Everyone with a wagon will eventually face the necessity of replacing the rubber high pressure hydraulic hose which runs from the pump on the head to the metal fitting on the passenger inner fender under the air cleaner. I just did mine. It's simple and inexpensive. All you need is a comparable length of high pressure hydraulic hose. I used Gates 6G2 3/8 9.5mm. It cost $14. The hose fittings are easily reusable (despite what two hydraulic hose repair shops told me).
Remove the air cleaner. Remove the hose at the banjo fitting at the pump and at the metal line at the fender. Note that that the fittings on the hose are made up of a large round outer portion which goes over the hose and an inner portion threaded into othe outer portion. Hold on to the outer portion with a vice or vice grip and unbolt the inner portion. Once the inner portion is removed, unthread the outer portion off the rubber hose. IT IS LEFT HAND THREADED..
Be careful at this point. The OE hose has about 30 small plastic inserts inside the hose. Carefully let them drop out onto a clean surface, noting the orientation of the insert. You will need to insert them back into the new hose.
Put the outer portion of the fitting onto the new hose. (REMEMBER IT IS LEFT HAND THREADED AND SCREWS ON TO THE RUBBER.). The hose will stop at a shoulder inside the outer fitting. Screw the inner portion into the outer portion. It is tapered and fine threaded. You will need to push down on it with moderate force to get it far enough in the hose for the threads to bite. Before doing the other end, reinsert the numerous plastic fittings. Put the fitting on the other end and reinstall the hose on the car.
With these instructions, the job should take about an hour and half. It could be done on the road if you have a second person to hold the vice grip when disassembling the fittings.
My hose sprang a leak on a road trip. No new hose was available so a mechanic took off the old one, cut off the leaking end and reinstalled the fitting. He cursed and swore for quite a while trying to get it back together. This was because he never figured out that the outer portion IS LEFT HAND THREADED. I only discovered it by accident after trying to thread it on for about 10 minutes right handed, and then when trying to remove it to figure out why it wouldn't go it, presto, it threaded right on as I unscrewed it.
By the way, the fittings on the power steering hoses look to be the same so I bet replacing them is just as simple and inexpensive.
Glove Box Door Latch Repair on the 1980 W123 300D & 240D Mercedes
As my 2nd formal “Wikka” I am again dealing with making a simple, repair to something plastic on our vintage W123 chassis Mercedes but this project involves working with “ABS” plastics which present a whole new challenge in chemistry… and also holds great promise in helping to learn how to make repairs to hard plastic interior trim pieces commonly used in these vintage W123 MBZ(s).
In any event I sought out the expertise of my local plastics specialty shop here in California [ browse http://www.TapPlastics.Com∞ ] where they correctly identified my interior trim piece as mostly being made of “ABS” plastic and also suggested I do a small test on a piece before jumping into my project… and gave me other hnts. Where you can, it is best to use thin pieces of sheet “ABS” reinforce the back side of cracked and broken pieces. These thin pieces can be literally “fused” onto the piece being repaired. Common black drain pipe cement [ actually a solvent ] is a good choice, especially where the repair will not show through objectionably onto a finished surface of the repaired piece. There are also clear, more expensive, bonding/fusing “ABS” cement products available.
For this project I used smaller pieces cut from a small $1.00 remnant of “ABS” sheeting [1/32”] purchased at Tap Plastics and ordinary black “ABS” cement from the local hardware store.
This project was on a 1980 300D [W123] and from my “Indy” MBZ friend I understand that the failure mode of our glove box door latch was clearly the most common type of failure in this W123 chassis series. The latch just dose not engage and hold the door closed. So yes it’s best that you remove the entire door and then the plastic back panel and do your own failure diagnosis and then IF your panel is broken or worn such that the “U-shaped” latch spring will not stay in place… then you can decide whether you want to replace the panel or make this fairly simple repair and gain valuable “ABS” plastic repair experience. Reading the remainder of this Wikka might help you do your diagnosis.
Yes this inner panel has the MBZ part number embossed on it [P/N – “ 1236890583 ”] however my local MBZ dealer’s parts counter indicated that I would have to purchase other latch parts as well in order to get the panel [~$60]. These metal latch pieces are usually not broken. But armed with this P/N you should be able to find this panel [ aka “Inner Glove Box Door ” ] for ~$25+s&h.
