I've been working on restoring my '84 300d for about 6 months now on and off. The interior is mostly finished. I just need to have a small crack in the dash repaired, and also need the wood trim refinished.

Some of you may remember the post I submitted about a year ago when I got the car. The car is obviously in excellent shape as it is, though I am obsessively restoring it to as close to new as I can without replacing any major parts, keeping it original etc.

Here's what it looked like the day I bought it



I began working on the mechanical components of the car about a month ago, and I have the engine pretty stripped at this moment right now.
I realized that mostly everything is disconnected from the engine already so I'm going to pull the engine and transmission together as I really need the room to work on removing the sound deadening material the previous owner had installed against the firewall (as well as working on the engine while it is out of the car).



Also I've been detailing the engine bay as I go, here is the before shot:



And not quite the after shot just yet, but some nice progress:



I'm going to reinstall a spare valve cover when I begin removing the engine as I've heard of them getting scraped, dinged etc. and I don't want to hurt the original one!



All of that being said, there are about five things left for me to disconnect. The clutch hydraulic line, the AC, engine mounts, transmission mount, and driveshaft.

I'm honestly scared to disconnect the clutch hydraulic line as I have had SUCH a hard time bleeding another W123's clutch before. But I think I'll manage this time. I believe it was a bad quality clutch master cylinder that made the job a nightmare.

And with the AC, it is currently holding R134a which I will need to evacuate before disconnecting the AC. How can I do that in my garage though, the car is in no state to bring to a shop to recover the R134a. I really would feel bad discharging it into the atmosphere, any ideas?

Lastly, I am confused on how to disconnect the driveshaft from the transmission (manual by the way). From what I understand I need to disconnect the front flexible drive disc here:



But I am having trouble getting any sockets on the bolts/nuts. Should I disconnect the transmission mount first? What is the trick here?

And then I will have to unscrew the prop shaft with a 41mm and 46mm wrench in order to have enough room to disconnect the flex disc?:



Does that sound right? I'm basing this off of Stretch's engine removal thread he posted on Peachparts, which has been so helpful!



This is sort of an update thread as well as needing some guidance regarding the AC and driveshaft removal. Thanks everybody for reading, I appreciate any advice.


Update: I ended up leaving the AC compressor intact as recommended, as well as removed the transmission which was not too difficult. Removing the engine was a piece of cake, even had a few beers with a friend while enjoying the process.

Just unbolt the slave and disconnect the line from the gearbox, wont have to acrew with hydraulics.

You can pull the engine and gearbox out as one, however the manuals are SO easy to remove id just pull it out and make the engine easier to handle without having to tip it like crazy.

The flex joints if i recall are 13mm? Cant remember. However the trick there is they have to be popped out of the flanges, about 3mm of the steel tube the bolt runs through seats in either flange. Prybar works well for that.

The driveshaft nut needs to be loosened so you have some wiggle room, and i also undo the bearing mounts so i have up and down wiggle room. You have a pain in the rear front driveshaft with that weighted collar, usually they are much much easier to manipulate the flex disc bolts. The big pain in the rear with the driveshafts are theres about an inch of shaft that sits inside of the flange on either end. If things are corroded it can be very tough getting the shaft out

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

I think it looks good the way it is. To pull the engine and transmission for the sake of cleaning the firewall is obsessive. Don't do it! Leave well enough alone, the car looks great. It is a real job to pull and reinstall the engine, and for what you will gain, it's nuts! Wait until you need a clutch, even to pull the engine to do the clutch is to much. Leave it all together, you will be happier!

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Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

I disagree. Few cars as as easy to pull an engine as a 123.


If he removes the gearbox first, which is ludicrously light and small, he can put the hood all the way back, disconnect everything, and lift the engine straight out with minimal difficulty, mostly in preventing the clutch pressure plate from scratching up the firewall.


He says he also wants to do engine work with it out

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Well whatever! I think the fellow has far to many simple mechanical things he is questioning and having difficulty with and with his knowledge he should let it alone. But hey, that is just my opinion - you and he may very well disagree and of course it is his car. If he was to really accomplish something like putting a real engine in it, aka a turbo 617, his effort might be worth while. To clean the fire wall a bit better, NAH!

