I had no issue changing my set on a 91 300 D with a simple set of wrenches and a floor jack.

Mounts are a lot easier job than brakes/ wheel bearings Bodhi !!
You dont need a special tool to check mounts, I just see if my finger fits, if not then the mount has collapsed. Sixto's post takes the guess work out though!! A bit of 1/2" rod or the end of a 1/2" square from a socket extension should work. Normally its the left mount that fails first, too much fuel etc around it. If you have a vibe at speed or under load, the right hand one would need to be checked.

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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

Alright, I've searched for about an hour and can't find the torque specs for the 87 300D transmission mount anywhere. I found them in a thread this morning and didn't write them down () and can't find them now. They don't seem to be in my AllData discs and I don't have the print FSM with this job in it. Lots of good threads on the procedure, but ...
Can anyone please list the torque for the bolts to hold the trans mount in place? I promise I'll write it down this time.

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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)

pull on it till the threads strip, then back it off a hair...

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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 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Thanks sixto.

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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)

Can't get a wrench on the dang top nut. The box-end wrench won't fit between the nut and the flex disc and the open end isn't getting a good purchase. Hmmm. Think I will buy a 6-point box end or a flare wrench tomorrow.

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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)

Are you referring to the top nut on the tranny mount? It probably won't help you at this time, but there is a wrench that's found in some older MB tool kits and many BMW tool kits.

It’s a “dog bone” Heyco No. 450 style with a 17 mm and a 19 mm ring that is perfect for that job. It’s a 12 point and the ring itself is quite thin and the wrench itself is quite thin, that makes it perfect for the tranny mount's top 19 mm nut in that confined space on the tranny tail.

It’s also the perfect wrench when you use the 17 mm ring for the nuts on the differential side of rear flex disk where there is very little room between the nut and the differential and there is very little space around the circumference of the nut. This wrench can get on the nut and prevent you from rounding it. If you're talking about the nuts on the front flex disk this is the answer for them also And even being thin as it is, being a Heyco it's of good quality in material and fit on the fastener. I always check the BMW trunks in the bone yard for these!



If you are referring to the tranny mount’s top nut, a six point tool may not work as you’ve only got a very short swing on the wrench there before you hit the vertical rib on the side of the tranny tail, if you can get the wrench on the nut you probably can’t turn it enough to allow it to get it on the nut for the next pull because you've got less than 60 degrees of arc to swing the wrench!

I had same problem. Found three bent wheels and a bad universal joint.

Yikes. The U-joint would be a possibility; I wouldn't know how to tell if it was bad (I'd think the vibrations would be mostly under my butt, then, but I realize vibrations go wherever they feel like). As for the wheels, I recently had all four balanced and new tires put on the front ... if they were bent, do you think the tire shop would be able to detect that? That jumps out at me a bit because the tire shop I went to for years (including once a month ago) put the lugnuts on with way to much torque. I had another shop do the tires and put them on correctly, but I'm still worried the wheels or lugs were damaged. The vibrations came on gradually last winter, not at any time near having it at the tire shop, though.

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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)

For a 123 mount to crossmember is 25Nm and mount to transmission is 70Nm. Should be safe numbers for a 124.

Sixto
87 300D

hmmm I am sure I did it with open end wrench, what size are you trying? I don't think you can do it with a flare wrench, they are too wide. use a open end with 4 flats not two flats and a rounded butt.
it looks like I'm picking up a twin to your bodhi, only a tad more miles. 360K... I may wanna pick your brain for tweaks on her.

Doesnt it just get to you !! All that work & its still there!! Sub frame bushings in the back need to be inspected I guess.

__________________
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

Kind of hard to tell how bad the subframe bushing are, but I can definitely tell a lot of the other bushings back there are in poor order. Thrust arm, camber arm, tie rod (boot is torn on one) and the bushings on what I guess would be called the rear lower control arm(?) all very worn. The front suspension was rebuilt entirely in 2002 but in the rear only the swaybar (and linkage) and shocks are newish. The diff bushings are also quite bad, as mentioned. Basically, what I can't decide is whether or not to try this project. I kept putting it off because I couldn't decide (stupid, I know). I'm confident I can do the diff bushings, but it seems silly to do that myself if I'm going to take it to my indy for the rest. Or do that, then take it apart myself again to do the subframe. My concern with the subframe is that it looks like a very physically difficult (dangerous) job. Also has a crack that needs a weld and I can't weld (yet).

__________________
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)

You should put the word out that your looking for a subframe, maybe someone down south can help you out with a nice clean and rust free one from a car that's headed to the bone yard. Or after some nice guy reconnoiters a decent one in a bone yard get the address, take a weekend and do a road trip down the Carolinas or Georgia hit the bone yard and strip every thing off one and bring it home. grab a couple wheel carriers and you can do the rear wheel bearings also, everything at your leisure!

You've got the place now you can give it the once over, press in all new bushings, bolt on all new control arms, new subframe and diff mounts, then when the time comes drop yours swap the differential onto it and your wheel carriers and then your axles and you'll tight right and out of sight!

The car will ride like it did 23 years ago!

Seriously it is much much easier to do the complete job with the subframe off the car, as long as you have a decent floor jack lifting it back up and into place is really not that big a deal. This job is much more difficult with it still under the car, it’s very hard to get at everything, with it on the ground you can get to almost everything from above it easily.

I actually have a second subframe in my parents' shed, but it's got a bit of corrosion on it too, so I hesitate to use that one. It's pretty solid other than surface, I could sandblast and repaint but maybe I should look for a perfect one. Can one assume a subframe that hasn't been in an accident, if it doesn't have rust issues, is as good as another?

I still think that's one heavy frame for me to lift (or drop), even with a jack ... unless I take the wheel carriers off first, which I guess is an option.

__________________
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)