A subframe question (just the beginning ...) - Page 13 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

gsxr · #**181** 02-02-2011, 05:09 PM

Cool! Make sure the cable is fully releasing; lube the cables and the center connecting area so they're all nice & clean. Sounds like you got it all worked out though. Nice work!

Bio300TDTdriver · #**182** 02-02-2011, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsxr

Cool! Make sure the cable is fully releasing; lube the cables and the center connecting area so they're all nice & clean. Sounds like you got it all worked out though. Nice work!

Dave,

Is it necessary to seat the new emergency brakes or am I just imagining it? I'm pretty sure that I've read some where that you need to press on the emergency brake pedal while driving slowly several times. I believe it said to hold the release handle while doing it.

Chris

Billybob · #**183** 02-03-2011, 04:09 AM

Hey all, I just wanted to take this opportunity to nominate this thread and the OP for the.

PeachParts Golden Wrench Award

for effort and accomplishment above and beyond the call of duty in the service of maintaining and appreciating these fine automobiles.

In that the OP took on and accomplished an undertaking of significant seriousness and complexity. That said undertaking involved multiple interdependent vehicle sub-systems and in doing so the OP was confronted by numerous technological and mechanical obstacles many of which required new skills, new tools, new outside of the box thinking and most importantly a highly developed willingness and determination to ultimately prevail in this endeavor.

That this undertaking can be objectively viewed as “one hell of a job” far in excess of the piecemeal R&R procedures most PeachParts forum members are willing and able to perform.

For all this I say congratulations and a job well done by BodhiBenz1987 and any and all who have contributed in any measure to this accomplishment, it is a testament to the collective skills, knowledge and willingness of everyone.

(Insert raucous clapping and back slapping here!)

vstech · #**184** 02-03-2011, 09:14 AM

Nice!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billybob

Hey all, I just wanted to take this opportunity to nominate this thread and the OP for the.

PeachParts Golden Wrench Award

for effort and accomplishment above and beyond the call of duty in the service of maintaining and appreciating these fine automobiles.

In that the OP took on and accomplished an undertaking of significant seriousness and complexity. That said undertaking involved multiple interdependent vehicle sub-systems and in doing so the OP was confronted by numerous technological and mechanical obstacles many of which required new skills, new tools, new outside of the box thinking and most importantly a highly developed willingness and determination to ultimately prevail in this endeavor.

That this undertaking can be objectively viewed as “one hell of a job” far in excess of the piecemeal R&R procedures most PeachParts forum members are willing and able to perform.

For all this I say congratulations and a job well done by BodhiBenz1987 and any and all who have contributed in any measure to this accomplishment, it is a testament to the collective skills, knowledge and willingness of everyone.

(Insert raucous clapping and back slapping here!)

gsxr · #**185** 02-03-2011, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bio300TDTdriver

Is it necessary to seat the new emergency brakes or am I just imagining it? I'm pretty sure that I've read some where that you need to press on the emergency brake pedal while driving slowly several times. I believe it said to hold the release handle while doing it.

Chris

Chris,

Normally it shouldn't be required, but it wouln't hurt to do this. Just apply them at low (parking lot) speeds a few times, while holding the release handle out. That should do it. Don't overdo it or you'll burn up the new shoes!

BodhiBenz1987 · #**186** 02-03-2011, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billybob

Hey all, I just wanted to take this opportunity to nominate this thread and the OP for the.

PeachParts Golden Wrench Award

for effort and accomplishment above and beyond the call of duty in the service of maintaining and appreciating these fine automobiles.

In that the OP took on and accomplished an undertaking of significant seriousness and complexity. That said undertaking involved multiple interdependent vehicle sub-systems and in doing so the OP was confronted by numerous technological and mechanical obstacles many of which required new skills, new tools, new outside of the box thinking and most importantly a highly developed willingness and determination to ultimately prevail in this endeavor.

That this undertaking can be objectively viewed as “one hell of a job” far in excess of the piecemeal R&R procedures most PeachParts forum members are willing and able to perform.

For all this I say congratulations and a job well done by BodhiBenz1987 and any and all who have contributed in any measure to this accomplishment, it is a testament to the collective skills, knowledge and willingness of everyone.

(Insert raucous clapping and back slapping here!)

Awwww ... thanks ...

