1. Anyone give me a quick heads up as to where the thermostat is located, what it's next to, etc.

2. When ordering a replacement, is it necessary to get additional gaskets? There are two offered,
Thermostat Gasket/Seal; Seal Ring with Side Hole

and

Thermostat Gasket/Seal; Thermostat Housing to Cylinder Head


Is the idea to just get both gaskets and replace, better to be safe than sorry, or are they not necessary?

Thanks a lot.

__________________
JBG
1985 TD wagon, 228k
running on grease since 3.07
AUSTIN, TEXAS

YOu shouldn't need the second one. Just follow the top hose to where it attaches to the engine. There is a bell with a nipple for the hose to attach to there. Its held on with three 10 mm bolts. put some wd40 on the bolts and very carefully jiggle them back and forth and work some oil down in the threads.

The take the stat out and put in the new one taking care to observe how the gasket and stat sits.

Reverse and refill.

Good luck

Tom W

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

when you try to remove any bolts.-- tighten them just a tiny cinch first then back them out. This will avoid all sorts of problems.

Thanks T, mini. From what I understand now the thermostat kit includes the necessary O-ring and the other is not necessary. Unless I hear back about this I will probably buy both anyway as they are 83 cents and I'd rather not risk it. This probably sounds ludicrous to people who have done this job before, but I have not, so I'm kind of feeling my way through it.

Thanks again!

__________________
JBG
1985 TD wagon, 228k
running on grease since 3.07
AUSTIN, TEXAS

Heed the advice on some sort of break free on the 10mm bolts before trying to remove them. They break very easily. If you do get them out never sieze on the way back in.

Now's the time to replace that 2" piece of bypass hose too.

__________________
Chad
2013 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL

that's all that's REQUIRED to change with a tstat swap.
however, once you get in there, look very carefully at the short hose below the tstat, and see if it's in good shape. it is very annoying to get a bunch of things changed, and reassembled just to find that a simple hose is leaking forcing you to take everything back apart.

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Chad,

As far as I can see, that part isn't for sale (?)

(Link is broken up in 2 pieces to fit the whole thing...):

http://www.***************/search/product.aspx?sid=thhlis55lxaewmvdaceyyk45&makeid=800016@
Mercedes&modelid=1194342@300TDT&year=1985&cid=16@Cooling%20System&gid=2156@Cooling/Coolant%20Hose

__________________
JBG
1985 TD wagon, 228k
running on grease since 3.07
AUSTIN, TEXAS

You can get it from Phil at Fastlane. Comes in meter lengths if I remember correctly. I wondered what the hell it was when I bought it for the T-Stat job on my 240D. Thought it was for an 18 wheeler by the looks of it.
- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

I bought mine at a local Pep Boys. I asked for coolant bypass hose with a 42mm ID. They had it in pieces about 12"-14" long and you only need 2" of it.

__________________
Chad
2013 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL

Good to know. Thanks for the help.

I'd like to add that Chad's wagon and the work he's put into it are truly awe-inspiring to someone like me, who can only imagine what it takes to create the type of wagon he has. I'm just trying to feel my way through a coolant change and dude is taking out windows, grinding out rust, welding, etc...something else.

__________________
JBG
1985 TD wagon, 228k
running on grease since 3.07
AUSTIN, TEXAS

Thanks for the compliments ... it's taken about 8 months to get to this point and I still need to rebuild the front end, fix the AC, and the cruise control doesn't work.

I wouldn't have made it this far without the info and guidance found on this forum.

I'm always interested in seeing pics of other wagons. Got any to post?

__________________
Chad
2013 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL

well dang, if we put your wagon and mine together, we'd have quite a machine (I just got a front end rebuild AND my cruise works)

Here's a pic, sorry but all the other ones are of before/after pics of some rust repair--temporary as it's turned out to be........

__________________
JBG
1985 TD wagon, 228k
running on grease since 3.07
AUSTIN, TEXAS

Yours is the same color as mine! I've see more blue ones lately...

I need to get a new pic to show off my hubbies

__________________
1985 300TD-euro 352,000 mi
1974 240D (1?)52,000 mi - has a new home now