So let me move on with my easy repair to this most common door latch failure that was on our 1980 300D… namely one or two of the small plastic posts [ in nautical lingo “dogs” ] on the panel… these “dogs” either break off or become worn down and “dog-eared” such that the “U-shaped” flat door latch spring will no longer stay in position. Photo #1 below shows what a new panel’s “dogs” look like:
Photo #1
Moving on to what I think is a better view [Photo #2 below] that shows our actual panel during repair and the text and arrows in this photo help to explain what was done. Once you see and understand how the latch mechanism works and how the “U-shaped” spring must be held in position, the repair I made will make more and more sense. It’s just a matter of cutting/fitting and then fusing plastic strips onto the back of the panel to replace the function of the one or both “dogs” that might have failed. I chose to fuse two 1/32-inch “T(s)” on top of one another as shown for extra strength. This was probably overkill! Keep in mind that this is all on the back side of the inner panel and so appearances are of little consequence here as the repair will be hidden when you put the door back together… function is what matters here !
Photo #2
IF some of you DO seriously think this Wikka needs more in the way of text explanations and/or photos, let me know via the comment link below or personal mail [PM] on the FORUM and I’ll see if I can incorporate your ideas in a future revision/update to this Wikka!
Regards,
In any event I sought out the expertise of my local plastics specialty shop here in California [ browse http://www.TapPlastics.Com∞ ] where they correctly identified my interior trim piece as mostly being made of “ABS” plastic and also suggested I do a small test on a piece before jumping into my project… and gave me other hnts. Where you can, it is best to use thin pieces of sheet “ABS” reinforce the back side of cracked and broken pieces. These thin pieces can be literally “fused” onto the piece being repaired. Common black drain pipe cement [ actually a solvent ] is a good choice, especially where the repair will not show through objectionably onto a finished surface of the repaired piece. There are also clear, more expensive, bonding/fusing “ABS” cement products available.
For this project I used smaller pieces cut from a small $1.00 remnant of “ABS” sheeting [1/32”] purchased at Tap Plastics and ordinary black “ABS” cement from the local hardware store.
This project was on a 1980 300D [W123] and from my “Indy” MBZ friend I understand that the failure mode of our glove box door latch was clearly the most common type of failure in this W123 chassis series. The latch just dose not engage and hold the door closed. So yes it’s best that you remove the entire door and then the plastic back panel and do your own failure diagnosis and then IF your panel is broken or worn such that the “U-shaped” latch spring will not stay in place… then you can decide whether you want to replace the panel or make this fairly simple repair and gain valuable “ABS” plastic repair experience. Reading the remainder of this Wikka might help you do your diagnosis.
Yes this inner panel has the MBZ part number embossed on it [P/N – “ 1236890583 ”] however my local MBZ dealer’s parts counter indicated that I would have to purchase other latch parts as well in order to get the panel [~$60]. These metal latch pieces are usually not broken. But armed with this P/N you should be able to find this panel [ aka “Inner Glove Box Door ” ] for ~$25+s&h.
So let me move on with my easy repair to this most common door latch failure that was on our 1980 300D… namely one or two of the small plastic posts [ in nautical lingo “dogs” ] on the panel… these “dogs” either break off or become worn down and “dog-eared” such that the “U-shaped” flat door latch spring will no longer stay in position. Photo #1 below shows what a new panel’s “dogs” look like:
Photo #1
Moving on to what I think is a better view [Photo #2 below] that shows our actual panel during repair and the text and arrows in this photo help to explain what was done. Once you see and understand how the latch mechanism works and how the “U-shaped” spring must be held in position, the repair I made will make more and more sense. It’s just a matter of cutting/fitting and then fusing plastic strips onto the back of the panel to replace the function of the one or both “dogs” that might have failed. I chose to fuse two 1/32-inch “T(s)” on top of one another as shown for extra strength. This was probably overkill! Keep in mind that this is all on the back side of the inner panel and so appearances are of little consequence here as the repair will be hidden when you put the door back together… function is what matters here !
Photo #2
IF some of you DO seriously think this Wikka needs more in the way of text explanations and/or photos, let me know via the comment link below or personal mail [PM] on the FORUM and I’ll see if I can incorporate your ideas in a future revision/update to this Wikka!