. I'd like to emphasize the part about how others contributed. I think it goes without saying I would not have gotten very far ... heck, I highly doubt I would have attempted it, if not for the help and encouragement I got here. You guys went out of your way to explain things and help me through the unexpected hurdles. Hopefully this thread will also help others who do this project (or similar jobs) in the future. It covers a lot!

I posted this separately, but in case you guys didn't see it, not long after I finished working on it yesterday, my dad gave me a call and said he found a box of stuff that goes with the 300D (it was his from '87 until he gave it to me in 2003). It was the original window sticker, along with some other goodies! Box of nostalgia for my 87 300D ... a well-timed reminder of how special this car is, and worth every bit of the effort!

pj67coll · #**187** 02-03-2011, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billybob

Hey all, I just wanted to take this opportunity to nominate this thread and the OP for the.

PeachParts Golden Wrench Award

Agreed. I hope I'll have the ability to do this one day if necessary.

- Peter.

Fulcrum525 · #**188** 02-03-2011, 03:09 PM

babymog · #**189** 02-03-2011, 03:12 PM

Is that a Hazlet?

vstech · #**190** 02-03-2011, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fulcrum525

HA! I have that very wrench in my toolbox!
mine's not in NEARLY that condition though... it's been used for all it's worth for the last 50 years or so...

BodhiBenz1987 · #**191** 02-04-2011, 11:18 PM

I got up at a painful 6:45 this morning and drove Bodhi into the city to the alignment shop in about 18-degree weather. Other than wonky steering on the way in, everything went fine ... ran great, nice and smooth, just took forever since I took the back way to avoid the interstate! No problems at the shop (I'll admit a piece of me was afraid they'd call up and say something as missing or backwards

), got both front and rear aligned for $115 which I think is a pretty good deal, since they're a reputed shop for older MBs (my indy uses them for all his clients' cars and highly recommends them). It tracks perfect now, smooth as ever ... nothing clunks, squeaks or wiggles ... though I haven't gone over 65 yet, if the weather isn't awful I'll take it for a proper drive tomorrow!
I did succumb to paranoia over my parking brakes and double-check them tonight, and no dragging. I'll keep checking for heating wheels or noises but all's well right now, and it's so very satisfying! I drove it about 40 miles today and it just felt great.

To top it off I'm going to get new tires tomorrow or Monday. I got new fronts last summer but waited until the rear was rebuilt to do the rears.

Thanks again, everyone. I'll try to add some photos later for future reference for others (and for fun).

KarTek · #**192** 02-05-2011, 06:09 AM

Great to hear it! Congrats, I know it's a great feeling!

Fulcrum525 · #**193** 02-05-2011, 01:49 PM

Just wait until you drive it a few hundred miles and gain complete confidence, that's when you'll really start enjoying it

BodhiBenz1987 · #**194** 02-08-2011, 03:05 AM

... wish I could report otherwise, but I'm not pleased with the way the car tracks on the highway.

I don't even know how to describe it, but it's just not steady ... most of the time it runs straight, but it has a very subtle wander/wiggle, and when I get up to 70 it sort of squirts about in its lane. It isn't dramatic (my dad drove it and said he didn't notice), like the way the rear end drifted before, but it's not quite right. Even sometimes at lower speeds it just feels a little flaky. I feel like I have to correct the steering more than I should. I'm not sure if it's because of something I did wrong in the rear, or because of something in the front that was problematic all along. I did check tire pressure while warm and got 35 on both fronts and 39.5/35 on the rears. Maybe uneven pressure in the rear makes a difference? Other than that, the steering coupling has small cracks in it ... darn near everything else up front is new or newish and I'm drawing blanks. I have a bad feeling it's the rear, but I have no idea what to do ... everything looks good on inspection and I can't think of what I might have done wrong. Maybe the subframe I put in was defective, though I find it hard to imagine how that would come about.
Anyhow, to focus on the positives: The awful clunking on upshifts is gone. I always knew what spots in my driving pattern to expect it, and it always surprises me now when it doesn't happen.

The squeaking from the rear when I go over bumps (or when I take stuff in and out of the trunk) is gone. The car does not tip to the right anymore. And it doesn't suddenly "duck" off course on the highway like it did before. Also acceleration feels really solid and straight.
But overall it's not quite the result I hoped for.