you may need to just take the '90 long block then attach all your '89 bits to it.

Thanks for the response Hit Man. Do you have any idea on the transmission?

Just reuse the existing one unless it's dead or has high miles.

you should be able to swap the complete powertrain from the 300e to the 300sel with no adverse effects.there may be minimal probs with sensors but nothing that can't be easily solved.

Thanks for the help David.