I've been wanting a Garage to take the SD apart in for the last 4 years. I bought a house last year and I now have the house fixed to the point where I can leave the SD in the garage.

SO its time for an Overhaul. It started with the rear wheel bearings... that sparked me to fix everything i've wanted fixed.

The BIG operation will be installing the 4 speed manual I've had under the work bench for the last 2 years. with that in mind I've decided to pull the engine, it will make installing the manual (including the 300D fly wheel I scavenged ) a lot easier. It will also give me the opportunity to track down all the oil leaks.

I'm thinking I should change the front and rear main seals. has anyone ever done this? I've heard that its complicated. I'll have the engine out of the car and on an engine stand, so that should help.

I'll try and keep this thread up to date if anyone is interested in my overhaul.

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It isn' too complicated. Read the manual, read the DIY articles on this website and when you get there you will be prepared to make your own assumptions.

You might find that the hardest part is cleaning things to par as you see fit. The other snag is re-positioning the 'timing cover' and the upper pan so that they do not inhibit the seals in any way. Mercedes suggests the use of a special tool... but you can use the front seal and some well placed markings to avoid this.

If all you are doing is changing the seals, you should not need to remove the timing cover, leave it in place if you can, it will help guide your upper pan installation with a higher degree of certainty; the same with the intermediate plate that the trans mounts to.

The hardest part about the rear seal, is setting it so there enough excess on each end once you have snugged it into position (this will make sense, one day) and forcing it onto the recessed pin.

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Unless they were leaking I probably wouldn't bother....

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
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'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
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'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

yeah, I know the whole thing is covered in oil, but i haven't determined the leaks yet. there isn't a lean that I can see from the rear, but the front area looks like its leaking. The front seems to be an easy change, but we'll see what it looks like when i take the engine our. (2 or 3 weeks away)

I bought my mechanic friends old car for the engine, and changed it in a hurry about a year ago. my mechanic friend named the car the Valdez 2 because it leaked so bad. so there is a lot of leaks to stop. I hope I'm right about the rear being dry.

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