Cheers mate! As am I


Thanks for inquiring! I got the engine running well after the head swap, but after about 5 hours of driving, the transmission started giving me grief and the car has been garaged since... other more important projects had taken priority, but I'm going to get back head scratching on this car next week.

I pulled the injectors, with the intent to send in two sets to Greazzer (diesel injector guru) for a rebuild and balancing, but his site is down and hasn't responded to my PM. After watching some 603 injector rebuild videos, it seems like something I could figure out.

Does anyone have a good source on injector shims, for balancing pop pressure?

I can text him and see if he still does injectors if you wish.

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Well folks, I'm not sure what the heck my new problem is with the Benz, but it doesn't feel good. Installed rebuild injectors, car had sat for a couple months in the shed, set her up with new filters and a diesel purge

Started rough initially, then smoothed out and revs nice. I check the exhaust and no more smoke (still on diesel purge) until I see the exhaust spitting out oil. This wasn't an issue before parking, and now I'm worried there wasn't enough coolant in the block and it froze. Does anyone have an idea?

https://youtu.be/H1p_wC3EiYk

Here is another video of the oil/exhaust issue. https://youtu.be/v-uYsmUKMMc


I'm feeling stuck as the motor isn't even warmed up yet and is showing this issue. I wanted to get it warm before checking transmission fluid and trying to sort out that problem...

Could this be a turbo problem? I'll see if I can try wiggling the turbine. My greatest fear is a cracked block/head from a cold night with mostly distilled water inside. Temps this winter got down to the mid 20s some nights, but the car was in a shed.

Well ;


The 1st. video clearly has an irregular miss so I'd run / drive it until fully warmed up then look at the inside of the oil filler cap and in the coolant surge tank ~ it'll either be mixed oil & water or not .

I hope this isn't a cracked head, what part # is it ? .

__________________
-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 first vid was right after it fired up for the first time in months, and you're right it definitely sounded clunky. It's a #20 head with rebuilt injectors and new firad nozzles. I just put the head on a few months ago, drove the car for about 6 hours, and the transmission started giving me grief so I parked it in the garage.

Upon further investigation, the liquid spitting out my tailpipe seems more like sooty water that ran thru the exhaust, and not oil...

I did have the crossover intake pipe open over the winter months, so some moisture must have gotten inside the turbo (leaky garage roof). I've ran the car a bit longer up to temp, revving it a bit, and it no longer spits any nasty fluids. I've driven it around the block five or six times, and the motor runs great now. Seems like I may have freaked out more than I should have... Haha

I've checked the oil and coolant after running the car for approx 20mins around town, and I see no signs of crossover between the two.

I'm going to assume I had overreacted initially, and the motor isn't toast.

Now to diagnose the surging transmission that had trouble shifting. Should I start with a transmission filter/gasket rebuild kit? The trans is currently leaking a little bit from what seems to be the pan gasket, but I'll have to bring up my jack and stands to investigate further

WHEW .

Always easy to panic if you know what can go horribly wrong, don't beat your self up about it .

RE : transmission woes ~ yes, get it HOT then drain the tranny pan and torque converter ~ it is critical to drain the torque converter ! .

Once that's done get it fully warmed up, disconnect the vacuum to the modulator and test the internal pressure .

Harbor Fright sells cheapo gauge kits, I juts made mine out of an old good quality gauge, some hose and a few adapters .

The pressure at working temperature is critical to all else .

Once that's within spec. you can fiddle the Vacuum to get the shifting correct .

Someone here will know the specs and where to attach the pressure test gauge ~ it's not terribly difficult, if you don't have a trolly jack and safety stands or pit to work in, drive 'round until you spot an old high water curb stone, park two wheels on it *very* carefully them scrooch underneath to access the test ports .

IIRC the torque converter's drain plug is a 5MM ATF hex, be sure the plug is cleaned BEFORE you try to loosen it ! .

__________________
-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

Thanks for the detailed response in my trying times! Much appreciated.

Just to eliminate any misunderstandings - the reference of getting the transmission hot and draining the torque converter is in response to doing a fluid/filter change, and not the transmission modulation test right?

I'll do more research on the test, but I just wanted to check if this test would be done once the transmission has been filled back up with ATF and filter replaced...

Just watched a short video (below) of how the test is done, and it sounds fairly straight forward. There was no mention of doing this test with the transmission full, or drained, which makes me assume it's done full.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFe8-tTFir0

I've got a proper trolley jack and stands, so access shouldn't be too challenging. A previous poster theorized it could be B1 or B2 pistons, but maybe I should do the filter/fluid change and modulation test first?

Thanks again for everyone's input

do a cylleakdown where you can here and see if you have leak

What's the best way to bleed air from the cooling system? Should I try removing the thermostat entirely, and see if that was the problem? 9apps
cartoon hd

Yes ~ the tranny AND TORQUE CONVERTER *must* be drained then refilled before any testing or adjustments are done .

After you've done a complete hot tranny fluid and filter service (including cleaning the pan 100 % and adding a small magnet) you fill it, let it idle a while in gear to fully warm it up then top it up (! DO NOT OVER FILL !) and go for a drive, then connect your test gauge and see what you get .

You sound like you're handy with tools and this isn't overly complex .


Remember : a tiny bit of crud can and will cause serious problems so consider cleaning or washing the entire tranny *before* you open it up .

BE SAFE ! THIS IS A VERY HEAVY CAR YOU'LL BE WORKING UNDER ! .

__________________
-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

If you have a spare plug, connect the auxiliary water pump then set the heater to hot and idle the engine, the Aux. W.P. will burp the heater core for you .

Failing that unplug the monovalve, this will cause it to default to the wide open position and run the engine and add coolant as necessary .

LOOK CLOSELY at the color of the water or flushing agent you use ! if it's cloudy or red, the system isn't clean enough yet, clean / flush it some more before replacing the coolant .

__________________
-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 it's been a while since I've addressed my wagon, but a brief update -

When firing it up to get things hot, for a transmission oil change, the transmission started just dumping oil out of the bell housing region, which makes me assume it's a front main seal at the minimum. The fact that I drove the transmission into a state of failure, I was a bit worried of trying to fix a leak, with the possibility that I had done serious damage to the internals.

Recently, I was able to source a matching transmission out of an 87 diesel with 150k miles for $150. I was told that when it was pulled, everything worked just fine, and there were no serious leaks. The previous owner happened to acquire a newly rebuilt transmission for near free, so he put that into his Benz.

Over the last couple days I've cleaned up my new transmission, and purchased some external seals such as -
Auto kick down solenoid Oring
Kickdown solenoid Aluminum washer
Kickdown Cable Oring
2 x Crush washers for oil lines
Transmission Modulator Valve Seal
Dipstick O-ring

My plan is to replace all of these on my new transmission before doing the swap, to give it some longevity. Are there any extra parts I should consider before tackling this job?

It will be my first time removing/swapping a transmission, so any good tips are appreciated.

Get some BIG jack stands.

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

That's a good tip! I was planning on building some wheel stands out of some stout lumber, to put about 2ft of space under the wheels

Sounds like the top bell housing bolts are a tough reach as well, so I've got a 36" extension on order.