The breather puck is not serviceable in the 603 valve cover. If it fails, it's just open to the valve cover and can lead to high oil consumption, you'll see it as a big puddle in the intake snorkel.

The good news is that the rubber grommet and breather puck from a VW TDI fit the breather port in the 603 valve cover like a glove and are super cheap parts. I've run one on my SDL for over a year and it dramatically cut oil consumption and virtually stopped all oil vapor getting to the intake snorkel.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

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

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

Great idea and Super Cheap is right!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/06A129101D-Crankcase-Breather-Purge-Valve-For-VW-Passat-Jetta-Golf-Audi-A4-Skoda/273715098623

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

? @ 12:30 I saw the crankshaft....

-Nate

Disease, please start a new thread about this VW TDI breather puck.

What was oil consumption before and after?

Brilliant idea ...! My engine has zero blowby. Have you or anyone ever changed the 603 head gasket? How difficult is the task?

That's not a TDI breather rather for a gas version. TDI is different..

Difficult. This is about as complex a job as you can attempt. Not impossible, but lots and lots of work. You must remove the injector lines, intake manifold, turbo charger, camshaft, pull the pins for the timing chain guide, and probably lots of other stuff I'm forgetting. You'll need a hoist to lift the head off the block.

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Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

I’m getting one done now. Used a trusted shop, told him to take his time. I dropped the car off right before thanksgiving, and they’re almost done now...

Granted I told him to take his time. But IMO the timeframe is indicative of the complexity here...

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (116k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
2008 ML320 CDI (199k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (267k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K), 1985 300D (233K), 1993 300D 2.5T (338k), 1993 300SD (291k)

Diseasel300, What year TDI breather did you use? I have an 04 TDI Bew will that year work?? Thanks.

99-04 Golf/Jetta is the year model I used. Grommet and puck.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

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

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

I think your shop is dragging his ass. It's a complicated job, but it isn't that bad. I'd never pulled a head on ANY car before doing the SDL and I had it done in 2 days over a weekend. Took 2 weeks for my machinist to grind the valves and replace the intake guides, but I told him I wasn't in a rush.

Having the FSM and all the needed parts in front of you before starting is greatly beneficial if you're DIYing this job.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

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

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

No question about it . I have a broken back and I was able to lift the 603's head off a junkyard car, I'd think two men should be used .

The very worst mistake you can ever tell a shop is "work on it in your spare time" because what the shop hears is 'I don't care if I ever see this junk again' .

I've seen more rare and antique vehicles get runied by this simple mistake, many simply *vanished* never to be seen again nor compensated for .

-Nate

__________________
-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

Yup for sure! A family member dropped of a mint BMW 2002 tii to a recommended body paint shop for a color change. The owner turned out to be a shady pos and moved after a few months. He took the car and was never seen again.. I tried to locate him to help them. He was always one step ahead of his last location. He will pay one day..

It must be off an up to 2003 ALH motor, My 04 BEW is different ..

All depends upon how you set it up. The owner of the shop keeps me aware of what is going on and the status.

It’s a variety of silly things too - was putting on a 606 oil pan because my 603 pan had not only a time sert drain plug coil, but an epoxied (leak free) repair. Well, the 606 pan doesn’t have a sensor hole tapped in in... so... one thing after another like that, which he keeps me aware of.

I’m not concerned in this case. If it wasn’t a shop that I have a decade-long history with, in a car that I was NOT going to drive over the winter much (due to salt), the story would be different. But I can appreciate that it could be a concern in many situations especially if the shop was an unknown.

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (116k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
2008 ML320 CDI (199k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (267k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K), 1985 300D (233K), 1993 300D 2.5T (338k), 1993 300SD (291k)