Nice ! .

I've discovered that the standard BOSCH blower motor will still draw a lot of current with new brushes unless I take them apart and clean out all the dust and soak the oilite bushings in oil, then they work *much* better .

It's a seriously fiddly job and the delicate fiber thrust washers are easy to break so I keep a could old motors on hand .

I'm really looking forward to trying the re designed Uro blower motor .

I'm in Indio, Ca. to - day and running the A/C flat out in my '82 240D, it's working great but I want to replace the blower motor on my '84 wagon ere long .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Discovered this wheel cleaner. Stole it from my wife's cabinet.

This car has always had dirty bundts with baked on brake dust. I've tried various soaps, degreasers and such and couldn't get anything to work. I was thinking of using aircraft stripper and just going raw aluminum for awhile but I was afraid it would trash my sidewalls.

So I tried this Lysol gel toilet bowl cleaner.



Here is my BEFORE picture. I took this when I bought the car three years ago. It only got worse. Nobody ever tried to clean these wheels - successfully at least. The wheels were an embarrassment.


This is what it looks like today after the Lysol toilet bowl cleaning gel on the wheels. I just lightly brushed it on with a paint brush and lightly swirled it around. I let it sit then rinsed and repeat. Rinse and repeat 3x.







Very happy with the result. Hopefully I didn't slop too much of this acid on my car. I can feel it on my fingers as I type. I got some tiny spatters on my skin and it feels like battery acid.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

Looks good ! .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Here is the documentary on my sagging rear seat repair. My passengers are hitting bottom on the seat when I go over bumps. The springs are dead even though the MBtex looks great.

Here is my repair. I found the YouTube video where a fix for sagging seats is teased and a solution is sold online. Well it was just too much money for some s spring and instructions so I decided to DIY and not buy the packaged kit. All you need is some S spring available online from the usual e-commerce giants or an upholstery supply. I bought $20 worth for 20’. I think I got 1/8” diameter.

Pull the seat. This is my prior solution. The pool noodles are fine for a year but they seem to eventually get crushed. I needed a new more durable solution.



Remove the noodles. Unhook the J hook from the edges and peel back the cover. I had to be careful because the muslin is 37 years old.





The idea is to cut short lengths and put a little bend in the tips so they don’t end up poking through your seat cover. Then you place them in parallel with your old springs to help hold up the saggy weak ones. I cut it with a $10 pair of bolt cutters which got destroyed in the process. Spring is very hard steel. I bent the tips under using a vise and crescent wrench.

Wire the s spring in on the front edge of the seat. Put a little bow in it for more compliance. Wire in the springs with stainless safety wire.





All done. Now just stretch the cover and pad back over the spring box and a fix the j hooks.



Put it all back together.





Poofier and noticeably stiffer. Pandemic is near over. Looking forward to some trips with my favorite passengers.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

This was discussed in the clear fuel line thread. Here are the results on the blue 300D. Very happy with the results.

Where to find clear fuel line

The only interesting thing to note is be careful removing the hose from the barbs. I used a razor knife to split the plastic hose and scratched my barb. This caused a leak. I had to do the tubing again on one barb to stop the leak. Needed a bit of a polish with steel wool and 400 sandpaper to get rid of the scratch. Just saying, be careful pulling off he old hoses.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

AC leaked out.

The high side R134a conversion fitting leaked. I bought some cheap ones on eBay and the refrigerant leaked out after a year. I was wondering where my AC went as it is heating up in Southern California now.

So these conversion valves have a little o-ring inside them. The ones I bought are set up wih a Shraeder valve so you need to take out the core in the old Mercedes R12 fitting. I checked them out and they didn’t press down far enough to open a second valve core internally so I went with one core on each fitting.

I noticed these fittings didn’t have any sealant on the threads like other ones I’d used.

When I opened them up I found the hi side had leaked and dripped oil around under the turbo. The o-rings inside were shredded and the fittings were kind of loose. I measured my pressures and the system was very low on refrigerant.

I got some fittings at the local auto parts store. AC pro brand. They had sealant on the threads and the low side used a permanent pin inside the adapter to push down the low side core. The high side didn’t use a core and screwed down far enough so I could use the existing core in the old R12 fitting. So after replacing new cores I swapped a drier (again…it has been 3x due to hose changes, new condenser and leaks). Vacuum. Charge. I only put in one 12oz can of R134a. I’m getting a 40 deg F vent temp at 74 deg F outside. Tomorrow it’s supposed to get to 93 and then 96F on Thursday. I’ll run it through it’s paces then.

I have another can of R134a but I’m not sure I’ll use it yet. If the temperature drop isn’t good enough at 93F I’ll add small amounts to see if it helps. It’s pretty cold as is but 74 F ambient isn’t much of a test out here where the humidity is low.

Looking forward to some heat tomorrow.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

Good you fixed it. I was going to suggest you might need new hoses by now anyway, if still on the originals. If and when you do, you might do like I did and run the compressor outlet hose straight over to the condenser, skipping that klutzy run up the R side of the engine. I supported the hose on the lower inner radiator support where there were 2 thin slots to run a steel hose clamp thru. If changing to a modern condenser, you could also use an O-ring fitting there with integral HP port. That routing eliminates the wide bracket on top of the oil pan which collects gunk and blocks your hands and also gives more room to swing wrenches on alternator bolts. You can reuse the M-B fittings, if needed, by hacksawing off the ferrules. They used thick steel so takes some work to peel them off. If changing to a modern Sanden compressor, you likely would use new O-ring fittings. I dropped R-134A years ago and use Duracool in all my vehicles now, even my 2002 (after compressor failed).

