Larry,
I know its the last thing on your mind, but at your convenience if you could explain how & where the a/c condensation water drains out of the car I'd appreciate it.

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87 300e (white/black; amg body kit)
88 300ce (red/cream; amg body kit)
93 300ce cabrio (white/blue/blue top)
93 300ce cabrio (black/grey/black top)
98 ml 320 (totaled @ 137,000 miles)
99 clk320 (black/grey/black top)

Been there, done that, took pictures........Laryy, I used s short Phillips screwdriver and didn't have any problems. You just have to have good dexterity and a mirror.
floor vents not functioning/opening, HVAC 86' 300E W124

Cap'n,

Well I got those screws, replaced both pods, the one on top of the cover and the one that you have to pull the heater core to replace. It is inside the box, in front of the heater core. I think it is for the center vents.

I tried every phillips screwdriver I own and on my car the metal that sticks rearward from the base of the windshield is in the way. I could not manage a stubby from behind. I got a screwdriver with a wobble joint on the end and loosened some things to move the box rearward ever so slightly and that did the trick.

Now my worries turn toward getting the new heater core in and sealed. The last thing I want is a leak. There are plenty of things that can go wrong and require taking it apart again, but that is one of my worst worries.

So, if I can get the heater core back in and sealed and the front fresh air pods replaced, then I can start going back together with it.

I'm afraid if I were doing this one in a shop being paid flat rate, I would be looking at a thin paycheck for the week.

If I were only replacing the pods that were bad, I would probably almost be done though, the heater core part has really added a lot of time.

I will look for the condensation drain, but I think it is sort of an accordian looking tube on the right side of the HVAC box. There might be another on the other side.

I only worked about 2.5 hours this evening. After a day of stressful work, that's about all the energy I have left before coming in and winding down for the evening. If all goes well, I should be done this weekend, maybe sooner if I were to really get lucky. I'm not in a hurry. I just want to get everything back together correctly so I don't have to take anything back apart.

Have a great day,

BTW, I wonder what sealant if any I should use on the heater pipe o-rings? I expect that they are put in place dry. There is a small amount of what looks like plumbers putty that is in the hardware package that came with the heater core.

Thanks,

Larry,

There are two condensate drains on the HVAC box; one each on the driver and passenger side. They come straight down out the bottom of the box and go down through the transmission tunnel. I think the drains are pretty much in the rearmost corners of the box.

As condensate drains Daimler uses insulated foam tubes with an internal spring to hold the shape. They probably didn't leak, but if you so much as touch them they turn into dust. Are you familiar with the disintegrating foam piece on the 123 air sampler tube? I think it's the same supplier

I replaced mine while the HVAC box was out. Just purchased $1 worth of rubber hose at Lowes. I *think* 3/4 inch (about 5/8 ID) was the correct size. It's a good press fit onto the flanges of the box; I added some zip ties for a bit more security.

Given that you've rocked the HVAC box out of position to reach those infamous screws, I think you should inspect the drains. It's quite possible they've torn or dislodged.

I've got a picture of the drain locations with the box out of my 124; I'll go dig around the basement of my computer to see if I can find it.

- JimY

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Jim,

Thanks for bringing this up. If you had not, I would certainly have put it back together with no thouhgts about the drains.

The good news is that if you fold back the carpeted sides of the console, I'm pretty sure that they would be accessible.

I will inspect and see to them.

Have a great day,

Larry

You are going great I am hooked on your progress and really looking forward to the next instalment.

All the best

NormanB

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NormanB
230 TE (W124) 1989 with 153,000 miles on the clock - hoping for at least another 100K

Well Norm, here it is.

I got the last of the pods in. These are the fresh air recirc ones in front of the heater core. I then got the heater core back in. It was really tough getting it lined up properly so all three pipes would fit well enough to start the bolts. It was also kind of tedious getting all the rubber stripping in place.

I had taken lots of stuff loose to get at the heater core including the cross brace, which I really didn't need to loosen and some stuff to the left of the HVAC box in order to gain access to the heater pipe clips. They had to be loosened in order to move the three pipes enough to get the heater core out.

Jim Yuhn said it would be easier to just pull the HVAC box and he might have been right except I just don't want to disturb my perfectly tight evaporator. I THINK that I could have pulled the box and even replaced the evaporator in the same amount of time, not counting r/d replacement, evac and recharge. Also my R12 recovery machine is not working so I would have had to break the law and vented it. I just won't do that.

The left side of my center vent had come apart, so I managed to get all the pieces in place. Now I have to decide whether to try and put on the instrument panel with the vent in place, or try to put the vent in the instrument panel first.

Tomorrow night I will give everything a really good looking over and glue something on the defrost lever to make it work with one tab broken. That one is hard plastic. The tabs in all the others are pliable plastic and I didn't break any of those. Luckily this one is easy to get to. Even if it breaks later I can get pretty good access through the glove box opening.

I will get the defrost lever fixed up tomorrow and let the JB weld cure overnight. That means I will take a break tomorrow night except for that and if I find anything else I need to do before going back on with the panel.

