I just got my water pump changed, and was changing my oil, and remembered I had bought a pan gasket for it a while back. I've never changed one on the Benz before, and it didn't look too bad, so while I had the car up on jacks, I started in on removing it. Got all the front ans side bolts out but one. (It's always one.) I haven't stripped it, but it's not wanting to budge, either. It's the second one back on the drivers side, and goes up through a nut that helps hold a bracket on for the ac, I think. Even the one in front of it that also holds the bracket on came out. I've sprayed it down with PB blaster, and I'm letting it set till tomorrow, when I hope I have heard from you guys. The other problem is the back bolts. I've got them all loose, but is there a preffered way to get them up away from the stabilizer bar that holds the engine shocks? Right now I"ve just got it jacked up and on a stand on the drivers side only. Do I need to use a floor jack and raise the engine\tranny? If so, where's the best place to catch it? Or will that even do it? What do you all think?

__________________
"Knowing is not enough, we must apply.
Willing is not enough, we must do." Goethe

***********************************


1951 Chevy 3100

2003 Indian Chief Roadmaster

1983 GMC 1 ton Dually

1982 Chevy 1 ton Dually, service body (sold)

'90 GMC Suburban 6.2 "SS Veg-Burban"
(single tank WVO\diesel conversion) SOLD

'81 300D ~ Mama's car...my job (now my car)(but still my job) SOLD

'83 300sd ~ rescue car SOLD

2005 Ford Taurus (Mama's new car)(NOT my job!)

I don't see how that crossmember will effect the removal of those bolts.. they are pretty short.

but you could jack the engine up an inch or so by the lower pan... then remove the bolts, lower the engine.. and be done... I guess.

__________________

Oh.. I do recall using ball-tipped allens on some of those bolts, I may be mistaken.

__________________

I think the pan bolt you are talking about also holds the oil cooler pipes for the automatic transmission. The ones at the back are a little bit harder to reach but I've had them in and out with a standard Allen key. A ball tipped one might help though as suggested above.

Put some of the other bolts back in before you try and get the stuck one / ones out. You need a bit of support otherwise the weight of the pan will be working against you. At least with an Allen head you've got a good start for a drill to drill 'em out if you end up stripping them. Good luck!

Make sure you are 100% certain that all the crud is out of the hex head. If you strip one of those, you're going to need a chisel.

__________________
Closing the store
Benzbonz.biz on your smart phone or tablet.

First, let me correct myself. The screw is on the passenger side, not the drivers. I'm using my allen wrench set that folds into a chrome "case", which I use for a handle. I've sprayed all the bolts before I started. I checked for crud in it, thinking I might not have full bearing inside the bolt head, but it's clean. The crossmember has cut out's for the bolts, and i have them loose, but the back side of the bolt heads are running into the front of the crossmember cut outs, so I have to figure out how to either get them up or forward. I figure up will let them drop and give me more clearance to get the pan back in. I just didn't know if there was a certain spot that would be more advantageous for jacking it up. Or if I had it jacked up evenly, instead of just one side, that the bolts might line up with the semi-circular cut outs in the cross member. I know they're there for that purpose, but my rear bolts aren't making by them. I'll try jacking the engine up. Thanks guys.

__________________
"Knowing is not enough, we must apply.
Willing is not enough, we must do." Goethe

***********************************


1951 Chevy 3100

2003 Indian Chief Roadmaster

1983 GMC 1 ton Dually

1982 Chevy 1 ton Dually, service body (sold)

'90 GMC Suburban 6.2 "SS Veg-Burban"
(single tank WVO\diesel conversion) SOLD

'81 300D ~ Mama's car...my job (now my car)(but still my job) SOLD

'83 300sd ~ rescue car SOLD

2005 Ford Taurus (Mama's new car)(NOT my job!)

Get a $10 set of hex bits, they wont twist and torque like your fold up set does, + you can actually use your torque wrench when you reinstall them.

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

I've just popped out and taken a picture of mine - now show me yours!

I don't see what the problem is. May be you need a longer Allen key?

Attached Thumbnails

 

http://www.gedore.de/en/products/group_articles.html?pm_id=55845&oe_opt[list_set]=28362,55711,55832,55833,55845

Army- that's a retouched photo. If it were real, it would be black and oily, like mine. One thing we'll never have to worry about at our place is a rusty engine part. My patented "Mercedes diesel automatic outer engine oiler" really does the trick! But seriously, folks... the bolts look pretty open here, but they're not making it past the crossmember. I was thinking about jacking just behind it on a flat, open section of the tranny. Anybody see a problem there?

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
"Knowing is not enough, we must apply.
Willing is not enough, we must do." Goethe

***********************************


1951 Chevy 3100

2003 Indian Chief Roadmaster

1983 GMC 1 ton Dually

1982 Chevy 1 ton Dually, service body (sold)

'90 GMC Suburban 6.2 "SS Veg-Burban"
(single tank WVO\diesel conversion) SOLD

'81 300D ~ Mama's car...my job (now my car)(but still my job) SOLD

'83 300sd ~ rescue car SOLD

2005 Ford Taurus (Mama's new car)(NOT my job!)

FWIW... I picked up a set of 1/2" drive hex sockets that go up to either 17 or 19mm for under $15 from the usual auction site.

__________________
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."

those allen heads REALLY need to be cleaned out before you attempt removal again. they have to be clean and dry before you fit your socket into them. that oily mess willsurely strip your allen set.
I gotta agree, get in there with a proper allen socket bit, and you'll pop it out in no time.

__________________
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!

No, those back one's at the cross member are already loose. They weren't a problem getting loose. They just won't come out any further than they have due to the member stopping them. Besides, as bad as it looks, i've sprayed all of them with pb blaser. The heads are without crud in them. It's just the one on the passenger side that won't budge. I'm going to the local Sears tomorrow and get a set of the hex bits for my ratchet. (Or maybe my breaker bar)

__________________
"Knowing is not enough, we must apply.
Willing is not enough, we must do." Goethe

***********************************


1951 Chevy 3100

2003 Indian Chief Roadmaster

1983 GMC 1 ton Dually

1982 Chevy 1 ton Dually, service body (sold)

'90 GMC Suburban 6.2 "SS Veg-Burban"
(single tank WVO\diesel conversion) SOLD

'81 300D ~ Mama's car...my job (now my car)(but still my job) SOLD

'83 300sd ~ rescue car SOLD

2005 Ford Taurus (Mama's new car)(NOT my job!)

I'd not use a breaker bar... just a high quality metric allen socket in a normal ratchet. not a Chinese cheapo...

__________________
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!

Wow nice picture! It does look like there might be a little constriction there - but I don't think jacking up will help. I assume you are only trying to take off the pan??? So you are trying to remove the Allen screws that are lower down on the picture that you posted?

If that is so and you still can't get the clearance I'd very gently get a round file and scrape off the crud on the cross member bit. You don't need much clearance - just a bit of wiggle (wiggle is a technical term)