Why not just get one at the junk yard? They're $13 here in SoCal...oh, I forgot there's a half price sale this weekend, so it's even less.

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

Been doing it for years on the Job and at Home and have never melted Aluminum with a Propane Torch so far.

But, I suppose there is someone who would take things to excess.

One would think that someone doing what I suggested would clamp on the Vice Grips or the Stud remover and heat the area some and attempt to turn the Stud and it not working heat it a little more and attempt to turn and so on.
I think it is more likely the Stud would turn before the Aluminum melts doing it that way.
And, I am a very pessimistic Person.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I'm with D911, I suspect you would get the stud out before you melted the al. I would use caution to make sure you don't start a fire though.

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Jim

try a pipe wrench, won't slip like a vice grip. put some cardboard down to protect the housing.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

As you said you need to be carful of stuff around the area being heated. Those Plastic Vacuum Line melt easily.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

So I had a mobile mechanic try to fix things but he made it way worse by 1) cutting the top off the stud 2) trying to drill. What options do I have left? I really don't want to pay to get the car towed.

Jeeeeeezuz, that mobile mechanic needs to be fired. It's up to him to remove it now. What an idiot for cutting off the stud.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

now you have to drill it out. What damage has been done when you say he tried to drill and didn't succeed?

Get the top of the stud flat, or whats left. Take centerpunch and tap a depression right in the middle of the stud. use the depression to drill a small pilot hole down the center, then use a larger bit to remove the rest of the stud.

Im guessing thats not what he did, and im also guessing that he just started drilling and damaged the housing by slipping off the harder material of the stud into the softer aluminum of the housing?

If you don't want to get the car towed, then reinstall the oil cap, make sure nothing is hanging up in the stud area, and use a small C-clamp to hold it in position to get the car to a competent mechanic. Id be very careful doing this and observe it while the car sits at idle to see if there is any leakage, but ive done it personally. It is not a fix, its a bandaid to get the car somewhere to work on it, or be worked on.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

I had this happen on my old 240D once. Broke off the top of one of those oil filter housing studs. I put the cover back on with a new rubber seal, bolted the other side down and c-clamped the side where the bold was sheared off. I drove like that for over 10,000 miles without any problems. even chicken-wired the c-clamp around the housing so it wouldn't come loose while driving. Never had one problem. Of course the engine on that thing had so much damn blow-by I didn't care if the thing would've fell off anyway. When I sold the car, the clamp was still on it, and as far as I know, the new owner has never had a problem with it either.

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1983 300CDT -- 177K

But I just reread what you wrote up top ... without a little bit of the stud left, the hole in the top of the filter housing will have nothing to mate to and keep it from sliding around. You probably gotta pull the housing off now and extract the bolt from the bottom being very careful not to further damage the aluminum threads. I'd make that mobile mechanic do it for free.

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1983 300CDT -- 177K

Why could he not drill it out? (Did he simply give up or did he start to damage the housing, as somoene else suggested?)

At this point you either have to use the C-clamp temp fix, as suggested, or bite the bullet and pay for the car to be towed to a mechanic who actually possesses the skills to do this work. From my experience, the way things are in my area, said mechanic will have some grey hair and possibly an entire headful.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Hey dantheman451... Where on god's green earth are you? Maybe one of us could help! Put your location info in your profile or in a displayed signature!

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1982 300sd from craigslist $800 greased on one tank with NO CONVERSION in the Hot Texas Sun. (currently dead & awaiting engine damage investigation and/or longblock swap)
new daily: '03 vw 5speed jetta tdi wagon. bagged&chipped

throwing this out there, but if its really ruined, he could possibly notch the hole on the housing, instead of drilling it out. It would be like a plumbing connection for iron pipe ect. He could leave the through hole in the top cover, and use a wingnut with a T-bolt to grab the housing

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Hey thanks for all the great support. I live in San Francisco if anyone is willing to help, I'll buy you a case of beer if that's your thing. The mechanic who came was a very threatening Russian guy so I didn't want to question when he was done. The C clamp sounds like a great idea to get it to the shop. I read that one use actually did this for 10,000 miles. The car isn't is great shape and I bought it for about $1000. Would this be an option? I'm a college student so paying to have a vintage Mercedes fixed isn't something I necessarily want to do but will if it has to be done.