We always need & want pictures, diagrams, images and so on .

TIA,

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Alrght, finally had time yesterday to deep clean the interior. There was so much dirt, dust, and trash inside I almost filled my 3 gallon mini shop-vac (!!)
I also found some old family photos and artifacts. I felt like an archeologist!

Here it is now: https://imgur.com/a/osBbYhA

In other news, I'm not getting any heat inside. I replaced the thermostat, and the car runs at the perfect temp. Should I gently backflush the heater core? Not sure how to do that with the manual heater valve in this car. Thanks!

Coveted wood trim... is it all original? Looking good dude.

I had to Victor Von my way to the finish...
When I got my 240, the only trim I had was on the dash.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

The lighter than stock of that wood looks nice .

I don't like the wood finish my own self, part of my 240D's dashboard has been replaced with the black plastic ones from graymarket cars that I no longer see in the junkyards .

I guess I shoulda saved those black dash trims, I may well replace the entire dashboard before too long .

Yes, disconnect the heater hoses at the firewall hot water valve (7MM nut driver IIRC) and *gently* flush and back flush the matrix .

If it flows water easily and comes out clear with no rust colors STOP and look for something else .

The FSM has details on how to properly hook up the bowden cables that control the valve, mine were mis connected and one had a 40 degree kink in it .

What I do is : close the hot water valves (there's TWO) and then I connect the bowden cables so when in the 'off' position there's a tiny bit of pressure holding the valves in their closed position .

I live in the Desert and when I don't want heat (most of the time) I really don't want heat .

The two horizontal sliders also have a MASSIVE effect on how much heat you get in the foot wells Vs. out the dash vents .

Take the time to adjust them and you'll be well rewarded and the defroster will work better too .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Yes, all original. This car sat, but at least it sat in a garage. The interior is quite nice, with the front seats looking great. I am hoping to replace the back seat eventually however.

Light wood trim looks great! That's how I remember it looking, when you came down here and grabbed that seat a few years back. Your car is immaculate.

Thank you Nate. I'll admit, I don't really know which hose is which on this valve. I understand the hose coming off the head is the hot side, but I don't know which of the 3 hoses coming off the valve I need to flush. Could you elaborate? I know this valve must be so simple, but I haven't wrapped my head around it's operation.
Also, I'm headed to the yard soon for parts for this car, if I find those black (leather?) trim pieces I'll send them to you! Haven't seen them in a long time.

It's pretty simple :

Two hoses come from the engine, when they supply hose reaches the hot water valve there are two that go through the firewall to apply hot water to one half of the matrix .

I think this needs a picture and my 240 is far from here .

I'm sure someone else can explain this better than I .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

No problem, I marked up an image I found. Do I flush from hoses A and B?

Attached Thumbnails

 

Okay, almost a great picture, I guess the 'D' hose is out of frame .

So ; I disconnect the A & B hoses as well as the D hose, you'll find that reversing the flow so water is coming out the D hose nipple will often turn cloudy when you put water _in_ the D hose nipple plus of course you want to reverse the flow on the A & B hose nibbles .

The deal is this : sediment collects and settles in the matrix, it's lower than the hose nipples .

Over time this sediment dries out and becomes solid so working it loose it tricky , why I reverse the flow and let it sit awhile each time .

Obviously I've had to learn on some seriously neglected cars ~ some looked great but were allowed to sit a few years, others were battered daily drivers that only had tap water added now and then, all had serious amounts of sediment I flushed out in due time .

DO NOT USE AIR NOR HIGH PRESSURE WATER ! .

The heater matrix is delicate and trust me, you don't want to need to change it out .

Time and patience are your friends here .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Nate you're the man! Thank you, now I have the confidence to do this... eventually.
The thought of damaging the heater core almost makes me want to shed a tear, so when I do tackle it, it will be very gently. Thank you again!!

That's what we're here for .

Don't be afraid to do this job, I bought a super cheapo set of nut drivers just to get the 7 & 8 MM sizes for hose clamps , I've used the crap out of them, a good $9 investment .

Tools are just that ~ FOR WORK .

Yes, I also have plenty of high quality tools that make others go OH ! when they see them but I'm a Mechanic not a collector so everything I have new or old has to WORK or it gets binned .

In due time you'll be able to confidently say "don't listen to Nate he's nuts !" .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better