naweed alam

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Mercedes benze 300CE 1992 3.0
Hi Guys

So whilst browsing through an auction i say this Mercedes 300 CE / Diesel and bought it online knowing little about the car except that i liked how it looked.

So the car was delivered to me and it all dawned on me.

1: the car on DVLA database shows as a 300 CE/ Diesel.. i phoned them as CE would be petrol they tell me no its a CE and its a diesel.

2: i fired up the car it started first time with some hesitation, popped the hood and return fuel line was spewing out fuel (easy fix i had some pipe i replaced it )

3. moved the car forward in what i could think was first gear into my tiny garage , then tried to shift back.. i couldn't find the reverse gear, i tried top left , bottom right , top right , bottom left.. its not marked any how i cant seem to get it in reverse gear

4. to top it up i turned off the engine to get out ohhh the engine didn't turn off, took a bit of googling and manually tuned it off the engine with the leaver .. i found a few broken vacuum lines which i can repair later.


since then iv done some what reading up on the cars however i cant find much on the manual gearbox, i take it its a 4 speed manual 1992 registration , can anyone help me with a diagram of the gear lever positions, before i take to a garage i want to establish if its the shifter bearings , the arms or something up with the gearbox itself , any info around the manual diesels would be appreciated , pictures , diagrams .

Many thanks
 

d215yq

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1987 W124 300D 280k miles
Is it LHD? They didn't do a diesel 300 coupe in the UK AFAIK, not 100% sure they did one in LHD either. I've seen many a 230CE, 300CE and 300CE24 in the ads but never a diesel, and over here (Spain) diesels of this age were sold in much much greater numbers than the UK.

My 1987 300D manual (base model saloon) has 5 speed so if yours has not been converted and is original should do too. Reverse is bottom Right, 5th top right.

When cold I sometimes find mine a little stiff to get into reverse/1st, if it won't go in maybe move the car forward an inch and try again.
 
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naweed alam

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Is it LHD? They didn't do a diesel 300 coupe in the UK AFAIK, not 100% sure they did one in LHD either. I've seen many a 230CE, 300CE and 300CE24 in the ads but never a diesel, and over here (Spain) diesels of this age were sold in much much greater numbers than the UK.

My 1987 300D manual (base model saloon) has 5 speed so if yours has not been converted and is original should do too. Reverse is bottom Right, 5th top right.

When cold I sometimes find mine a little stiff to get into reverse/1st, if it won't go in maybe move the car forward an inch and try again.


Frankly speaking im not sure if its 4 speed or 5 speed . the gear knob has just the Mercedes logo. its a Diesel, coupe .. on the back its says 300CD.. there never was a CD right im assuming either someone has converted the petrol to a diesel or is that an absurd assumption.. the plate and Vin match with DVLA and DVLA hold on their database as a 300CE but diesel

Back to the gear selector if its bottom right then its just lift and far right for a 5 gear.. if its 4 its a lift and top left i take it but iv tried and just cant seem to find the reverse
 
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naweed alam

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Is it LHD? They didn't do a diesel 300 coupe in the UK AFAIK, not 100% sure they did one in LHD either. I've seen many a 230CE, 300CE and 300CE24 in the ads but never a diesel, and over here (Spain) diesels of this age were sold in much much greater numbers than the UK.

My 1987 300D manual (base model saloon) has 5 speed so if yours has not been converted and is original should do too. Reverse is bottom Right, 5th top right.

When cold I sometimes find mine a little stiff to get into reverse/1st, if it won't go in maybe move the car forward an inch and try again.

Sorry its a RHD Coupe
 
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naweed alam

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Mercedes benze 300CE 1992 3.0
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my engine looks just like the attached which looks like a 300D
 

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d215yq

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1987 W124 300D 280k miles
my engine looks just like the attached which looks like a 300D

Is it 6cyl which is what a W124 300D would normally be? looks less from pic. I suppose if engine is unoriginal and changed then gearbox probably is too so could have 4 speed/5 speed/reverse wherever. I'm no expert though so could well be a RHD market with W124 diesel coupes and it made it's way over to the UK?
 
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naweed alam

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Is it 6cyl which is what a W124 300D would normally be? looks less from pic. I suppose if engine is unoriginal and changed then gearbox probably is too so could have 4 speed/5 speed/reverse wherever. I'm no expert though so could well be a RHD market with W124 diesel coupes and it made it's way over to the UK?
iv done several HPI/vin checks the car does appear to originate in the uk in 1992 with the number plate changing a few times but nothing to suggest it was imported.

without much paperwork is there anyway of checking if the car was imported into the uk. it appears as RHD it has all the other bits in the right place just the manual gear box seems out of place with the CE description
 

d215yq

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1987 W124 300D 280k miles
Maybe someone more knowledgable will be along to confirm but unless there was some run I'm unaware of I'd assume it was a UK 300CE car later changed to a diesel and registered with DVLA. Check the engine number if there is any.

