Ok, my exhaust on my w123 Euro 230e is shot (pipes are rotted, although both mufflers seem fine?) and the damn thing broke off on the highway over the weekend! So some serious rebuilding needed - was wondering if a header off a 16v 2.3 motor is a straight bolt-on to my 2.3 Euro motor? A good local shop will do the work so minor buffing & porting not an issue - just don't want to buy it, have them rip off the manifold only to get the call saying it doesn't match up. Thanks in advance. CRT

C'mon, guys! Bump!!

The header from the 4-valve engine does not match the 2-valve engine.

Did your cast iron exhaust manifold break? Or just the steel pipe?

Frank,
Thanks for another reply - if we were nearer I'd be at your house with a bottle of Talisker! No, manifold is fine but downpipes snapped in front of resonator, and then rest of tailpipe is rotted at two other spots, but both units are fine. Custom exhaust guy says he can easily fabricate pipe to fit onto existing rez & muffler, and weld it onto downpipes. Cheapest way out for sure, but I saw that header & started to salivate -every little bit helps with 2.3 four banger in a heavy sedan (even in Euro trim!). I swapped over to bundts for the same reason. Was just hoping...you sure? Best, CRT

I can't post pics from my phone but it won't fit. If you google cylinder head pictures it will be evident. The M102 8v has round exhaust ports like a m103 and 2 bolts per primary. The 16V heads have more square exhaust ports and 4 bolts per primary.

You could I suppose track down someone who makes an 8v exhaust flange in steel, then cut up a 16v header. The port spacing is similar. At that point you could just track down an 8v header or do something else.

An M102 is not slow in US trim in my opinion. I have a 190e 2.3 5speed usa car with a euro cam, no cats, and pacesetter exhaust and it keeps up with a friends poorly running USA spec 16V. I also have a true euro 190e 2.0 5speed and while it's not fast, it's quick enough to be entertaining.

Are you sure your car is running right?

For M102 performance there arent a lot of options. There are some cam regrinds out there, some companies used to offer ported cylinder heads (obviously you could diy or have any shop that does head work do that), there are exhaust systems out there that are hard to find, hard to find headers, and a 300E airbox snorkel was what AMG did to their M102 cars.

Converting to EFI and then going forced induction are the big gains.

__________________
68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

Paul,
Thanks for chiming in - yea, I googled 'images' and started to see why it won't just swap in. Darn. But then again, I'm not trying to make a boy racer out this car (which is why I bought a Merc instead of another beloved e30 Bimmer) but always relish the chance to make an improvement when I have to make a repair. The car's not in perfect tune, true enough, but far worse is the stupid 4speed slushbox cabled to an awkwardly highly geared rear end! I know the Europeans love to rev their motors compared to us, but this is absurd! No tach of course but I'm SURE I'm pushing 4K at a hair above 70, and at 80 I bet bottom dollar I'm over 4K. Maybe fix exhaust as I described above and swap rear ends? Or drop the running gear from my w124 230te (still held hostage in Montreal, btw!) into my w123 and really have the car I want (or pony up the dough and buy this one!)

Mercedes Benz 300 Series 300D | eBay

So you want it faster, but also want taller gears?

Stick swap it for an overdrive or get a different car. It's going to be tough to have it both ways.

__________________
68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

The concept of speed is kind of like the concept of power to weight: my Jack Russell terriers are quite possibly the toughest dogs out there, pound for pound, but a Roti, Staffi, Dobi or Shepherd can snap their necks! With a four speed automatic mated to short gears, yes, I'm quick off the line but screaming like a boat engine on the highway at normal speeds, never mind 'speeding' speeds! I'd much rather be slower off the line but also be spinning way less rev's at higher speed - kind of the Eddy Merckxx theory on gearing (he pushed a 52-13 top gear b/c he COULD!). But this will all be a moot point, as a) I now know the header won't bolt on, and b) I'd like to swap out the 5sp standard running gear from the '88 w124 230te into the '85 w123 230e. THEN we're talkin'...!