Best repair manual for 1985 300td?

[tdhawk]

Hello,

I'm new to both diesels and mercedes, and brand new to this forum (my first). So, my first question - is "vintage" the right place for '85 300td discussions?

Second, what is the best repair manual out there for a fairly proficient home garage mechanic. I'll certainly go to a shop for anything that requires presses for bearings and the like, but am willing to attempt whatever I can do without too many specialty tools. I just did the valve adjustment, and it seems to be running better. They were all too tight to get the feeler gauges through. Now, I have a rattling marble type sound that seems to be coming from the AC compressor that stops when the compressor cycles on (heat and air do work fine). Reading in various forums leads me to think the first thing to do is see if tightening the drive belt to the compressor quiets things down. It does seem pretty loose.

This has led me to the inescapable conclusion that at least in regards to adjusting drive belts, my Haynes manual leaves much to be desired. Neither does it seem to have anything to say about my cruise control (not working, but that's for a rainy day and when I don't think I have enough frustration in my life)

Are there better repair manuals that are fairly easy to come by?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[KCM]

Best repair manual (Disk 2): Untitled Document

Probably the diesel forum would be the best for the diesel W123, but I guess it is vintage as well.

On the compressor, check for any loose bolts on the mounting. In my experience, the belt needs to be fairly tight on those cars, though the belt noise only happens when the compressor engages.

Cruise control problems are usually related to the cruise control amplifier box, the electronic brain box, located under the dash on the driver's side. It is a big silver box with a larger plug-in connector. If you do a thread search for this, you'll find lots of info. If the problem is in the box, either replacement, professional repair, or do-it-yourself repair (if your a gambler) is needed.

[tdhawk]

Thanks KCM,

I did find a good peachparts wiki on adjusting the A/C compressor drive belt.