Going to pull my eng/trans from 300SDL... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

mplafleur · #1 04-28-2003, 12:48 PM

I'm going to be driving down to Florida in June and thought I could take the old tranny with me to Atlanta and exchange for a refurbish from GermanTransmission and bring it back up.

So, I'll be pulling the engine/tranny from the 300SDL over Memorial weekend. Is there anything I should know about this before I start. It's a 60 mile drive up to the farm where the car is stored, so I'll be taking my own tools, etc. with me. I don't want to get up there and forget something.

leathermang · #2 04-28-2003, 01:08 PM

Be sure to have one of those engine position adjusters (so you can tilt it a little at a time while you raise it and move it forward... ... and this combo is pretty heavy... and needs to get pretty high to clear the body...how high is your ceiling and what kind of pulling device do you have ?

md21722 · #3 04-28-2003, 02:56 PM

If you're just swapping the trans you may just want to pull that and leave the engine installed.

I've got (2) 1987 300D's that use the same engine and trans as your car. On the engine hoist is not THAT heavy. The chain goes on the pull hook in the rear of the intake manifold and on the front loop in the head. With the host hook in the middle of the chain the complete assembly is angled just about right to get it in the car.

The wiring harness isn't hard, nor is moving the P/S or A/C systems out of the way. I removed the entire driveshaft (3 bolts on front flex disc, center support, and 3 bolts on rear flex disc) rather than trying to separate the halves. The exhaust downpipe takes some patience because one of the bolts (1 of 3) doesn't give you alot of room to move the ratchet or wrench.

Take note when disassembling the vacuum system so you can get all the connections back together when you're done. I haven't encountered any rusted or stuck bolts (yet) - its a current project.

Once the engine/trans is out separating the two isn't hard. Disconnect the vacuum and shift cables and the banjo fittings fo the cooler lines. Then there are (6) 13mm bolts on the torque converter towards the lower part of the bell housing. Just turn the engine at the crank to get them all out. The start comes right out (2) 17 mm bolts and then there are (8) more 17 mm bolts for the rest of the bell housing.

HTH,

leathermang · #4 04-28-2003, 03:54 PM

OH YES ! A digital camera is worth what ever it takes to have it there for the event....beg,borrow or steal one.

mplafleur · #5 04-28-2003, 04:17 PM

I'm removing the engine because it has a rod end sticking out of a hole in the side of the block. (next to the starter)

The trans has 312,000 miles on it, so if I'm going to rebuild the engine, I might as well put a good trans in it. I don't want to be pulling the trans out after I put the engine back in.

I'll probably pull it with a chain hoist or a good sized come-along. Probably the former rather than the latter. I have a digital camera and will take a liberal amount of pictures. I did the same with my m103 rebuild.

md21722 · #6 04-28-2003, 04:28 PM

Wow! I didn't know you had a rod problem. Was this random mechanic failure or can you attribute it anything in particular? Was there any indicator that something might go, or did it just give out?

I'd say its easy to pull the engine. This is my first engine job and its going Okay. You may want to remove the bowden cable off the trans before trying to pull it. It could possibly get hung up and damage the valve body.

I agree, its not easy to pull the trans laying on your back! I used a 36" extension and a wobble 17mm and a 18" 1/2 drive ratchet to get all the bellhousing bolts.

Thanks,

leathermang · #7 04-28-2003, 05:26 PM

"reburbish from GermanTransmission " How much does that cost?

mplafleur · #8 04-28-2003, 05:48 PM

They sell the trans for $1050, I believe. They do a good sales pitch anyway. I haven't heard of any negatives yet. (fingers crossed)

I almost had a MB factory rebuild yesterday on eBay. I got the high bid with 2 seconds left, but someone outbid me with one second left. It went for ~$685, but I would had to ship it here from Idaho for ~$365. So I guess it's a wash.

I bought the car this way. The interior is more worn than I would have liked it to be, so I am going to redo that as well. You would think the car was used to shuttle the pro football team back and forth to the the airport.

The seats are that worn.

I plan on making this my daily driver for the next 10-15 years. Then I may switch to a 350SDL since that is when they will become affordable.

leathermang · #9 04-28-2003, 06:02 PM

TxBill will faint when he sees that estimate for shipping a transmission.... LOL

mplafleur · #10 04-28-2003, 09:33 PM

Well, I've been told by others that they have repaired blocks like this (weld a plate over the hole). But all is a guess until I get the motor out.

Was that shipping quote high or low? My guess is that it was to placed on a loaded truck.

P.E.Haiges · #11 04-28-2003, 10:36 PM

Have you checked UPS shipping cost? They ship 150 pounds now. You can goto www.UPS.com and calculate the shipping cost.

P E H

leathermang · #12 04-28-2003, 11:22 PM

My impression is that it was way high.... (shipping cost )

Depending on what the hole looks like I would think about doing a cold fix.... depends on how big and where.... but I would not consider welding/brazing myself... too much work for the percentage chance of it doing a good job long term...

mplafleur · #13 04-28-2003, 11:54 PM

You mean like bolting on a plate? Sounds easier to me. On the plus side. If I ever feel it necessary to look inside the crankcase, I could remove the starter, unbolt the plate and look in.

Clean up the hole, smooth the surface and bolt on a plate with the MB/Loctite sealant.

leathermang · #14 04-29-2003, 09:56 AM

Yes,, I am serious about that... but I would take the time to have a really close fit with a thick plate... and an overlap which would allow offsetting the bolt holes spread out as much as possible...

I would make a way to make a mold of the surface you have to match... then careful grinding or EDM to get within one one thousandths of the surface you need to fit up to..... should be close enough that aviation gasket cement is all you need to seal it....

And of course you would want to treat it like a wheel or head... with incremental and star pattern tightening.. and locktight on the threads...

The best situation would be , if you have it reachable... to make a plate matching on the side for the bolts to screw into.... a yoke.. that would really support the area...

I have done this on Cast Iron Kohler engines with no ill effect...

mplafleur · #15 04-29-2003, 11:35 AM

How about a matching plate on the inside? I might be able to have someone mill a flat surface on the outside. In fact, we could mill the hole to a rectangle with a radius in the corners.

I would need some silk thread for the aviation gasket cement.

I kind of like this idea.

P.S.
German Transmissions is in Cummings, just north of Atlanta.