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

Bill,

I actually rebuilt all my hoses after reading your hose building threads three years ago. Thanks - I even bought the same crimper. All Parker Futura and Goodyear Galaxy.

Inspired by this thread:

Fixed AC Hoses 1985 300D

My hoses:



My hoses were trashed. Especially the one you mention that goes under the engine and up the side under the turbo. It bubbled coolant and oil the first time I charged after replacing the compressor. It had holes right at the bend under the radiator - where it may have been hit by road debris. I used the same wonky routing though. I didn’t feel like getting creative. I’m very happy with the hoses. They’re in this thread someplace.

Then I changed the condenser and pressure switch.

I think I’ve refilled the system 3 times now. That’s three driers replaced. I’m learning how to restore AC the hard way. It’s still cheaper than taking it in an having somebody install a Klima kit but I must say I’ve learned that I shouldn’t have tried to repair the system piecemeal. If I did it again I’d just change everything except the evaporator instead of doing it one component at a time.

The funny thing is this time I stopped at one 12 oz can of r134a for kicks and tested the temperature. It’s 84F out and I’m getting a 41F vent temp. That’s the best I’ve ever got in this car. In the past I’d just fill two 12oz cans because I read that someplace and the low side pressure seemed to match the charts at the Autozone website when I did that. I’m wondering if I was just stupidly overfilling. Well, I’m happy because it’s really cold now.

It’s supposed to hit 92F in my area today. Im going to take my loaner vacuum pump and manifold back to Autozone today and see how she handles the heat.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

Oh man. I got back from Autozone. It’s 94F outside and I’m getting 40F at the vent with the windows up and driving. At intersections it warms up to 42F. Very nice.

I may be wrong but I think I’m freezing up my evaporator. My compressor seems to be turning off periodically and the temperature goes down as low as 39F at the vent. Most of the time it hovers around 40-41F.

I kind of recall there was a temperature switch in there.

I’m beginning to wonder if I’d been overfilling my refrigerant. I always used to put in two cans (24oz) and now I’m running 12oz. It has never worked this well.

Time to call it a day. Could it be the parallel flow condenser needs less refrigerant? Or is it only the evaporator fill that matters?

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

God that sounds wonderful…

Sitting on the 101 today was brutal.
I can’t wait to get my system going again.

__________________
1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Oh yes ~ you were definitely over charging the system as R134a has a lower working pressure than R12 ~ someone posted a nice booklet here a few years back that explains it well .

Way back when in my fleet Mechanic days I had lots of factory training with R12 and they were insistent to always use a scale to weigh the 8exact* amount of R12 added, I used to wonder about those old guys who'd charge by the vent temps and stop as soon as they got below 40* F .

I asked every single one of my teachers and all said that's bad but they didn't get consistently 40* vent temps .

I wish I could find someone competent, reliable and honest to do AC works on my SANDEN converted 240D, I can't manage the physical works anymore and yes, it's been HOT here .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Always keep in mind, there is "normally" about a 20 degree (Fahrenheit) split between the vent temp and the temperature of the evaporator core. This is assuming, of course, the system is charged properly, not leaking and working as advertised.
If your vent temps are at 40 degrees, that means your evaporator temperature is around 20 degrees. Well below freezing, way too cold and "no bueno". More than likely, with that scenario, your evaporator is freezing up. Naturally, there are many variables to AC systems and proper charging. Never a "one size fits all" situation. Many more variables than can be addressed in a simple forum "quick reply". As always, YMMV.

I notice the thermal evaporator switch cuts my compressor clutch when the vent temps hit 38F. I’m basically there. I can see my compressor disengaging when it gets there.

Today when driving around I was hitting 40F. I don’t think there is going any lower than that given the switch setup.

Bottom line is I think on my particular setup pf condenser + R4 + R134a, putting in 12 oz and stopping was the right move.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

Nate,

The last time I spoke to you in La Canada it sounded like you had a leak. When my 240D leaked out I found it using a Harbor Freight halide gas detector. It’s like Geiger counter for Freon. My leak was in the evaporator as indicated by the detector going nuts when I stuck the probe down the center vents. After I found the leak I returned the detector for a small restocking fee at HF. It was worth it.

Since I wasn’t about to pull the dash and hvac box on that 240 D I just got rid of the car and didn’t look back. Too much work for that old beater.

Hopefully your leak is in an easier place to access. It may be worthwhile to borrow a pump and manifold from Autozone and add a single 12oz can of gas to see what happens. Soap bubbles can find a big leak on the hoses. Costs $15 to try.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

Thank you all for responding ! .

My never touched 2001 Ford Ranger's dash vents remain at almost exactly 40* F regardless of the outside temps so that's one more red herring I can ignore .

Quite often Freon leaks are the O-Rings at the expansion valve and hose ends, I've never tested for leaks anywhere and now have difficulty doing more than checking the oil so that's that but thank you very much for suggesting a leak detector .

My last big job was actually quite small, I replaced the fuel tank gauge sender with one from Shern, after two tanks it seems a bit more accurate than the old one .

Shern pointed out one of the two wires leading to the AC clutch was parted, I'll need to address that before anything else .

I hope to see folks from here in La Canada on April 16th .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better