What’s happening in La Cañada on April 16th?

__________________
1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Geo and Jim’s GTG - 2000 and older MB.

Saturday
April 16, 2022
3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
STARBUCKS Parking Lot
1929 Verdugo Blvd. Unit A
La Canada Flintridge,
CA 91011

And wow, I had no idea the halide detectors were so cheap now. Oh man they’re so cheap no sense in using and returning to HF. My leak was so bad I’d charge and run the AC and the thing would go nuts when stuck down the vents. AC on or off. Wind blowing or still. It was really clear my evaporator had a leak. So sad.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

Yep, I know, hard to believe you can get the detectors so cheap now. As you mentioned, doesn't make sense to NOT have one in the toolbox.

Sorry to hear about your evaporator failure. That really is a "worst case scenario" and something we ALL fear. Naturally, some makes and models are much easier and less labor intrusive to r/r an evaporator. Sadly, MB doesn't seem to be one of them....no matter what year or model

My '97 E300 gotta be about the worst evap r/r job I've ever seen. This one truly "haunts my dreams" and like you, the car will be sold if it goes Tango Uniform.

Take a quick look at this time lapse video. If, after watching a bit of this insanity, anyone still might consider an E series W210, tell your friends to slap you silly until you come to your senses....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3OAiyX3mnM

Like these ? : https://www.amazon.com/s?k=halide+gas+detector&crid=3B3LVBW8S0QL&sprefix=halide+gas+detector%2Caps%2C122&ref=nb_sb_noss

__________________
-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

More like these I'd guess : https://www.amazon.com/s?k=freon+gas+detector&crid=2NVKO7OF6XHRZ&sprefix=freon+gas+detector%2Caps%2C130&ref=nb_sb_noss

__________________
-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

Well I had a great time at last weekend’s Mercedes Day at the Griffith’s Park cars and coffee. I got to match faces with names after many years.

Unfortunately my evaporator sprung a leak on the way back. I verified it last night with a $20 halide gas detector from Amazon. These work so well I was able to find the leak in the resealable valve on my California r134a can. It had a tiny leak. So I snooped the entire car and the gas is combing out of my vents. I played with the sensitivity of the tool and it’s clear the leak gets bigger when the compressor is on. I’m done.

I looked around and to my horror the w123 evaporator is NLA. Massive freakout. It was just four years back I saw them on the Pelican site. Now I can gripe about it in the NLA thread but I’m still done.

Any ideas where to look for a new coil? I want new. No way am I putting some pitted corroded 40yo evaporator from the JY into my car. That’s just dumb. Too much work to R&R.

My options so far are 1) leak seal but my leak is probably too big, 2) Frankenstein a coil off another car or use a hot rod universal coil, 3) Chinese under dash AC unit bolted into the passenger kick space, 4) roll down the windows.

My teenager is going to drive this car so he may get option 4. My luck that kid will soon wreck the car. I drove around from 18-25 in a Volvo P1800 with no AC. It was an oven. In LA, Bakersfield and Palo Alto. AC was still an option in the 80s. My son is looking at me like I’m telling him I walked ten miles in the snow to go to school.

I’m weighing my options now.

This is life. It’s just a car. An old car at that. Things break and then we get new things. I think somebody told me that here many years ago. No sense in crying about it.

Several times in my life I’ve gotten a few nudges or kicks to change direction. Maybe this is the kick.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

Interesting and thanx for the update .

So, now you've added the stop leak, is it actually cold at the vents ? .

__________________
-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

Shern…yup, also 12a runs at a lower pressure. My leak gets worse when the compressor cycles on. Physics, more pressure more flow. It has made me wonder if I exacerbated the situation using 134a. The pressures are much higher than R12 and put extra stress on the evaporator.

Nate - yes it is very cold. I put in the seal and then one can of 134a. It is blowing 43-46F at the vent at 84 F ambient. The big question is how long will that last. It still leaks. Fast or slow I dunno. I’m hoping it’ll improve as I drive it around and the goo moves around in the system.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

Thanx, what are the high and low pressures at idle when it's blowing this cold ? .

__________________
-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

Yep thats them.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

@123boy well full disclosure it was my fault the evaporator went dead.

It was my first w123 and I kind of abused the car during my ownership of the thing. It served me well for 10 years.

I had swapped a compressor and a hose on two different occasions and didn’t vacuum the system. I converted to R134a by just charging and adding a pressurized can of PAG oil. Never thought to replace the drier each time. Eventually I think I ended up with some water in there which probably formed acid and corroded away my evaporator. It started as a slow leak. I just added refrigerant every other year and it turned into every year, every half year, every month and then I bought the halide detector and got the bad news. So I did this. I tried sealant at that point but it was too little too late. The evaporator was done.

I wasn’t in the right place to restore the HVAC not to mention the rest of the car which was well worn. So off it went.

So now when I mess around with my AC system I always replace the drier and vacuum before filling. I learned the hard way.

On my current cars which I intend to keep I will keep track of refrigerant leaks. If I get any indication I have a slow leak in the evaporator I’ll reach for the sealant. Avoiding the goo shot in the past allowed the problem to get out of hand. Even though I love my cars I don’t think I am willing to pull their dash boards to replace evaporators.

