82 300D How difficult to change a/c clutch?
 

My A/C pulley bearing decided to do the grind...so I had to cut the belt at work.

My question is, how hard is itto pull the clutch and pulley while the compressor is on the car? Will the puller fit in the limited space?

I can't complain too much since it did make it through four summers here in TX.

Thanks guys!!!

I suppose you are going to do this on the W123? I have done this on my 300SD but could not becasue of space on the SDL. This is something I used as a reference (JAG) but it was helpfull
http://www.bernardembden.com/xjs/comclutch/index.htm

I think Sixto did this. Contact him.

I wish MB used the A-6 instead of the R-4...

From all I've read, pulling the R4 clutch is not a job you want to do in situ on a W123. You need room for the puller and to get the puller threaded in, the R4 cannot have any rust on the shaft bolt. Good luck with that! I had my R4 on the bench and it was a very difficult job to pull the clutch because of rust.

Here is another pictorial. I'm afraid your not going to have room to do the job. But you might if you remove the oil cooler and radiator.


http://www.xmanproject.com/tutorials/r4/r4_repair.php




.

I was thinking about just raising up the radiator and oil cooler to get stuff to fit. I do not want to remove the compressor, and the system works fine, and I do not want to spend more money on a new drier, oil and freon. I would if the compressor itself was toast, but it's not.

Rust is a PITA on any pressed fitting, and being that the compressor gets splashed on from nasty puddles full of crud, I hope there is no rust.

Wishful thinking! It'll be a miracle if you find no rust. Gonna be a miserable job unless you have a lift and can get things out of the way so you can see what you are doing.

At least I do live in a rural are, so no road salt. A lift? That's funny!:D The only lift I have is a floor jack and jack stands...

I did this on a 1982 300D (turbo) earlier this year. No lift, stands, or ramps, compressor in place. If'n I had it to do over again I'd leave the lines connected but drop the compressor.

What tools did you use? And what was the step by step procedure? Same as the others?

Thanks man!

When I do this, I'll take pictures and post them.

Remove center fastener (12 or 13mm), make puller (handy to have a lathe), remove clutch, swap bearing, install clutch, wash hands for three hours.

That has been wished about a million times....

The Factory Shop manual from MB on Air Conditioning... has step by step procedures..
and the special tools described to do it right...
I believe the distance on at least one item is critical... and very small....