What do I fix first? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

willrev · #1 12-14-2004, 10:54 PM

Can't sleep. Just got back from the mechanic. Out of curiosity I took my car to a different mechanic to have some minor work done. He seems honest and fair and had at least twenty 240D, 300D and 300SD and other 123 and 126 cars on his repair lot. I asked him to make me a list of what needed attention since I have only had the car 6months. Here goes. What do I fix first?? I am mechanical enough to do most, but still need to buy a vacuum gauge and a floor jack.

He says the oil cooler hoses look like theve been replaced but they are definitely leaking where the rubber hose meets the metal crimp down at the bottom of the radiator. Oil puddle on my driveway and on hoses. To replace I was told would have to jack up engine and take loose from left motor mount at about 5 hours labor. Don't want a broken hose! Blown engine! YIKES.

The oil filter housing gasket to engine is leaking a little. Front seal in power steering pump is leaking. He suggested a used pump. My fluid was low by 1 1/2 inches. The vacuum pump housing gasket between pump and engine is leaking. He said to fix this and front crankshaft seal at the same time which is leaking oil. I consume one to one and a half quarts per 3000miles.

Turbo tube drain gasket is leaking a little. The crankcase breather drain pipe is leaking oil and may have a broken bracket which could vibrate this pipe and damage air filter bracket.

Rear end is sitting low - he says becasue rear shocks are leaking fluid. He said to replace them, the rear seat has to come out or the fuel tank has to be dropped. He reccomended the Heavy Duty Bilsteins to go back. My car was hit in the left rear quarter panel before I got it. The rear sway bar is close to the spring stop becasue of this, but not hitting or causing any problem, but the HD shocks my raise the height back enough to improve this. His estimate to fix it all parts and labor was parts$486.26 and labor $900. I want to go ahead and fix the oil cooler lines. Can anyone give some directions for DIY?
He replaced the vacuum switchover valves on top of my valve cover and did a vacuum check on the regulating valve on the tranny and adjusted the modulator two turns. My rough downshift is gone, my upshift is the smoothest it has ever been. But he did say the vacuum test on the regulating valve on the injection pump showed this valve is probably going bad, but is ok for now. He said whoever had been trying to adjust the tranny before was doing so without changing the bad switchover valves and thus causing more problems.

JimmyL · #2 12-14-2004, 11:09 PM

What kind of car are we talking about here?

**edit**1982 300SD via profile

1985 300SD Sady · #3 12-14-2004, 11:12 PM

You DO NOT have to take out the left engine mount to take out the oil cooler lines, after a bit of fiddling, they will snake out.

Also, before you replace the oil filter housing gasket, just try tightening the screws a bit, it should be a 5.5mm allen wrench. Two of which are best to be accessed beneath the vehicle.

willrev · #4 12-14-2004, 11:21 PM

What kind of car? Well, I'm happy with it. It was a one owner - owned by a lawyer and well maintained by the first owner's same mechanic for 15 of its 22 years and was garage kept. It is not as bad as it sounds. I literally asked the mechanic today to give me everything nitpicky that he could find.

My wife is the one fussing about the oil leaks on her driveway. It really does not leak or burn that much oil. It runs down the highway like a scalded dog. I just want to do prevention. Love my car.

Jimmy Joe · #5 12-15-2004, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyL

What kind of car are we talking about here?

Ya, it is so much easier to visualize the problems if we know the year and model....

willrev · #6 12-15-2004, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmy Joe

Ya, it is so much easier to visualize the problems if we know the year and model....

It is a 1982 300sd. Overall it is in very good condition.
Working out last owner's bugs.

engatwork · #7 12-15-2004, 07:08 AM

Quote:

My wife is the one fussing about the oil leaks on her driveway.

Took mine about a year to get over this

.

willrev · #8 12-15-2004, 07:13 AM

Hey, with those new glow plugs, she fired right up this morn in minus 20degree weather. Good compression, even with the oil drips.

#9 12-14-2004, 11:42 PM

Wow, Big list, lot of leaks. Well sounds like you probably should start out reparing the biggest leaks down to the smallest. The crankshaft seal and the vacuum pump seal, oil cooler hose first. Man you must have one oily engine. You might think of letting your indy repair the major leaks

and you concentrate on the minor things.