Looking ahead if sealant doesn’t work it’s time to move on to another kind of car.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

Live and learn, especially when it comes to Freon and AC systems! I am on my first W123 and first MB. Unfortunately, mine is also "well worn". I'd been hearing about these cars for years and this one kinda "fell into my lap". I've had it about 4 years.

It's a "rust belt" car and although it just turned over 211K miles, the climate and location have taken their toll. My son and I just replaced the front coil springs yesterday. The drivers side spring broke, prompting the change. Don't really notice much difference in ride height or handling with the new ones. To say these cars were overbuilt is the understatement of the century.

A couple years ago I found a '97 E300D. Original owner, window sticker, etc. It's got 141K and was very well kept. Having an issue with the low pressure line, from the compressor to the firewall. Naturally, the part is NLA. It was $300+ when it was last available. Not sure what I'm gonna do. Haven't pulled the trigger on the "goo", yet. Love the car and the way it drives/handles. I understand the evaporator core was made with copper and aluminum. Built in dissimilar metal corrosion! Yay! Thanks, Mercedes. What the heck were they thinking?

Been working on cars most of my life. However, my knowledge of these cars is limited being "late to the party". Are all MB cars extremely difficult to replace the evaporator? I agree 100% about pulling apart an entire dashboard to change an evaporator.

I'll reach my Federal Retirement Age this year. Wish I had explored these great cars a little earlier in life. I hate to think about all the prime examples, with low asking prices, that passed me by (even in the rust belt). I'd love to have a minty W123 but considering the astronomical price of ALL used cars now, I don't think it's gonna happen. Not to mention, my energy level and enthusiasm for working on cars "ain't what it used to be" (gettin harder and harder to crawl around on the garage floor).

Yes, failure to properly evacuate the system is the primary cause of most pin hole leaks .

Sadly, the W123 is not the only automobile that requires the entire dashboard to come out for evap. or heater matrix replacement .

I stopped doing AC repairs in 1985 or so .

A few years back one of those ripoff for profit colleges went belly up and they sold off the tools, the HVAC service carts were nearly new and sold for $35 ~ $45 each, I surely wish I'd had anyplace to store one but didn't so I didn't buy one .

I'm on the fence about buying a leak detector, I ass-U-me the narrowest point / tip on the goose neck part is what to look for as I'm betting my leaks are under / inside my dashboard some where .

__________________
-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

The tip of the gooseneck is kind of a straw. The handle has a vacuum pump in it to suck in the sample. Maybe it’s just a little fan.

If the leak is in the evaporator you stick the straw down the center vent and that will do it. You can do things like run the compressor or charge if the system is low on pressure to get it to spew refrigerant at the leaky spots.

For under the dash I pulled the passenger kick panel and snooped the TD valve and it’s connections. There is a balance between the leak size and how much ambient breeze you want. Too much breeze there’s no gas around to detect. Too little breeze the local area fills with refrigerant gas an saturates out the wand and it is difficult to pinpoint the exact location. For example I opened my doors and shut down my car before sticking my straw down the center vent. The car has fresh air and the air in the center vent was off the charts in 134a as the gas accumulated in there. So it’s kind of an art. Like finding a smoker exhaling just by looking for smoke in a room. If the room is thick with smoke you’ll never find the smoker. But if a gale force wind blows through you won’t see any smoke. There’s a balance depending on the leak size and ambient conditions. But rest assured, the tool works well once you understand how the gas is diffusing around and you’ll quickly pinpoint the issue. Hope that explains it right.

How you snoop it depends on how big the leak is and how much wind is blowing.

I used to want an ac charging manifold and pump till I found out I can borrow them free from Autozone. I’ve borrowed that loaner five times or so. $355 fully refundable deposit. And it’s one more tool I don’t need to store. They let you keep it as long as you want.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

I was asking about MB cars, mainly. Not being too familiar with the marque, was wondering if they all had their evaps buried deep in the center of the dash? As I mentioned earlier, on my '97 E300D, not only does the ENTIRE dash have to be removed but also the steering column, complete center console, and on and on....

I recall earlier GM vehicles had the evaporator on the engine side of the firewall. Easy to access and r/r. Don't really remember a lot of them failing, either. I believe they used that config into the early 2000's. These were the systems with the HUGE cylindrical Frigidaire compressors before they moved to the R4 design. They were about 16" long with the pulley and clutch, weighed about 50 lbs and had 6 pistons with the swash plate configuration. R12, of course and ice cubes spittin out of the vents at all times......lol Can't recall what Ford and Chrysler did with their evaps, though.

My son had an 04 GMC Safari and the evap was still on the engine side. I had a Ford Aerostar (cant remember the year) and the heater core was about the easiest thing to change out I've ever seen. The Safari was basically the same. Disconnect the hoses on the engine side, open the passenger door, take a plastic cover off in the footwell, and there was the heater core. Literally a "piece of cake"!

However, there really is no comparison of American cars and MB of similar vintage. My '83 240D is a little rough but "all there" and mostly original. Pretty sure I wouldn't feel the same about an '83 Buick Regal. Doubt it would be in as good condition, either. To be fair, the American cars were about a third of the price, though. Hard to beat that value at the time.

An HVAC service cart for 40 bucks, or so, would've been a great deal! As you mentioned, though, only so much room for "stuff". I've got the same problem.....