I know the prices for nuts and bolts at the dealership seem high but you are gonna get something that fits and something that is the correct specification.

Whilst I have lots of other nuts and bolts about the place ready to be used (a whole rack full of spares) if you buy a single large nut or a single large bolt and have to have it posted the dealership sometimes works out cheaper.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Got car back on road today despite being under the weather with a bad cold. I am sure lying on my back on cold garage floor didn't help!

Installing the new cooler nozzle nut and washer was easy enough.

After cleaning up the other side and making sure I could get the atf union nut loose, I decided against messing with it. If that aluminum nut breaks, I now have a spare!

While car was raised, I changed the transmission filter and ATF. I had not done this before. Easy enough job, but for someone in mid-70s with car on jack stands, not much fun. Not much labour, so next time I will get garage to do it! Mind you, I bought a 1/4" drive in-lb torque wrench - may have to find another use for it!

Filled with coolant and ATF (in steps) then went for drive. Everything seemed good. Parked car and noticed red drip from rad area Surely not my repair to rad leaking ATF?? OhOh other side! - I had loosened other side cooler union just to be sure I could - but had not re-tightened it!

Anyway, I think I am now done with 300D for the moment. Time to move on to other things.

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Did you clean out the transmission cooler per Sun Valley's instructions? Seems like a good thing to do given the construction of the cooler with all those closely spaced pins which could trap debris and decrease cooler efficiency.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

No, but you are right that it would have been a good idea. Just ran out of steam and wanted to get job done. Lot's of other jobs to do on cars and house before winter sets in!

The transmission pan was spotlessly clean and I didn't like messing with those hose connections - Brass union nut onto aluminum threaded nozzle seems kind of place where threads could easily strip. On the side I fixed, the thread was already slightly damaged, but I used the new steel nut as a die and was able to get past the bad thread.

It would be interesting to confirm what metal Behr and Nissen use for the cooler and it's nozzles on replacement rads. I know it looks like brass, but so did the cad plated OE nuts and washers I bought.

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5