Mercedes-Benz Forum banner

AUTO TO MANUAL 1992 W124

8K views 41 replies 10 participants last post by  MDE3 
#1 ·
First off, NO HATE!


i want to convert my 1992 300D W124 to a manual transmission. i dont care how hard this will be, i have time, friends, and a solid source of income. whats the cheapest/easiest way to do this? what car should i get the tranny from? will it basically bolt up to it? thanks.
 
#3 ·
You will need the transmission from an 86 or 88 300E (some W201 cars also had the same transmission) since it has the same bolt pattern, pedals, shifter, flywheel(good luck on finding this one) master cylinder, slave cylinder, clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing, pilot bearing, driveshaft in the correct length, shifter surround trim in the correct size and assorted hoses for the clutch hydraulics.

I recently finished converting my 77 240D to a manual and it totally changes the driving experience of the car. I HIGHLY recommend collecting all the parts you need before you begin since it took me almost 6 months to complete mine since I didn't have everything I needed on hand when I began.
 
#10 ·
Gator forgot to mention a total of only 1500 W124's came to the USA with manual transmissions. So, finding it will be fun.
True, however I believe I've read of a number of people using a w201 flywheel\clutch\transmission. These were imported in larger numbers and not nearly as hard to find.
 
  • Like
Reactions: euroamg
#11 ·
Any W124 or W201, early R129 SL or early R170 manual transmission will bolt in. Its really not all that difficult or expensive. I have 30k miles on my swap.
Beat me to it by seconds, lol
 
#14 ·
Not sure where you are at but for 4k i will sell my 88 300e 3.0 with manuel 5 speed. You can drive it home and change any thing you want to your other car or you can drive this one around. It need interier parts. I am in northern ca.
 
#20 ·
It really depends how well prepared you are with parts tools etc. I would take breaks if you run into any problems and not rush it. I did it over 3 weekends with time in between for parts to arrive like the right trans mount, slave cyl etc.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Contact me when you get to doing the shift rods and transmission mount, I can take some pics if that helps. Thats the only place I had to get creative. Alternatively can also buy a W124 manual cross member from the dealer. That part is about as common as hen's teeth.
http://www.superturbodiesel.com/std/attachment.php?aid=6716

The OP for this thread created a manual shifter bushing kit made out of solid delrin instead of soft rubber. It really transforms the shift quality of the MB transmission and I highly recomend it.
http://forum.190rev.net/showthread.php?35220-Delrin-shifter-bushings-and-Lexan-headlight-lenses
 
#23 ·
Contact me when you get to doing the shift rods and transmission mount, I can take some pics if that helps. Thats the only place I had to get creative. Alternatively can also buy a W124 manual cross member from the dealer. That part is about as common as hen's teeth.
http://www.superturbodiesel.com/std/attachment.php?aid=6716

The OP for this thread created a manual shifter bushing kit made out of solid delrin instead of soft rubber. It really transforms the shift quality of the MB transmission and I highly recomend it.
190Rev.net - Discussion for Mercedes-Benz 190E W201 Performance, Parts, Tuning and more
Will do. Pics would be awesome. Also, are you saying that I can either modify the crossmember or buy a new manual one? Do you have any clue what the two tubes on top of the windshield fluid reservoir are for? My jets are broke so it's diconected and empty right now. I'd like to remove it but those tubes seem to be under pressure of some sort.
 
#25 ·
re: the plumbing on the washer bottle...

there's a heater coil stuck in there thats connected to the heater loop, to keep the washer fluid from freezing in very cold weather. warm washer fluid de-ices glass faster etc etc.

these cars are full of unusual little tidbits, like all 3 W124's I've got have a 'hot climate country' option which includes a fuel chiller connected to the A/C, that cools the fuel returning to the gas tank, this both improves fuel economy, and reduces the chance of vapor lock in very hot weather.
 
#28 ·
The proper cross member is a whopping $60 or so from the dealer. I think I paid $32 for mine several years ago. Get the right one, the last thing you want is a misaligned DS. No end of troubles. The swap is straight forward, I highly recomment getting a 1/4" drive set and several feet of extension with a universal on the end to get at the pedal cluster bolts. Go in parallel with the floor right under the dash. I did my first few upside down with my head on the floor and feet in the air (im a pretty big guy). The biggest issue is the drive shaft. With a 92 you can use any 717.4xx, the 411 would have been stock for your car. You will need to short the purple wires for the NSS and figure out your boost flap, not sure about how that works without an automatic.

I've done this 4 or 5 times now its a 3 day job, even with a helper.
 
#33 ·
replacing the washer fluid hoses is pretty easy. I replumbed the washers on my volvo wagon as the originals were cracked and crumbling, took an hour. sure, the mercedes is a bit more complex, but not really. I probably wouldn't bother to repair headlight squirters, never had a car with them anyways.
 
#35 ·
Oh yeah forgot about the washer bottle. Its an easy water/methanol container. You can even use the existing washer pump if you don't mind not having windshield washers. Works nicely with a misting nozzle ahead of the turbo and a pressure switch above 7-8psi. I worked nicely for a while until I ran out of methanol and moved on to other projects. I guess this belongs in your performance thread.
 
#41 ·
i want to convert my 1992 300D W124 to a manual transmission. i dont care how hard this will be, i have time, friends, and a solid source of income. whats the cheapest/easiest way to do this?
The EASIEST way to do this is to sell your car and buy one that has already been converted. Like this 1993 300D with five-speed manual:

https://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/5143481602.html

You'll spend a lot more trying to piecemeal a manual trans conversion yourself...

:1poke:
 
#42 ·
I used a 201 5 speed getrag from a 16V, but with a heavier clutch plate and heavy duty clutch disk...slightly different throw out bearing, and it worked well. These were mated to a 3.2 conversion from an E 320, then mounted in a 190E 2.6. I did not do the motor conversion, but I was the guy who got the clutch assembly to work. The clutch assembly when I received the car did not last more than 2000 miles. It took some figuring and some back and forth with the clutch plate.throw out bearing manufacturer, but we finally got it right.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top