If I ever have to do this over again, I'm going to cut a deal with Jim Yuhn. I'll do an overhaul on his engine if he'll do my instrument panel.

My squirrel cage fan blowing through the passenger compartment is helping a LOT. Having the car up on the lift with the door opening waste high is helping alot too. There are a lot of things that are just more convenient to do standing next to the car rather than crawling inside. I have not yet had to work while standing on my head.

End of episode,

larry:

It's much eaiser to put the dash panel back in with the vent out, then install later. I ended up pulling mine to get the dash panel completely installed.

I should be getting all the tiny bits to get mine finished tomorrow.

I certainly agree it's MUSH easier to work on the servos with the box out of the car. However, I would NOT vent a leak free R12 system in order to do so.

Removing the evaporator is just a matter of taking the box the rest of the way apart -- fiddlesome, but not difficult.

Mine had all the seams by the blower filled with silcone sealant, put there by the last idiot who worked on it because the screen on the evaporator didn't fit right and the box wouldn't close properly.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

psfred,

What about the wire to the center of the center vent? I did not see how it comes off the vent assembly. Is it easily removed or can I get the panel close and feed the vent mechanism through?

Thanks for your responses,

Larry -

I'd probably take that deal, but I don't drive enough to ever actually wear out a Benz motor.

On the center vent, you're referring to the wiring for the bulb that illuminates the dial thingy, yes? There's a little trapdoor on the back of dial mechanism, right where the wire enters, that can be flipped open to remove the wire, bulb, etc. Just tape the wiring and bulb to the hvac box while installing the dash.

I'll vote with Peter to install the vent later. I know how fiddly they can be, with all the small parts to move the louvers around. It's a piece of cake to install the lighting after the dash is in, there's plenty of slack in that particular wire.

- JimY

Larry, Larry, oh dear Larry!! After all that time and trouble you still won't be able to sleep, knowing that time-bomb evaporator is STILL in there!! You were SOOOOOO close! Kinda like getting the prom queen's drawers to her knees and still going home blue !!! Just kidd'in of course, but as I recall you said you added some R-12 at the beginning. Do you know why you had to add some?

Cap'n,

Yes I added a little refrigerant a few months ago when it was still very cool. One hot day in traffic it was not cooling like it should. I topped it off and ran it a few times in cool weather before the heat hit and then on a hot day I noticed that it wasn't freezing me to death as it had been. It was a hot day when I noticed it and I was in a traffic jam. In fact Suginami was with me and we were going to an Mshop get together. In retrospect I think the fresh air was most of the problem, not the refrigeration system itself.

At that time I assumed that it had lost freon and even started getting my R12 recovery machine ready and started shopping for a sniffer to verify the evaporator before I pulled it out.

That's when I found the fresh air problem. Since then I drove to Missourri and to Kansas in the heat and was actually reasonably comfortable both trips except for a section of stoplight to stoplight in 96 degree heat.

Once I put the gauges on, I could tell that it had not leaked any since charging early in the year. When I charged I put in UV dye. I searched exhuastively for signs of dye and found absolutely none. I have had the car seven years and have never had to add refrigerant. I expect (and sure do hope) that it was just the normal ounce per year or so that most systems exhibit.

I just realized that I did not shine my black light in on the evaporator while I could see it. I did look it over pretty good visually though and it was amazingly clean. Of course, you can't see that much of it, even with the heater core out.

Time will tell. The system seems tight and certainly does not have a bad leak if it is leaking any at all, besides the miniscule seepage that most all systems exhibit. I was considering replacing it anyway until I read a post that somebody has put in three in the last several years. When I read that, I decided that if it ain't broke don't fix it.

I realize the track record of these evaps, but even with that track record, there is no guarantee that it will fail.

I got the instrument panel back on tonight, everything on the right side except the cover over the SRS controller and the connector. I got the instruemnt cluster in place and all the vents.

What I have left to do is the center from the switch panel down, everything underneath on the passenger side, the steering wheel and airbag. Once all that is in, I'll raise the car the rest of the way up and hook up the speedo cable, then lower it and fill the radiator.

I am mentally prepared for something to be wrong necessitating disassembly again. I have put all guns out of reach, and will hide the razor blades before I start it up.

Unless I run into problems I will probably start it up tomorrow night, Saturday at the latest.

Keep your fingers crossed for me,

You have my best wishes for success!!! Just curious, why did you remove the steering wheel? I just extended my column adjustment and the dash pad came right off.

At any rate, if MINE leaks any worse than it does now (and I know something down there is leaking due to the oily residue on the inside of the windshield and windows) I will try Cyroseal first. If that doesn't work then I'll either junk the car or just drive it in cold weather!! I don't think I want to go through that again.

Larry:

The evaporator always leaks at the crimp connections on the driver's side. Check that drain line for the dye if you want to verify no leak.

Mine was bad enough my GowMac leak detector would "see" freon at the dash vents for a minute or two with the fan on low after the car had been sitting a while. Green dye all over that side of the box.

Cap'n:

Goo on the windshield is usually coolant, not compressor oil.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!