My Custom 1980 W116 300SD Project Part 2 - Page 7 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Squiggle Dog · #1 09-21-2018, 11:49 PM

The air conditioning has been working well, but it's been leaking. I noticed a slight amount of oil at where the receiver drier connects to the pipe right after having the system charged, but thought it was just residual oil from when I lubricated the threads. I figured the air conditioning shop would have caught it if it was a leak.

After I got back from Utah, I noticed oil was dripping off the bottom of the car. I thought it was an oil cooler leak, but I traced it up to the fitting on the drier and could hear the refrigerant leaking out.

In order to tighten up the fitting, I had to loosen up the hose above it just enough to rotate it out of the way without the refrigerant leaking out. Then I unbolted the condenser and used a crow's foot wrench to tighten and loosen the fitting several times before cranking it down very tight.

It's still leaking, but not as much and at least the air conditioning is still somewhat cool. I'm done with flare fittings. All they seem to do is leak. I'm going to have to redo this using O-ring fitting parts.

The receiver drier is in a really bad location when it comes to accessing the fittings. I was trying to make the parallel flow condenser upgrade look stock, but it's been too complicated. I'm probably going to use a drier from a newer W126 chassis Mercedes (which uses O-ring fittings) and mount it behind and under the headlight in the crook by the left horn.

With the drier out of the way, it will allow me to install a 2" wider condenser for even better air conditioning performance. I'll have to make new mounting brackets.

I'm really hoping that the expansion valve fittings (which are flare fittings) aren't leaking so I can get away with cutting the ends off the hoses under the hood and crimping new fittings on them without having to touch the expansion valve end in the cabin.

I was hoping someone made an evaporator core for the W107/W116 chassis that uses an o-ring style expansion valve, but it seems they don't exist. I could, in theory, have someone weld O-ring fitting ends on my evaporator, but it would require removing the climate control box again. I'm hoping a lot that the expansion valve connections aren't leaking so I don't have to mess with anything in the cabin.

In other news, I took the car to its annual emissions test and the employees there were flabbergasted to see a diesel-powered car and didn't know what to do with it, so they finally gave me a "Director's Certificate" which didn't cost any money. My roommate's 1991 W126 350SDL has been having a lot of issues, so he's been driving my car to work while I tinker around with his. I've also been selling quite a few parts from the 280SE parts car, including the engine and transmission.

Renntag · #2 10-13-2018, 04:22 AM

This is amazing. Thanks for sharing.

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Squiggle Dog · #3 10-13-2018, 04:41 PM

Thanks, guys. I have a fintail station wagon that can be covered in YouTube videos if I ever find a rust-free W111 sedan with a sunroof so I can transplant the wagon's sheet metal onto it (yes, it's THAT rusty).

dude99 · #4 10-13-2018, 04:52 PM

I would second the YouTube channel idea. I have a small one that averages seveal hundred a month over the course of a year. However YouTube has made it harder to break into the partner program recently.

I would suggest starting to make videos now as it takes a while to build up the views you need to get in. It took me at least 2 years before I saw my first bit of revenue.

Renntag · #5 10-13-2018, 06:30 PM

Not necessarily. There is enough content here that every 1 to 5 posts could be an episode or series of episodes.

Start with video from the car today, then discuss how this component or upgrade evolved.

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Renntag · #6 10-13-2018, 06:32 PM

Having technical challnges with connection.
My previous pst was to the comment of having to do the car over again. Agree that many videos need to be uploaded before a benefit is realized. But you have the talent. Go for it. Add your violin to the mix.

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Squiggle Dog · #7 11-07-2018, 06:42 PM

The air conditioning was leaking at the flare fittings at the drier. Despite loosening and tightening them several times, they still continued to leak out refrigerant and oil. The flare surface of the cheap drier must not have been machined well (similar to the cheap expansion valve I had on the first time).

I had planned on redesigning the air conditioning system to use an O-ring style drier from a W126 and mounting it in a location where it would be easier to tighten. But, it just became too convoluted and it seems the way I did it is the best way.

So, I tried to fix the leak one last time. I unbolted the condenser so the drier could be pulled closer to me to get a crow's foot wrench on it, and then I used a breaker bar to loosen, tighten, and then really crank down on the fittings until they were as tight as I could get them without stripping out the threads.

As you can see, I had to loosen the upper hose fitting enough that I could pivot it out of the way enough to access the lower fitting without leaking refrigerant, but it worked. The air conditioning is still blowing very cold and is no longer leaking.

