76 300D front end rebuild

[joshhol]

Also considering rebuilding the rear end and driveshaft parts too.

I've done some light searching but haven't seen much related to the 115 and complete front end rebuilds. Can anyone point me to a thread I'm not seeing?

This is just a general exploratory post, since I'm not quite ready to do this job. How difficult will this be? The last thing I just got done was a cylinder head removal and replacement on my M117. It seems to have come out alright. That was a bear of a job though, working for 3 months after work and on weekends.

The worrysome part of the next project is spring removal and then suspending the engine while the sub-frame is out. I know there is much to read in the archives on spring removal, so I'll defer to that.

Thanks for the feedback. All is welcome

[300SDog]

Josh, if it was me i'd start with rubber suspension mounts where unibody frame meets the metal and work my way out, hitting tie-rods and sway bar next and finally ending up at A-frames and balljoints, with Bilsteins added somewhere along the line at probable cost of less than $500 in total parts applied to all four corners.

Clearly a Summer long project if you do it yourself and pace yourself slowly so the car never gets tied up for more than one afternoon at a time. Its nothing like pulling a cylinder head that can take the car off the road for at least 2 weeks with machine shop, parts, etc.... On the balljoint 115 suspension, you can brake down the tasks and accomplish one byte at a time.

And its probably worth the effort too at restoring the notso common Vintage 115/300D. My honest opinion is the 114/115 will run circles around the 123 with respect to handling, having owned both. Its mostly on account of the feeble 123 steering box although the 114/115 is said to be 500 lbs lighter in weight too. And in my opinion, its just a better Benz in spite of floppy seats and rust prone design that plagued the 115 era.

[joshhol]

Thanks DieselDog, that's a better way to do it.

I agree with you. The 115 just feels better than the 123 among other aspects of its superiority in my opinion. The 123 being a great car no doubt about it, but there is a plastisity to it as in the 116.
The 114/115 is the bridge between the 108 and the 123/116.
So, it has more old world quality and fastidiousness in its construction IMO.

[notlostmaybe]

the w115 is not a unibody car. it has front and rear subframes. all the rubber with the exception of 1 piece (passenger front sway bar) is easy to change out. the front has upper and lower ball joints that can be removed and replaced with a
ball joint press from harbor freight, some scrap metal and a big hammer.
flex joints are easy as is the drive shaft bushing. the drivers side motor mount is a pita. the rear subframe i have'nt had to work on.

it handles so well because of the double a-arms and ball joints. it is the same suspension as the sl (w107). it doesn't have that mcpearson strut type suspension of the w123.

the w115 is a better car.

don

[R Leo]

I have both 115 and 123s and, IMHO, the 115 is simply a better overall car than the 123.

More room, less trinkets = better value.

[joshhol]

This is encouraging.

so the hardest part will be pulling the springs?

[300SDog]

Notso, dunno how you define "unibody" but independent body with integral welded frame of its own, mounted on sub-frame wishbones where suspension components bolt onto the mix suits me fine..... same design as earlier Pontoon "bath-tub" cars which are recognized as the first unibody car that MB ever built. Um, maybe you dont recognize door posts, roof pillars and undercarriage longitudinal beams as frame built into the body.

Otherwise, i agree with you that suspension work is NOT beyond the scope of typical DIY endeavors.... er, with correct tools that should probably include small propane torch, short handled sledge hammer, ball-joint separator, 1/2" drive full length break bar, hollow pipe for leverage, can of PB-Blaster and of course a couple of jackstands and cheap hydraulic lever jack plus spring compressor clamps to access rear shocks. Lotsa muscle work, wrastling with suspensions. And Josh, you'd probably want to throw more than one professional wheel allignment into the mix as work progresses, over say 5 weekends spaced at snail's pace over couple of months that keeps the rest of your life in tact. It once took me an entire afternoon just to turn one rear subframe bolt on my 280/8 long time ago...... but working on the car still provides the finest escape I've ever known from the mundane world. Gotta love the sense of accomplishment it provides.