I have been through 4 manual gearboxes (and at least 8 clutches), in the last 250k in my manual swapped 300tdt. 3 iron boxes and one getrag box. I love the car, but I am getting sick of all the transmission/clutch issues.

Has anyone had success with a Toyota w56? I know there are adapter plates for swapping the 617 into a Toyota P/U, but what about putting the Toyota transmission in the w123? I think the Toyota clutch will hold up better too (bigger and heavier duty).

What about the Volvo M46? It looks like I could possibly use the bell housing from the Mercedes iron box and adapt it to the Volvo transmission. I could also move the shifter since it has a linkage outside the gearbox. The trouble is that I would still be stuck with the weak Mercedes clutch, and I don't know if the input shaft is the right length.

What about the Ford T5? Has anyone used this in a W123?

Thanks for your help.

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1980 300TD with 1985 300TD Turbo motor and 240D 4 speed.