It is SO great to have working air conditioning, and it works very well; as good as--if not better than--modern cars. It feels so pleasant being able to drive around without feeling like I'm getting heat stroke. When I turn it on, it blows cold air almost instantly and cools down the cabin in short time. That's no small achievement for the Arizona desert. If it can cool well here, it can cool anywhere. I am very content that I decided to go all out on the upgrade, with almost no expense spared, and also used R-12 refrigerant.

A while back I bought a pair of new hood latch deflectors (116 887 00 45), but the left one broke as soon as I closed the hood. I just now ordered another. It's hard to believe these little pieces of plastic are $57 each.

Here it is in place. I adjusted and bent the hood latch so it wouldn't land on it wrong and break the part again, and the hood now shuts smoothly.

The windshield has been heavily sand pitted, chipped, and cracked for a while. I had a new spare, but it broke in storage. I stopped by the wrecking yard to inspect a 1973 W116 450SEL. It had a new windshield and seal installed recently, so I removed them both without damaging either.

I just used plastic prybars to push the lip of the seal from the metal flange and then pushed out the glass and seal as a unit.

Squiggle Dog · #8 11-07-2018, 07:19 PM

It's time for new tires! They are dry rotted and starting to go out of round, so my car wobbles when I drive. I'm happy with how long they've lasted, though, considering they're between seven and ten years old (yes, they are all different manufacture years) and I've put about 50,000 miles on them.

The tires currently on my car are Hankook Mileage Plus II shaved whitewalls; they started out as thin whitewalls and then some of the black rubber on the sidewall was ground off to expose more of the whitewall underneath. Unfortunately, no one is selling them anymore, so I'd have to either buy some tires and shave them myself, or hire someone to shave them. There are Portawalls, which mount between the rim and tire bead and make a tire look like a whitewall, but I hear they have so many problems (difficult to install and seat, slide around, come off, flap around, get snow and water stuck in them, cut into the tire, etc.) that they don't seem suited for daily driving.

But, I want REAL whitewall tires. I was hoping to be in a better financial situation by now, because real whitewall tires are insanely expensive ($200-$300+ per tire), so they are out of my price range. It's so strange that no one sells an affordable wide whitewall tire, especially since all raised white letter and thin whitewall tires have wide whitewalls already under the black rubber.

Fitts07 has a W123 with wide whitewalls that he said he got from Calli Tire for $118 each. They use regular tires and then vulcanize whitewalls onto them to make them like a true whitewall tire. I decided I would spend the money and go with them, but when I contacted Calli Tire, they said they raised the prices because the tires they normally use are discontinued and the ones they use now are more expensive and in short supply, so getting a stock size tire with a 2.5" whitewall would cost $184 each after shipping. Once again, too expensive for me.

So, with cheaper tires it is. I decided on a set of five 195/75R14 Uniroyal Tiger Paw tires with a diminutive whitewall. But, they are listed as a top quality tire and are made in USA. They were $280 after tax and shipping. My roommate bought them for me as an early Christmas present, so that is great!

I'm going to try to grind off some of the black rubber on the sidewall so it looks like this one:

300D85 · #9 12-23-2018, 02:22 AM

WOW!!

Squiggle Dog · #10 04-13-2019, 02:46 PM

I got my new tires a few months ago.

It's interesting because they've always been advertised as made in USA, but the ones I received were made in Mexico. Oh, well. They still seem like GRRR-eat tires.

Uniroyal Tiger Paws have been around for a very long time.

Our rescued dog, Koda got a Tiger Paw tire, too!

Squiggle Dog · #11 04-13-2019, 02:50 PM

What a difference in the ride they make! Now I can drive my car again without fearing a blow-out. These tires are 195/75R14, which is the closest equivalent to the stock size of 185/80R14. The tires I had on it before were 185/70R14, which were a smaller profile tire. These new tires are about an inch larger in diameter and fill up the fenders nicely.

The rubber is so soft. Pet the kitties.

Here is one of the old tires. It has a date stamp showing it was made on the 44th week of 2008, so that's ten years ago. As you can see, the tread is quite worn and there are cuts in it.

A sidewall cut with torn threads.

Another sidewall cut.

Squiggle Dog · #12 04-13-2019, 02:51 PM

My car has been down for a while. For the past few months the alignment has become poor, the rear of the vehicle feels like it's loose and makes clunking noises, and the last time I drove it to Carl's Jr. to get a Beyond Famous Star Burger without cheese, it was difficult to steer and the front end was making popping and clunking noises.

The major diagnosis was a worn out tie rod and broken rear swaybar links which were rubbing against the new tires. But, most of the steering and suspension components are worn out, so I ordered the parts I need to replace every part to make the entire front and rear steering and suspension like new (ball joints, control arms, tie rods, drag links, idler arm rebuild kit, bushings, subframe mounts, swaybar links, differential seals, etc.).

