603 engine swap

[md21722]

Hi all,

Because of a few issues with my 603 engine in my '87 300D, I've decided to swap it out with the one in my parts car. The parts car is supposed to have a good enigne, but I don't think I can really find out without driving it. I will swap the tranny at the same time, since mine engine and tranny have 278Kmi and the parts car has 175Kmi. I am wondering if anyone has any experiences swapping these engines particularly in the 124/201 and if they have any tips or tricks they learned from doing it?

Thanks,

[Lance Allison]

Being a fellow 603 owner, I'm curious as to what the problem was/is with your current engine?

[md21722]

Lance,

There is NO single problem that is forcing me to switch engines. Here are the "issues":

1. Cracked head symptom of high coolant pressure overnight
2. 1/3 of the lifters are collapsed
3. IP is leaking oil - could use resealing
4. Exhaust manifold flex pipes need replacing
5. ALDA is leaky, may need resealing to fix cruise surging
6. Motor mounts need replacing
7. White smoke on cold starts - possible worn IP

Overall I could drive it this way it for a long time. But, I don't really want to nit-pick around with these issues when I can try my parts car engine & tranny and see how it does. Especially since it has 100,000 less miles and was better maintained. The tranny may shift better, etc. If I then need to nit-pick with these issues because the parts car engine is not at the same level as my current daily driver, it should be easier to do with the engine out of the car.

The joys of owning a 603! The injection pumps were a little weak in these cars..