W124 estate petrol to diesel

[telletubby]

I've been looking for a fully loaded late lhd W124 E300 diesel estate but even scouring German ads they are like hen's teeth. But I keep coming across fully loaded petrol E320s for little money including in the States.

How feasible would it be to do an engine and gearbox transplant to convert from petrol to diesel?

I do a fairly high annual mileage and can't afford to run a petrol car here in France.

 

[Bolide]

In theory it's a fairly straightforward transplant. You'd need the glowplug circuitry (relay, wiring, light in the binnacle) and the vacuum pump (part of the power steering pump?) plus exhaust manifold and probably downpipes. You'll need all the engine bay vacuum system & wiring, plus the inlet manifold, air filter assembly and o/s/f wing. And the washer bottle. And the idle stabilisation ECU & wiring. And the anti-jerk setup if fitted. And the binnacle to get the glow plug light and the tacho

You'd obviously need the engine & box. It'd be easiest to do the conversion with a "long" engine with all the ancillaries to get the vacuum pump and the tacho feed

I expect the gearbox & diff ratios will be different too

You'll need to modify the fuel lines & remove/disable the in-tank pump

I expect the front springs are different on the diesel as the engine is heavy

Have I put you off yet?

I can find you a good LHD EEC E300 Diesel

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[mej]

W124 diesel estate in France

Only three years late picking up on this thread..........

I'm about to let go my 1989 (had it from brand new) W126 420 SEL, registered here in France since 2004, to change it for a W124 300D Estate (if I can find a good'un). There seem to be a large number in Germany/Austria on Autoscout.fr, but I lack the energy to cross the Rhine. Did you have any success teletubbies, and can you offer any advice?

Grateful for any suggestions.

 

[geripappa]

I just swapped the engine in my beautiful '94 300TE to a diesel engine from and '87 300D sedan. It runs great and I love it. There is only one thing what I can't figure is a vacum line coming from the dash area.

 

[Doug1234]

I just swapped the engine in my beautiful '94 300TE to a diesel engine from and '87 300D sedan. It runs great and I love it. There is only one thing what I can't figure is a vacum line coming from the dash area.

Headlamp adjuster switch ( vacuum operated)