I made it home to San Diego from New England last week with my balky starter still attached to my 1982 300SD. Each morning on the 6 day trip, I had to rap the solenoid with a hammer/stick combo to get it to start, then I just ran the engine all day. I turned it off only after I'd checked into my motel. Inconvenient, to say the least, though the engine never missed a beat all day. In fact, it rolled past 350,000 miles as I cruised past Tucumcari, NM.
When I got home I went to my local PepBoys and traded in the 11-month old Bosch starter/solenoid for another one, even though I didn't have the receipt handy. Thank goodness for computerized sales records! None of the troubles I was expecting materialized... Then I R&R'd it:

1.Remove (+) battery cable.
2.Place car on lift.
3.Turn wheels all the way to the left.
4.Remove Steering Damper bolt (Passenger side).
4a. Loosen Steering Damper bolt (Driver's side).
5.Push Steering Damper forward.
6.Remove the 4 Starter Front Bracket Bolts (10mm).
7.Remove starter solenoid battery cables (17mm).
8.Remove wire to solenoid (Phillips-head screwdriver).
9.Remove Lower Starter Bolt (10mm Allen socket).
From front to rear the wrench setup is:
10mm Allen,(3/8"), wobbly(1/2"to 3/8),
2 extenders (1/2"), 1/2" socket wrench
for a TOTAL LENGTH of 25" for lower bolt
and 28" for upper bolt. (See Photos)
10.Remove Upper Starter Bolt.
11.Detach the starter and flip it forward.
12.Carefully slide it down and out as shown in photo.
13 Installation is the reverse.

It only took 40 minutes to remove and 25 minutes to install! The wobbly is important just behind the Allen socket for maximum removal torque/angle.
Good luck with your R&R!!
SteveKaa
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1982 300SD 351k miles

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Here's the final two photos.

SteveKaa
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1982 300SD 351k miles

H-m-m-m-m, I'm not sure why the final two photos won't attach. Oh well, I'll send them along tomorrow. The important thing is that the starter/solenoid CAN be removed from the underside of a 126 body with a diesel engine, but the Steering Damper must be moved partially out of the way, first, (it's still a very tight squeeze) and I have the photos to prove it! Sure beats taking the exhaust downpipe off, and removing it from the top, like they tell you at PepBoys...
SteveKaa
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1982 300SD 351k miles

I was having a few starting issues so when I did my intake manifold/turbo swap I replaced mine from the top.

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

Here are the last two photos. A picture is worth a thousand words when working on a Mercedes...

SteveKaa
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1982 300SD 351k miles

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Everything looks like its all there!

Once you learn the trick about turning the wheels all the way to the left and the steering dampner, it is really not a bad job.

One question: In step #6 you mentioned loosening 4 front bracket bolts (10mm) I am not sure what you are talking about. Where is this bracket and what is it attached to?

__________________
Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

SD_Blue,
The bracket is on front of the starter, and obviously is for safety, (in the unlikely case both of your rear starter bolts fall out!). It secures the starter to the engine block and prevents it from sliding forward, while taking some of the weight of the starter/solenoid off the two rear bolts. See the photos. You can see the 4 bolts, two in the block and two on the starter.
SteveKaa
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1982 300SD 351k miles

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I recently did this job from the top, with the manifolds off. It still took about 1 hour.

I was using only about 8" of extension and had almost no capability of turning the ratchet. The 25" is definitely the way to go. However, working on jackstands is not an easy endeavor with such an extension.

I don't see how you could do #8 from underneath the vehicle. That Phillips screw took almost all the effort I could muster from on top. I almost had to resort to an impact driver to crack it loose. I cannot imagine being successful from underneath. Probably would have to drop the starter with the wire attached and deal with it under the vehicle.

When I got a spare from a boneyard (that works no less! for $8)... boy what a chore it was! Never crossed my mind to drop part of the suspension... good post!

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

Brian,
It wasn't difficult to remove the solenoid Phillips head screw. Remember, the starter had only been on the car for 11 months. Second, I live in sunny San Diego and one look at where you live, and I'd have to agree with you, you would have a tough time! Anyhow, I'd spray the offending screw first with some kind of penetrant, (WD-40), while I did the other stuff. Last August when I removed the original starter, I removed the exhaust downpipe, (As you can tell from the previous photo), before installing the starter. What a *****! Those exhaust bolts were rusted closed, and it took hours of gentle coaxing and WD-40 to remove them without damage. Same with the two bracket bolts in the engine. But the solenoid screw was not hard, with WD-40 first. BUT, I can see how it could really be tough to remove with winters that have salty roads, snow and slush...
SteveKaa
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1982 300SD 351k miles

Exactly!
I have had a reoccurring problem of the starter bolts backing out. That bracket is completely missing on mine, which might explain why. That is a lot of weight to be suspended by only two bolts. There have been several mechanic shortcuts I have had to correct on this car and this one adds to the list. May have to see what the dealer prices one for since most of the salvage yards here have pulled the engines.

Thanks for the photos!

__________________
Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

SD Blue,
Happy to help you figure it out! MB usually overbuilds everything anyway(compared to American cars) with multiple backups on every major engine piece and part, but the starter bracket just seems like a REALLY good idea to me. The starter/solenoid combo is a heavy-duty combo, with the weight to match. Good luck on sourcing a new one. Let me know what the dealer charges for one. Probably a lot! But, hey, it's a 'must-have' piece...
SteveKaa
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1982 300SD 351k miles

The vehicle was originally from Florida, but, I'd be willing to bet that this was the factory starter on there. I could not budge the two large cap screws using every ounce of force I could muster on a 1/2" ratchet. I had to resort to an extension pipe, and, when they broke loose, it sounded like they snapped off.

The Phillips screw was similar. Just tight as hell.

Naturally, I had the exhaust disconnected. Without the capability to swing the exhaust pipe, the job could not have been successful using the 8" extensions.

Just a ***** of a job all the way around, with the manifolds and exhaust in place. I don't wish it on anybody.

Brian,
Now you can see why I suffered thru almost a year of that balky starter, and only replaced it when it just completely failed. I did NOT want to repeat my all-day, knuckle-busting, nail-biting, greasy-and-sweaty experience like last summer of replacing it again from the top, what with all the rusty bolts, screws, tight tolerances, tight fitting parts, parts that had to be partially bolted in first, before I could bolt on another part, etc. It was one BAD experience for me. So, when that 11 month old starter acted up on my recent trip to New England, I wanted to believe it was something else, ANYTHING else BUT the starter. Now that I've learned the proper way to do it from underneath, (I have access to full frame lifts), I happier than a pig in s***! Only now, this starter may last me umpteen more years before I have to do it again. Just when I get good at something...
SteveKaa
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1982 300SD 351k miles

I hear you. My starter was fine. But, I have no idea of it's age. If I had to guess, I might say it was the original starter.

So, I bit the bullet and bought a Bosch rebuild for $140.

I damn well better last longer than one year or I'm going to be smoking

I need to build some reliability into the SD because I take it on a 500 mile trip at a moment's notice.