The axle shaft boots are also cracked and about ready to tear open, so I ordered remanufactured axle shafts from CVJ Axles because I don't want to mess around with trying to cut these ones apart, repack them, and install new boots and crimp on new cans, only to still have worn axle shafts.

I purchased mostly high-quality German Lemförder brand parts and I felt the price for everything was very cheap, in fact probably less than it is for most other cars. This is going to be quite the job, and sadly I can't do it in the garage because my side has been taken over by other projects.

I guess after 39 years and 346,000 miles, parts are bound to start wearing out, but they're usually inexpensive and I can replace them myself. It's also a well-engineered classic that's bound to go up in value unlike an appliance car which isn't worth fixing after it's ten years old (if you can even get the parts).

Squiggle Dog · #13 04-13-2019, 02:52 PM

The parts I ordered started coming in. I would have liked to use genuine Mercedes parts on it all but some of the prices were several times more expensive than the Lemförder, which are typically still good quality. I really cringed ordering the Meyle lower inner control arm bushings, front subframe bushings, and rear subframe mounts, but they were the only brand available other than genuine Mercedes.

Then the price differences were so huge between Meyle and genuine that I couldn't justify it. For example, for the lower inner control arm bushing kit, I paid $55.08 each (X2) and free shipping for the Meyle ones. Mercedes wanted $380.00 each. That's a difference of $649.84 plus tax and shipping just on those two kits! For the front subframe bushings, I paid $13.90 for a pair with shipping for Meyle ones. Mercedes wanted $54.00 each. That's a difference of $94.10 plus tax and shipping on those two bushings. For the rear subframe mount kit, I paid $47.83 and free shipping for a pair of Meyle ones. Mercedes wanted $276.00 each. That's a difference of $504.17 plus tax and shipping on those kits. So, I saved $1,248.11 plus tax and shipping choosing Meyle over genuine. I really wish there were at least Lemförder options available as I really try to avoid brands like Meyle and ÜRO. But, I don't have the money to pay the difference.

I was very disappointed to see that the Lemförder idler arm kit was made in China, and the upper control arms were made in Taiwan with one of the boots having a grind mark cut in it. I also paid extra money to get the pair with the control arm-to-swaybar bushings, but it appears the Lemförder control arms already come with those bushings in the box, so I ended up paying extra money for bushings that weren't needed, though I will say the Febi brand bushings are more substantial than the ones that came in the Lemförder boxes. There is only about a $10 difference between genuine Mercedes and Lemförder upper control arms, anyway, so I decided to ship them back and order genuine.

The Lemförder rear swaybar links, drag link, and rear trailing arm bushings arrived. They are made in Turkey. I guess buying Mercedes parts made in Germany is quickly becoming a thing of the past. And the reason I care so much about in what country they are made is I want the parts to fit correctly, work properly, and last a long time. I don't want the rubber boots and parts to dry rot in the desert climate in only a short time after all the labor that's involved.

I'm pretty sure that back when I rebuilt the steering in my 1968 W110 200D, all the Lemförder parts I received were made in Germany, and that's why I paid the extra money over other brands. Now it seems that if you're not buying genuine, you might as well buy the brand that has the cheapest price because it seems there is no guarantee of quality or country of origin anymore.

Squiggle Dog · #14 04-13-2019, 02:53 PM

I lifted up the rear of my car and disconnected the axle shafts by removing the 10mm head bolts on each side and then using a brass punch to punch them most of the way out of the hubs.

I disconnected the driveshaft from the differential, supported the differential with a jack, and then I removed the four bolts for the differential mount.

There are four nuts that hold the differential to the subframe, and all of them were loose!

I lowered down the differential and slid out each axle shaft from the hubs, then rotated it so I could roll it out from under the car.

Squiggle Dog · #15 04-13-2019, 02:54 PM

It's out!

I got the rear cover off. It had been sealed with this strange sealant that squished down to practically nothing and beaded up around the inside.

I grabbed the clips securing the axle shafts with a brake spring hook and pulled them out.

The axle shafts have shims that need to be kept with the differential and used on the replacement axle shafts. The sealing surface is quite worn.

The remanufactured axle shafts arrived and look great. Oddly, all the boots have little tubes pinched underneath them. They must be to keep vacuum due to temperature changes from sucking in the boots. I'll inquire with them to make sure this is correct. They now pack them with moly grease instead of oil, so at least oil leaking out won't be a problem. CVJ Axles checks them for straightness, inspects seal surfaces, replaces ball bearings while not removing the hardened bearing surfaces, and installs new boots.