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Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

I do take the tranny crossmember out first to get better access to the driveshaft attach bolts. Just block it up with some wood or a jackstand or something. It is a 46mm crowsfoot to loosen the gland nut on the driveshaft. Don't know where the 41mm comes in. If you loosen the gland nut before disconnecting it, or set the parking brake, you don't need two wrenches.

x2. If this was about replacing the engine on a daily driver, enjoy the learning experience. I don’t recommend it as a first experience on a car chasing concours points. If it must be done, spend a day at the pick-n-pull pulling and replacing 616s or 617s so you know what to expect.

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon
02 C320 wagon

Come on.

Hes already disconnected most of everything. This is a simple engine to pull.

You folks are acting like this is extremely complicated. If he wants to do it why not? Not going to hurt anything.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

I am taking a methodical approach at working on this car, and I was simply asking those of you here at Peachparts for your input on something before I attempted it myself. I am not new to working on cars at all, and I could have certainly figured these issues out on my own. That being said, I appreciate the actual advice that was commented here so far.

Today I successfully disconnected the driveshaft, as well as the clutch slave which I will leave intact. Also I am going to unhook the AC compressor and leave that system intact too. I've got a jack under the transmission for now. All that is left is to finish with the AC, and detach the motor mounts and then I will pull the engine/trans together.

Dont forget about the small shock absorber next to the motor mount, nothing more irritating than getting it ready to pull and lifting the front end of the car based on this shock!

Also, i dont think the 300Ds have this, but worth checking. The 240s have a 3rd mount underneath the motor behind the lower oil pan. Not sure if a 300D NA would have it also. Worth making sure

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Hey go ahead, screw up a very nice car. From what I read you know very little!

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Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

another obnoxious useless comment from a know it all who doesn't know it all. I think we can guarantee the OPs vehicle is in better condition than yours sir.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

No way to learn faster than to screw it up and have to put it back together again!

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Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

another obnoxious useless comment from a know it all who doesn't know it all. "I think we can guarantee the OPs vehicle is in better condition than yours sir." Well, come on down and look at it and drive it! Then you will know something instead of just shooting your mouth!

Well I think the lad does have a very nice car and that is why I would be against screwing it up accidently of course, and all that to remove some sound deadening. But accidents are just that, "accidents". Now I know I don't know every thing. But when it comes to a 240D that is nice to look at and fun to drive, I will take mine over his. Mine was a very well cared for 240D with all the options, making it, with the 617 Turbo and the added tail light trim a 300D in all respects except for the manually controlled AC. Cruise control didn't work, so most of that is off the engine also. It spent its total life in Houston Texas. However since none of the AC worked or seemed worth saving I pulled it all out save the evaporator. Mine does not have a cracked dash, mine has the much preferred Mercedes Vinyl trim, my floor mats show more use then his and mine has perfect glass, tho the windshield is a replacement. Mine has 15' wheel and tires. I think mileage on both cars is very close.
Most of my working life has been with sales and service of Chevrolet trucks. However I was a service manager for Oldsmobile for 8 years. Now being a service manager doesn't make you a mechanic, but it gives you a pretty good instinct on who knows what they are talking about. In real life I switched or swapped my first engine in 1957, before most of the know it all's on this web page were born. It was a difficult heavy engine to work with, a 307 CID Hudson Hornet Twin H Power and aluminum flat head. And I did not have the tools or a good place to work. Pretty simple by today's standard, but newly created American Motors decided to do away with that engine. I was living in Milwaukee at that time and saw an ad in the Milwaukee Journal that AMC was selling 3000 Hornet and lesser engines out of the Milwaukee Parts Depo. Price, total, for the big engine with dual carbs, generator, starter, wiring, even those big air cleaners and ready to run $215.00. Well that was the fall of 1957 and I did not know everything then and I still don't! But I know what stupid is!

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Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

The AC compressor can be removed from the engine without disconnecting the AC hoses or evacuating the system. Use some common wire or a bungee cord to hang the compressor to the side of the frame eliminating any tension on the AC hoses.