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

Squiggle Dog · #11 08-01-2018, 08:14 PM

The oil cooler line mounting bracket from Klima didn't fit my car.

The ridge in the center of the power steering pump bracket prevents the oil cooler line bracket from fitting flush.

When I tried tightening down the bracket, the ridge caused it to bend.

I put the Klima bracket up against the bracket from ROLLGUY's kit. I had no problem with ROLLGUY's bracket fitting, and you can see that his is cut deeper to clear the ridge. Klima said it's strange and they have never had any complaints about their brackets before, but if I want to cut mine to fit, they'll let me do it without voiding the warranty. Unfortunately, I can't use ROLLGUY's bracket because it's longer than the Klima bracket as his goes underneath the oil cooler lines and the lower corner sticks out further, so it interferes with the way the hoses on a W116 have to route. The Klima bracket mounts on top of the oil cooler lines, so there is more clearance below, which is another reason why I wanted to try the Klima kit.

I had the same issue with the Klima kit that I had with ROLLGUY's kit; the belt provided (11X950 for ROLLGUY's, 13X965 for Klima's) was way too small to fit. Both claim that it is the proper belt size for the OM617 turbo engines, but the W116 version must have a larger crank pulley as the compressor has the recommended 132mm pulley. Klima suggested removing the adjuster bolts from the bracket and trying to fit the belt. Doing that, I was able to just barely squeeze on the belt, and then getting the bolts back in was tricky. Once the belt was fully tensioned, the adjuster had hardly moved at all. So clearly, that wasn't going to work. I found that for my 1980 W116 300SD, a 13X990 belt fit perfectly on ROLLGUY's bracket, and a 13X980 belt fit perfectly on Klima's bracket.

The 13X990 belt that I was using on ROLLGUY's bracket was a bit too large on Klima's bracket, so I went to AutoZone to try a 13X980 belt since I had purchased the other belt from them being as their Duralast belts were made in the USA by Dayco, which I felt was a better option than a Continental, which are now made in China and I couldn't find that size in a genuine Mercedes belt (and even genuine Volvo in 13x992 are no longer available). Well, this time the Duralast belt said made in China on it. At least the belt fit, so I know the proper size. I figured that if I'm going to run a Chinese belt anyway, I'd prefer to have a Continental. But, then I discovered there is a genuine Mercedes belt in a close size (12.5X975 004-997-36-92), so I ordered one to match the power steering and fan belts.

My overall opinion of Klima Design Works' Sanden conversion kit is that they probably make a great product for the W123 and W126, but it seems the W116 version needs work. I got the impression that I was their first customer to install the W116 kit, but they said that they have sold many of these and have never heard a complaint other than some people didn't like the low pressure hose setup. Their bracket is really well-engineered. Then again, just about all the rest of it didn't fit, and those are the parts that made me decide to try it out. But, for a W123 or W126, their kits are probably great.

ROLLGUY's brackets get the job done and I didn't have fitment issues with his other than the belt alignment being 1/4" off, but some spacers and longer bolts fixed that. The oil cooler line support bracket fit well, it's just that it gets in the way of the W116 low pressure hose routing, but not an issue with the W123 or W126.

Sometimes learning can be expensive, but now I know the pros and cons of both brackets and my car is getting closer to have working air conditioning for the first time since I've owned it.