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swapping engines 200 -> 230

3K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  festerpig 
#1 ·
I bought a '89 E200 couple of months ago. The 2.0 litre engine is too sluggish resulting in frequent gear shifting and extremely poor pickup. I am thinking of swapping the engine with a 2.3 litre.

I have the following questions:

1. Will the engine mounting be able to fit the new 2.3 litre engine? Do I need to do any structural modification?

2. Do I have to get a different gearbox in order to mate the 2.3 litre correctly? Or would the existing gearbox work OK?

3. Are there anything else that I should consider before end up making a stupid mistake?

Has anyone have any experience with swapping engines? I can get one of those 2.3 litre engines here relatively cheap.

Please advise. Thanks.
 
#3 ·
The 2.3 engine should be a direct drop. There is absolutely no modifications necessary. Gearbox fits, motor mounts, and I think even clutch is the same. You should get a 2.3 ECU just to be sure (could be that there would be very little difference between the two ecu's, but do it anyway...). Also you should try to get an engine which dates as closely to your 2.0 as possible. Somewhere in '89 (I believe month 9, September) there were minor changes made to the electronics of these engines, moving sensors around, using other sensor clips, maybe even a slightly altered ECU, etc.

Basically the 2.0 and 2.3 (and also the 1.8 in the 201) are the exact same engine. They are all M102 engines (same block and head). The only things which are different are bore and stroke (cylinders bored out and probably different crankshafts used).
I have contemplated the same sort of swap for my 201 (mine is 1.8, but wanted a 2.3), but just now shortly decided not to do it because of other costs on the car which doesn't make the swap worth it. I've done some serious research though, and it is absolutely possible, even more so if the swap is from 2.0 to 2.3 engines.
I also think the 2.0 to 2.3 swap will indeed make a difference in driving, but don't expect any miracles. The 2.0 litre has pretty ok torque for it's displacement (172 Nm), and the 2.3 has 198 Nm torque.

I wish you succeed in the swap if you go through with it.
And don't forget to post how it eventually went...[8)]


greetz
 
#4 ·
Oh, btw, welcome to the forum![:I][;)]
Hope you find a lot of answers here to many of your questions!
 
#5 ·
Unless the 2.0L engine is on it's last legs, it doesn't make much sense to put in a 2.3L to go faster. In a 3,000+ pound car the few additional housepower will barely be felt. In these cases it's always better to sell the car you have and the buy the car you want.
 
#6 ·
atikovi - 2/9/2006 2:03 AM

Unless the 2.0L engine is on it's last legs, it doesn't make much sense to put in a 2.3L to go faster. In a 3,000+ pound car the few additional housepower will barely be felt. In these cases it's always better to sell the car you have and the buy the car you want.
I actually agree with you. It would make sense in a 201, but in a 124, I idd also have my doubts regarding the actual additional power to be felt. If you really want MORE power, go for a 300E.
 
#7 ·
Many thanks for all your responses.

I think I will need more research for the exact costs involved in it. Thanks for all the tips of what to look out for in the swap. Would not be suprised that it might not justify such a swap.

Point taken, for the marginal increase in horsepower and for the weight of the car, it is probably not going to make it worth the while too.

I would really like a W124 with a bigger engine. Only problem is that I live here in Singapore where the silly government imposes a hefy road tax for cars over 10 years old. I pay 1.5 times the tax of a car of similar capacity less than 10 years old. Further, the tax regime is exponential as the engine capacity goes up. Hence for tax reasons E200 is the most common model here in Singapore for the W124.

Sigh ...
 
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