whipplem104

I have had some interest in this from others. I wanted to be clear about what it is and is not. I did a swap to the 5-speed that is in the newer cars. The 722.6 or wa580 or wa330. My computer is a standalone transmission controller from Powertrain Control Solutions. They really had not had anyone develop any tuning for this setup yet when I got started, so I have been kind of the fore runner on this. This gives the ability to not only upgrade to the 5 speed but also for running full standalone engine systems for cars that are already equipped. There is some possibility that it could be used with stock fuel injection and other systems. I have done some testing but am not 100% sure yet. What it can do is give you complete control over the transmission from shift points to shift firmness. There are many other features such as a burn out function for drag racing and dyno mode, etc.
The tuning aspect is very difficult and I can make shift very smooth but there is always some circumstance which you will get a harsh shift. Mainly on the light throttle slow speeds. Not much different than Mercedes on this. They were updating the shift programs until they discontinued the transmission.

jmang09

which transmission did you swap out for (which model)?

do you have any pics? diagrams?

how hard was the swap?

what was the cost like?


and finally...WOW....i really need more information....

vanwiek

I've been thinking of doing this for about a year. Are the transmissions the same physical size, does the drive shaft need to be modified?

GEDaggett

When I was in the market to purchase my car about a year ago I saw two e320's with manual trannies. Didn't benz offer a manual for this car that was either special order or over seas available only? I didn't get one because I was concerned at how difficult it would be to get parts. I would think that would be a cheaper alternative?

vanwiek

Yeah, Europe got manual trannies. According to the E-Class owners bible, the 124 was launched in 1986 with an optional manual tranny. Fewer then 300 sold and the option was dropped in 1988.

whipplem104

The physical swap is pretty straight forward. The transmission fits right in. The only modification that had to be made was the shifter linkage had to be shortened. Other than the transmission the shifter has to be replaced with a newer shifter which bolts right in. Oh, and the cooler lines had to be bent to fit. The much more difficult part is tuning the tcu. The install of everything only took me about six hours including wiring up the tcu. It needs a map signal , throttle position, and driven wheel speed, or driveshaft speed. The map signal is optional, but the shifts are much better with the map sensor.
Cost is not to bad. The transmissions cost between 12-1500 at salvage yards. The trans I used is out of a c230. The bellhousings are different for different engines but basically it will bolt up to any m102, m103, m104, m119, m120, m606, m603, m602, m601, and I have been told that the m117, m116. The shifter is from a c-class. Others will bolt in but do not fit the shift wood. The shifters cost about 450 at the salvage yard. The tcu is about $1150.00 with a tune installed that will operate the transmission. The tune is currently set up to be more firm than it can be because of not having the speed sensors operational. Also because without the car in question to tune with it cannot be exact. It cannot be tuned on a dyno either. It is all road time.
The reason for not doing a manual. Is primarily I do not want a manual. I can have all the benifits of a manual with this setup and faster shifts. Mercedes has never made a decent manual transmission. Also availability is not to great. Pretty much you do have to import them from Europe. Otherwise find the one or two 300e that came to the U.S. with them or a 190. They have the worse shifters I have ever seen in any car. I can have a paddle shifter and my shifts take about .02 seconds to complete.

whipplem104

If anyone is seriously interested in this please contact me via pm. I can discuss all the details. I have just become a dealer for PCS products and I think that I might be the only person in the country to have successfully done this.

jmang09

I have been looking for a compatible 5 speed auto for my e420 since I did the diff swap to 2.82. And this just maybe it. Let me know how much info you got on this. Thanks in advance.

MB-boy

Hello,
Huuumm This is very interesing.

I live in europe an I have a 5 speed manual transmission on my 300E. Well my clutch is about due and I was thinking about putting in a 6 speed manual transmision from a W210. This type of transmision was optional on the early W210 over here. What do you guys think? Will it fit? Is there a place were I can find some info for such transformation?

I drove one of these W210, a E200 CDI 6 speed manual, and wow it was very nice to drive. Very smooth and powerfull.
If someone can help I would apreciate it alot.

Thanks

atarigraffx

what do you think about a 5 speed swap on a 99 clk320 (w208)?!?!

vanwiek

You already have a 5 speed in your car. If your asking about installing a 5 speed manual in your car you should start a new thread, you'll get more replies. This thread is about installing the 5 speed automatic transmission that your have in your CLK into our W124's.

tennisod

Hello,

Are you still in business to make e320 cdi 722.6 conversion to manual?
Seriously interested.
Thanks,

Peter