w115 transmission swap?

If somebody could give me some insight on this I would appreciate it. I have a 1970 220d that has a broken auto trans. in it. I have obtained a 4 speed manual transmission out of a later model 240d. I would like to put it in my 220d. Anybody done this swap? Is it all that easy and what are some things to watch out for? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[ctaylor738]

I would definitely cross-check the transmission number to make sure it will fit.

I did a swap in a 123, and it was no big deal. You need to have the new flywheel statically balanced to the old one.

I was contemplating a swap for my 250C. Here is the email exchange that I had with a parts source:

From: Michael Medill [info@mercedesusedparts.com]
Sent: 11 October 2000 07:02
To: Chuck Taylor
Subject: Re: Parts Request (Long)

hello, i can furnish you with everything you need, right down to every nut
and bolt, with all the new parts you want, for $1300. this would be for a
4 spd.

At 12:45 PM 10/10/00 +0100, you wrote:
>Gentlemen:
>I am restoring a 1972 250C (2 door coupe) in Falls Church VA. It is
>currently completely disassembled.
>The Chassis Number is 114.023, and the Engine Number is M130.923. The
>complete VIN is 11402312000724.
>
>All 250C's sold in the US came with 4 speed automatic tranmsissions. While
>the car is apart, I would like to at least explore conversion to a four, or
>ideally, a five speed transmission. I am wondering if a 250CE would be a
>potential parts source.
>
>What I require is basically all of the parts to convert the car from
>automatic to manual. Here is what I can think of:
>
>Flywheel
>Clutch disk *
>Pressure plate *
>Throw-out bearing *
>Clutch actuator arm
>Clutch slave cylinder *
>Clutch master cylinder *
>Hydraulic fluid line from master to slave cylinder
>Clutch pedal assembly
>Bracket to hold clutch pedal
>Brake pedal pad
>Transmission
>Shift linkage, including backup light switch
>Shift handle, knob, boot
>Driveshaft (if different from automatic's)
>
>* Indicates a new or rebuilt part would be preferred

Thanks alot. Looks a little complicated, but nothing patience can't take care of. Do you know of any way to find out if a particular transmission will fit other than physically trying to bolt it up? Like is there somewhere that lists what transmissions will fit what year car? Thanks again

[ctaylor738]

No, I have not seen such a cross-listing. I have gleaned my knowledge from various manuals which cover both European and American cars.

My feeling is that Mercedes used the same transmission in many models and used the "engine plate" to fit them to different engines. The plate is an about 1" thick piece of aluminum that "mates" the engine and transmission.

[cth350]

I have a spreadsheet back home with all the flywheel, bellhousing, casing & drive shaft part numbers I could find from the early 60s to the late 70s. In that range, the rule is simple. There are exactly 3 variations.

- The clutch uses a fork.
- The clutch uses a lever.
- The bellhousing is wierd.

It should be possible to switch the first two around, I never tried, so I don't know.

The wierd cases are the M189 & the V8s. The V8s have their own bell housing. The M189 gets its own bellhousing. Also, the V8 presumably has a beefier set of bearings, but since benz over-engineers everything anyway, I'm not sure that it really matters.

Basically, all the straight 4s, 5s & 6s will swap directly. Your biggest worries are the drive shaft length (it changes from automatic to manual), the ratio of the rear differential and finding the pedals & shift lever hardware that are correct for your model.

In other words, go for it.

-CTH

[william rogers]

there are shops in any city that will shorten or lengthen your drive shaft and rebalance it , dosn't cost that much. I had a super heavy duty splined driveshaft costom built for my hot rod 454 2wd Blazer that I am building for $250.00 I have bought used parts from Michael Medill and they have all been in very good condition and shipped quickly.....
William Rogers.....