Regards,
Mercedes 240D Fuel Tank Removal and Cleaning
My daughters 240D sat for a while and developed a algae problem. I cleaned the tank screen, quite a mess, and installed new inline fuel lines and main fuel filters. I added an algaecide and about 5 gallons of diesel to allow the algaecide to kill the algae. When that happens and algae settles to the bottom of the tank and looks like a layer of old wrinkly vinyl paint. It is not a solid sheet and will be picked up if disturbed. So I decided to take the fuel tank out and clean it with my pressure washer. If that did not clean it enough I would have it steam cleaned.
Of course getting the fuel out will always result in diesel spilling on you no matter what you do. I also had to replace the fuel screen rubber line. Below are the pictures of the job. the hardware and the tank in and out.
The first picture shows the mounting bolts for the trunk wall panel ( this shows the lower one).
There are 4 bolts total... 2 under the hat tray of the rear seat (accessed from the trunk side), and 2 on the floor of the trunk.
Access for all 4 bolts is in the trunk.
Passenger side upper trunk wall bolt and vacuum tank
Passenger side tank area. Filler neck and vacuum tank
Left side
Left side, tank removed
Right side, tank removed
This is is what the water looked like that was drained out of the tank while high pressure washing the tank.
Have a nice day!
And if anyone knows how to get the diesel smell out of my shop clothes, without a match, let me know.
3 washings and they still smell.
Of course getting the fuel out will always result in diesel spilling on you no matter what you do. I also had to replace the fuel screen rubber line. Below are the pictures of the job. the hardware and the tank in and out.
- Remove the first aid kit and box from hat tray in rear seats. 2 philips head screws. Pull the plastic first aid kit front up and towards the front. disconnect the sender wire and place out of the way.
- Drain the fuel tank and plan on getting diesel on yourself.
- Remove rubber hose from screen. The screen does not have to be removed at this time. Tape over the screen opening to prevent diesel from dripping in the trunk ( hymm how do I know)
- Unbolt the 2 vent lines under the tank on the drivers side of the car, get more diesel on yourself.
- Remove the trunk floor carpet and the wheel well plastic inserts
- Protect the trunk floor with plastic, Diesel will drip out of the tank. Not alot
- Unbolt the forward trunk wall. 4 bolts 2 on the rear seat hat tray and 2 on the floor.
- Remove the vacuum reservior. 1 push pin assembly at the rear on the rear seat hat tray. Disconnect the vacuum line and move to the side.
- Unbolt the 4 fuel tank mounting nuts, remember the large washers are on the top.
- Remove the tank by moving the driverside towards the rear first and sliding the filler neck out of the body opening. spill more diesel on yourself or the trunk.
- Remove the fuel screen and sending unit.
- Clean with a high pressure washer or take it to a radiator shop to clean it.
- I attached my shopvac hose to the filler neck and duct taped it tight. then I turned it on blow and allowed the tank to dry this way for 4 hours. Make sure the vent lines are empty of water. This may require rotating and moving the tank to get the lines to drain. I used a flashlight to see into the tank and it looked quite clean.
- Before reinstalling the tank, blow out the supply and return line and change the filters.
- Use an algaecide every 6 months.
- OK you had an algae problem and had to do all this work. Since your there consider the following. Clean the screeen completely, I used brake cleaner in a can. Replace all the rubber lines you had to disconnect. You may have to reglue the bottom rubber cushions on the tank back on, use 3m weatherstrip adhesive. Open and clean the sending unit. If the tank had a algae problem so does your sending unit. Again brake cleaner spray. New screen and sender Orings. New filler rubber bushing if your is worn. Check your vaccum reservior, If cracked or leaking repair with epoxy. Check the vacuum line to reservior connector. Seal or replace if its bad. Your under the rear of the car so check everything. I treat the axel boots with 303 preservative while I'm under there, be careful not to break the boots if they are old. Again if you are doing this consider using an algaecide every 6 months or so.
The first picture shows the mounting bolts for the trunk wall panel ( this shows the lower one).
There are 4 bolts total... 2 under the hat tray of the rear seat (accessed from the trunk side), and 2 on the floor of the trunk.
Access for all 4 bolts is in the trunk.
Passenger side upper trunk wall bolt and vacuum tank
Passenger side tank area. Filler neck and vacuum tank
Left side
Left side, tank removed
Right side, tank removed
This is is what the water looked like that was drained out of the tank while high pressure washing the tank.
Have a nice day!
And if anyone knows how to get the diesel smell out of my shop clothes, without a match, let me know.
3 washings and they still smell.
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