Hey everyone,
Owner of an 84 300D. Today I opened my hood to check my oil levels, and found this...






I'm not super familiar with the mechanicals of this car, but from what I gather it's the power steering pump/fluid reservoir. Perhaps the pressure somehow burst the cap off?

What is the part number for the cap? Can I drive without it temporarily? (Honestly, this may have happened weeks ago). Will this be a part I can just kinda pop on myself, or must a mechanic do it? (I'm not at home... so I don't really have anything beyond very basic tools).

When I turn the engine on, fluid flows through (as I'm assuming it should). Before I turned the car on, the reservoir was just kinda oily.


My power steering HAS been acting up lately. When I turn the wheel to the extreme left or right, such as in a parking lot, it has a "mechanical stuck" feeling... It's not necessarily hard to move the wheel, but it almost feels disengaged or hung-up on something for a moment.



Thanks!

I do not know if you can run with out the Lid on but my guess would be not.

From what I can see in the pic there is more than the lid missing from the inside.

You are not going to be able to trouble shoot until everthing is back I correct order.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

you just lost the top plastic wing-nut and the metal cover, i dont believe it exploded, maybe just shook itself loose and fell off,(if it did explode of from there, the metal nut inside the wingnut would stay on there).

you can definitely do it yourself, just go pick up the 2 parts you are missing, check the filter to make sure nothing big fell in there, top up with PS fluid and cover it up.

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1987 300D W124.133

Any idea of how long it's been like that?

After a flush, filter change and refill, install another cap with gasket.

Pay close attention the those threads.

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83 SD

84 CD

Took it to a mechanic that instantly struck me as sorta shady. He was trying to tell me I needed a whole new power steering pump... Wanted to sell me a refurbished ZF one for $250. He said the pump is dirty, and is causing built up pressure.

I ended up buying just the cap and top off the fluid for $20 (supposedly a deposit for when I bring it back). He originally wanted $40 for this deposit, but I felt like the whole situation was kinda shady.


So, we'll see how long this new cap lasts. The mechanic could be completely right, but I was just getting bad vibes and didn't want to shell out $250 for something I know very little about...

Wish me luck!

LUCK!

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83 SD

84 CD

I dont like the look of the fluid in there.
It looks like it is contaminated with water.
I would have found a lid in a junk yard & drained & refilled the fluid.
It would be unlikely that the water in the fluid would cause the lid to blow off.
You would have heard a loud bang as well.

Good luck with it !!!

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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

Look for Army's post on cleaning and replacing the pump seals. I beleive it has pics of the valves that need to be clean for the pump to operatecorrectly.

With the right pulley puller it's a straightforward task.

I would flush - not just refill - the system.

It's been a while since I've had mine off. Isn't there a spring under the cap which holds the filter down? That spring would account for why the lid flew off when the wingnut loosened. I'd have gotten those parts from a junkyard. And yes pull the fluid out with a turkey baster and replace it.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Here's the thread Yak's talking about

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=278649

At the moment the last post shows the problem valves.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

The spring does hold down the filter and above it there should be a small triangular piece of metal that has enough friction to hold itself and the spring on the shaft. I think there is a limit for the position of this bit on the shaft so that the correct force is applied to the filter (assuming the spring is still in working limits).

As for the turkey baster - yeah - it can kind of work - but with that kind of contamination I'd drain the whole system straight out of the steering box.

See post #5 and #6 for the photographs in this thread:-

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=289886

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!