Well that was a giant PITA, but worth it.This is on a 126, otherwise you have to drop the tranny. I'll try to rememember everything I did wrong to save somebody else the hassle. First off, find a better place to break down than a windswept parking lot at the beach where everything you drop has to be cleaned off. Then, if you are pretty sure it's the piston, don't be cheap and just change the fluid and filter, it really sucks to get it all reassembled, have it not work and then have to open it all back up again. Clean everything around the cover (pass. side near rear of tranny), and find the notch to pry out the snap ring. It's at about 4 o'clock position. Then jam a screwdriver into the slots around the cover to work it out of there. I took it out about 5 times, and sometimes it would fall right out and others it would wedge in there and need to get jammed all the way back in to restart. Be careful putting it in or you can pinch the orange O-ring and break it. (it's not as hard to put in the new as the articles said) When you pull out the piston, there's a connecting piece ( the dogbone, it's a little rod with round ends) that will fall out and lay in the opening where you can't see it. I didn't even know it was there and reassembled the original piston (which I think is what broke it, wasn't cracked like the picture shows at first) and didnt figure it out 'til installing the new piston!

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'84 300SD veg-oil bliss
'83 300SD veg-oil beater