Central locking system working again
 

The Vaccuum locking system on my 85 300TD was only sort of working, but with my trusty Mityvac, a little extra tubing, **************'s mini manual and about three hour's work I seem to have the entire thing working perfectly. It will hold a vacuum for at least 18 hrs so far.

I took off the cover to the tailgate, and my nonfunctioning rear wiper just fell out. Somehow it must have twisted itself away from the gears. It also appears to have disconnected the vacuum pod.

The new style pods can be replaced by the older ones, with a little drilling and fiddleing, but the new style pods can also be repaired with a couple of condums, some contact cement and a pair of zipties. I saw this fix on another forum several years ago.

I chose the latter option, because I didn't want to cut the control rod. I will be searching the pickapart yards for a new doorpod.

The doorpods are interchangeable from left to right.

I've repaired a couple of vacuum pods using wetsuit repair glue. A bit of rubber glove can be used with it, too. Steve