Vac pods or whatever behind the dash, I need part numbers...
 

Anyone know what the part numbers are for those lil things that direct the air vents in my SD? I can't find anything online and I need to finish my AC stuff up soon...



:confused: :confused: :confused:

Try this.
www.autoluxmbz.com/index.html

I got the SD all torn apart for that exact same situation.

It appears that you can rebuild the single diaphragm elements by installing the replacement diaphragms from AutoLux. But, the large section of the dual diaphragm element should not be rebuilt using their product because the travel will be limited due to the nature of the revised design.

I've recently purchased two new dual diaphragm units.......one for the main flaps and one for the defroster flaps. The remainder are OK. The p/n will vary depending on whether you have an early or late version. In my case, as usual, the p/n specified does not match the hardware on the vehicle.

I'll get them in a couple of days.........we'll see if they work.:o

I believe this - 0008000478 to be the part number for those pods. At least what I found after scouring pages upon pages of part numbers.

Which number pods are the ones that typically go bad? My blower shoots ~80-85% of the airflow to the windshield. :rolleyes:

Well, I've got the experience of one vehicle to tell you which one's typically go bad.;)

In this case, the dual diaphragms for the defrost and the main flap both went bad. You cannot tell anything from the fact that you only have defrost. One bad diaphragm in the system will kill it, if that line is open. When it's leaking, you only get defrost.

Look at BUY PARTS on the top of this web site.
Look under "Vacuum Element"
They don't have them listed under heating.
I won't try to rebuild one of these it takes 4 hands with screwdrivers in each hand to open one up. The plastic is very brittle and tend to break. If you go to all the trouble to take apart a dash do it right.

Nah.....it takes two hands with two screwdrivers and some care. I opened up both of these bad boys in less than 5 minutes. The plastic is strong as hell and is not about to break.

Nothing wrong with rebuilding the single diaphragm units or the small section of the dual diaphragm units.

BTW, you don't take the dash apart on a W126........

I did search around on Fastlane to no avail. Hence my second thread regarding this matter, no one in the other section wanted to help...

Keep me posted on them, I don't mind shelling out the ~$20/ea if it makes it easier and more trouble free down the line.

Do yourself a favor Brian and totally remove the damper door in the center vent damper. Plug the vacuum line to the center pod. Use the slide to shut off the vent as needed.

Isn't there something you can do to make the A/C recirculate 100% instead of 80%?

I picked the vac pod setup from a low mile 560 today (where my motor is coming from for the 420) as I thought it would work. :o Oh well, just a good extra part for my SDL, the 420 has a new PBU and pod setup. :)

Well......the big duals are $50.00 each.:eek:

The diaphragms for the singles are $5.50 each........:cool:

Your choice............

I don't think either choice is better than the other. I'd rebuild the singles in a heartbeat if that was my problem. Unfortunately not.

If you have a Mityvac, you need to test each circuit to find your problem units. Be careful......as some circuits feed two elements via a "T". I almost condemned my dash flap element (a real PITA to remove) when the problem was a T that went to the main flap.

I was reading about that. You then get heat from the center vents, correct?

How is it possible to get anywhere near the center vent damper? It appears to be buried way back behind the CCU. I've got the CCU removed, but, it doesn't look good for disconnecting the pod from the damper door as best as I can tell.

I thought there were only 7 of them. :confused:

Brian - I was thinking you had the dash off. You are right - it is impossible to get to the damper door with it in place.

All the vacuum elements are listed in Fast Lane

PART NUMBER SEARCH RESULTS WITH PRICES

Vehicle 1985 Mercedes Benz 300SD
Part: Vacuum Element


PART NUMBER SEARCH RESULTS WITH PRICES

Vehicle 1985 Mercedes Benz 300SD
Part: Vacuum Element

Note: Defroster Flap
Located @ heater case.



Product Brand Availability Retail Our Price

O4010-32455 Vacuum Element Behr IN STOCK $76.00 $56.97

There's six of them:

Defrost
Legroom
center nozzle
scoop air
main flap/recirc (2)

Thanks.................:mad:

If I ever need to replace the pod for those center vents, I'll probably have to remove the dash..........it's really buried and the mounting hardware is behind it. FSM says it's doable, but it would have to be someone with very tiny hands.

This is what I thought was bad...



[IMG]http://www.***************/secure/PartImages/0008000478.jpg[/IMG]

What's that?

Bet it's one of those '85 unique parts.............:(

Thinking about it again.

Can I bypass the vacuum switch and run full vacuum to the center vent pod all the time??

Sits to the right of the radio behind the dash. Where in the hell do those pods go? :confused:

Well, if you pull the glove box and the CCU and radio........you'll find five of them. The legroom element is down low somewhere......still need to sort that out.

Hrm... I'll be.

How's the access from that glovebox area?

It's your only access........not all that bad for three of the five. #4 (the center vents) will be nearly impossible.

