Another question, hopefully not already answered recently: how straight forward would a swap of an OM606 diesel motor from a '95 e300D sedan (automatic of course) into a '88 230TE 5 speed Euro spec wagon be? There's absolutely nothing wrong with either car, just curious as to whether it's a piece of cake (for the right guy) or whether the starter or bellhousing or other major part isn't going to meld well. As always, thanks in advance. CRT

It's a straight forward swap but you need to swap the radiator from the E300D and the steering column and the glow plug relay and all the wires from the glow plug relay and since is TE you need to swap the power steering pump from the 230TE engine into the 606 engine

Benzguy, thanks. I figure there'll be lots of electrical type transfer bugs to deal with, but I guess my biggest wonder, or even concern, is whether the 606 will bolt right up to the 5 speed manual tranny in the 230TE? I have a nearly MINT '95 E300, which I don't drive (passenger airbag cannot be deactivated so my son can't ride up front, plus it's automatic AND power everything - grrrr!) and I just won the auction for a cool Euro spec w124 in Canada that I'm going to import, and my little brain got to thinking, hmmm why not make that Estate a diesel? I bought a really nice Euro spec w123 that I've been driving, but once again, automatic and NO TACH!!!!!!! Hopefully this EU wagon will be the charm, and maybe I'll hold onto the E300 in hopes of...

Yes the 5 speed from the 230 will bolt on to the 606 I have a 95 E300D and I was able to de activate the passenger side air bag I replace the air bag with a glove compartment the only thing is the asr red light is on all the time

It can be done, but there seems to be an endless amount of little changes when you go from gas to diesel. It would make a great wagon though! One thing you might check a little further is the pilot bearing. In the 85 W123's with the 617T, MB decided to decrease the bore in the back of the crank by 1 mm, making the installation of the standard pilot bearing a real problem. I put my standard bearing in the 617T by placing it in the freezer over night and I had a very warm sun shinning on the crank. It went in pretty hard, but after now, after 3 years running but not too many miles every thing is OK. I certainly don't have any idea how I would go about replacing it though. It would be almost impossible to pull out.

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Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

Ok, thanks guys - now we're getting somewhere. BG, I was able to glean from many postings that if you disable the passenger airbag, the whole SRS system becomes defunct, that is driver's airbag as well as the automatic detente of the seatbelts - that's why I decided to pursue other options (not to mention that crossbar under the bag!). And the other thing is my e300 is pretty much too nice to just dismantle, and having a shop swap BOTH systems in & out of BOTH cars would be way too much dough! So it seems maybe I should offer up the w124 sedan back into the market. It's one of those previously owned cars that most of us car guys look for - one owner, every single service record (including EVERY oil change!) and literally EVERYTHING in the car works! Black with grey, 225K. Feelers?