Can anyone tell me what's going on here? I'm very confused about what this broken line is going to. It's in the front left (if you're looking towards the windshield from the front), and it's connected to a cylindrical looking thing that I also don't understand....

The pictures aren't great, but the broken line is sort of in the foreground, and the object it's coming out from is in back.

Attached Thumbnails

 

i may be wrong but i think it may be the receiver/dryer of the A/C system. is your A/C compressor missing and the hard line was bent out of the way and left there?

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'77 240D, 504H, OM617.952, etc.

That looks like an air conditioning line and tank.

OT: You may want to change your cone filter back to a proper paper one. Paper or oil-bath filters (depending upon which one the car used) are far more efficient at trapping particles that can damage your diesel.

Phil Forrest

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1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson

Hi,
What Year and model is your car? Would you be able to provide more photos?

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Nosce Te Ipsum "Know thyself"

Get rid of that air filter or that broken line is going to be the least of your problems.

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'83 300D, 126K miles.

You didn't tell us the year and model car. Not a Chevy, so I'm going to guess a 1985 CA model 300D. Am I a genius, or do I own one? The "line" is a "tube". As mentioned, it is the high-pressure "liquid line" from the condenser to the filter/drier (black can in photo). Your AC is inoperable, but you hardly need AC in Oakland, unless you drive over here some summer day.

The correct air filter for your car is a round, squat can that sits on the "milk-stool" plate in the photo, with a rubber snorkel to the turbo inlet. They came only on 1985 CA models, but those are starting to hit the junkyards regularly. You can check inventory at PickNPull on-line. You will be OK for a year or so until you find one. The air filter element is hard to get and costs ~$45. For that reason, I grabbed a clean air filter from one at the junkyard a year ago for $1. So there was an 85, but I recall that was at Ecology in SF Springs. Methinks I can stack 2 common air filters to fit, for a cheap solution.

DO NOT run your car without the air filter OP!

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1982 300sd from craigslist $800 greased on one tank with NO CONVERSION in the Hot Texas Sun. (currently dead & awaiting engine damage investigation and/or longblock swap)
new daily: '03 vw 5speed jetta tdi wagon. bagged&chipped

Sorry about the missing car info - for some reason I thought the user info would automatically populate my signature. I've added the info to the right place now.

Ok so that's good news about the broken tube. I don't think I'll be needing AC anytime soon around here. I wouldn't mind looking into it, but it's at the very very end of my list.

The PO must have switched the air filter. I have no idea why, which is becoming a kind of common refrain. I'll look for a PnP air filter, although I have no idea how long he's been running this one for, so I'm not sure how urgent it is.

Thanks Everyone!

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1985 CA 300TD
Oakland, CA

That's like saying I skipped breakfast and lunch so I might as well skip dinner

Sixto
87 300D

to get the signature to show, you need to check the box that says... show signature...
I'll fix it for you, but on vehicle specific questions, it's best to actually type into the question what vehicle you have, and not to rely on the signature, because the question lasts forever, and you can change your signature as often as you like...

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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!

Congratulations! You have a 1985 300D California model. This model has differences in order to meet 1985 California emissions standards, which were different than required of the 49-state Federal models. The giveaway is the alien-looking three-footed mount for the bottom of the air filter with the hole in the middle (something is zip-tied to yours).

You will have several problems reverting to the original intake configuration; the biggest being that your air filter housing is totally different than any other 300D. These parts are not always easy to find. Many people remove the air filter housing and run a different air filtration system once they find out that the correct air filter typically costs $45-$70.

I am running mine with a 2004 Ford F150 cone filter. I cut off the top of the cone and used a 4"-to-3" PVC pipe coupler to span the distance from the top of the truncated filter to the bottom of the air filter top plate. These filters are available for $15 or so.

Just to warn you, the other big maintenance difference is that our cars have a different transmission filter than all of the others. Aren't we lucky?

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Mike Frederick
1986 300SDL, 240K+ miles
1985 300D KaliKar, 270K+ miles

Thats the line going to the condenser.

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'85 300D Cal 280,000 miles
'14 GLK 350 60000 miles

As I remember when I ordered the filter kit for our Kali 85, the filter was the same but the pan gasket is different. I called Phil and he sent the proper gasket. If you look at the 86 and later models, it is the same gasket. MB started using it on the 85 Kali transmission.

I fixed that problem later on with a 240D 4-spd trans.

Now if we could just fix the loose nuts in Sacramento.......


Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

incorrect... it's the line exiting the condenser going to the accumulator on it's way to the evaporator...

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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!

Hmm ok so the opinion seems to be that the cone filter might let in more debris than the stock paper one? Is there some kind of cone filter which is more efficient at filtration? Any of the 86 or later 300 series I find at a PnP should have the 85 CA style filter housing? Is there anywhere online I'd be able to find a new one?

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1985 CA 300TD
Oakland, CA