1997 E320 Blown Engine
 

Hi,
My friend has a 1997 E320 which the engine overheated in and now the engine needs to be replaced.My question is would a 1996 E320 engine drop-in without modifications or was the transmission different and I believe that the 3.2 engine changed in 98,would that be able to bolt up to the stock transmission or should I just stick to only looking for a 1997 engine.
-Thanks

96 and 97 use the same engine. 97 had the 5-speed auto (722.6) vs the 4-speed (722.3) in the 96. Any HFM M104 should work. But dont quote me on it. Anyone else's opinion?

If the engine just overheated, the head probably needs to be skimmed and a new head gasket. Why waste all that money on a new engine?

I agree with John, unless the engine seized it's quite possible that replacing the head gasket, water pump, etc. is all that's required. Need to determine the root cause of the overheating before proceeding with any repair.

Hi,
The engine was overheated last summer when the car was driven with basically no coolant.The engine runs now,but poorly,yet it can still be driven on the highway which leads me to believe that maybe it is possible that the engine can be salvaged.What should be expected pricewise for a head,because I got a quote for $1295 shipped for a 56000 mile engine removed from a 1997 E320.

A good head job will probably run $1000+ if you take it somewhere. Running with no coolant is a lot worse than just overheating, so I'd probably tend to agree with your idea to just scrap the old engine. You could probably part out the old engine and make $500-600 from the accessories if you wanted.

A severe enough overheat will anneal the rings and after that, it's done.

Just be aware that a super picky emissions inspection station will not pass a 97 car with a 96 engine, even if they are the same. But would they actually be able to tell?

-J

I have seen this. It calls for a complete engine rebuild. Try to find a good used engine.

I think were just going to put in a low mileage engine.The car itself only has about 136000 miles on it and is gorgeous.He just bought it last summer and this happened within the first month or so,the previous owner had replaced the brakes,rotors,added brand new Ronal 16'' rims with Michelin Primacys.When the problem first happened,we had it sent to my mechanic to see what he could do,he replaced the water pump and a few other things and got the car running again,but it wasnt in the best running condition.So I figure we get an engine with about 60000 on it and the car will basically be perfect for the long run, as long as the coolant level stays full.

Or get the engine with 60k that still has a car attached to it, and scrape the first one altogether.