The Rise of the Red Dragon (1985 300TD)
 

Now that my other cars are running well and I finished the 300TD that's been in my garage for 7 months, I'm able to focus on my wagon again.

I plan to keep this thread updated as I complete all the things I need to do on my 1985 300TD. This is the second wave of "restoration and repair" that I'll be embarking on.

Here's a list of things I need to accomplish in the order I plan to attack them:

- drain oil
- replace turbo drain gaskets and o-rings.
- replace wastegate hose
- replace oil pan gasket
- new oil and filter
- valve adjustment
- replace fuel filters
- flush cooling system
- replace all accessory belts
- replace exhaust from end of down pipe back
- replace SLS valve
- flush brakes and inspect
- replace, passenger side tie rod, center link and steering shock (then get front end aligned)
- flush AC system, replace all o-rings using Nylog sealant and charge with R12

Once these mechanical issues are dealt with, I'll finish a few other projects before I do my final wave/phase of repairs. That will include the remaining body work and rust remediation, new passenger side door seals, new hatch and hatch struts and the completion of the third row seat installation.

Red dragon? I thought we were going with ketchup?

I'm discovering a few more parts that need replacing in the front suspension/steering.

Th idler arm bushing feels like a gummy candy and most of the ball joint boots are completely split or are starting to ooze.:(

See, I knew there was a good reason I haven't started looking too hard into mine yet.

I just about finished the turbo drain repair today. I didn't take any photos since this turned out to be one of the most frustrating and dirty jobs I've done on a w123 to date. Oil cooler lines were about the same frustration level.

The only write ups I've seen were for w126s and there is apparently more room available in those cars than in a w123.

I was able to easily remove the two bolts holding the top portion of the drain tube and then I used a razor knife to cut away the grommet at the top of the oil pan area.

Once the grommet was cut out I was able to get enough play in the lower tube to pull the top tube off and twist it out toward the front left of the car.

After the top tube was removed I used a deep well socket that fit the inside diameter of the drain hole from underneath, after the oil pan was removed, to drive out the lower tube with a hammer.

I cleaned up all the surfaces and scraped away the old gasket material and began reassembly. I tried doing the methods of placing the grommet in the drain hole and pressing the tube in place using two hose clamps as pry points. This method never worked because I couldn't get the tube to press evenly into the hole. I found it easiest to put the grommet on the lower tube, then put the o-ring on and slide the grommet into position on the tube. Then I pushed the tube into the drain hole from above and pushed the top of it with a piece of wood. The tube slipped right in with a little resistance. I discovered this after several hours of trying to do it with the upper and lower tube connected to each other the way every write-up I've seen indicated.

To get the top tube piece back in place I needed to remove the nut that holds the AC line to the bracket near the turbo drain. With that line loose and able to be slightly maneuvered, I could get the top drain tube slid over the lower tube and twisted into position with just enough room to place the gasket and tighten things up.

Unfortunately, I was sent the gasket for the top turbo line and I'm now waiting for the correct gasket to get here. I considered going to the PepBoys and getting a sheet of gasket material to cut my own, but I'm not in a rush and I'd rather have the correct gasket in there.

Once I get the drain put back together, I'll move on to the oil filter housing leak. I still need to investigate what's going on there. Then it's time for a valve adjustment and fresh oil.

I also have ALL the front end parts coming for a complete rebuild. A plate style spring compressor will be here in 5 days.:cool: I also got what I hope will be a useable ball joint press.

If all the tools work well, I'll offer them for rent to other members.

Thanks for the info on the turbo drain - I'm doing mine tomorrow.

I just did this today. Pretty much everything in the front steering. Ball joints, control arm bushings, idler arm bushing, guide rod mounts, you name it. I have to take it in for an alignment tomorrow if I get time.

Let me know how big the difference in handling is. I'm really excited about getting the front end done finally.

Apparently, turbo drain leaks and front end work are VERY undesirable tasks for paid mechanics. I tried to get a few shops to do these jobs for me. I was flat out told that the shops didn't know how to fix the drain leak. I think they must have known what a PITA it is and didn't want to do it.

I still don't understand why the garages told me the front end was in such good shape. I tell you, the more I learn about these cars, the more I feel blessed that I can do the work myself and have a network of great guys like you all to bounce ideas off.

I thought I would mention another detail about the front end saga.

When I took it to the last garage and tried to get them to quote me for a front end overhaul, they said all that was needed was a driver side tie-rod assembly and that the rest of the parts looked good and solid.

I went with their recommendation against my judgement. I wanted to replace EVERYTHING figuring that one new part will transfer extra force to the other old parts causing them to deteriorate even faster.

This is what I believe happened now. I haven't driven the car even 5,000 miles since the tie-rod was replaced and the rest of the rubber on the front end is falling apart. The last time I drove the wagon, the front passenger wheel felt like it was wobbling.:eek:

Anyway, this is why I decided to suck it up and do these jobs myself. Thankfully, Matt from NY is coming to give me a hand since he's already done a front end. Hopefully, with the two of us working on it, we'll be able to knock the whole thing out in a day.

Of course, I'll have everything prepped as much as I can in advance so we're not stumbling around looking for tools and such. I'll also make sure the coil spring perch holes are ground out if needed so the spring compressor will work smoothly.

Then a few shipping blankets for cushion with a huge piece of cardboard over everything makes a comfortable enough surface to roll around on while working.

Good luck Brad. It really doesn't have to be a difficult job. If you're the kind of person that's good with those blacksmith horseshoe puzzles, then inserting the top tube after the lower tube is pushed in will be slightly challenging but entertaining. It WILL FIT ... it just has to go in the correct way.:D Once I found the path, nothing had to be forced. Everything slid right into position. The only force I applied was to hold the AC line up and over out of the way to give as much room to maneuver the top tube as possible.

Things went all wrong today. I noticed the leak late last night after spending what seems like an eternity replacing the turbo and starter. Fortunately I saw the leak as I had a small road trip planned today - disaster was sure to happen. Anyway, when trying to pry out the rubber grommet it just fell apart in pieces. Needless to say the majority of the grommet is still in the hole and isn't giving enought wiggle room for the tubes to separate. We are going to sawzall the top tube and go from there. We were going to use the the grommet and o-rings from the donor, but have decided to go with new.

Here's what's up next:
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...ntEndParts.jpg

This stuff will help me make that happen:
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...ntEndTools.jpg

awesome :thumbsup:

Tonight I removed the coil springs. I had to grind the holes in the spring perches to allow the coil spring compressor rod to fit through. It took about 10 minutes per hole then the springs were out in about 20 minutes.

Tomorrow I'll begin replacing the front end components. My goal is to have the front end stuff wrapped up by the end of the day. Then I need to move on to the exhaust, SLS valve, water pump and belts. :thumbsup:

After cutting my teeth on the front end rebuild on my SDL, the TD should be a breeze. Hopefully it all goes smoothly.

did you buy the spring compressor?

I bought all the tools in the photo in my previous post. The spring compressor works on w126s as well. THis will be the second front end rebuild for these tools, so they were definitely worth it.

I'll also be using them for some work on the CD, and I'm helping another 126 owner replace their coil spring shims. Tools are awesome.:D