I have fixed the a/c on my coupe and on my w126. The coupe cools better because I pulled the dash and cleaned the evaporator which is something any of these cars could benefit from. Chasing leaks can be like witchcraft and it's not a bad idea to just have all new hoses made up (take the old ones in to a shop that does a/c hoses). Old hoses can leak or seep gas at the weirdest places. I bought a "sniffer" which really helps too.

I used Rollguy's Sanden kit in the coupe and would recommend that since the compressor is so much more efficient. Also he has a writeup about re-wiring the aux fan so it comes on whenever the ac compressor is on - that's a nice trick.

In the coupe I also went retro with all manual controls spliced in from a 240d parts car. I really like the manual system it is infinitely adjustable.

Years ago I had the ac work done professionally at a good shop on a previous car (an 83 300d). It was not cheap but it worked out great and back then we only had that one to deal with.

Just do a Sanden swap on the 617 powered car, problem solved. No point in EVER wasting time with the pile of crap R4 ever again. Agreed 100% with the other poster on new hoses, pointless to use 30+ year old hoses at this point.

Best money I ever put into my 300SD. Push A/C... it works. Guy on here makes the kits and I purchased mine from Klima Kit. Some place on the east side of Dallas (Rockwall area) I think has them too. 'European Cooler Air' or something like that.

To help low speed A/C performance, consider the M116/7 fan with clutch upgrade. Drops right in. Or you can always go with a dual speed electric unit off a Volvo like me.



The only heating issue I had was with the monovalve diaphragm failing. Not a big deal.

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

HVAC is entirely stock and fully functional on my dads 123 300D and 123 240D. Both running stock a/c system filled with R134a and they are his summertime drivers.

No reason why they can't be functional.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

If you are serious about this I may be interested if I haven't figured something else out in a couple weeks. I even have brand new bilstien shocks that i couldn't figure out how to put on too. I used to have a 300SD so I would at least have an idea of what I'd be getting into. Other than having to pay someone to swap the injection pump, everything but the climate control seemed reasonably easy to deal with on the one I had, I mainly sold it because it was a little rusty and I didn't have the skill to fix the a/c and heater.

Heat and AC works in both my OM617 cars, though the climate controls are often quirky. I sometimes must push the "max" button (2 white arrows) then back to "normal" (1 white arrow up) to "wake it up". You must also read the owner's manual. The "EC" button does not allow AC and the center vents only blow in "cooling mode", per design. I have an R4 in one car and Sanden in the other, and both cool the same as best I can tell. Both have Duracool refrigerant. I replaced the AC hose rubber myself. Anybody can do it, though few do. I got rid of the stupid "up R side of engine" HP tube routing.

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

Both work in mine. I had to replace the thermostat, momo valve, push button unit, compressor, and dryer. Running a R4 on r134.

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1981 300TD 4 speed manual
Euro bumpers, zender valance and skirts, H&R springs, billy HD's, leveled sls, real AMG Pentas 16x8 et11, vdo boost/egt gauges intergrated into ash tray, eurolights, led 3rd brake light

I purchased a new compressor from this fellow on Ebay:

eBay.com Item Purchase History

It is made in Korea and it appears to be top notch and allot better than any previous compressor I had in car.

I used a mixed refrigerant called Polar something from a company in NC. JR refrigerants I think. Only needed about 50%.

I'm happy so far runs smooth as silk.

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1982 300SD

AC Compressor w Clutch Buick Chevrolet GMC Mercedes Benz Oldsmobile 58228 | eBay

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1982 300SD

Rust? I get the sense your further from me than makes sense for a swap. And while my SD has cold AC, it has a bit of a to-do list.

Sixto
83 300SD

I live in Vacaville. I used to have a 300SD I bought in SF and it was a bit rusty even though it had been in SF for 20 years and LA before that. It depends on what yours needs I suppose, I wouldn't really want one that needs engine work or a transmission rebuild or has really bad paint, but replacing nasty interior parts or rebuilding the suspension (although not cheap) is something I know I can deal with. I need to drive one again too and remind myself how slow they are and see if I feel like I can safely merge onto the freeway. I will definitly miss the power of the 606 turbo, but the build quality of a w126 is so much better than a w210.

I have no issues merging in my two 300D's. The 300SD is longer and heavier, with the same engine. Sometimes the electric "kickdown switch" under the pedal doesn't work, in which case you can manually downshift the tranny to get the rev's and HP you need. When faced the common problem of a speeding jerk moving into the right lane just as you are entering the freeway, simply floor it and the black smoke will make him/her back off.

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

I drove a 300SD everyday for several years, and other than being kinda slow up steep hills I never really had any problem, but the reason I am a litle worried about it now is that they have installed metering lights at the end of most of the freeway onramps near me, and they are running even when traffic is moving quite fast. The car I am currently driving (2.2 5 speed subaru) is quite a bit faster than the 300SD was (I had them both at the same time for a while) and it isn't even really fast enough to merge safely from some of the onramps I would normally use. My e300d was plenty fast to be safe until it broke, but I could still deal with a slower car I think. Anyway, thats why I would be concered with how slow a car with an OM617 could be. I still might get one though, 300SDs are so cheap, and I kinda already know what problems are expensive to fix, I will probably try a 300SDL also and see if they are any faster though.

I remember a specific problem with getting an a/c to work properly in a 1985 300sd some yrs ago , a mixture or pressure valve exists somewhere in the system other than the dash area ,it was giving the system a low pressure when it was not low.Ill ask to give more specific info from the guy who explored and fixed the issue.