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#1
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The Death of a Flex Disc ... did I kill my 240D?
I'm going to lead off with pictures ... lousy cell phone picks, but they tell the story ...
This is the 78 240D. I checked the flex discs before and after buying it, and I had thought they looked fine. The last time I drove it, it started to go do a rapidfire thudding/stuttering right after I shifted into 1st or 2nd and accelerated ... but it only lasted a flash each time and wasn't present at all in higher gears. I thought maybe something was wrong with the clutch, but I figured I'd check the flex discs anyway, and this is what I found today. I don't even know where to start. The head of the bolts that hold it to the transmission are sheared on one edge, but other than that, I don't see any major damage to the transmission or end of the driveshaft (or other collateral damage). But given what happened to the disc, and the fact that I continued to drive this (only back home, but still), I have to think there's more damage than what I can see. So where do I start? Did I ruin my car? And don't ask how I could be dumb enough not to realize the flex disc was bad despite inspecting it twice. Or how I could be dumb enough to keep driving it after I felt something amiss. The only thing I can say in my defense is that the car drove unbelievably normal, other than those quick stuttering bouts, given what condition the disc was in. But basically, I'm really discouraged at my complete failure to identify what had to be an obvious impending problem. I'm glad it didn't happen going 70 down the freeway. Ironically, I bought this car as a project that could help me build confidence during a hard time. I probably should have taken up knitting.
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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles 1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles 2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles 1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles 1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car) Last edited by whunter; 05-13-2009 at 11:33 AM. Reason: attached pictures |
#2
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looks like you got some body work and damaged transmission.
You will know when fix the body work and replaced the flex disc and anything that got destroyed.
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1986 300SDL, 211K,Dealership serviced its whole life 1991 190E 2.6(120k) 1983 300D(300k) 1977 300D(211k) |
#3
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Not a big problem. Don't take up knitting. Remove discs, replace.
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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 |
#4
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You're probably not getting many responses because everyone saw the pictures and crawled under their cars to inspect.
Looks like you got off easy to me.
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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k 1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k 1980 240D Stick China 188k 2001 CLK55 AMG 101k 2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!! |
#5
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i cannot see any tranny damage. i dont think you driving it home was a wrong idea. it looks to me that all you need is a new flex disc. they come with new bolts and nuts so you should be able to drive the sheared off bolt out with a punch. looks like a no sweat job,to me.
hell ive driven a truck with a broken rocker arm just to get it home from the middle of nowhere
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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it Last edited by kmaysob; 05-06-2009 at 10:46 PM. |
#6
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Yeah, like you said bad quality of pic, but I dont see anything that just putting in a new flex disc couldn't fix.
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1980 500SE/AMG Euro 1981 500SEL Euro 1982 380SEL 1983 300TD 1983 500SEC/AMG Euro 1984 500SEC 1984 300TD Euro 1986 190E 2.3-16 1986 190E 2.3 1987 300D 1997 C36 AMG 2003 C320T 4matic past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350 |
#7
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Do not despair young C, these things happen to all of us. Just today I checked the oil and apparently didn't get the dipstick all the way down and just rust-proofed Smash all the way back to the rear window wiper!! I of course thought of Tyler immediately.
Some things appear fine right up until the time that they fail. So it more than likely looked just fine when you looked at it. As stated above, you probably just need to replace your flex discs. Chin up! You wanted a project. You certainly have had one after another on this 240. But this is bonding time, and opportunities to gain more knowledge and experience. OK, granted, it has been quite a few "opportunities".........
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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 |
#8
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I changed both of mine last year. There were some cracks on the front, but no deformation or visible fibers.
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#9
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Is it wise to change the drive shaft carrier bearing while you have the flex discs out, even if you have not identified any problems? In other words, is it one of those "while I'm at it" jobs?
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1982 240D - 292,000 miles and counting Same family for 33 years Newly rebuilt Monark injectors Newly replaced clutch New Bilstein shocks |
#10
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Thanks for the answers, guys. I guess it's not as bad a catastrophe as I thought ... but enough to motivate me to change the discs on the 300D, too, for good measure.
Couple questions: 1) The alignment of the bolts now does not match up with that of the new disc ... do I have to rotate the shaft, or can I rotate the yolk on the transmission? Maybe that's a silly question but I haven't done anything with the tranny/driveshaft before so I'm not sure what moves where. 2) Is there anything else I should inspect or replace while I'm working on the driveshaft (I will be also replacing the rear flex disc)? Any specific damage I can look for, other than basic damage to the tranny and frame? I guess in a way the fact that I'm a "beginner" at driving stick probably worked to my advantage ... I drive around like a granny so that probably helped avoid a high-speed disaster.
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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles 1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles 2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles 1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles 1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car) |
#11
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Rotate the yoke on the transmission. Needs to be in neutral. Block the wheels well before climbing under there. There wont be any resistance to rolling in the drivetrain.
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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 |
#12
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either do like kerry said or block the rear up and rotate the shaft. either way will get it done. you might want to change the center support while in there.
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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it |
#13
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I like to have both the transmission in neutral, and the wheels unblocked. That way you can rotate the flex disc once it is in place with the first bolt and it's easier to get to the bolt heads if you can position them where you want them to be. To keep the assembly from rotating, when tightening the bolts, I have used a large screwdriver inserted in a u-joint.
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Tomas, Sweden 1966 Mercedes Benz 230S with OM617.912, automatic. Disk brakes from W108 1983 Mercedes Benz 300TD grey, OM617.912 and 5-speed manual 1983 Mercedes Benz 300TD blue 7-seater, OM617.912 and 5-speed manual |
#14
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Doesn't look like any collateral damage- you were lucky. Yes- replace the center support and center support bearing and inspect the u-joint while you have it out.
Be sure to mark both halves of your driveshaft before you take it out and apart . It is balanced the way it is now.
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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??) |
#15
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also check the centering bushing in the end of the driveshaft. It goes over the pin on the transmission yoke. If this bushing sustained damage from your catastrophe, it will not center the driveshaft properly. I would see if I could feel any lateral play without the flex-disk in there (just the centering bushing on the pin).
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For Sale: 1982 MB 300TD 1995 Chevrolet Suburban 6.5TD Sold: 1980 IH Scout Traveler- Nissan SD33T Diesel |
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