R Leo · #10 12-15-2004, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willrev

Turbo tube drain gasket is leaking a little.

I don't think this is caused by the gasket. The turbo drain gasket is located right on the turbo and if you had a leak there, you'd probably have a burning oil smell and light smoke under the hood after running on the highway. The more likely scenario would be the turbo oil drain grommet. It is located in the upper oil pan. To do this job correctly, you must drop the lower oilpan to replace the grommet. Before spending the time and money to do that job, make sure you aren't overfilling your crankcase with lube oil. The proper fill is 1/2 way betweeen the two marks on the dipstick with the engine cold. These cars are old and the aged rubber grommet has hardened and no longer makes a tight seal against the opening in the upper oil pan and overfilling will make them leak at the grommet.

On both of my cars with the OM617 engine, anything over that 1/2 way point on the dipstick, causes a leak at the turbo drain grommet. Actually, my wagon likes her oil level slightly lower than the 300D...something like 1/3 of the distance between the two marks. Anything over that and she leaks like a sieve.

Quote:

Originally Posted by willrev

The crankcase breather drain pipe is leaking oil and may have a broken bracket which could vibrate this pipe and damage air filter bracket.

He's backwards on this. More than likely, the airfilter bracket or, one of the aircleaner mounts, is already broken because they're a stupid design (plenty in here on that topic) and it is rattling around, and not allowing the oil separator (crankcase breather) drain to mate tight to the bottom of the airfilter housing. There is also a bracket behind the turbo that supports the breather drain which sometimes doesn't get reinstalled after some intake or exhaust service. Both issues will cause a leak.

Quote:

Originally Posted by willrev

Rear end is sitting low - he says becasue rear shocks are leaking fluid. He said to replace them, the rear seat has to come out or the fuel tank has to be dropped.

This is a plain 'ol SD right? No hydropneumatic suspension either, right? If so, leaking/bad shocks will not cause the rear to sag. In addition to what Hatterasguy pointed out, a sagging rear is going to have to be something other than shocks... like old, bagged out springs, rusted out spring perches or a seriously crapped-out diffy mount. And, I'm pretty daggone sure that you only need take out the back seat to access the top of the shocks for removal.

With access to a lift, it might take 60-90 minutes tops to change out the rear shocks. Absolutely no need to pull the fuel tank for this!

P.E.Haiges · #11 12-15-2004, 11:48 AM

Willrev,

Dampers (incorrectly called shock absorbers) do not effect the height of the vehicle. Its the springs that support the weight and determine the height.

A quick low cost fix is to screw spring wedges into the coils until you can have the springs replaced. You can get them at most parts stores. To make them easier to install, put a little grease on them. You turn them with a 1/2 inch ratchet and extension: Easier to do if car is up on a lift and spring extended.

You might ask: THen what are the shock absorbers? The springs are the actual shock absorbers. They absorb the shock and store it as mechanical energy. The dampers only control the oscillation of the springs and allow them to spread the energy stored in the springs over a longer period of time.

P E H

R Leo · #12 12-15-2004, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P.E.Haiges

Willrev,

Dampers (incorrectly called shock absorbers) do not effect the height of the vehicle. Its the springs that support the weight and determine the height.

A quick low cost fix is to screw spring wedges into the coils until you can have the springs replaced. You can get them at most parts stores. To make them easier to install, put a little grease on them. You turn them with a 1/2 inch ratchet and extension: Easier to do if car is up on a lift and spring extended.

You might ask: THen what are the shock absorbers? The springs are the actual shock absorbers. They absorb the shock and store it as mechanical energy. The dampers only control the oscillation of the springs and allow them to spread the energy stored in the springs over a longer period of time.

P E H

Obfuscate clearly, please.

Pete Burton · #13 12-15-2004, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P.E.Haiges

Willrev,

You might ask: THen what are the shock absorbers? The springs are the actual shock absorbers. They absorb the shock and store it as mechanical energy. The dampers only control the oscillation of the springs and allow them to spread the energy stored in the springs over a longer period of time.

P E H

Shock absorption is complicated and never perfect, but the primary mechanism is both the deflection of the spring and tire and resistance to time rate change in position of the dashpot or "shock absorber". But yes, the springs do certainly store some of the energy transferred vertically when going over a bump.