Hi all
I finally replaced the vacuum pods on my 300d. It turned out to be a nightmare but not because the job was hard but due to other little things that went wrong. I think none of us should pay $1500 to have this work done, is very straitforward but tedious. It took me just over 1.5 hours to remove the dash, but replacing the pods took something like 5 hours because of my big hands and some prior work I had done to the blower assembly. I had taken out the blower assembly to get to the evaporator and clean it out to improve the airflow and it turns out that whem I put it back I slid the fan to the side a little bit and now the recirc flap was hitting it and not closing all the way so I had to go back and remove all those covers to fix that before I could continue. I also cracked one of the little white clips that hold the right side recirc pod to the recirc flap when the flap was hitting the fan so I had to get a tiny screw and washer to fix that or I would have to do another tear down to fix it later if I used the broken clip. It is a PITA because the clip is so hard to get to, is right up against the windshield but I got it done. Putting the dash together was simple too. It took me just over an hour.

Some tips to those who are planning on doing this job: Count all the dash bulbs that are burned out and buy them BEFORE starting the job so you dont have to stop and go looking for parts in the middle of the repair. Also if your odometer doesn't work this is the time to order the odometer gear and replace it. The gauge cluster has no screws holding it so make yourself a tool to pull it. You have to wiggle it out, sometimes it seems like you'll about to break it but it does pull out. When putting the cluster back is very easy to forget to connect something or to forget about a vac line so please test them one by one at the port next to the glove box. Get some bags and masking tape and label it by section so you dont confuse the screws or forget to put one back. There are two screws in back of the heater box and they are a PITA to remove, I removed them by feel but be careful not drop them inside the evap chamber or you'll never get them back. I know I'm probably repeating stuff from other members, especially Dave (GSXR) whose post was invaluable in doing this job but believe me none of these stuff becomes apparent till you actually do the job. Sorry for the long post folks but I just wanted to be as detailed as possible. If anybody has a particular question I'll be checking this post regularly just post them, the repair is still fresh in my mind.

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87 300d Turbo 241K with original #14 head (blue)
87 300d Turbo 198K will run great again someday (silver)
84 300sd sold ( buyer drove it to Paraguay )