I'm driving this morning up a hill in my 1983 240D manual transmission, I shift down to third, a few seconds later I hear this bang and a continuous grinding noise and I lose connection between the engine and the wheels. I pulled over and came to a stop. I tried to start going again in first, but all I heard was the grinding sound as I let the clutch out all the way and it didn't move. The shop said maybe a broken rear axel or a blown differential. How serious are these or any other diagnoses?

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

Or a failed flex disc, which I think is more likely than the other two. Not that big of a deal if the driveshaft didn't do a lot of damage to anything else. Axle or differential not that bad either. Used differential should not be too difficult to find.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Did you look under the car ?

Try putting it in 4th and seeing if it tries to move. It'll never have enough power to go in 4th but it may give you a clue if it's the counter shaft in the tranny or not.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

I had catastrophic clutch plate spring failure and it sounds about the same as what you're describing. I Shifted from 4th to 3rd coming off the freeway, pushed in the clutch to go into 2nd and there was nothing. The springs came apart and then did battle with the flywheel bolts. That was the noise I heard at the time.

When the springs break, you get a no-go situation.

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1981 300TD "The Green Lantern"
1980 300TD
1983 300D Euro "China Cat"

well if I push in the clutch, the noise goes away, so I don't think it's the clutch

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

Is the driveshaft still there and connected at both ends? This is the easiest thing to check, so I would start with that.

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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.

The car's still at the shop, I don't know when I'll get it back, but it's not like it fell off or is hanging down, it's nothing terribly apparent

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

The shop now tells me they need to drop the transmission and that I may need a new one or a new clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing. Could I do this myself, cause they're charging a bundle.

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

If you had done one before, its not that difficult. If youve got a buddy that has done it before its a 1 day job if the flywheel doesnt need to be resurfaced

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1982 300CD Turbo (Otis, "ups & downs") parts for sale
2003 TJ with Hemi (to go anywhere, quickly) sold
2001 Excursion Powerstroke (to go dependably)
1970 Mustang 428SCJ (to go fast)
1962 Corvette LS1 (to go in style)
2001 Schwinn Grape Krate 10spd (if all else fails)