Help ! Anyone out there have a spare thermostat housing Part #617 203 19 73 (1985 300D) they would be willing to part with. I will be willing to pay what you think is fair and shipping etc.
I have succeeded in destroying mine trying to replace a thermostat....broke two bolts tried penetrating oil, tapping, patience, heat no go. Tried drilling them and easy out ...no go. Now I have a ruined thermostat housing. No pick and pulls close to me anywhere.... Fastlane and Potomac German Auto searches nil. I am thoroughly frustrated.

I found one at ***************, I hate to suggest another parts source here but thats the only place, besides the stealer, I could find one.

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

Thanks Steve I will try them. What a major PITA this job has become.

Yah, I think allot of folks have done that, Put some anti seez compound on the threads.

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

For rusted and corroded bolts I switched from WD-40 to a product called Kroil available only from Kano Laboratories. When I used it as per their instructions I had way better luck than with WD. Their web site is www.kanolabs.com If anyone tries it I hope they have as much success with it as I have.

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1983 300-D turbo
1985 300-D turbo
1959 Harley Panhead chopper
1929 Ford coupe restored
I hang out with Boneheaddoctor at Schuman Automotive OBK#5
All liberals are mattoids but not all mattoids are liberal.

Good stuff, Kroil. I have seen it sold by a few other places, but the prices were higher than what one would pay getting it directly from Kano.

I've used Marvel Mystery Oil as a penetrant with success. Haven't tried Kroil yet.

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1982 300SD

I have a friend who is an industrial mechanic. He claims that nothing holds a candle to Kroil.

I had the exact same problem this weekend..... I didn't have a spare housing so the local junkyard got my $25 for one. I keep a set of gaskets "just in case" for days like today so I was able to put it on when I got home, while you have the housing off the block replace the short hose to the water pump housing... I didn't have one of them so I went to the local Advance Auto with the old hose section and the housing, found a hose of the same diameter and cut it to length....

When you put the thermostat housing together oil the threads and tighten to only 7 ft/lbs (10Nm), hamfisted mechanics overtighten these and make the bolts impossible to remove 5 years later...

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Over 21 years I owned several:
w108
w110
w111
w115
w116
w123
w124
w126
w212

Kroil is recommended by Guy Lautard in " The Machinist's Bedside Reader"....
About the highest praise in the metal world.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=kroil+lautard&btnG=Google+Search

I've also heard lots of praise for "PB Blaster", and have used it with success. I've only seen it in spray cans, which is fine for some jobs, but not always the most convenient. Kroil can be had either as an aerosol can or just as plain liquid (half pint, gallon, or 55 gallon drum!) Sometimes it's nice to be able to apply with a brush or to soak a small assembly. I've also seen guys use it as cutting fluid.

I don't have an objective measure of how it compares to Kroil with respect to performance, but one thing PB Blaster has going for it is ready availability. The terms on the Kroil web site even specify that it is sold only for industrial, and not consumer, use.

Now, for all I know, that could be just a matter of limiting legal liability. If not, well, come on, Kroil police, come and get me.

I bought a small container of Kroil (maybe 8 oz.?). It's readily available on the web at various outlets.

I have one I pulled off a 300D I parted. PM me if you still need one.

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1984 300D Turbo - 4-speed manual conversion, mid-level resto

1983 300D - parts car

1979 300TD Auto - Parts car.

1985 300D Auto - Wrecked/Parts.


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"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there". Lewis Carrol

Thanks but a local person has told me that he has one that will fit. Thanks anyway for the offer.

I ha a pinhole leak in mine that demanded it be replaced...I think I paid less than $60 for a spanking new one. But since you found a local one its a moot issue.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche