Ok, my friend had a 1986 Mercedes 190E 16-valve and some tool plowed into it by our work and destroyed his frame. The engine was sitting outside non-running for about half a year now, but it ran fine after the guy destroyed the frame.

He recently bought a 1987 190E 16-valve and the engine threw a rod out the side of the block within 10 miles of him owning the car. So.. we decided to swap the manual transmission and engine from the 86' 190 with the 87's automatic transmission and engine. After getting everything in and jumping the neutral safety swith, the engine will crank but not start. We checked for spark at the coil to distributer, there was spark, then we checked spark at wires to the spark plugs and there was spark. We pulled the spark plugs, they were black so we replaced them and tried again. Still won't start but everytime we tried starting the car, there is a popping in the exhaust, a sign of the car running way too rich? I wish I had a scanner so I can check the fuel trims. Anyway, I pull the plugs again and find them soaked in gas to confirm my theory. Any ideas on what could be the cause and solution to this problem?


Thanks,
Kent