tranny fluid change

[rayten]

Greetings all,

I am in the middle of changing the tranny fluid for my "new" '87 190td and I am being asked to rotate the crank, to expose the drain plug for the diff.

Two questions:

1. Does anybody know what size the pully bolt is, my guess is 30mm or so, and I don't want to make a half a dozen trips to Sears.

2. And this one will show my diesel newness, is it possible to turn the crank as the book calls for at these compression rates without a 6 foot breaker bar?

Thanks.

'87 190 2.5td - legitimate one owner, old lady drove to church--- of course church was a hell of a ways away!

[diesel don]

Bear in mind that my advice comes from 123's (82-85 300D's).

1. I used to crank it by the bolt and with a wrench. Now I just bump the starter using the key. Much easier with someone else doing it while you're looking for the bolt. Generally takes 6-10 times but once in awhile I get lucky.

dp

[Ralph69220d]

Originally Posted by rayten

Greetings all,

I am in the middle of changing the tranny fluid for my "new" '87 190td and I am being asked to rotate the crank, to expose the drain plug for the diff.

Two questions:

1. Does anybody know what size the pully bolt is, my guess is 30mm or so, and I don't want to make a half a dozen trips to Sears.

2. And this one will show my diesel newness, is it possible to turn the crank as the book calls for at these compression rates without a 6 foot breaker bar?

Thanks.

'87 190 2.5td - legitimate one owner, old lady drove to church--- of course church was a hell of a ways away!

In my 115.110 (220d) the crank pulley is a 27mm bolt head. If you're going to turn by hand, remove the glow plugs so you have no compression to fight you. Then a 10" rathchet with deep-well 27mm socket will turn the engine finely and easily.

[Kestas]

Somebody mentioned you could also 'walk' the torque converter around by prying on the flywheel teeth.

[JimmyL]

Originally Posted by Kestas

Somebody mentioned you could also 'walk' the torque converter around by prying on the flywheel teeth.

I was able to spin my torque converter with a screw driver without much effort at all until allen bolt came around. 6mm or 8mm from what I barely remember. I must do this soon on the '85..... (granted, my info is for a 123. It may or may not translate to a 190)

[dannym]

Try turning the crank before you go and remove those glow plugs.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by dannym

Try turning the crank before you go and remove those glow plugs.

Exactly.

You can turn the engine with a 1/2" ratchet wrench if you have some arm strength. AFAIK, the size of the bolt has remained at 27mm for all the vehicles.

There are some issues with the length between the head of the bolt and the shroud on the radiator. If the socket plus extension is not the perfect size, the ratchet won't clear the pulley, or, alternatively, it will hit the shroud.

On the W126, the 27mm deep socket from Sears is the perfect length.

[MarkM]

I made a standard push button device with an electric push switch (push - closed, release - open) and a length of wire with two alligator clips. Attach the two clips to the correct terminals (in the little black box on 123's on the passenger wheel hump). Turn the key on (dont heat glow plugs), wire the linkage stop lever in the stop position (so the engine doesnt start), and crawl under the car and jog the engine while watching for the torque converter drain plug to match up with the window. I do this when the engine is cold to ensure it doesnt start while I am under the car!!! (when I did my first transmission fluid change, I had my wife jog the engine with the ingnition key...she had a hard time turning the key momentarily...and the engine was warm, and I didnt wire the stop lever to the full stop position....the dam engine started while I was under the car!!!!.....this was very exciting with my face six inches from the torque converter!!!)

I also use this for adjusting valves...much easier than turning main crank bolt by hand.

Mark