Quote from STEALERship on work for my car....gah! - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Austin85 · #16 09-02-2005, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkveuro

Of course, you dont have big neon sign to light up....a/c for the 5 offices and staff of 20, 6 tech's, a shop with $555,000 of special tools, pay high insurance costs, have a 1.5 million stock of parts or 2 service cars for customers, cable tv in the waiting room with free coffee, 35 cars on the lot and liability insurance that would break a small city bank and 4 salesmen doing nothing most of the day !

How much was that Haynes manual ?

.

I don't get it. What's your point???

whunter · #17 09-02-2005, 09:24 PM

The flex disc and carrier bearing is easy; just dirty work.

Bad Flex Disc
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/121285-bad-flex-disc-post868329.html#post868329

92 300D 2.5 flex discs,diff. mounts and damper
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/79755-92-300d-2-5-flex-discs-diff-mounts-damper.html#post506832

Valve adjustment is very easy...

Valve adjustment OM 617 FYI.
Valve adjustment OM615, 616, 617 FYI.

MBeige · #18 09-02-2005, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

So I called the dealer, stealer, I mean, to ask for a quote on how much they'd charge for a valve adjustment, they wanted about $200 for the job. So I'll be doing that myself too, courtesy of the valve kit from **************, it includes the wrenches, and detailed instructions on doing it, and they include a gasket, so I should be fine there....

The Biggie was when I asked how much it'd cost to have the flex discs and center carrier bearing assembly replaced....he quoted $300 labor + parts...which would probably be another $175ish or more.....so it'd be a near $500 job!

I am not capable (toolwise or liftwise etc...) to do that job, so I don't know, I don't want to pay that much. The parts alone from fastlane are only abou $168 or so for the whole job. I guess I will have to live with it for right now perhaps.

House of Imports quoted me $700 for the same valve adjustment.

RockinWagin · #19 09-02-2005, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Where can I get a feeler gauge? I don't see them on fastlane....

If you have to ask this, then you may not be ready to do a valve adjustment on your car. Don't listen to people on this forum who encourage you to do this when you don't even know where to get a feeler gauge, much less how to use one.

mikemover · #20 09-02-2005, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBeige

House of Imports quoted me $700 for the same valve adjustment.

They are insane.

I'd bet they're just trying to "sticker-shock" you, because they don't want to mess around with "a smelly old diesel".

A lot of MB dealers and some of the "uppity" independent shops frown upon us "old car guys".

Mike

MBeige · #21 09-02-2005, 11:39 PM

Actually I think they're frowning on young MB enthusiasts like me. And maybe taking advantage of that too while they're at it.

Wait til they pop the hood. They won't need any gloves. Now who's shocked?

pawoSD · #22 09-03-2005, 12:42 AM

I suppose I'd be willing to try to work on the drive shaft....my worry is if I mess something up, I'd have to pay to have it repaired anyways. The main problem is vibration from the carrier bearing, the flex discs look fine but I'd like to replace them anyways, so I don't have to worry about them.

I won't need to replace valve stem seals either, it just is time for its adjustment....it runs very nicely even right now, whunter can vouch for that

I also don't have any money, well, very little, its tight, I'm a verge-of-starving college student...

I'm going to start off by doing the valve adjustment.....maybe I'll be able to work down my fears of working on the shaft.....I did for my cooler lines and was successful, it just took a while, and was a VERY unpleasant job....especially since it was still quite cold out....thats another thing, I'd like to have it out of the way before it gets...unpleasantly cold out.

Ok, so for the valve adjustment I'd need:

-Feeler Gauge, I'll buy one
-Regular metric tools, have a whole set and beyond of those by now

-Valve wrenches, I'll obtain those as well....
-Gasket
-Instructions

For the Shaft work I'd need:

-All parts: 2 flex discs, center bearing, bearing support, bearing boot, seal?...I think thats all, am I missing anything?
-Metric tools again...
-Sockets, allen sockets, wratchets, breaker bar....etc...have all those
-Big monster wrench...what size? for the big bolt in the center....
-Chalk....to mark the shaft...right? How can I make sure to keep it balanced?
-Torque wrench- Have one
-Additional jack stands and other items to make sure car stays WELL put above me....technically I could just drive the front up on ramps then jack up the rear couldn't I.....that'd work....and it'd make it that much more stable too....

I'm gaining confidence, and the extreme desire to save hundreds of dollars....

mikemover · #23 09-03-2005, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBeige

Actually I think they're frowning on young MB enthusiasts like me. And maybe taking advantage of that too while they're at it.

Wait til they pop the hood. They won't need any gloves. Now who's shocked?

hahaha...

BTW, I didn't mean that you were an OLD car guy, as in "old age". I meant that you are a guy who likes OLD CARS. I should have worded it better.