Well I can only hope that center pod isn't bad.

Hope has nothing to do with it. Just pop the vacuum line and connect the Mityvac to the pod. That's easy to do. Then you'll know.

That pod is directly behind the CCU toward the right side of the opening.

Where can I score one of those "Mityvacs" :confused:

Looks like a smart tool! I need to order one. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ilies/idea.gif

I don't see how you can possibly fix the climate control system without one??:confused:

By spending piles of cash. :D

.......well........yes.......that's one way to do it........:o ............:mad:

Been there, got the t-shirt.:D

Most of the pods are pretty easy to access just by removing the passenger knee panel and glove box. However, the center pod is quite the PIA. For help with that one, go to post #9 here: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=12207&highlight=center+pod
Better to do it now while it is still "cool" in Texas.;)

Sam, supposedly the rebuild of the larger dual pods is not adviseable due to the fact that the diaphragm travel will be restricted. In looking at the replacement diaphragm, it's clear that the replacement is missing a fold of rubber that is present on the factory diaphragm. I'm fairly sure that the travel must be reduced with this diaphragm. Dave Meimann also confirms the same thing with these diaphragms.

Did you notice any travel reduction when you rebuilt the duals? The small section of the duals is fine......it's the larger rear section, with the plastic cap, that is the issue.

Hey Hitman
The part you are showing is a vacuum change over valve. If I remember right there are about 5 of these. I had them in both my 84's. They are control valves that operate the vacuum pods. The only time mine went out is when they were flooded with oil (bad shut off valve). Fast lane has these to. You need to look under (Body Mechanical & Trim ) I told Phil that these parts are listed in the wrong section. He said he could not make changes in the setup.

The only dual, if I recall correctly, was one of the pods for the fresh/recirc (there are two). Since mine was functioning properly, that was one I did not replace. However, the pods, even for this, looked identical and I'm not sure what the problem might have been with a different year/model. I have not dealt with a W123 so I am unsure if there might be a difference with their pods.

(When I talked to the guy at autoluxmb, he seemed to be pretty straight-forward and helpful so I don't think he would steer anyone wrong for a $5 pod diaphram.)

There are three duals on the W126.......one for the defrost, and the pair for the fresh/recirc.

Yes, he's very helpful, but, when confronted with the issue on the larger pods, he immediately agreed and suggested that he had no rubber diaphragms that were of a greater length. So, I have the feeling that he knows the replacement for the larger pod is not the best.:o

The defrost was the other pod that I did not deal with. Hmmm......well, I guess I was fortunate in that the ones that needed a different diaphragm did not give me trouble.

I will say that the duals are about the easiest ones to access if they need to be changed later.

Is the diaphragm different for just one side of the dual pods?

Yes, one side takes the standard replacement diaphragm......the same as found on the singles.

The larger side.......close to the actuating rod.......has a diaphragm that cannot be removed. You have to cut most of the old one out and the replacement sits on top of the old one. This cuts down on the available travel because the replacement has less rubber to fit in the same space.

Definitely, the three duals are very easy to R & R. But, due to the aforementioned issues.........and I've purchased all the diaphragms from Autolux for this little escapade........I've reversed course and bought two new duals.

Not having a working system before, I could not tell if there was a difference in performance. Besides, I have some other issues.

The replacement dual pods are kind of pricey, aren't they?

They are close to $50. each.........but.......if the replacement won't open the doors fully............:o

You might find salvage ones that could be checked for functionality.

I wonder what the drawbacks in operation are..... a little less defrost air on this car might not be too bad. However, I'm thinking the fresh/recirc could be a problem if the door did not close all of the way.

Hmmm.......I wonder if the guy at autoluxmb would be interested in carrying the long travel diaphragms. I guess it would depend on who does the manufacturing and the costs to set it up. It might be worth a try to see if he would look into this.;)

It's difficult to explain, but, you cannot properly rebuild the large end of the dual diaphragm because you cannot get the diaphragm out of the unit. You have to cut most of the existing diaphragm away and add a new diaphragm and plastic piece on top of the existing piece. So, the new diaphragm must be shorter to fit in the same space. The result is reduced travel.

It would not be possible to provide a proper diaphragm for the duals, unless you can figure out how to completely disassemble one of them. After spending two hours with one..........I cannot determine how they put the whole thing together without a machine. It has a spring, a diaphragm, two plastic ends, and a brass rod and none of it will disassemble.

Ohhhhhh! :o

Yeah, I couldn't recognize it because it looks 5X larger than actual.

There are six of them on a bracket that sits just to the right of the radio/CCU. You access them by pulling out the panel on the side of the tunnel.

This is the place where you begin all the troubleshooting. You disconnect the vaccum output from each of these solenoids and apply the Mityvac. The one's that leak are your culprits.

But, be careful.......some of them feed two pods.......and you can fool yourself into thinking one of them is bad........when it's actually OK.