I posted this on a different thread but I really need an answer. I think my vacuum pump diaphragm is leaking, getting oil in air cleaner housing and noticed today a drip under dash. Is the diaphragm repair kit all that I need? Part #001 586 07 43 is listed for my engine on Partshop. I can get this part through Altrom in Canada www.altrom.com for half the price that Partshop is listing it at. This doesn't make sense, and therefore, makes me wonder if it is, in fact, the same kit.
Should I drive my car sixty miles tomorrow to get the part and go to work or not? I don't want to cause any damage by driving it. Please help!!
Once repaired, is there a way to get the oil residue out of the vacuum system? Thanks in advance...look forward to your comments and answers.
Kyle

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I would be shocked if this is related to a vacuum pump problem.

This is most likely two separate problems. One with the oil separator/valve cover/blowby and the other is simply a leaking oil pressure guage fitting.

If there is a large amount of oil in the air cleaner you should start by cleaning out the air cleaner thoroughly and see that the drip tube down to the oil pan is clear. If this is a very large amount of oil it is time to do a compression check. Is the engine losing a lot of oil? If it is using a lot of oil, the engine is probably making excessive blow by. One way to ease this problem a little is to remove the valve cover and see that the baffle along the top that leads to the crankcase vent to the air cleaner is sealed up. You can do this with five minute epoxy. It might help some. It would also be interesting to pull the oil cap while the engine is running. Excessive blowby will result in MASSIVE amount of smoke and oil vapor to blown everywhere with the cap off. A fresh engine will blow almost nothing.

Is the leak under the dash directly below the instrument cluster? If so, pull the instrument cluster and feel around the oil pressure guage fitting to see if it's wet, if so try loosening it first, then examine the threads and so forth.

Good luck,

Hi Larry,thanks for your reply.I moved the car after it sat in the garage for an hour and was stunned to find a large puddle of oil I lifted the aircleaner cover and it was oil soaked again but this time it was clear that the oil is entering at the vacuum intake line.I also looked under the dash quickly (I've had the under-dash trim off trying to find my water leak,but that's another thread)and found it oily at the climate control area (towards center of dash on driverside).I will not be driving it until I sort this out,but my wife might object to my taking her truck I can't see the oil coming from anywhere else,but I've been wrong before.

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Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight

Greetings Kyle,

It could be two problems that you are facing, or just one. As Larry mentioned, where is the oil under the dash coming from? If it's coming down from the gauge then the brass sending coil will need to be resoldered to seal the leak. If the leak is coming from the ignition switch shutoff valve located by the ignition switch, then the failure of your vacuum diaphragm has leached oil into the vac system. This happens and as long as it's fixed relatively soon it won't cause damage to the entire system. Do a quick test of the hose going to the air filter housing and pull it off and secure a white or light colored sock to it, and drive the car ten miles or so and see what the sock looks like. If it's oily then the vacuum pump diaphragm is shot and will need replacement. If the oil under the dash is coming from the ignition switch, then after you replace the diaphragm, blow compressed air into the vac lines that lead through the fire wall from the I.P. shutdown solenoid and unhook the two going to the ignition switch vac shut off to blow the oil out of this line. It may still have some residue when you are done but it shouldn't adversely affect any vacuum items in the chain. If it's the gauge that's leaking, then do a search on oil gauge repairs on this site and you should bring up my post about repairing the brass snake on the oil gauge. It's really an easy fix if you are handy and confident about removing the dash gauges and disassembling them somewhat, as well as operating a soldering gun.

Charles

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"Tell me and I will listen, Teach me and I will learn, Show me and I will accomplish, Involve me and I will succeed."
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'86 300E 246,000 Blue on Tan

Thanks Charles...that sounds more like it could be my problem. I am about to go check it out under the dash...will keep you informed of my progress.

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Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight

Greetings Kyle,

If you can't find my post about the oil gauge snake repair, let me know and I'll guide you through it, really is an easy fix that will last. Seeing as your leak is on the right side of the steering wheel I'd say it's just the vacuum shutoff valve located at the ignition switch that is dripping oil, no fault there, and it will go away once the vacuum diaphragm is replaced.

Charles

__________________
"Tell me and I will listen, Teach me and I will learn, Show me and I will accomplish, Involve me and I will succeed."
'84 300SD 256,000 Gold on Brown (Mileage Award)
'86 300E 246,000 Blue on Tan

Hi Charles,it is definitely the vacuum diaphram.When I removed the lines(in/out)they wept oil,so after 2 1/2 hours I managed to get it out.I certainly hope it had to come out,you can't change the diaphram with it in the car can you?The PO's mechanic stripped the heads off two of the allen head bolts Today I'll take the pump to the dealer after work to get whatever I need to fix it up.
It's been an expensive weekend Thanks for the help,Kyle

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Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight

I called the dealer this a.m. and found out it's not a $20 fix,unfortunately .$112 cdn for the correct vacuum pump repair kit,what's in it I won't know until wednesday(oh hon,I'm going to need the truck a couple more days.Thank's to the grandparents I'm not in the dog house again..yet).The guy at the local parts supply just said thats what's in the book,I don't know(and didn't care to call his supplier to ask,I knew I shouldn't have slammed Lordco on here.Oops I did it again )
OK,I'm starting to babble on...anyways, when I take the flathead screws out do I get a 'jack-in-the-box'suprise with springs and valves scattered all over my garage.I assume Charles that you have taken one apart(or anyone else)and can tell me what to expect.I've been a little gun shy ever since(when I was 12) I took the cover off the starter recoil on the lawnmower ..still have those scars
But ,hey my windshield and rear window don't leak anymore

