Clutch to suit M120
 

Hi all,

So we have an M120 engine from my S600 and are using it for a custom car project and wonder if anyone knows if there is a clutch from another Mercedes engine that might fit onto the M120 so we've got a starting point for converting it to a manual transmission ?

I assume there aren't that many manual transmissions in the Mercedes range, however I don't know enough about the whole range, so thought I'd ask those with more knowledge, so here I am http://mbworld.org/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif

Any help is much appreciated.

The bell housing bolt pattern is unique to the M120, however, if I have it right, the crankshaft bolt pattern is the same as all the V8s which went before the M120; M116,117,119. Eight bolts, seven at a radius of 40mm,one at 38mm. Hence, any flywheel that bolts to the earlier engines will bolt to the M120. I have modified a Ford 4.6 8-bolt flywheel to fit the pattern in question, which allows use of clutches up to 11 inches if there is room in the bell housing. The starter ring gear diameter may also be the limiting dimension.

The bell housing will be custom, which opens the door to many transmissions; Tremec T-56, 6060, etc., etc.

Thanks Frank, that's bloody useful info.

The transmission we're looking at using has it's own starter setup so hopefully that will take that headache away and offer us some more options on that front.

Clutch wise, I think we can only fit up to about 9 inch inside the bell housing....... Mendeola make the transaxle we're looking at called the S5.... sequential paddleshift gearbox.

Were the modifications to the Ford flywheel you made difficult ? Could make choosing a flywheel and clutch combo a lot easier if I can go down that route.

I'm familiar with transaxles in general; just not that one specifically.

For a good machinist the mods are not difficult, but a clear picture of the work must be in mind.

Thanks for that Frank.......... nothing showed up in e-mail yet...... my e-mail is fraser at rhea . co . nz if you want to send directly.

I guess the modification you're talking about is just the offset hole in the M120 bolt pattern ? I see there's 7 evenly spaced holes and one slightly offset ?

Once again, thanks for the help...... the more information the better when it's something like this.

This is the Mendeola S4/5
http://www.transworks.biz/mds4_2.JPG

Have a look on the performance section of this forum, someone was working up V8 FW and clutches.

On of the issues I see with a 9 single disc is slippage, you will probably end up going with a double disc. Try to get discs with spring centers and marcell sprung facing, the spring centers will absorb engine vibe and marcell gives smooth engagement.

Thanks very much. Frank, I haven't received any e-mail from you unfortunately so not sure what happened there........ you could send to me direct if you want fraser at rhea dot co dot nz

I assume the changes are to make that one offset hole (seems like 7 evenly spaced one and one offset) ??

Thanks 97 SL320.... I'll take a look for those threads............. I assumed I'd need to look at a twin plate as well given the torque levels we expect.

The Mendeola S4/5 bell housing looks suspiciously like air cooled VW , Porsche.

And it looks like a Chevy bell housing can be had giving you large diameter / easier adapter manufacture. Plus access to off the shelf Chevy flywheels ( maybe redrill to Mercedes ) / clutches.

In the performance section, look at what I posted for OM606 to Chevy adapters, it might be of some help. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/performance-paddock/351545-trans-adaptors-om-60x-should-fit-m103-104-a.html

Yeah that's right they have different options, but their default one is VW / Porsche and we went with that as dimension wise it matches pretty much perfectly with the M120 so that the bottom of the transaxle will be at the same level as the bottom of the M120 sump.

I'll take a look at the thread for Chevy clutches.