W123 300D trans into a w123 230. Will that work?

No they won't interchange. The transmission from a 190E will interchange with the 230E they use the same engine

Much appreciated.

But a 230 (not E) uses the older M115 engine, not the M103. A 615/6/7 transmission might bolt up or it might be a matter of swapping transmission adapters. Good luck with your search.

Sixto
83 300SD
98 E320 wagon

If you're talking the older M115 engine I think the starter is on the opposite side of the OM61X engines so it won't even bolt up.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Starter on the M115 is on the right hand side as is the M617. The problem will be the transmissions have different shifting patterns due to the difference between the torque curves of the engines. The M617's transmission will shift much too early for the M115.

Frank Reiner says you can transfer the valve body from the gasser 123's into the diesels to make it work. Of course this means you'd need to have a separate transmission to do the swap. Seems a bit redundant though, if you already had a gasser trans why would you be installing a diesel trans into the car?

I'm in a position much like yours. I have a 300CD with a trashed engine and I have a good spare M110. Trying to decide on whether I want to use the engine I have or wait until I find a cheap trashed SD and install the entire turbo engine.

__________________
“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

Oh cock!

(As that long haired aging girl on that ex-BBC program might say)

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Wouldn't the governor also be calibrated for Diesel rpms?

Sixto
83 300SD
98 E320 wagon

For the 722.1 transmissions I think they had a standard governor that just did its thing and this pressure was adapted / translated to "different meanings" by the valve body.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I thought that the governor for diesels was in the injection pump? As far as starter position, doesn't the plate between the trans and engine address that?

__________________
1985 Mercedes 300D turbo, w123, 722.3, 315K miles
1987 Mazda B2200, Dana 44, 283 v8, th350, np203

The transmission has its own governor. One function is to not downshift if wheel speed is too high.

An adapter plate won't help if the bell housing doesn't have a corresponding hump.

Sixto
83 300SD
98 E320 wagon