300SD owner in need of guidance in Roanoke VA area
 

i have an 82 300SD that i'd bought because i love MB diesels and i'd hoped to learn about it and slowly chip away at restoring it while using my VW TDI as my daily driver.

to make a long story short - in the near future i will probably sell my VW to save on car and insurance payments and give me some breathing room paycheck-to-paycheck. before i make this move though i need to do some work on the 300SD so that it will be a functional daily driver.

the thing is i'm a very visual and hands on (learn-by-doing) learner. it's hard for me to read through even a good how-to post and apply it under the hood. but if i'm shown and involved in doing a repair or maintenance procedure i can grasp it very readily.

basically i'm hoping to find someone, reasonably near the Roanoke VA area, with some time and a passion for MB diesels to take me under their wing for a bit and give me guidance on how to do some repairs.

i've adjusted the valves, checked all fluid levels, changed the oil and filter a couple times, and i've changed the auto trans fluid and filter. the 300SD starts and runs well but a number of things are inoperable (power locks, A/C, rear defroster, dash lights, all 12v outlets, etc.). while i'd like to fix everything, i can live without those items for even an extended period but the transmission is shifting hard when not under load and i'd very much like to remedy this condition before using the 300SD too much.

i understand from reading here that hard shifts under low load could be caused by a vacuum leak or a faulty valve or even a worn motor shock or motor mounts, or... i don't currently have enough understanding to diagnose the cause. i may be able to perform the repair if i can get some assistance on the diagnosis, but i may need assistance with the repair too.

if you live in the Roanoke VA area and would be willing to help me out, or if you know someone that might, please reply to this thread.

i believe in and enjoy "paying it forward" as part of life. i very much want to learn about my car through this process so i can help myself and others in the future. even if i wanted to, i don't have funds to bring my 300SD to a shop and have them repair it.

thanks in advance, and i'll post back to this thread as to the status of my 300SD project!

wow, it sounds like you are well on your way to understanding your car.
I am right there with you on understanding a written post. I am only a state away, but that's quite a haul for me... sorry. find the post by Brian Carlton on transmission vacuum and get a mityvac and start testing your transmission vacuum. just jump in and start testing it. you will have it shifting smooth in no time. as for the rest of the issues, try fuses, and try resoldering the ccu... good luck!

I have also learned a great deal from this forum on repairing these cars. However, depending on what shape your vehicle is in, I'm not sure you will be saving money. My 240D is a money pit at this point. A labor of love, but expensive to maintain even with me doing the labor.

John

I'll agree with vstech, you're on your way. The transmission problem is probably vac related, but you need to start the trouble shooting process.
The door locks work on a separate vacuum system, an electrical motor in the trunk.
A/C is a normal failure, compressor, most likely.
Rear defrost, is any of it working? Only the top portion of mine works. May be fuse related.
Dash lights are probably a rheostat problem, twist the dial back and forth, it may light up.
I also am too far away, do some searches for your problems, and ask away.

amazingly, thanks to Brian Carlton pm'ing me the 3-2 valve bypass post link:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/1375506-post5.html

it took me 2 minutes to fix my transmission. i'm floored because it literally shifts perfectly now.

the car now drives perfectly. alignment seems good. acceloration is good. she easily buries the needle well past speedometer's max of 85mph.

vstech - "as for the rest of the issues, try fuses, and try resoldering the ccu... good luck!" i replaced almost all the fuses when i drove the car out of the woods. there are a few left that have not been replaced but i think they're OK. is there a 126 fuse map on this site somewhere? i'll search...

regarding resoldering the ccu - i don't know what that is and i've never soldered before (excepts for copper plumbing). what's the ccu and do you have a soldering iron / solder recommendation?

car history: the 300SD failed inspection like 4 years ago due to "a fuel leak" so this nice old woman parked the then 22yr old vehicle in the woods next to her home and her family got her a new MB. i'd seen it sitting there for years and finally just knocked on the door and asked if she might consider selling it. she was just going to sell it for scrap but the wheels all needed to be taken off and she'd never got around to having anyone do that. she sold it to me for $300. it turned out the fuel leak was just the primer pump. i grabbed it with a vice grip, turn it off, spun on a new one and ~$20 and 5min later the fuel leak was fixed.

