I have a rusty '87 300TD with low miles - only 160,000kms. mechanically very good also, has been very well maintained. I have a european 230TE with a very good body and chassis, next to no rust. also well maintained but i prefer the 603 engine over the 2.3l gas engine. the 230TE is stored at the moment, not being driven but needs nothing much to put on the road. it's a second car for schlepping and so forth. we had an '87 300TD, recently sold and replaced with an '04 E320. the '87 was high miles and still a very solid car but engine getting old and decided to sell while it was still worth something. had planned to do an engine swap from new '87 to old one, but the low miles rusty car came too late and the old car is already gone. had the 230TE in the back pocket all along and now it's time to decide what to do next.

is it feasible to do the engine swap given i have the complete '87? i believe the whole driveline has to be swapped? the front brakes on the 230TE are different - non-vented rotors and different callipers, this can be swapped also. climate control could be an issue because the 230TE lacks ACC but in some ways this is a good thing to have the simpler manual heat. the 230TE also has all manual controls everywhere - seats, windows etc. the only electric thing is the sunroof. 230TE is a decent running and driving car. i realize the swap is a lot of work. there could be licensing issues with the swap but i will research this before doing it if i go that route.

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punkinfair

That swap isn't impossible. You may as well swap the fuel tank, as it has the different level sender and possibly the expansion tank might be different as gassers used a charcoal filter for emissions compliance.
Meeting licensing regulations is the first thing to check out, if that has lots of problems you might as well forget it.
A local here has been trying to sell a 230TE for years with little success. wagons are a hot item so it may be worth all the work but please let us know how it progresses.
DDH

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

thanks for the input. i am going to make sure about licensing before doing anything.

what would be the best way to manage the EGR system? can the plumbing as well as all the control stuff - there is an AFM and computer - can this stuff all be deleted? it would be a bit of a pain to install the EGR ECU in the 230TE.

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punkinfair

The OM603 engine controller is very simple.

One control box (EDS) and a handful of sensors and actuators. Theoretically you don't need the EDS but then your tach and your air conditioner compressor safety will not work.

You can delete the ARV and EGR on the right side of the OM603 along with the two vacuum transducers. That is kind of a system all unto itself along with the AFM box under the air cleaner. That can be replaced with a straight pipe. Of course if your inspections are strict you will have to keep all that stuff intact.

On the left side you have the sensor and actuator on the IP, the RPM sensor on the bell housing, and the altitude sensor and the idle setting dial. You will want to keep all that for the swap.

I would remove the engine harness intact and swap it over entirely. The EDS control is located behind the battery along with the ABS controller and OVP relay.

You will need to keep your Diesel tach. Gas tach uses the TD signal (3 sparks/rev) and the Diesel tach uses the ring gear sensor (144 pulses/rev). As you can see the Gas tach would bury itself at 7k as soon as you start the engine. The elements in the cluster are modular and are very easy to swap over.

I would go over to w124-zone.com, and get hold of the wiring diagrams for the 124 so you can see how the EDS is wired.

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

Do the swap, strip/keep all usable parts from rusty shell (i.e. hydraulic suspension control valve). Sell the rest.

I'd consider also swapping the AC bits over, but that would significantly complicate the job.

Do check about license/registration requirements first, would be nice to chat with someone who has BTDT (convert gas car to diesel) so you have some real-world knowledge.

You may also need to swap over the front suspension springs, due to heavier engine. I'd move differential with the diesel engine, unless you can confirm the gas car diff is the same ratio/size.

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Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

230TE would have a 3.65:1 diff if its an auto and your 87 Turbo should have a 2.65:1 if its the same as a 87 sedan. That's a big jump. You could roast tires at stock power levels but turning 4,000 rpm at highway speed will get old fast.

I have a 230TE diff in my 200TD. I went from 3:91:1 with the 601 down the the 3.65:1 helped me out with highway mpg and didn't loose too much around town. But with a big turbo 603 that 3:65 is going to be SHORT. I also have a 717.412 5speed with a taller overdrive from a gas car .78 vs. .81.

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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

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