Gents,

Is there any difference between the trannys of 83 300D and 300SD? I have an option to pick up a spare tranny out of an SD. Will it fit my 300D?

Thanks!

W.

The transmission itself, yes. Some of the peripherals like the speedometer drive, no.

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Current fleet
2006 E320 CDI
1992 300D - 5speed manual swapped

former members
1984 300D "Blues Mobile"

1978 300CD "El Toro"

which way are you going?

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Take the one out of the 300D if you don't want to swap the tail shaft. It might be worth a swap if one has significantly less miles or the other has dirty/burnt fluid.

__________________
1991 F250 super-cab 7.3 IDI. (rebuilt by me) Banks Sidewinder turbo, hydroboost brakes, new IP and injectors.
2003 S430 - 107K
1983 300SD - Tanoshii - mostly restored ~400K+.
1983 300SD - Good interior. Engine finally tamed ~250K.
Monark Nozzle Install Video - http://tinyurl.com/ptd2tge

you cannot swap the tail cones from an SD and D successfully. the SD will work with a D cone, but NOT the other way around.

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

"you cannot swap the tail cones from an SD and D successfully. the SD will work with a D cone, but NOT the other way around" -- does this mean that the SD transmission will work with the 300D cone in a W123 car?

I think I've read somewhere that there has to be lubrication for the speedo drive gear in the tail cone of the W123-- does swapping the tail cones take care of that?

What is the problem with swapping the tail cone from the W126, with the electric speedo drive, onto a transmission out of a W123?

This could be academic; I've just encountered an upshift issue in my W123 300CD but if it turns out to be serious the better solution might be to swap in a 4-speed manual.

I swapped in and ran a 1985 300D trans in my 300SD for years without a problem. I swapped the tail piece and speedo drive gear (also the parking pawl unit)

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Sorry, no...
The mechanical speedo needed in the w123 needs lubrication that the electronic speedo SD transmission doesn't have. It will work the other way though.

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Here are some words of experience.

Had a 1980 300SD Previous Owner replaced transmission with a 300D of the same year. About 10k miles later the car refused to shift into any other gear higher than 2. (I was informed the 300SD starts in 2nd gear.) The tail end of the transmission was toast, it even ate the speed sensor located there, leaving me with no clue as to my speed or miles. The front end of the transmission is compatible, but the tail housing will fail.

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Nosce Te Ipsum "Know thyself"