Used Mercedes-Benz SL Flywheel

It depends entirely on which gearbox your SL has. Manual-gearbox SLs use a conventional solid flywheel, while those fitted with an automatic gearbox use a flexplate (also called a driveplate) instead — these are not interchangeable. Check your V5 or a VIN check to confirm your gearbox type before searching, and make sure you're asking the breaker for the correct part.

The R107 ran from 1971 to 1989 and the R129 from 1989 to 2001 — these are entirely separate generations with different engine families, so fitment across the two is very unlikely. Flywheel fitment is driven primarily by engine code, and even where engine families overlap, bell-housing and transmission interfaces often differ between generations. Always confirm compatibility with the breaker against your exact registration and engine code.

The R230 generation ran from 2001 to 2012, with a significant facelift in 2008 that brought engine and transmission revisions to several variants. Because the flywheel must match the engine code and gearbox type precisely, an R230 flywheel from before the facelift may not suit a post-facelift car even if the badge looks the same. Name the boundary to your breaker and have them confirm against your registration before buying.

Engine code matters above everything else for a flywheel — two SLs from the same year can carry completely different engines (for example, a 350 and a 500 have different block families and crankshaft flanges). The engine code is stamped on your V5 and can also be retrieved via a VIN check, and it's the single most useful detail you can give a breaker. Matching by year and model alone risks ordering a part that physically will not fit.

Trim or badge designation in itself doesn't determine flywheel fitment, but in the SL's case the badge directly reflects a different engine (the 350 uses a 3.5-litre V6 and the 500 uses a 5.0-litre V8), so the flywheels will differ — not because of trim, but because of the different engine codes underneath. Confirm your exact engine code with the breaker rather than relying on the badge alone.

Manual gearboxes were available on certain SL variants, particularly in earlier generations such as the R107 and some R129 models, but the vast majority of SLs sold in the UK were automatic, meaning manual flywheels come up far less frequently in breakers' yards. When requesting a quote, specify that you need a manual flywheel and supply your engine code so the breaker can verify the correct crankshaft flange and clutch interface. Scarcity means it's worth contacting several breakers and being patient.