My Custom 1980 W116 300SD Project - Page 24 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Squiggle Dog · #**346** 04-18-2013, 11:16 AM

Thanks for the comments!

The rain was a bit of a surprise. There wasn't anything I could do about it since I don't currently have a garage space, but my roommate drove his convertible to work without a top on it. The wind covered the interior of his car in dust and pollen, and then it rained hard on the way home.

The Ecology yard on 3250 W Broadway Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85041 usually has at least 10 vintage Mercedes in the yard. The first time I went there I asked the lady at the counter if they had any old Mercedes in the yard, and she said, "Nope, all we have at the moment is a 1983 300". I went in the yard and they actually had about 15 old Mercedes from the 1960s-1980s, with half of them being coupes!

Pick-A-Part, Pull-N-Save, and U Pull & Pay always seem to have W123 and W126 sedans. There's also a yard on Broadway Rd called Mercedes Only Auto Wrecking, and while they'll probably have the part you need, I wouldn't expect a bargain.

Adriel · #**347** 04-18-2013, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

Thanks for the comments!

The rain was a bit of a surprise. There wasn't anything I could do about it since I don't currently have a garage space, but my roommate drove his convertible to work without a top on it. The wind covered the interior of his car in dust and pollen, and then it rained hard on the way home.

The Ecology yard on 3250 W Broadway Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85041 usually has at least 10 vintage Mercedes in the yard. The first time I went there I asked the lady at the counter if they had any old Mercedes in the yard, and she said, "Nope, all we have at the moment is a 1983 300". I went in the yard and they actually had about 15 old Mercedes from the 1960s-1980s, with half of them being coupes!

Pick-A-Part, Pull-N-Save, and U Pull & Pay always seem to have W123 and W126 sedans. There's also a yard on Broadway Rd called Mercedes Only Auto Wrecking, and while they'll probably have the part you need, I wouldn't expect a bargain.

At least with me, I forget we get we get rain, and leave things out that shouldn't get wet... Also, if I haven't washed the wagen and know or get it soon enough, I drive it in the back yard and give her a bath! Free water and soft at that!

I had been going to the Pick and Pulls, so man, was I missing a few! I got one of the parts but when I have less class work and a foster dog my other dog brought home, will take a look. Thank you so very much!

Squiggle Dog · #**348** 04-18-2013, 10:36 PM

Yesterday I packed my 300SD full of parts, and this morning I made a trip to Flagstaff to meet NCfriend who will be handing them off to Casey. I managed to get four bucket seats, a lower rear seat cushion, a windshield, heater assembly, two wheels, seat skins, and a few boxes of parts in there. It's also a good thing that I opened the hood before I left, because there was a cat resting where the evil climate control servo used to be.

We had lunch at Delhi Palace, which had the best Indian food I have ever tasted. I was amazed at the difference in climate between Phoenix and Flagstaff. It felt like it was only 40 degrees Fahrenheit there, while it felt like 90 degrees once I got back.

Squiggle Dog · #**349** 06-05-2013, 07:51 PM

The scorpion problem seems to have gotten worse. I found six in ONE DAY! The first one I noticed because one of my dogs was tipping her head back and forth looking at something by the front door. I looked around the corner to see what she was staring at, and saw one coming right at her. So, I let the dogs outside and sprayed it. I ended up seeing two large, two medium, and two babies that day. I just went on Amazon.com and ordered professional-strength Cy-Kick CS, which should get the scorpion/black widow/roach/cricket/ant infestation under control. If you take a UV light outside and shine it on the walls, the scorpions glow a neon green. It's really cool, but I've discovered purple light does not photograph well. I've had to be super careful when working on my car because I've found black widows LOVE cars, and you never know where a scorpion will be hiding.

I'm still somewhat floating by, selling used Mercedes parts on eBay, but I only have enough funds to get me through this month and part of the next, so I'll be looking pretty hard for a job in the next week. It's almost too hot to do the wrecking yard thing. This week (early June) it has been as hot as 110 degrees Fahrenheit and it makes working on cars difficult.

The 300SD has been handling oddly; very floaty around the corners, and the steering wheel seemed to pull to the side occasionally. It would also creak and make popping noises over bumps. I pushed up and down on each corner, and it would keep bouncing. I lifted the car and removed the shock absorbers to find that the Les Schwab Road Ryder Supreme gas-charged shocks from 1999 were blown out. Fortunately, when I lived back in Washington I saw a set of Bilsteins that looked like they were in good condition on a W116 and removed them.

