Trans. swap..auto to manual, 1983 Euro 4 speed donor car - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

macdoe · #1 04-30-2013, 05:56 PM

Hello, I have found a 1983 300d European 4 speed manual car from Germany nearby that we are hoping to use as a donor vehicle to swap the manual transmission and related parts into our 1980 300TD. Will the driveshaft swap over to the wagon? or is the wagon driveshaft different than the sedan? The p.o of my wagon swapped in a turbo 617 but the auto is toast and this is a good time to find one of these manual trans cars. Is this just a bolt in swap from a 1983 300d to a 1980 300TD with 617 turbo motor? Near as I can tell the only thing to worry about is the pilot bearing size.

Mölyapina · #2 04-30-2013, 05:59 PM

Dude... I'm drooling... a 38-pounder... oh boy.

macdoe · #3 04-30-2013, 06:03 PM

Yes, I was happy to find this, since it SHOULD have the proper flywheel? Also wondering how this trans will hold up behind the turbo motor?

Mölyapina · #4 04-30-2013, 06:09 PM

The transmission should hold up fine -- these are stronger than need be for their original purpose. There are many members here who have put many, many miles on their conversions.

macdoe · #5 04-30-2013, 06:27 PM

Do you know if the driveshaft fits...Id searched but not much comes up for some reason, which is odd cause I think it is a popular topic

macdoe · #6 04-30-2013, 06:29 PM

It has euro headlights but they are cracked. Can you get new lenses for these or is a whole assembly needed?

The Grinch · #7 05-01-2013, 01:05 AM

put in a new clutch kit and slave. Would really stink to have to pull the trans do to a failure of one of those.

Stevo · #8 05-01-2013, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Grinch

put in a new clutch kit and slave. Would really stink to have to pull the trans do to a failure of one of those.

Thats for sure, All the engine and tranny swapping with the 240Ds was a piece of cake compared to the 300TD, oh, and not forgetting about the starter

t walgamuth · #9 05-01-2013, 01:09 PM

yes.

winmutt · #10 05-01-2013, 08:33 PM

Always resruface flywheel and clutch mounting.

38lb flywheel is overrated. If you want a real fw get the GD one, otherwise the 240D works just fine.

t walgamuth · #11 08-21-2013, 06:28 AM

Synchros are metal.....steel or brass. The input shaft should have some play in it. Before giving up on it I'd pull the side cover and have a tranny expert look at it if it is not obviously shot. I agree a good used one makes sense.

charmalu · #12 08-21-2013, 01:48 PM

That is too dang bad about your newly anticipated project not being what you hoped it to be. Happens sometimes.

The Iron Box 4-spd transmission was used up to 1980 in the 240D. Then from 81 - 83 MB used an all one piece Aluminum case transmission. probably for the weight savings and production costs.
Either of these trans will work for your swap if you can source another one.

I believe the front section of the drive line will just swap in and be the proper length. Iam not sure, but I believe the rear section on the 300D, 300TD and 240D are the same length also.
For sure keep the front section.

If the Transmission is junk, keep the detachable Bell Housing, there is always some looking for one to modify for another type of vehicle eng swap. probably worth $75 or so.

Salvage everything from the euro you can. you can swap in the manual climate control assembly from under the dash and eliminate the Evil Servo. The manual window winders are becoming very rare too.

The M-Pump will work on a NA engine but for the turbo engine, it will work, but you will have a diminished lack of power unless you have it beefed up with the larger elements. = $$$$, big $$$$

Probably someone on www.superturbo.com that would want the pump. = more $$$$ for your project.

Charlie

macdoe · #13 08-23-2013, 06:45 AM

Thanks, I think this trans might be o.k. We took it apart and one of the countershaft bearings was obliterated. The bearing at the other end of the same shaft was seized. The one that exploded tossed 3 of the ball bearings out the aluminum tailshaft piece and left a hole. We got new 2 new bearings and will try to clean up and weld a patch on the tailshaft to close it up. Been busy cleaning all the bits of exploded bearing out of the case. I am surprised at how good this thing looked inside considering there was no oil in it. Has brass synchros and they look great. The sandy colored stuff was melted plastic bearing cage from the exploded bearing. The guy must have quit driving this as soon as it happened.

Dan Stokes · #14 08-23-2013, 04:52 PM

I just did this swap (or maybe more accurately I AM DOING this swap). I have the aluminum case trans from an '84 240D.

Use pilot bearing SKF pn. 6202-2RSJ. Your local bearing supplier will have it for a couple of $$ (I paid about $4) as opposed to the M-B bearing which is THE SAME bearing in a different box - and you'll have to wait for it. My experience was that the pilot bearing bore in the crank is 0.007" too small. You can freeze the bearing and cram it in there but when everything comes up to temp the bearing won't rotate freely as the outer race is squeezed into the center. I used a die grinder and a Tootsie roll abrasive and carefully worked the crank hole to size. Pressed fit should be about 0.002" (sorry, I don't have a Metric brain). Start by taking careful measurements of the bearing OD and the crank bore ID as yours may be different.

Another tip - the trans input shaft fits TIGHTLY into bearing ID. The tailshaft wouldn't turn freely by hand following the installation. After a great deal of fooling around I decided to thump the tailshaft with a soft hammer to drive the input shaft into the pilot bearing. Problem solved!

Remember to keep the shifter and linkage. You may want to save the floor hump from the donor car and weld it into the wagon but maybe in a M-B to M-B swap everything fits. In my case it's a moot point. Also order up fresh shifter bushings.

Good luck on this - it's pretty easy, really.

Dan

macdoe · #15 08-25-2013, 01:00 PM

This one is not entirely aluminum. It has the main case made of cast iron and an aluminum bellhousing and a short aluminum tailshaft piece. I am not sure what model transmission we have here. I looked up the vin # and this car has some strange extras. It has had a br140 option put on it has the letters MY/95. According to the vin this is suppossed to be a 716 005 trans, but there are no numbers stamped on the case. I found a pad cast into the trans that looks like the spot for a part # to have been stamped but there is no number stamped there? I think they forgot to stamp this one. It looks like it has a high slope to the case. Anyone venture to guess what I have here based on the description? I think this is an 84 year 300d but it sounds like there is suppossed to be an all aluminum case trans in here based on the year of the car??