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Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight

Greetings Kyle,

Actually I did remove my vacuum pump and replace the diaphragm without removing any other components. Some need more room to work and end up removing the radiator as well. If you take it slow it can be done while still installed in the car. I pulled the outer bell off that houses the diaphragm not the entire unit from the engine block. There was only one spring behind the bell housing and not a bunch of parts that end up dropping all over the ground. From the price you mention I'd say they quoted you for the diaphragm as well as the reed valves housed behind the oval plates on the outer bell assembly. I didn't replace those when I did the diaphragm, rare for them to go bad and just an extra waste of money. I did however spray carb cleaner through the assembly when it was off to clean these reed valves and let it dry completely before reassembly. The diaphragm here at fastlane I think runs about $9.00 or so, a real cheap fix. What were you doing for two and a half hours? I think removal of the bell assembly, cleaning of the valves and reinstallation of the new diaphragm and replacement of the bell housing runs about an hour if you stop for a snack in between. I think I'd look elsewhere for the part or see if you can just get the diaphragm for the pump and not the rebuild kit. Shouldn't cost you more than $15.00 to back up and running without a trail of blue smoke.

Charles

__________________
"Tell me and I will listen, Teach me and I will learn, Show me and I will accomplish, Involve me and I will succeed."
'84 300SD 256,000 Gold on Brown (Mileage Award)
'86 300E 246,000 Blue on Tan

Hi Charles,you are probably right about doing it in the car,damn,but my time was spent removing the rad after I encountered two stripped out allen heads,and scraping an inch of dirt/oil off everything associated with aforementioned rad.I didn't want to introduce a bunch of dirt into my tranny lines.
My Haynes manual has two paragraphs on the vacuum pump so I've been relying on advice I found through searches,which sometimes isn't always right(model specific).I do need to get the MB cd but just haven't yet.I think the dealer kit may also include the roller bearing,I'll let you know.The dealer told me that diaphram is for a 115?model according to that part number.I'm the kind of guy that when it needs to be fixed,sometimes doing the'might as wells' is cheaper in the long run.I plan on seeing 500,000 km in this car and beyond so I believe(hope)it's worth shoveling money into.Thank you very much for your advice it's what makes this forum what it is

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Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight

Greetings Kyle,

The pump rebuild kit should just include the diaphragm, two reed valves and a engine block to pump seal. If you have pulled it from the block, you'll probably need the engine to vac pump seal but not necessarily the valves.

Charles

__________________
"Tell me and I will listen, Teach me and I will learn, Show me and I will accomplish, Involve me and I will succeed."
'84 300SD 256,000 Gold on Brown (Mileage Award)
'86 300E 246,000 Blue on Tan

I wanted to update this thread for anyone who is doing this also.The 'kit' from the dealer was only for the valves.It had the two valves,two sealing rings,cover gasket and one screw(need two ) for $112Cdn The diaphragm 'kit' had the diaphragm,cylinder head screw and seal,two cover screws(need six )and a little tube of locktite for $46Cdn .The best part of both 'kits' was the instruction sheet(s).The mangled translation to english was confusing at first.For both repairs it says to remove and thoroughly clean the pump.The pump must be removed to replace the diaphragm because you need to pre-load the springs.Measure from the roller bearing to the back of the mounting flange,the roller must be held .5 inch(12.5mm) before removing diaphragm cover.I used a piece of U-channel bolted across the mounting flange and a small block of 1/2" wood between the roller and U-channel.Having a vise to hold the pump is critical for the next part,as well as a third hand.Before you reassemble the cover,theroller has to be spring loaded to 1.02"(26mm).I used the old cylinder head screw and a pair of vise grips to pull the springs towards the front and my wife slipped the 1.02" block of wood in place(two 1/2" pieces plus tape to equal 1.02",god I'm soooo anal).Then I assembled the diaphragm with loctite on the cylinder head screw,bolted the cover on and then slowly released the U-channel.The diaphagm only moved a little when the pressure was released.Then I bolted the pump back onto the engine with the new gasket,$4Cdn and all was well once again. I suppose I could have used jobber parts to save some $$ but I mentioned the lack of cooperation at the local parts supplier(unfortunately they are the Altrom supplier here).At least at the dealer he knows what he's talking about and also it's the right part for my car,the pumps changed in mid 1980.I think the valves must be made of Unobtainium to be worth that much,even in metric money

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Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight

Greetings Kyle,

Through it all, you still haven't said anything about your oil useage or operational benefits yet. It did fix your oil leakage problem, didn't it? I'm glad I just removed the outer cover to replace the diaphragm instead of the whole pump. Sounds like a headache to me.

Charles

__________________
"Tell me and I will listen, Teach me and I will learn, Show me and I will accomplish, Involve me and I will succeed."
'84 300SD 256,000 Gold on Brown (Mileage Award)
'86 300E 246,000 Blue on Tan

Oops,sorry Charles,yes my oil problem is gone.I probably only lost a half litre of oil,mostly on the ground.I checked for blow-by Larry and there is some vapor when you open the oil cap but it doesn't puff out like my Mustang engine did and it was using a litre of oil every 1000 miles.My car burns/leaks less than a litre between changes,so I would assume that is normal given the mileage(225,000+).I did have a couple of vacuum glitches on the roadtest but since then every thing has been good. Thank you everyone for your help and support Diesel on....Kyle

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Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight