air filter housing
 

Any one ever have the stud that is in the middle of the air cleaner housing snap? Is it a stud or are the threads cut onto the housing? I think that I am going to have to have a michine shop drill it out, tap it and install a stud. Any advice would be appriciated. btw the car is a '81 sd. Also snaped the breather tube from the valve cover. $28.50 and 3 days to get it from the dealer! Super glued it together for now. It works great. My mechanic said that they have always used streight 30wt. oil in the diesel mb's down here. I looked through the "oil jihad" thread and no one seems to be of the same opinion. I live in south texas and will soon need to change the oil. Recomendations?

Yes. I had the stud strip on mine, and simply replaced the housing. While I was at it, I replaced the isolation mounts with the newer, fatter, heat-shielded ones. I do not recall the housing being very expensive. You may want to compare the cost of a new housing to machine shop charges. The housing and cover are sold individually. Inspect the gasket on the inside of the cover too. They become brittle with age.

Luke