Mike

MikeTangas · #24 09-03-2005, 12:09 PM

For the flex disks all you need is a 19mm box wrench and a 19mm socket plus a pry bar. I think the center bearing retaining nut is 44mm, but I carefully used a large set of channel locks...it shouldn't be that dang tight. The tunnel cover has something like a million small bolts, 10mm I think, don't forget about the two hidden bolts up the back on the diff end of the tunnel. Drop the tunnel cover and check the condition of the center bearing, if it is OK you'll only need to do the disks and the propshaft can stay in place for this job.

I would do the flex disks ASAP! If the front is shot it will take out the rear of the tranny, the shifter and linkage, tear through the tranny tunnel as well. Think about where your right foot rests.

Then do the valve adjustment.

MikeTangas · #25 09-03-2005, 12:12 PM

Forgot to add that you can do the flex disks using a set of ramps in lieu of jackstands.

pawoSD · #26 09-03-2005, 12:36 PM

The problem is that the flex discs apear OK. They don't have any wear signs or cracks or anything, they've probably been replaced before at some point. The car shudders when I come to a stop(20-16mph, most of the time, not always), so the center bearing must be bad or worn....thats what I think anyways, all other mounts are new. 44mm?

I don't even know what the assembly looks like under there, or how to mount a new bearing/seal/support or anything and make sure its balanced. This is why I'd rather not mess with it, if I mess anything up then I'd just have to pay the stealer to fix what I messed up....

I'm still brave enough to try to do a valve adjustment though......

pawoSD · #27 09-03-2005, 01:07 PM

I just studied the center bearing project in my MB factory manual pages....I don't have any of those special tools for this, so I am not going to mess around with it. $300 labor to have both flex discs, center bearing and the whole deal done and finished w/out having to mess with it sounds fine to me, plus, if anything goes wrong from it, I get to hold them responsible...

tangofox007 · #28 09-03-2005, 01:36 PM

The $300 for labor is only part of the expense. The shop will charge you a serious mark-up on the parts as compared to what you could buy them for at a discount supplier. Despite what the manual shows, you don't really need all those pullers, etc., for the center bearing. You can drive the old bearing off with a punch and hammer. The new bearing can be tapped into the carrier with a mallet, and the new bearing can be driven on the shaft with a punch and hammer. Or a piece of pipe. You don't have to do any balancing on the driveshaft. Just make sure you put it back together and reinstall it in the same orientation as it was removed. As far as jacking the car goes, you could just raise one side, front and rear. It helps a lot to have one rear wheel off the ground so you can rotate the driveshaft to get easier access to the flex disk fasteners.
The driveshaft job is not technically difficult. You can do it!!!

Pete Burton · #29 09-03-2005, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

The $300 for labor is only part of the expense. The shop will charge you a serious mark-up on the parts as compared to what you could buy them for at a discount supplier. Despite what the manual shows, you don't really need all those pullers, etc., for the center bearing. You can drive the old bearing off with a punch and hammer. The new bearing can be tapped into the carrier with a mallet, and the new bearing can be driven on the shaft with a punch and hammer. Or a piece of pipe. You don't have to do any balancing on the driveshaft. Just make sure you put it back together and reinstall it in the same orientation as it was removed. As far as jacking the car goes, you could just raise one side, front and rear. It helps a lot to have one rear wheel off the ground so you can rotate the driveshaft to get easier access to the flex disk fasteners.
The driveshaft job is not technically difficult. You can do it!!!

he's right - and you can look at the center bearing by taking that shield off. It's about 9 bolts and 2 nuts. It WILL come off without moving the exhaust system or anything else. Then, you can actually see and feel the center bearing and take some mystery out of it. It's really not that tough.

pawoSD · #30 09-03-2005, 02:08 PM

My stealership allows me to get a quote, then I can go attain the parts from fastlane or anywhere else and bring them in, they don't require buying them from them. I was given a farily firm quote of $300 for labor, (I'd get it in writing for that or less before the job took place) then I add in the parts from fastlane, which would be about $160-180....or so.

I looked at all the stuff in the shop manual....I am just paranoid about messing something up, because THEN I would be in trouble.......

Plus the valve adjustment won't cost me anything, as my dad wants to order the set of wrenches so I can do his adjustment as well later on, so with that being free to me......I can more-afford having the shaft done professionally.......if I haggle on the labor charge and get my own parts to supply to them I could probably get it to $450 or less overall....which is ok by me.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
My beautiful car has been destroyed	JHZR2	Diesel Discussion	49	12-20-2004 02:06 AM
Beautiful 2 owner 240D for sale - DC area	tenknots	Mercedes-Benz Cars For Sale	5	09-09-2004 11:02 AM
Well, my car got burnt and my doors wont work... HELP! (please...)	Joesclk430cab	Tech Help	1	12-01-2003 08:09 AM
New car owners embarassed by vintage cars?	300SDog	Vintage Mercedes Forum	23	02-11-2003 10:47 PM
my #$*%@$ car	Snibble	Off-Topic Discussion	16	06-03-2002 01:17 PM