My Custom 1980 W116 300SD Project Part 2 - Page 12 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Diseasel300 · #**166** 08-21-2018, 09:31 PM

All the photos show up for me too. Car looks great and good to hear the A/C works so well, important with the stupid heat this summer!

ROLLGUY · #**167** 08-21-2018, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

I see them on my end, and the posts near the top have been up for a while, and the pictures were working when I made those posts.

That's weird, I just see space in between each paragraph.

ROLLGUY · #**168** 08-21-2018, 10:03 PM

My wife found the problem. I normally use Firefox, and the photos don't show. I was told to open the page in Safari. I did just that, and I now see photos! Hooray!

vwnate1 · #**169** 08-21-2018, 11:33 PM

Thanx for the continuing detailed reports .

Car is looking very good indeed .

pj67coll · #**170** 08-21-2018, 11:48 PM

Awesome Squig. Great to hear the AC turned so well.

- Peter.

xaliscomex · #**171** 08-22-2018, 12:25 AM

Squiggle, you should start a Youtube channel. Like always, great work.

Squiggle Dog · #**172** 09-21-2018, 10:49 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.

vwnate1 · #**173** 09-22-2018, 12:22 PM

? When do we get a road trip report ? .

Squiggle Dog · #**174** 09-22-2018, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwnate1

? When do we get a road trip report ? .

There's not much more to tell than what I posted on the previous page. I don't have any plans to take it on another road trip any time soon. I'm hoping the air conditioning holds up long enough to get me into winter.

Meanwhile, I'm going to be purchasing a larger condenser (16X24 instead of 16X22) and am going to be using the parts car to make the condenser mounting brackets and figure out mounting of the W126 style drier so that I can hopefully take the car to a shop, have the refrigerant recovered, swap out the parts and crimp the hoses, figure out how much oil to add, and then have it charged.

Renntag · #**175** 10-13-2018, 03:22 AM

This is amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Renntag · #**176** 10-13-2018, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xaliscomex

Squiggle, you should start a Youtube channel. Like always, great work.

I agree completely. Your thorough work and clear explanations would play well. Consider monetizing a channel.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

ROLLGUY · #**177** 10-13-2018, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renntag

I agree completely. Your thorough work and clear explanations would play well. Consider monetizing a channel.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I agree as well. However, that would mean he would have to take everything apart on both cars and start over!

Squiggle Dog · #**178** 10-13-2018, 03:41 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 · #**179** 10-13-2018, 03:52 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 · #**180** 10-13-2018, 05:30 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.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk