Diff. 3.06 usabel for 036 exists?

[pagodino]

Hi, after about 10000km with my five speed manual swap I am looking for a little shorter rear differential. The E50AMG use a 3.06 Diff instead of the 2.82 and has a longer 5th gear like I do in my getrag 265. So I think this would be the perfect fit. Is there anything around or I have to implant the E50 gear in the 500E cast?

Best PAgodino

 

[Raffaelli]

I have a 3.69 gear out of an SL 300 in my 400E.

Besides swapping the pinion flange, it bolted right in.

 

[gsxr]

Hi, after about 10000km with my five speed manual swap I am looking for a little shorter rear differential. The E50AMG use a 3.06 Diff instead of the 2.82 and has a longer 5th gear like I do in my getrag 265. So I think this would be the perfect fit. Is there anything around or I have to implant the E50 gear in the 500E cast?

Yes, there are some 3.06 ASR 210mm diffs used in other 124 models that would fit, with some parts swapped around (flanges, covers, etc). But they are not easy to locate. Otherwise yes, you could install a 3.06 ring+pinion into a 500E housing, but that requires special tools or a shop that is VERY experienced with Mercedes differential building.

The 3.69 actually might be easier to find, but unless you have an overdrive top gear in the 5-speed tranny, it might be a bit too low?

 

[Stevester 500E]

How about a 3.27 from a 1990 300ce?
Maybe that is a better choice of gearing, not sure?

 

[gsxr]

How about a 3.27 from a 1990 300ce?
Maybe that is a better choice of gearing, not sure?

Yes, that is another good option... forgot about that, thanks, Steve! Same info applies, need to swap flanges/covers but otherwise will work in a 500E. Just remember the donor vehicle must have ASR.

 

[Stevester 500E]

And I am not sure any 1990 300ce's had ASR.
What would have to be done if the donor doesn't have ASR, is it possible to convert?

Yes, that is another good option... forgot about that, thanks, Steve! Same info applies, need to swap flanges/covers but otherwise will work in a 500E. Just remember the donor vehicle must have ASR.

 

[gsxr]

And I am not sure any 1990 300ce's had ASR.
What would have to be done if the donor doesn't have ASR, is it possible to convert?

ASR was optional on CE's but I don't know what year it was first available. I thought it was 1990 with the new M104 CIS engine but I really don't follow coupes much.

If the donor diff does not have ASR, things get really complicated. You'd need to swap rear wheel carriers and appropriate axle shafts used on 95-up models with the wheel speed sensors at the outer end of the axle shaft, like on the W210 chassis. May require custom wiring too. Never done this, never heard of anyone doing this, not sure what's involved...

 

[Klink]

First model year with ASR availability in the USA was 1991.

 

[Eno]

So, a 3.69 diff ratio gear from a W129 SL300 would fit into the 2.82 housing of our 500E's?
Does anyone know also if a 2.24 diff gear from a 560SEL would fit into the diff housing of our 2.82's?
I also found a 3.06 diff about 7 years ago but if I remember correctly it had a small housing...should have taken that one too
There is nothing wrong with my 500E diff, no leaking, no noise, perfect but just a spare maybe?
The reason I am asking is that I have these two above differentials back home...if they are no use for our W124 500E's than I should sell them.
I have done a lot of diff swapping in the last 10 years in my 1995 W124 diesel and have no experince in my '92 500E.


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[Rouven036]

The 2.24 gear set of the W126 560 will fit in the e500e 2.82 housing. But you need also the diff carrier (differential itself) not only crown and pinion gears since offset is different. Further you need the tools, shims etc for re-aligning the gear set. Doable but you need to have experience with diff rebuilds

 

[gerryvz]

There's honestly not going to be that big of a difference (and perhaps not even noticeable in real-world conditions) between a 2.82 and a 3.06. I think that a 3.27 would be better, but that a 3.69 would be too short.

Some 11+ years ago I put a 3.07 (out of a W116) into my 560SEC diff housing, to replace the US-market stock 2.47 (which was optimized for high mileage). It rolls about 800 RPM higher when traveling at freeway speeds (65-80+ MPH), so at 80 MPH the engine is turning ~3,500 RPM. The additional noise took a bit of getting used to when traveling at high speeds, but you do get used to it and it's not a bother after a bit of adjustment.

I had to purchase a separate Gen 2 W/C126 diff housing to receive the gearset for two reasons:

1) The 3.07/W116 diff housing mounted differently than the Gen 2 W/C126 housing, although the W116 diff housing *is* a direct bolt-in for a Gen 1 W/C126 (1981-1985 US model years).

2) The W116/diff housing didn't have ABS, and you MUST use an ABS diff housing for the Gen 2 W/C126. This is somewhat analogous to the fact that you MUST use an ASR-capable diff housing for the E500E.

I'd say that the mileage dropped about 0.5 MPG, but I still easily get 13-14 MPG around town/mixed driving, and can even touch on 16+ MPG on long freeway trips, particularly if I use cruise control. This is all within factory MPG specs.

You can see my mileage for the SEC with the 3.07, over many years, by clicking on the photo of my SEC in my message footer below.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gsxr]

So, a 3.69 diff ratio gear from a W129 SL300 would fit into the 2.82 housing of our 500E's?
Does anyone know also if a 2.24 diff gear from a 560SEL would fit into the diff housing of our 2.82's?
I also found a 3.06 diff about 7 years ago but if I remember correctly it had a small housing...should have taken that one too
There is nothing wrong with my 500E diff, no leaking, no noise, perfect but just a spare maybe?
The reason I am asking is that I have these two above differentials back home...if they are no use for our W124 500E's than I should sell them.
I have done a lot of diff swapping in the last 10 years in my 1995 W124 diesel and have no experince in my '92 500E.

You do not want to swap a ring & pinion unless there is absolutely no other option available - click here to read why.

The 3.69 diff from the SL320 (SL300?) should work in the E500E, IF the R129 diff has ASR with two speed sensors on top. If it's ASR, you could keep it. If not, I'd sell it.

The 560SEL diff won't work, just sell it. If you wanted 2.24 gears in an E500E, you buy a 400E/E420 USA/Japan spec diff with ASR, which is 100% plug+play, no swapping of anything required. If you did put 2.24 gears into an E500E it would really need a first-gear start upgrade as well or it would be a slug off the line.

 

[Stevester 500E]

I was on the w124performance website and I saw that the 1990 300ce was available with ASR in the 1990 Mercedes 300ce.

First model year with ASR availability in the USA was 1991.

 

[jhodg5ck]

..... If you did put 2.24 gears into an E500E it would really need a first-gear start upgrade as well or it would be a slug off the line.

That's what that little clicky button under the gas pedal is for sir! :-D