for those who might be following this thread, I got the expansion valve out in about an hour..

i gingerly moved things around until i could get a 10mm socket with a quarter inch ratchet...that was for the nut.

BTW, i always had a magnet on an exptender to grab the nut and screws as they were being taken out.

i used a 3m 3/8" socket and ratchet to get those hex screws out..

for what it is worth, my expansion valve does not have any fragments or gunk in it.... i will now flush the evaporator.

while my compressor did lock up at the pulley and it did die before that... i am not sure if it ever froze and threw metal fragments.... with all this labor, better to be safe with a 28 dollar valve and 15 dollars of flushing material....

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1989 300ce 129k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines). (Gone)

1997 s320 154k (what a ride). Sold with 179k miles. Replaced with Hyundai Equus

1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


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