Your explanation is how the mechanic described it to me. Unfortunately I believe the differential will have to be opened up and the bearings replaced if not the whole inner workings of the diff. Thus, I believe this will cost a lot of money. Which my wife and I do not have at the time. Very sad, I feel like my dog has died or something.

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1985 Mercedes Benz 300SD, TMU
2015 Chrysler 200S

Can anyone recomend a good mechanic in Woodbridge or Alexandria VA that would be able to diagnose and fix the differential in my car? Thank you!

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1985 Mercedes Benz 300SD, TMU
2015 Chrysler 200S

Go to your nearest junkyard and get another rear end and swap it out, call around and see what they have, thats the way you need to go. should be able to get one cheap.

it is really not a very hard job to swap the entire unit. consider doing axles if they have torn boots.

I have had a pinion bearing go on a dana 70HD and it rendered the truck unable to go forward. had to tow it backwards.

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1984 123.193 372,xxx miles, room for Seven.

1999 Dodge Durango Cummins 4BTAA 47RE 5k lb 4x4 getting 25+mpgs, room for Seven.

If it is your 85 in your sig., then you will need to look for a diff. with a 2:88 ratio.

Look for an 85 SD or an 85 300D. this ratio is only used for this one year.

I pulled two Diff. from out local PNP, think they were around $80.00. PNP doesn`t allow the use of Jacks.
So it get interesting getting that thing down.

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

JCSC2,

Mark Disilvestro, a forum member, might be able to help you positively diagnose the problem and I believe he is in your area. Just drop him a PM and see what he has to say.

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1961 190Db retired
1968 220D/8 325,000
1983 300D 164,150

this guy's in TX and selling a diff from an '85 D. I'm not sure if it works with the SD.

http://houston.craigslist.org/pts/1005963194.html

No affiliation BTW.

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2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel - 4x4, auto, 3.54 gears, long bed
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'92 300D 2.5 Turbodiesel - sold
'83 300D Turbodiesel - 4 speed manual/2.88 diff - sold
'87 300D Turbodiesel - sold
'82 300D Turbodiesel - sold

Thank you for the advice. I sent him a pm.

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1985 Mercedes Benz 300SD, TMU
2015 Chrysler 200S

Just thought I would update everyone.
I got my differential fixed! Yeeeeeaaaah!
I had several gears replaced in it. Pinion bearings, satellite gears, etc. It is amazing at how quiet it is now. I am very happy with the repairs.
JCP Motorsports in Alexandria is a great place to work with. Carlos, took lots of time with me to expalin everything and really cares about these older Mercedes. He is a stand up guy.
I also several other repairs done as well. The car performs flawlessly now and I am very happy!
Joey

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1985 Mercedes Benz 300SD, TMU
2015 Chrysler 200S

The service manual makes repairing these differentials appear to be such an involved project that it seems everyone is shy of doing anything to them. Would you mind sharing how much it cost to have this work done? It would be valuable to the rest of us with noisy differentials (and there are quite a number of us it seems).

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'82 300D - Light Ivory, 2nd Owner (Back in the wind April 2013!)

'95 E300D - White, grey interior. (Suffering from stuck/broken glow plugs)

Deuteronomy 22:4-
"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again."

No problem, I left the bill at work though so I do not have a full explanation at the moment. However, the total was about $900 for the repair. It included 5 hours of labor @ $98 an hour and the rest in parts. I elected to have an additional $260 in other gears to be replaced. They were not "bad" but were showing signs of age and the mechanic said I could go with them but I decided to have them done anyone. I only want to do this one time!
This whole problem developed from a previous pinion seal repair. Done somewhere else(Mercedes Dealer) and years ago under my Mother's ownership. The mechanic overtightened the pinion gear(impact wrench) and that is what started the wear and whining. Normally, one would just get another diff out of another car. However this was not available to us. Being an 85 with 2:88 is rare but not impossible to find. However finding one out of an 85 with ABS is next to impossible. I was told this was the way to go and I am very happy with the results.

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1985 Mercedes Benz 300SD, TMU
2015 Chrysler 200S