Ah, good stuff. I looked and a few of the vac lines around it were getting decently weather cracked from age, so I will be replacing those here to keep it from making the trans act up.

Yep, had to do the same thing on the SDL. All of the rubber lines into and out of the transducer are shot. You need to remove the transducer to get the two lines off the bottom of it. Don't mix them up. :eek:

Brian, perhaps another description such as "faint, high pitched tapping/crackling" ? It stops as soon as I ease back on the pedal. Before I had removed the egr valve, etc., I was driving it with the vacumn line to the egr valve plugged (the valve was apparently sticking and I would get clouds of black smoke when flooring the kickdown switch - advice from this forum gave me that solution - my local MB service advisor was not very helpful on this at all) . After I removed the valve, I wondered if the valve was always open, as it did not move freely (was it supposed to close upon acceleration?). So, right after I successfully had your copper disc & sealant installed (no leaks), and then replaced it with the soldered stainless part, I noticed this sound when accelerating with either part. So is it possible that completely removing the valve system alters the fuel ignition somehow, causing this? Everything I have read on this forum reassures me that the egr system is an add-on & the engine should function better without it? The stainless plate I soldered is 16 gauge, and much more substantial than your thin copper disc I had hammered to fit. But, since this presumably altered the exhaust gas flow somehow, the only thing I can imagine is this blocking plate causing it. I guess the sound reminds me of a pinging sound from gas engines which I don't remember the cause. I am not knowledgeable about engine mechanical details.

I got my kit today and did the install per the supplied directions.
Simple process, what I did note was that the round copper plate did not actually cover the outside diameter of my exhaust. Just enough to bend/forum over the beveled end of the exhaust opening. After putting on my clamp there is an area of about 5/16 of an inch
that this clamp does not cover, the only thing sealing it well be the cooper sealant which was supplied in the kit, and my worry is it has a temp rating of 700 degree. Well this sealant hold up?

Thanks BC for your work

The plate is not designed to go around onto the outside diameter. This would be just too much of a forming operation. It simply rests on the inside of the clamp and, when the clamp is tightened, it can't go anywhere. The sealant is definitely necessary to provide a leakproof joint. The sealant is good to 700°F. and it is very unlikely that the exhaust pipe will ever reach this temperature. Remember, it is out of the normal exhaust flow and would need a bit of time to get to this temperature if the manifold did happen to heat up above this temperature. So far, it has held up for the past year on the SDL. Only time will tell. ;)

Worst case: You pull the copper plate and apply some fresh sealant at some point down the road.

Just an update to my vacuum removal quest:

Today I plugged up ALL the vacuum lines going to the two vacuum devices that lead to the EGR and ARV (the ones that hadn't already been removed for the EGR and ARV) and took a test drive.

Everything felt fine. Shifts were completely normal...nothing different. So, it looks like if this keeps up for a couple days, I'll completely remove those two vacuum devices in front of the coolant expansion tank and all the associated wiring and vacuum hoses.

I haven't yet tracked down a propane unit (aside from my grill) to heat that copper disc... I did bypass that ARV and EGR about, heck... two weeks ago. Just plugged them with vac parts from the local auto parts store.

Any clue as to where the other lines by the coolant tank run to?

If you trace back the other lines, they make their way back to the area by the blue hockey puck on top of the driver's side wheel well.

It's all those that I plugged. That's gonna end up being quite a bit of hosing and electrical line that I'll remove when/if I get to do it. Will just make the engine bay look that much neater. :cool:

Chris
'85 300SD

Don't kill yourself trying to heat it. You can probably form it without heating it. Just will take a little longer and you will need to hammer it slightly more. It's still copper, which takes very well to a proper ball-peen hammer. ;)

cheaper options?
 

I just got a 240D. Call me cheap, but has anyone found a cheaper way to block the exhaust and intake ports after removing the egr? I already bought and installed two kits (very satisfied, btw) for my two other cars, but I'd rather spend $28 on some brake pads or something, plus not have to wait for the "next batch" of the kits.

For example, instead of the copper disk method, or the silver soldering method, what if I just used a hacksaw/sawzaw to cut off the corrugated part, and blocked it up with normal solder (left over from some copper pipe work) any a suitably sized piece of steel?

On the intake part, what if I found a piece of steel roughly the same size as the opening, drilled holes, and screwed it on?

Any comments you have would be much appreciated.

Ah yes, it is pretty malleable. :D Maybe I'll go play today...

The only issue with typical lead based solder will be the melting temperature. IIRC, it's about 600°F. You will probably be OK with this, but, you might use the silver solder which melts at a higher temperature, just to be sure.

The intake plate will work fine, but the side that sits on the manifold must be flat to .002" or so, or the plate will leak. Any old piece of steel isn't going to cut it.

And, you are correct. The "next batch" of kits won't be until 2006. :eek:

If you want to be cheap about it, just plug the vacuum line and you'll get the same non-working EGR.

Thanks
David

Are these still avalable?

Count me in also...
 

I can use one to clean up the engine compartment on my Son's 1980 300D ! The 1980 240D luckily does not even have an EGR !

A FORUM E-mail to you Brian is what you need?... Done !

Sam