Pt I

Last night I finally got around to replacing Whitey's slave cylinder. I had anticipated an ordeal in getting the old one out, since I figured it had been rusting into place since before I was born.

I had sprayed the flare nut down with PB Blaster two days before, and I attacked with a 12mm flare nut wrench. It broke loose easily and without stripping. I next turned my attention to the retaining bolts, with my trusty 13mm combination wrench, and a 14mm on the end of that for extra leverage. The lower bolt took a grunt, but the top bolt broke loose easily-that cylinder was installed after the car left the factory. I had the old slave cylinder out quickly, but noticed that a State Trooper was conducting a traffic stop in plain view of me. I was working in the parking lot of a transmission shop after hours, so technically I was trespassing. I was concerned, but continued working as though I was supposed to be there, thoughts of having to pay for a tow and a professional installation in the back of my mind.

I had a b*&ch of a time getting the new slave cylinder to mate with the flare nut, and managed to take a bath in brake fluid, including getting it in both eyes in the process. The flare nut finally started, and I got it in a few turns before turning my attention to the retaining bolts. All went in easily and were torqued to the "Seabee torque spec"-as tight as you can get it. I then got out from under the car, wiped the DOT3 out of my eyes, and walked over to the 7-11 for a bottle of brake fluid. I topped off the reservoir, and then, knowing of the Mercedes clutch system's ability to self-bleed, proceeded to pump the clutch pedal up until it started working. After cleaning up the spill I made, I took a short test drive to confirm that all was well. It was.

Pt II

The following morning, I got up early and got ready for my weekend drill duty. I loaded my stuff into Old Yeller and drove the 41 miles to the reserve center in about 40 minutes. Old Yeller is not much of an "around town" car, since the automatic transmission is bloody harsh until it warms up, and takes about four miles to do so. The 60 or so additional horsepower from the turbo 5-cylinder aren't really needed in city driving, but on the highway Old Yeller really shines. I rocketed up the 395 freeway at speeds Whitey couldn't manage unless dropped off a cliff. I arrived at the reserve center and had a good day of Weekend Warrior fun. The return trip was similarly enjoyable.

Upon return, I changed into civilian attire and went back out to treat Old Yeller to a fill-up (26.9 mpg on the last tank) and a needed washing. I hosed the mud off the POS Suzuki in preparation for sale, and then took Whitey for some errands to see if the new slave cylinder was holding up. All was well.

Now I sit in front of the computer listening to Bach and wondering how I ever lived without diesel Benzes. Frequently, life can be a real biotch, but over the last 24 hours, it has been good.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Not all diesel Benz days go that way. I bet it does feel good when it does......
Working on the AC lately, not a single day has gone well. But heck, I can always fall back on the fact that it ain't smoking!
I get to change the rear shocks on the wife's Toyota van tomorrow after church. That should go easily enough.

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John