Have a couple of questions on bleeding the brakes on an 85 300D.

Anyone have a pic of where the bleeder valves are on a 300D, or a good description of where they are?

Do I need to take the wheels off to do this??

__________________
'87 924S
'81 280SEL

Sold ->

81 300SD -
93 300E w/ 3.2
85 300D-
79 300SD
82 300CD
83 300CD - CA
87 190E 5 spd
87 Porsche 924S

"..I'll take a simple "C" to "G" and feel brand new about it..."

Here is a photo of the front caliper:





The bleeder screw is at the very top corner on the left side in the first photo. You can see it clearly on the right side of the inset photo. You can see the hole down the middle of the screw. You crack the screw loose and open it one turn and fluid will pass through the middle of the screw and out the opening.

Removing the wheels is advised to gain easy access to the screw.

Make sure you use a box wrench or a socket on the screw......no open end wrenches.

Thanks BC. For some reason I thought the valve was on the hose, but see it's not. This could go in as a sticky.....
Any input from you on my "...torque converter.." thread??

AA (suuny and hi 70's)

__________________
'87 924S
'81 280SEL

Sold ->

81 300SD -
93 300E w/ 3.2
85 300D-
79 300SD
82 300CD
83 300CD - CA
87 190E 5 spd
87 Porsche 924S

"..I'll take a simple "C" to "G" and feel brand new about it..."

Since you did not know where the bleeders where it indicated you may have not dealt with them in the past. You do not have as much rust in florida by a long shot compared to us. Ask a friend in your area that has done some brake work if bleeders normally back out without heat in your part of the country on old cars. The last thing you want to do is start snapping them off. Not trying to alarm you but just minumise any damage. Broken screw sometimes leads to replacement caliper.

The bleeders should all be covered with a rubber cap. Replace them if they are missing or in bad shape.

Len

Hey B;
What do you mean by..."if bleeders normally back out without heat..."?
and my car does have rust on it but I was planning on being pretty careful when opening the bolts.

aa

__________________
'87 924S
'81 280SEL

Sold ->

81 300SD -
93 300E w/ 3.2
85 300D-
79 300SD
82 300CD
83 300CD - CA
87 190E 5 spd
87 Porsche 924S

"..I'll take a simple "C" to "G" and feel brand new about it..."

The bleed screws are hollow screws. They can't take unlimited torque because you can snap them right off. So, if they have not been cracked in 10 years and there is corrosion on the threads, there is a decent chance that you will snap them off if you apply full torque to break them loose.

If you don't have a feel for how much torque you can put on the screw without snapping it, then you might prefer to leave this to a mechanic who does have the touch. Or, you can use some heat on the casting........around the screw........to break the bond between the screw threads and the caliper.

If you snap the bleeder screw off..........you'll have to replace the caliper in most circumstances and you'll be very

I will check them since I would like to do this myself. What is a good way to apply heat?
A bic lighter?
or Icy-Hot?

__________________
'87 924S
'81 280SEL

Sold ->

81 300SD -
93 300E w/ 3.2
85 300D-
79 300SD
82 300CD
83 300CD - CA
87 190E 5 spd
87 Porsche 924S

"..I'll take a simple "C" to "G" and feel brand new about it..."

You'll need a hand held propane torch........Mapp gas is even better.

When I did it I just used the proper wrench, 8 or 9 mm i can't remember, but they are tiny wrenches so you can't really torque too much. This is CA though, no rust under the body and no salt on the roads.

__________________
1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

1) I don't own a propane torch.
2) I checked the rear passenger bolt today and it had the cap. The bolt has no rust, under the caP IS CLEAN AS NEW. But the bleed bolt is pretty dirty. I will be careful and hope they don't snap.

Thx.

__________________
'87 924S
'81 280SEL

Sold ->

81 300SD -
93 300E w/ 3.2
85 300D-
79 300SD
82 300CD
83 300CD - CA
87 190E 5 spd
87 Porsche 924S

"..I'll take a simple "C" to "G" and feel brand new about it..."

.........under $20.00 in HD..........go buy one........you'll need it sooner.......or later.

on bleeders. i just spray liberally with pb blaster wait a while and then very carefully wiggle the bleeder back and forth til i feel it starting to break loose, then just keep wiggling it further and further til it turns freely.

i bet i havent broken one off in 20 years. at least not on a benz.

tom w

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

If you are unsure of the required torque to put on the bleeder, it's likely that you'll snap it. Heat will minimize the risk of such an occurrence.

You can "wiggle it back and forth" all you like, but, if the threads don't move, you'll snap it if you are not very careful.

i guess maybe i didn't say "carefully". but you do have to be careful.

one who is not careful could also break it while using heat!

btw, does brake fluid burn?

tom w

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.