If it has been converted it might not be using a standard "300D" 6 CYL engine (OM603/606 as appeared in W124 saloons/estates of the year); There might be a 5 cylinder 250 hence why I asked how many cylinders. The 300 name might have been kept because it originally was a 300CE.
 

robparker

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Can we have some pics of the car and engine? It will definitely be a conversion, but that's not so bad, I converted two myself many years ago
 

Cat Lover

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1990 Mercedes 190 manual
Hi,

My RHD Merc is manual W201 series and reverse is a pig too !
It is located past 2nd,
Push gear lever towards passenger side, lift/ pull up on gear leaver and sweep back towards rear of car.
Check gently !! often get second and not reverse.
Hope this helps
 
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naweed alam

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Mercedes benze 300CE 1992 3.0
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Can we have some pics of the car and engine? It will definitely be a conversion, but that's not so bad, I converted two myself many years ago

b17391ff-2b3a-4914-b7f5-376027e4d4c2.JPG

9ef1becb-0f38-4639-b3be-607c73523050.JPG

56081220-2a60-456f-82db-85b979e9f355.JPG
 
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naweed alam

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Mercedes benze 300CE 1992 3.0
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Hi,

My RHD Merc is manual W201 series and reverse is a pig too !
It is located past 2nd,
Push gear lever towards passenger side, lift/ pull up on gear leaver and sweep back towards rear of car.
Check gently !! often get second and not reverse.
Hope this helps
I will try that, but im afraid i dont want to mess up the shifter by applying more force . is there any way to confirm its a 5 speed not a 4 speed just by looking at the number of control arms underneath ?
 
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naweed alam

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Mercedes benze 300CE 1992 3.0
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VIN: WDB1240502B837752
Engine No: M603912-212-038056

Can anyone establish the engine type from the engine number above ?
 

LostKiwi

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'93 500SL-32, '01 W210 Estate E240 (RIP), 02 R230 SL500, 04 Smart Roadster Coupe, 11 R350CDi
VIN comes up as a 300CE with automatic transmission.

The engine number is a diesel - OM603

Original engine was an M103 - 103983 22 288950
 
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naweed alam

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VIN comes up as a 300CE with automatic transmission.

The engine number is a diesel - OM603

Original engine was an M103 - 103983 22 288950
so its a definite conversion but can we establish what type of gearbox this is ?
 

Cat Lover

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1990 Mercedes 190 manual
Hi

Looks like you have a modified kit of car parts from several cars ?, interior trim suggests it is automatic hence no gear marking on your gear stick.
Not sure what box has been fitted underneath ?
90`s era manual box usually 5 speed, actually 4 speed and 5th overdrive not worth using under 60mph, mainly motorway stuff.
Box is not very positive but you should not have to force it. More a technique in the lift and sweep a bit like stirring a pudding bowl
Requires practice....
Good luck in identifying your new toy.
 

brianbrian

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w124 250D, SL129-deisel
Very good that Diesel engine you have in the car,the top of the fuel tank? Petrol tanks have a smaller space where you put the fuel in ,to the diesel. Car has been converted from petrol to diesel, as they only made them in petrol. When the engine is running try double the clutch when going into R. I have fitted the same engine in a 129sl but have a auto box,done it about 8years ago, never had a problem and get 35to40mpg all day long.
 

robparker

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It will be a 5-speed, a 4-speed manual wouldn't fit that. My guess is they don't have the shift rods connected properly. Get the car up on a ramp, disconnect the three shift rods from the underside of the gear selector, then get the three gear selector arms level and lock them with a pin running through a hole in each, then on the box make sure all the 2" arms coming out of the box are vertical, then adjust the lengths of the rods to fit those distances. Note which came off which when you remove from the selector end. It sounds like the 5th/reverse rod is not set up properly
 
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naweed alam

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Mercedes benze 300CE 1992 3.0
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Very good that Diesel engine you have in the car,the top of the fuel tank? Petrol tanks have a smaller space where you put the fuel in ,to the diesel. Car has been converted from petrol to diesel, as they only made them in petrol. When the engine is running try double the clutch when going into R. I have fitted the same engine in a 129sl but have a auto box,done it about 8years ago, never had a problem and get 35to40mpg all day long.


Many thanks , ill try and get it out on the weekend and provide some updates
 


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