hangit - "However, depending on what shape your vehicle is in, I'm not sure you will be saving money. My 240D is a money pit at this point. A labor of love, but expensive to maintain even with me doing the labor." this is what i'm worried about too. i actually had a manual 240D before this, and i liked the car, but it was too far gone to be a good restoration candidate for me. sold it to a friend that's not concerned with the rust / appearance - he just drives it and it's working out great as his daily driver. i made a huge mistake with my first diesel purchase - it was a Volvo Turbo Diesel. i bought it for $600, probably put $2000 into it and sold it for $600. i will say that my VW TDI is flawless. 4 years, zero repairs, only routine maintenance + great fuel economy. it's going to be hard to let the VW go but i'm going to be saving $430+ a month ($330 car payment + $100 insurance).

toomany MBZ - thanks for the tips / starting points. the night i drove the car home the pump in the trunk didn't stop running for hours and hours (it may have even ran all night). i think started pulling fuses until it stopped but i'm not sure which one caused it to stop working and i'm not sure why it hasn't started working again - as i replaced all the fuses (i think). that's why i'd like a good fuse map w all the correct amp values so i can check to be certain i've got the right fuses in all locations and understand what the fuses all do. i think the fuse card is missing from my 300SD.

are the dash lights and the 12v outlets on a related fuse? the car has three 12v outlets (1 up front and 1 in each rear door) and none are working.

i'm going to keep doing my best to chip away at the issues and i really appreciate the help and feedback. maybe at a future GTG someone can share with me their insights on the issues i'm unable to tackle :)

thanks everyone!

Here's a pic.

toomany MBZ - thanks! i actually did have one bad fuse #14 and it was the horn / rear defroster fuse. the horn works now - and i'm keeping my fingers crossed that the rear defrost will too (we'll see tomorrow morning).

You really ought to replace all the fuses. They suffer from cracking due to age and it's not readily apparent until you pull the fuse and it falls apart in your hands. It's happened to all of us...........so, the recommendation really has merit and the cost is minimal. Get the copper fuses rather than the aluminum. Not everyone has the copper.

I have the same shifting issues with my '82 SD, I have new levers to install, should I do the vacuum line update as well?:confused:

Return the levers for a refund and follow the link in post #5 of this thread.

In Roanoke
 

I'm in Roanoke. Have PM'd you with # as I can't be on the forum as much as I'd like.

Scot

before reading your post i had actually opted to replace all the fuses - but i think they're most if not all Al - not Cu. you think i should find all Cu fuses and swap them again?

also, the back of the air filter housing is coming into contact with the engine bay (section in front of the battery), and it was very tricky adjusting the valves closest to the passenger compartment due to lack of room... do you think this could be caused by collapsed engine mounts?

drove her 380 miles today (business road trip) and she did great. antenna's broke and i haven't tried the cassette so it was a relatively quite & peacefull trip. bad OTR truck wreck in the median of I81 (staunton area)...

This is not normal. I would image you'd be able to tell about failed motor mounts, perhaps the small firewall has come lose.

OK - i took some pics. i found the dieselgiant oil cooler line / engine mount tutorial then went out and looked at my line and:
http://www.usta-va.com/rob/MB/300SD/...+/DSC00831.JPG
yup - that's gonna need replacing...

here's a pic of the driver's side engine mount:
http://www.usta-va.com/rob/MB/300SD/...+/DSC00833.JPG
the top plate ain't looking good. are these easy to come by / replace? i couldn't find them listed in fastlane...

here's the top of the driver's side engine shock/dampner:
http://www.usta-va.com/rob/MB/300SD/...+/DSC00834.JPG
do you think i'm going to need new shock and just shock mounts or shock mount kits?

Here's the passenger side mount:
http://www.usta-va.com/rob/MB/300SD/...+/DSC00836.JPG

Passenger side shock + leaking turbo oil return line:(:
http://www.usta-va.com/rob/MB/300SD/...+/DSC00837.JPG

I think I need new O rings for the air cleaner oil return line too:
http://www.usta-va.com/rob/MB/300SD/...+/DSC00839.JPG

Lastly - here's the pic of my air filter housing coming into contact with the firewall:
http://www.usta-va.com/rob/MB/300SD/...+/DSC00841.JPG
what do you think could be causing this.

if other pics / angles would help you understand / diagnose these issues let me know and i'll shoot away.

thanks for all your help!

The air filter assembly has two sets of holes for the mounts. You might be in the wrong set of holes. Take the cover off and remove the filter. I would then check to see which holes your mounts are using. I would also check the mounts themselves as they are rubber and will wear out. The bracket the assembly attaches to also tends to break. When you are running the engine does the assembly bounce around a lot?

Looking at the black wire tie in the picture showing the underside of the assembly and the turbo makes me think the bracket is toast.

My in-laws live in Salem and the next time I visit them, I can meet up with you. I have a 1981 300SD so I have been all around this model.