Engine swap on 230CE

[moaz]

I have a 1990 230CE which i love very much. However the engine has simply gotten very old. I also have a damaged 1996 slk230 kompressor (the engine is perfect). I was wondering if there is any way to put that engine in my 230ce. the 230ce is rhd and a/t and the slk is m/t and lhd.
I know you guys on this forum are very knowledgable about engine swaps. Please guide me with what you can.

 

[grober]

The SLK 230 Kompressor engine was basically a blown version of the M111 twin cam engine with a combined ignition and injection systems ECU. This M111 engine was to be found in the later E220 COUPE so technically would fit. Unfortunately your 230 coupe has the earlier M102 single cam engine with a different type of fuel injection system and separate ignition. Add in the converting the manual gearbox car to automatic- might involve a flywheel change minimum and it looks a lot of work. If you were happy with the 230coupe performance in the past I would get the engine rebuilt---a lot less heartache.

 

[d w124]

Hi and welcome to the forum.Since you have all the running gear it is doable but not simple

 

[jaymanek]

It will be difficult. You can get a 230 engine for next to nothing so would do that if i were you.

 

[moaz]

Thank you guys for your advice. I think I will either try to rebuild the engine or find another 230ce or 300ce engine for the car.

 

[219]

If you want more power , a 3.0 litre M103 would be the simplest upgrade - you would need a complete donor car to get all the ECU's along with the engine , you may also need to change the front springs to cope with the heavier six cylinder engine , the front brakes may or may not be different as well .

There will be plenty of 300E/CE/TE donor cars around which have failed MOT or been crash damaged and available very cheaply .

The twin cam 24 valve M104 ( but only the 3.0 version which uses the same type of fuel and ignition systems as your car ) would also be a possibility but a little more work , however offers an even greater power hike .

 

[Ian B Walker]

If you want more power , a 3.0 litre M103 would be the simplest upgrade - you would need a complete donor car to get all the ECU's along with the engine , you may also need to change the front springs to cope with the heavier six cylinder engine , the front brakes may or may not be different as well .

There will be plenty of 300E/CE/TE donor cars around which have failed MOT or been crash damaged and available very cheaply .

The twin cam 24 valve M104 ( but only the 3.0 version which uses the same type of fuel and ignition systems as your car ) would also be a possibility but a little more work , however offers an even greater power hike .

I have done this on a car. You will need the engine management block from a donor car as the are
A) very expensive new (if you can find one)
B) not easy to source from a breaker

 

[moaz]

So I have customised the engine mounts for the m111 engine to fit in my 230ce and it fits fine. Can anyone give me some advice regarding bringing over the manual gearbox from the slk230 to my automatic transmission 230ce. Also the slk230 is a Left hand drive whereas the 230ce is a Right Hand drive. I want my 230ce to be manual instead of automatic with that kompressor engine because i dont think the automatic transmission for the 230ce will be able to handle the increased power.

 

[grober]

To convert your 230 CE to a manual gear box you will have to get a hold of a W124 230 clutch pedal assembly and associated hydraulics. You may have to fabricate some hydraulic pipe work to mate this up to the clutch master cylinder on the SLK box. You will then require a manual 5 speed box cross member or gearbox mount to support the SLK 5 speed box You might be able to use the 230 auto box mount with suitable adapter plates don't know. Next problem will be the length of the propshaft which being designed for a 4 speed auto may be too long for a 5 speed manual box I don't know. How easy this will be will depend on how close in dimensions the SLK manual box is to an old w124 manual 5 speed box. IF its the same then bits from a manual w124 230 can be used. But you probably need access to a manual w124 for bits.

 

[Ian B Walker]

Feels a whole bag of worms looming

 

[moaz]

Thank you for the advice. The driveshaft seems short but that doesn't worry me too much. I was wondering if you the the slk clutch pedal assembly could be used seeing that the engine and the slk gearbox are mounted in the w124 coupe. Im also wondering if the the slk brakes can be put onto the 230ce :s

 

[NW_Merc]

My thoughts would have been to keep it as an automatic, I'm assuming the car was 5 speed or 4 speed automatic box?

If it was 4 speed then the box should be able to handle the small amount of power increase that the compressor is giving.

As IBW said you're opening up a whole can of worms by doing the gearbox swap along with the engine swap.