The Road Ryders had almost no resistance pushing them down, and they would not come back up on their own. This must be why the car wasn't handling so well, and must explain the popping noises coming from the rear end. The Bilsteins were very hard to push down on, and they would spring back immediately. Getting the front shocks off was easy, but getting the rears off was painful because not only does the rear seat have to come out to access them, but the nuts were a solid mass of rust from the rear window leaking in the past, so I had to cut them off with a rotary tool. I also made the mistake of lifting the rear of the car with the shocks disconnected, which caused the rear brake hoses to hold the weight of the rear wheels.

I haven't driven the car very far yet, but I am sure having used Bilstein shocks that work will be a big improvement over used economy shocks that don't. Everything on the suspension checked out well. I was surprised to see that there was absolutely no play at all in the ball joints, tie rods, or center link. The creaking I am hearing in the front end is the lower control arm bushings. They don't seem to be worn out, but are dry. I was thinking about taking the bushings out so I can grease them, but don't know if it will mess with the alignment. If it does, I'll probably just drive it as-is until they wear out since spraying oil in the general area doesn't seem to have worked.

On my to-do list is a valve adjustment, oil tower gasket replacement, and oil change. I recently restored a 1958 GoodForm GF 2125 Tilting Clerical Chair for myself, and polished the brushed anodized aluminum finish to look like chrome. I might polish the oil tower and valve cover of the 300SD while I'm at it.

cooljjay · #**350** 06-05-2013, 08:32 PM

Its amazing what you find on these things for shocks. On my old Mercedes, when I changed them out...they were all sears brand and were rusted pretty bad. On this Mercedes, I was shocked to find the original Mercedes branded shocks! They actually still seemed to be good but the bump stops had decomposed, as well as the dust covers.

I am sure all that weight you had in that thing, on your last trip didn't help them cheap shocks.....you will be amazed at the ride difference now...

pj67coll · #**351** 06-05-2013, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

I just went on Amazon.com and ordered professional-strength Cy-Kick CS, which should get the scorpion/black widow/roach/cricket/ant infestation under control.

I really hate those things and have taken to using Cy-Kick as well. It's by far the best stuff for scorpions. I get mine at Bug and Weed supply on McDowell just before 107th avenue. I'd suggest you use more of it than is recommended. Better to swamp the devils with the stuff than have them get thru your defenses.

- Peter.

Mölyapina · #**352** 06-05-2013, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

On my to-do list is a valve adjustment, oil tower gasket replacement, and oil change. I recently restored a 1958 GoodForm GF 2125 Tilting Clerical Chair for myself, and polished the brushed anodized aluminum finish to look like chrome. I might polish the oil tower and valve cover of the 300SD while I'm at it.

How do you polish stuff like that?

Squiggle Dog · #**353** 06-05-2013, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jooseppi Luna

How do you polish stuff like that?

With the chair, I had to start out by wet sanding with 220 grit sandpaper because the anodizing was very difficult to sand through, and there was a lot of texture since it had a brushed finish. It was a lot of work, and thankfully, this first step won't be necessary for the Mercedes parts.

After the 220 grit, I went on to 400 grit to get rid of the sanding marks from the 220. I followed with 600, 800, 1000, 1500, and finally 2000 grit. By this time, the surface was smooth and mildly reflective.

After sanding, I applied Blue Magic metal polish and polished until I was happy with the shine. You could probably use a polish of another brand, (like Mother's) as long as it's suitable for aluminum. After the polish, it looked exactly like chrome--I am not kidding. I applied wax after the polish, though I don't think tarnishing will be a problem since the surface is so smooth.

I just have to determine if I want to take the time to do it, and if I want that look. I think I do.

Mölyapina · #**354** 06-05-2013, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

With the chair, I had to start out by wet sanding with 220 grit sandpaper because the anodizing was very difficult to sand through, and there was a lot of texture since it had a brushed finish. It was a lot of work, and thankfully, this first step won't be necessary for the Mercedes parts.

After the 220 grit, I went on to 400 grit to get rid of the sanding marks from the 220. I followed with 600, 800, 1000, 1500, and finally 2000 grit. By this time, the surface was smooth and mildly reflective.

