PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

waybomb · #12 05-14-2007, 10:08 PM

All back together.

Started with the driveshaft weldment at the middle spline snapping. Found the rear end making noise. Found another pumpkin. When taking everything apart, found all 4 CV Homokinetic joints shot. Just touching them cracked them through - oil poured out.

Pull evrything out. Found one of the spider gears snapped in half. That's what started this entire ordeal.

Ordered 2 new homekinetic joint covers and 4 boots. Cut the inner homokinetic joint covers off. Discover the homokinetic joint covers are different, outer and inner. Also discover inner homokinteic covers are no longer available!

Aha - but I have the undamaged half half-shafts from the junkyard dif. So, my kid takes it to M-tec, and turns down the homokinetic joint cover seams to seperate them, so he can TIG weld them on the original shafts from the car.

The kid does good - takes them to work, disassembles completely. The balls and the ball races are in perfect shape after 25 years and over 210,000 miles. Never saw the inside of one of these joints. Assembles everything, and TIG welds the homokinetic covers together. Fills everything with new special grease that came with the boots.

He gets it all put together, and runs like a champ.

That night, he visits his girlfriend. One of her girlfriends is there, in the driveway, with her bigass F truck. Kid parks the car, gets out, the girl in the truck throws it into reverse, and puts the bumper through the grill, bends the condenser fan into the condenser into the radiator, cracking open the radiator so it leaks pretty good.

AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could kill. Well, not really, but her insurance company - STATE FARM, is really pissin me off now. My insurance says I'll have to take the girl and her parents to small claims if I want to settle this. I am hoping my kid can convince her parents this is not the way to do things.

Anyway, we pulled everything back towards the front of the car. Two big bottles of bars leaks gets the radiator sealed until I ccn get this settled. It is seperated at the top seam.

I went on eBay - new Behr radiator, new condenser, new condenser fan, and new grill about 500 bucks. Didn't buy anything yet. Put some feelers out for used stuff. And I have to straighten out the body metal that the upper radiator clips into. The hood opens and closes fine, but this body piece is bent in the middle. I'll have to wait for the girl and her parents reaction to taking responsibility for wrecking my beast.

Anyway - that's my story of my 25 year old diesel that I now have a new passion for keeping it running for another 25 years.