so I just wrote this huge super cool thread but .... accidentally deleted .. so here it is written again ..

My Roommate has a 1984 300D that has been sitting out in front of our house for the better part of a year now .. the trans wont engage any forward gears .. reverse works fine. Its a little rough but seems to run just fine .. i remember he used to drive it everywhere .. its got 170k on it.

Anyway I have been asking him to do something with it forever.. and nothing ever happens. He said he was going to donate it .. then it was fix it and sell it .. then someone he knew wanted it .. yadda yadda .. so I decided to change my game-plan.. I said to him if I fix it can I have it?? he said ... yep but I bet it isn't worth your while... in fact he said if I can fix it he would even pay the back registration for me... so I said .. Its ON.

From what I have been reading it sounds like it could be the classic B2 piston thats busted. Now I'm only really interested in doing this for fun... I just finished up my last project car. I'm mechanically inclined but a newb to both diesels and mercedes... What would make this project worth it to me is if I could get this car back on the road for less than 500 bucks and be able to cruise it to work and leave my 10mpg gmc at home even if it were only for a couple months then I might even just give it back to him.

So now for some questions ... whats my first best bet ... putting the thing up in the air and taking out the B2? If its busted and I invest almost half my "budget" in a new one 150-200 bucks?? what are the chances that it wouldn't fix the problem .. Is there a sure fire way to tell if the B2 is busted vs .. i dunno a busted band? or something else??

should I just try to find a replacement rebuilt trans? .. what would that cost me? more than my budget I think .. I'm looking to do this on the cheap but do it right. saving mostly on my labor and effort not on cheap parts / fixes.

OK so thats it. ..I hope I get some good feedback here and decide to go for it.. sounds like fun.

thanks in advance to anyone who responds

First thing to check is the level and condition of the tranny fluid. Then check/replace the B2 piston.

You might even find a good used tranny for $500.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Does sound like the B2. What I would do if you want to save money and gain experience is to go to your local wrecking yard, find a cash for clunker w126 body style with a 733.xxx trans ('87 or newer 420SEL, 560SEL, etc) and remove the B2 piston. The piston and sleeve will be the updated style. You can get all of it for cheap and install it in the car. In doing so, you can examine what a good B2 piston setup should look like and use that knowledge for your roommate's car.




.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

IIRC, Diesel Giant has a write up on the B2 piston removal and installation.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Here it is.

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RT


1984 300D---Sold
1995 E420 - 106K - Brilliant Silver Metallic/Orion Gray --- Sold
1984 300SD - 151K Manganese Brown Metallic/Mostly Black --- Sold
1982 240D - 79K - Manila Beige/Palomino---Sold

the 123 b2 repair requires dropping the trans mount, and removing the exhaust pipe... just to get it low enough to remove the cover.
the 126 piston will mostlikely NOT be the updated one.
best is to pull apart yours and see if it's damaged, or loose.

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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 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I beg to differ... Only if you get one pre-'87. But '87 I think was a transition year. So '88 and newer would be better.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

hah, imagine your roommate's face if you used that excellent guide, did the job, and drove off up the street

Fleabay is a great place to upgrade your tools with quality ones cheeep.
Ive made some amazing buys lately to get my 300D back on the road where
she belongs.

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Seems like a pretty simple repair. Let us know how it goes.

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83 300TD (need rear wiper assembly dead or alive)
84 300SD Daily driver
85 300TD almost 400k miles and driven daily.
98 E300D *sold
86 300SDL *sold and made flawless 10 hour journey to new home.

The transmission was easy enough to R&R, sounds as straightforward as the B2 itself.

A replacement trans shouldn't cost much, between $75 and as someone said, $500. The former being a PandP yard.

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This area is typically used to brag about one's current or former automobiles.

Having earned my 'Shadetree Mechanic' moniker back in college, here's a tip:

If you only have one floor jack, no ramps or jack stands (safety), push one side of the car up on the curb. It's safe, and if you're skinny, provides enough room to get up under the car.

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1972 W115 220D/8 SLS, Coffman Starter "Ümläüt"

(\__/)
(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your
(")_(") signature to help him gain world domination

Wow lots a posts ... great info everyone This is a great help .. so my plan is to jack up the car and put it on stands in the driveway.... I will pull the B2 and check to see if its busted up.. if it is ... I will pick up a new one and filter / gasket kit.. if the B2 is in tact I think ill just put it back together the way it was and revisit the whole is this worth it idea...

If I do the B2 should I do the k1 springs too? Was wondering on the 123 body 300d (thats what mine is right?) do you have to remove the crossmember to get to the spring cover to do the k1 springs ?.. I figure they are cheap so i want to do it all while im under there as long as its not a project in itself... anything else while im in there?

I actually found a new rear trans mount in the trunk guess ill toss that on to.. along with motor mounts .. but maybe ill save those for another day..

So If I go for it does the following parts list sound right for my application? (BTW I got these part #'s from another thread about a 124 body 1989 300ce is it the same trans? here is the thread --- http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=109035 )

107 270 04 32 (B2 Piston) ---- is this the updated one ?
005 997 70 48 (Piston Cover Oring)
126 277 08 50 (Plastic Bushing)

126 270 44 77 (K1 springs)

126 277 02 95 (Trans Filter)
126 271 11 80 (Trans Gasket)

Would that be it or am I missing something... If these are the wrong parts can anyone let me in on the part numbers for a 1984 300d???

Oh I am getting excited about being able to fix this thing up and see the look on my roomates face.. I wanted to get it up in the air today but unfortunatley we are getting a lot of rain today..

I know he is the roommate, but you are going to want to get everything in writing and make sure he signs over the title to you before you spend a dollar. Not to say that he isn't trustworthy, but you always want everyone on the same page.

Congrates on your new (used) car, looks like it's going to work out great.

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Professional greasecar installer
Austin TX


98 Jetta TDI with grease car kit + veg-therm (totaled)
87 MB 300SDL running on B99 / greasecar kit + 30 fphe
www.austingreaseguys.com

We got rain here today as well, where are you located?

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