After sanding, I applied Blue Magic metal polish and polished until I was happy with the shine. You could probably use a polish of another brand, (like Mother's) as long as it's suitable for aluminum. After the polish, it looked exactly like chrome--I am not kidding. I applied wax after the polish, though I don't think tarnishing will be a problem since the surface is so smooth.

I just have to determine if I want to take the time to do it, and if I want that look. I think I do.

How do you sand around items like the star on the valve cover, part number on the oil filter housing, etc.?

Squiggle Dog · #**355** 06-05-2013, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jooseppi Luna

How do you sand around items like the star on the valve cover, part number on the oil filter housing, etc.?

I can only imagine it will be very, very tedious... probably wrapping sandpaper around a tool. Professionals have all kinds of tricks, I'm sure, but I will be doing it by hand. The oil tower has very little surface area, but lots of little sides.

cooljjay · #**356** 06-06-2013, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jooseppi Luna

How do you polish stuff like that?

The two best things for polishing is Never Dull available at most auto parts store and home depot and fine steel wool....sanding is not necessary on a lot of stuff...but you do need a lot of elbow grease....there are also a number of wheels available for your drill..

Squiggle Dog · #**357** 06-09-2013, 03:09 AM

After doing some research on diesel performance, I had decided to remove my ALDA (the governing device on the injection pump that limits the fuel flow and ultimately fails and causes the vehicle to run sluggishly), boost overload switch, and plug the hole in the intake manifold where the banjo bolt used to be. My banjo bolt broke and so did the vacuum tube. I also had the boost overload switch disconnected anyway, and will need the switch and mounting bracket for it out of the way so there is room to properly mount the manual heater valve.

I have a thin 24mm wrench, which I placed on the nut directly under the ALDA. I put an adjustable wrench on the 27mm nut underneath. The 27mm nut on the injection side turned easily and made the ALDA spin with it. It turned out several threads, but it seems like it will not pull out; it just spins.

I tried many different things to get the ALDA loose, but it is really stuck. I am concerned that my ALDA may never come off without drastic measures and possibly damaging the injection pump, so I decided take apart the ALDA to remove the parts inside.

The screws holding the ALDA halves together were stuck as well. They were super tight. I thought I was going to break the bit and wrench I was using, but three of them finally came loose. One of them did not, and I could tell it would never come loose without ruining the screw head, so I used a rotary tool and cut off the corner of the ALDA top. I was then able to pry off the top.

I removed the disk that is in the ALDA, which should have the same effect as removing the ALDA, only there will be no hole to plug. The rubber seal ring on the ALDA top had shrunken anyway, so it wasn't sealing well.

I was actually able to adhere the corner back onto the ALDA with aluminum epoxy. I coated the sealing face of the ALDA lid with Reinzosil and put the top back on without the internal parts. I made sure to coat the screws with anti-seize paste.

I removed the overload protection switch from the firewall since it is no longer useful, and I need the room for when I properly install the manual heat valve (it's supposed to rest against the firewall, but I have it spaced out a bit for now).

I removed my broken and repaired vacuum line as well.

Squiggle Dog · #**358** 06-09-2013, 03:10 AM

I wasn't able to find a bolt of the correct thread pitch to plug the hole in the intake manifold, so I made a temporary plug so I could get to the hardware store.

At the hardware store I discovered that the correct bolt size is M8 with a 1.0 fine thread pitch. I picked out bolts with lengths closest to the threaded portion of the banjo bolts. I made sure to use aluminum sealing washers.

The ALDA is still on my vehicle, but the internal parts are gone, making it work the same as if it was not there. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get it off without taking drastic measures and possibly damaging the injection pump. At least I don't have to plug the hole that would have been there.

And here is the new bolt in place of the banjo fitting. I am glad to have less parts to worry about, and no vacuum line to get plugged up and make the ALDA restrict the acceleration. My car feels quite lively now. Hardly any throttle is needed to get it rolling.

pj67coll · #**359** 06-09-2013, 06:10 PM

Isn't the Alda something important? What's it's purpose?

- Peter.

dude99 · #**360** 06-09-2013, 06:14 PM

It limits the IP fuel output based on boost pressure. It's essentially an emissions device thats designed to prevent a big plume of black smoke from exiting your tailpipe during a full throttle start. If you are conscious of your right foot, and your ability to smoke out those behind you then you'll be fine without it.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode