1985 300CD Front End Damage
 

Hi,
My beautiful 300CD recently took a tap to the front. Im so sad.

Im looking at replacing:

front core radiator support
radiator
engine driven fan and fan clutch
oil cooler
water pump

head light bucket assemblies (got already from yard)
grille (got already from yard)

not replacing the condenser (never had ac)
not replacing hood or hinges

im looking at the "mercedes source" page for "Repairing Early Diesel Front End Damage"
but am not sure exactly how to get the radiator core support off a scrap car - as this seems to be the first step..

does anyone have experience doing this?
i brought it to my shop and they are estimating upward of 1,000 just for a new radiator core support and labor. if I get a radiator core support from the pick-n-pull can I just hack saw it off? I have no experience with welding.

whats my best bet?
any advice would help.
thank you! :(

I'm pretty sure it's welded in place on a 123. When you get the new part, it will be obvious where to cut. No experience welding? Guess what?

Before you go too much further, it would be a good idea to pull the bumper and inspect the crossmember...the heavy part of the chassis that's under the radiator. If the crossmember is damaged or displaced, you'll have a much more complicated job.

Meh... I've straightened worse than that with a tree, a ratchet strap and a rubber mallet.

Get everything off the core and start attaching the strap, then tap with the mallet to get the metal where you want it to go

Question
 

....when you stated "I brought it to my shop"....we're you referring to a body shop you took the car to or your mechanic?

That is what I would call cosmetic
 

Damage.

A bodyshop will tell you $1000 because, with the money they get paid on insurance jobs these days, they don't brush their teeth for less.

Look in the yellow pages under welders and find someone who is mobile and will do auto jobs. For them that is a yawn.

The bumper of the car that did this unspeakable act squarely hit just drivers-side-off-center on the grille. This is really good advise but im going to leave this alone as well as as the hood and hood hinges. If Im going to fix this baby and keep it as my one-and-only I really should just getting it running and make it look pretty again.

what im wondering about going the salvage route is: just about everything. where do you cut the salvage core support? is it cheaper to buy a new one? and get the other non-welded parts salvaged?


Having done this successfully a couple years ago with a pickup truck and some ropes on a different car im not ruling it out.
I'm also now considering a shop with a frame rack as this may be better than sawing at the pick n pull though I may get roped into liabilities and cost at a shop using their frame rack...
any advise?

referring to my Mercedes mechanic and the body shop next door. These guys are very good. The problem is that there is really no time for tinkering. They do it the expensive way.



thank you. any input and advise is good here. ill post the progress.

I had a W123 with similar damage years ago.

We needed to replace the core support, and I had a parts car.
I bought a new one from the dealer, so it must have pretty reasonable....

Jim

At minimum the hood striker on the hood is going to be bent and needs replaced / straightened. Have a close look at the hood to cowl gap to determine hood and hinge alignment.

Regardless of what you replace, the core support needs pulled back into at least rough shape as this pulls other metal you are not replacing back into shape. Making some pull plates / drilling a few holes / temp welding a pull plate to the core so pulling devices can be attached is sometimes needed.

After pulling the core, it might be back into enough shape for use. Changing a core is a larger job and should be avoided if possible as it is going to be a fender off operation on most cars.

As with painting, "welding" is 90% prep so a generic fab shop won't be interested in doing this job.

Salvage yard cores are generally cut off 6" or so rearward from the core unless otherwise specified. In your case check the area on the good car for rust then specify where the replacement should be cut to include this area.

If you get another core support you will need to plan how you are going to drill the spot welds out. If possible drill out the spot welds from the side you are not keeping on the donor car. ( This is using a spot weld cutter that looks like a small hole saw, the goal is to cut through only one thickness of metal )

On the good car you can then drill from directions that keep the new spot welds hidden.

Looking at the pics I'd guess that the core support could easily be straightened. You'll need to pull the radiator because tweeking the core support could damage the rad in the process. Rent a portapower (or buy one at HF) and push it back. Remember, little of that shows and it doesn't have to be perfect to do it's job properly.

If the collider (isn't that the person who hit you in a collision?) is paying - well, turn it over to the body shop and let them handle it! Few body shops fix anything anymore as it's simply cheaper for them to replace panels - and they're not buying the parts. That doesn't mean it's better to replace.

Having a frame shop pull the front back in shape is a great idea, too, and well worth the expense.

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I've been doing body work for about 50 years though not generally as a profession. I've done a TON of it and have earned extra money by putting repairable totals back together with good success. I have some formal training in the field. So I do have some idea of what I'm saying. Take a look at my build thread and you can see the last few pages are the body work on my OM617/S-10 project.

Dan

picked up from the pick-n-pull:

9 blade fan/ clutch
radiator/ oil cooler
ac condenser
aux. fan and attachment bars
hood striker latch
headlight assemblies
grille

under $300 for all

found a body shop to put it on a frame rack for $800 (estimated 12hr job)
this still seems like a rip off for just yanking a piece of metal 2-3 inches. is this right?

If it was running I would first try the tree technique or even the portapower before blowing $800... maybe the shop its at will let me pay a storage fee and do it myself.

Still have to take a closer look at the mechanical work after the frame is back.. but my guess is that it will be pretty straight forward.

is this what the core support looks like? it's $100 new.

thoughts? opinions?
thanks

I can yank the metal back 2 or 3 inches for $ 100 , when would you like me to do it? Oh, wait, you want it be be back to original ( + - 1/16" ) ? Well that will cost you more. How much more? Well that can't be determined until the job has started as there isn't a "book" value for such jobs.


That would be a huge insurance risk for the storage shop, I doubt they would do it.

Why do you feel this is " blowing $800 " when apparantly the shop can fix it properly?

What should the job cost when you have a frame machine that is $ 20 K , clamping fixtures , measuring devices, a shop to put it in, a guy to pay to run it? Are you ready to open a body shop and charge what you think the job should be worth? Should be profitable at the rate you want to change no?



The part you are showing looks like a bumper backer / reinforcement.

You got em.

If you get to the stage of stripping out the parts attached to the bent metal take some pictures of the damage and we'll have a better idea - if you show it to someone else who will be doing the job they will have a better idea too.

No, the core support is the entire nose of the car, that attaches to the radiator...

Ive been through a DIY job which turned out OK on a 300sd ,I used the original core support and bent it back into shape,if to do it over I would of put a pipe under the metal on the upper core to keep its shape ,it now has a obvious look of repair after ratcheting with a strap and hammering the placement ,the bottom of the support is not damaged but to FIX the top a junkyard salvage piece will be in its place soon.This will be my plan of attacking the core support . Once youve got the cut one off from the yard take a carefull measurement from these two points at the inner fender support at the cut location ,youll want it to be the same measurement on yours ,also when test fitting the piece tack weld and test the hood striker for alignment ,much easier to get it in the zone this way than play with it latter.A welder if everything is laid out for him with which cuts to make and parts on hand already cleaned and ready to weld on would be no more than $250 to do the job.Some will even come to you .Let them do the cut off the car ,they may need some extra length to build from and good luck with that car ,its still in great shape.

fwiw, heres the numbers the shop gave:

lamp bar R: 1236200672 $140
lamp bar L: 1236200572 140
upper tie bar: 1236200772 27.50
mount bar: 1236200185 36
center support: 1236230219 19.50

labor including paint: 1000


then theres the issue of the mechanical.
It looks like the damaged parts are

engine driven fan
auxiliary fan
light assemblys
oil cooler: 1261800065 G5

all of this I got at pick n pull except the oil cooler. I got the wrong one off a 1970s w123.
most of the oil coolers are 1261800065 D1 that I see online. mine is 1261800065 G5. is there a difference between the D1 or the G5?

going back to the pick-n-pull to try and find a w126 to grab the "G5" or "D1" cooler...

most likely going to pay the body shop, do the mechanical myself and try my best to keep some level of sanity...
thanks again
:cool: