stan's 1980 300TD
stan's 1980 300TD
woo! bosch AL129X alternator swap is done. busted some knuckles here and there but it was relatively easy. i could walk someone through it in about 40 minutes or less. battery is at kragen charging now, will pick it up later and start the car up! i ran two 10ga wires from the alternator directly to the battery, then one more 10ga to the stock harness hot wire. i made a jumper wire with a ring connector to attach to the blue wire terminal on the alternator, and used spade connectors to wire it into the stock harness. (the hot wire to the stock harness is missing in my photos though)
odometer reading: 184000
here's some photos to show how much bigger and more awesome this is than the stock alternator. and despite the difference in hole spacing, it bolted into the stock bracket without issues, and i was able to fit the regular stock sized belt on and tension it properly.
PROTIP: take teh lower radiator hose out, and the thing slips into place no problem. everyone seems to think you have to worry about clearance with the AC hardline, but if you attach your wiring to the alternator, then slip it into place, its all very easy and plenty of clearance in all areas.
honestly i dont know why anyone would not do this swap, especially when its no more expensive than putting a stock alternator in. you get 115 amps without any janky modifications.
What model car did that 115amp come on? looks like a nice mod!
project for the day: mounting my new driving lights :-D
and can anyone help me with what to do about my shifter problem? i can't think of the right terms to search for on my own. its like the thing moved up, so now i can get into everything EXCEPT PARK. and all the gears are upward of where they should be on the shifter trim. is this an adjustment? a bushing? wtf do i do? right now i'm just putting the car in neutral when i park it, but i'd rather have my gears in the right locations.
side note, it flares really bad, i've been reading up on the k1/k2 spring kits. might have to do that. also my kickdown does not work, and the transmission shifts way too early regardless fo throttle position. i spotted a disconnected cable which might be to blame for the early shifting, but i haven't figure out what to do about the kickdown yet.
Thumb screws are a hell of a lot faster than the factory clamp ends. I'll be using those thumb screw style ends on the first battery of my dual-battery system.
(09-12-2010, 08:28 PM)ForcedInduction my dual-battery system.
yeah for the battery side i got some fo those post terminals with wing nuts. cut the clamp off the starter cable and used a splice thing to put a big ring end on it. stacked the two extra 10ga feeds from the alternator on top of that. seems to be working well.
(09-12-2010, 08:28 PM)ForcedInduction my dual-battery system.
Yes Forced, I would also be very interested in what you are planning/end up using for a dual battery system. When I spent time years ago researching these (I used to 4 wheel a lot) the most important and involved aspect is battery management. I'll be curious if you manage the batteries manually or go with some kind of microprocessor control. Some of the double and triple battery systems out 5-10 years ago were pretty amazing. I can only imagine what they might be like now. The 4x4 crowd would be a great place for ideas (as I'm sure you already know).
(09-12-2010, 10:51 PM)stan are you doing a homebrew setup for that?Yes. It will be identical to the rear battery system in my 300D, but x2 in parallel.
(09-12-2010, 10:51 PM)stan are you doing a homebrew setup for that?Yes. It will be identical to the rear battery system in my 300D, but x2 in parallel.
I went with the Hella 500 but I have another set to install still! I will have 4 in front of the grill after I finish up my turbo 240 4spd engine swap!
(09-13-2010, 11:20 PM)willbhere4u I went with the Hella 500 but I have another set to install still! I will have 4 in front of the grill after I finish up my turbo 240 4spd engine swap!Hello
(09-13-2010, 11:20 PM)willbhere4u I went with the Hella 500 but I have another set to install still! I will have 4 in front of the grill after I finish up my turbo 240 4spd engine swap!Hello
Looks like your rack is gettin a lil rusty...
The bumpers don't fuck around on these cars... they are like .3" thick!
Looks good but I would have mounted them to the rack....
can anyone clue me in on whats up with my shifter? all the gear positions are basically moved up, so park is higher than the shifter can move (with the bezel in place) and all hte gears are slightly higher than they should be.
project list update (in order of importance):
-pick up the rear lift springs next week for SLS delete
-get sedan shocks for SLS delete
-make pump blockoff plate for SLS delete
-figure out wtf is up with the shifter, and fix it
-figure out whats up with the transmission flaring - maybe install spring kit?
-pull the whole ac system out. fuck it
-mount new panels in the center console with toggles and LEDs, retain only basic functions (blower on/off, rear defrost on off, etc)
-pull the evil servo, put in ball valves.
-pull the shifter bezel and clean the lens/letters up.
-LED light for the shifter bezel
-finish the LED light for the front dome light
-put replacement passenger seat in
-go to the junkyard to find a replacement ignition switch vacuum shutoff valve so i can stop popping the hood to turn car off
-try and find replacement left tail light lens
-pull fuel level sending unit, clean it
auto shifter bushings for the linkage bar. One bushing at the tranny, and one attachment under the car to the bottom of the shifter. I bet these are rotted or missing causing your problem.
Did you test the vacuum shutoff valve on the back of the IP for your shutoff problem? I bet you that is more likely the issue than the valve on the ignition, which is pretty simple and less likely to break, that or a leaking rubber boot. Its easy to test, just pull the line off and draw vacuum on it and see if it hold vacuum. If not, it has a hole in it, and the size of the hole can be seen by how long vacuum bleeds down.
On mine, the car would shut off, but 10 seconds after turning the ignition off. I also replaced the switch on the ignition, but it turned out to be a pin hole in the shutoff valve.
(09-15-2010, 11:08 AM)dropnosky auto shifter bushings for the linkage bar. One bushing at the tranny, and one attachment under the car to the bottom of the shifter. I bet these are rotted or missing causing your problem.
(09-15-2010, 11:08 AM)dropnosky Did you test the vacuum shutoff valve on the back of the IP for your shutoff problem? I bet you that is more likely the issue than the valve on the ignition, which is pretty simple and less likely to break, that or a leaking rubber boot. Its easy to test, just pull the line off and draw vacuum on it and see if it hold vacuum. If not, it has a hole in it, and the size of the hole can be seen by how long vacuum bleeds down.
On mine, the car would shut off, but 10 seconds after turning the ignition off. I also replaced the switch on the ignition, but it turned out to be a pin hole in the shutoff valve.
(09-15-2010, 11:08 AM)dropnosky auto shifter bushings for the linkage bar. One bushing at the tranny, and one attachment under the car to the bottom of the shifter. I bet these are rotted or missing causing your problem.
(09-15-2010, 11:08 AM)dropnosky Did you test the vacuum shutoff valve on the back of the IP for your shutoff problem? I bet you that is more likely the issue than the valve on the ignition, which is pretty simple and less likely to break, that or a leaking rubber boot. Its easy to test, just pull the line off and draw vacuum on it and see if it hold vacuum. If not, it has a hole in it, and the size of the hole can be seen by how long vacuum bleeds down.
On mine, the car would shut off, but 10 seconds after turning the ignition off. I also replaced the switch on the ignition, but it turned out to be a pin hole in the shutoff valve.
(09-15-2010, 01:43 PM)stan how much of a pain are these to replace? does it matter that when i shift it sorta feels like the shifter is clunking into gears? bushing sounds like the issue
no my car has the reverse issue. i tested this with a vacuum gauge. the ignition side is allowing a bit of vacuum through which is enough to kill the car after revving it, and just enough to make the car idle like shit and randomly die otherwise. my vacuum shutoff on the ip works great! the reason i have to manuall shut the car off right now is that i disconnected the line- i had to in order for the car to run properly.
(09-15-2010, 01:43 PM)stan how much of a pain are these to replace? does it matter that when i shift it sorta feels like the shifter is clunking into gears? bushing sounds like the issue
no my car has the reverse issue. i tested this with a vacuum gauge. the ignition side is allowing a bit of vacuum through which is enough to kill the car after revving it, and just enough to make the car idle like shit and randomly die otherwise. my vacuum shutoff on the ip works great! the reason i have to manuall shut the car off right now is that i disconnected the line- i had to in order for the car to run properly.
(09-15-2010, 01:51 PM)dropnosky Have an interim idea for you, run a direct line from the shut off valve into the car, and connect the other end to a air tight syringe. in the fully depressed position. Then, when you need to shut it off, pull the syringe plunger out to create vacuum on the valve. Might work.
(09-15-2010, 01:51 PM)dropnosky Have an interim idea for you, run a direct line from the shut off valve into the car, and connect the other end to a air tight syringe. in the fully depressed position. Then, when you need to shut it off, pull the syringe plunger out to create vacuum on the valve. Might work.
WOAH. so the sls delete may not be necessary.
jacked the car up, disconnected the linkage to the SLS valve by the differential, and moved it all the way up. started the engine, ran for a bit. there was a whining noise (very high pitched) coming from the rear suspension...no idea what it was. then shut the car off, took it off jacks. and BAM>
it's sitting high as hell!!!! 28 inches from the ground to the fender lip. 17 inches from the center of the mercedes star on the wheel to the fender lip. its AWESOME. so now i'm thinking maybe this is just a matter of replacing the accumulators and / or rebuilding the SLS valve. going to fiddle iwth it more tomorrow after i can research this some.
update: girlfriend moved up to UCSB 2 days ago, and plannign to take a drive up there at the end of hte week. its 150+ miles from home, so i have some prep work to do before leaving.
-install new SLS accumulators
-replace coolant temperature sender
-replace the 2 glow plugs that have higher impedance than the others (which have almost zero)
-sew some canvas things to hold my tools in an organized way
-get 2 or 3 new tires for my spares (current fronts are nearly bald, but i have 3 spare bundts i can put tires on)
putting in another partsgeek order - getting spare upper/lower rad hoses, and a couple random things that i figure would be likely to blow on the freeway and need replacing.
ordered 2 sets of rebuild rings for teh sls valve. figured why not, only cost $15 for the two sets. will have to rebuild my sls valve but it doesnt appear to be toooo screwed up so that may wait until after this week.
picked up my propigskin sls delete springs with 2.5" extra height. i may try putting them on WITH the sls just to see how it is having super beefy springs with SLS. if anything happens with the SLS i always have the option of going to standard suspension now too.
stock sized alternator belt gave out, ended up trying a few different sizes. so far the one that seems to be working is gates 9403 (stock is 9405, which is larger diameter). right now the car idles around 14.1-14.2V, and i'm having no trouble running the blower, defrost, stereo, low beams, fogs, and hella 700s. its pretty badass i must say.
the front suspension - i think left, has been creeeeeeking like an old bed. i'll have to investigate. the thing definitely needs an alignment too, because the front camber is way off. tops of the wheels farther apart than bottoms - too much positive camber i think.... not sure why. i'm sure that once i get the rear end up to proper ride height, its going to show some alignment issues as well.
need to pull the alternator mounting bracket from blue thunder - mine is bent up from someone before me, and made worse by me monkeying around during my alternator swap.
thats all for now folks.
(09-20-2010, 04:11 AM)stan the front suspension - i think left, has been creeeeeeking like an old bed. i'll have to investigate.
(09-20-2010, 04:11 AM)stan the front suspension - i think left, has been creeeeeeking like an old bed. i'll have to investigate.
Dunno if your going to find that alternator bracket.... Got a new shiny one on my car!
today/yesterday clay barred the front fenders and hood. sorta helped but not much. also used clay bar on the windshield, which did nothing for the water spots that seem to be permanently ingrained into the glass.
used upholstery cleaner on all the seats, and carpet cleaner on the stains in the carpets. everything looking a lot better now. figured out how to fold the seats up and god damn is this thing roomy. i'm a hair over 6' tall, and i can comfortably stretch out in the back without even having to lay at an angle.
parts are supposed to arrive thurs, which sucks but whatever. probably going to pick up some cheap tires tomorrow or thurs as well.
used tire black silicon stuff on the rubber bumper trim, will see if that keeps it looking nice.
removed the old messed up front passenger seat and replaced with one thats in better condition. somewhat faded and you can see the dif in colors between the mbtex and hte leather, but its not cracked / torn so i'm happy.just need to get the rear seat netting tightened up on teh backs of my seats. they hang like sleeve of wizard right now. im thinking some new bungee cord would do the trick.
(09-22-2010, 05:57 AM)stan they hang like sleeve of wizard right now.
(09-22-2010, 05:57 AM)stan they hang like sleeve of wizard right now.
Haha I laughed too, also at the fact I've seen "the" spelled: the, teh, hte....
(09-22-2010, 09:01 PM)Captain America Haha I laughed too, also at the fact I've seen "the" spelled: the, teh, hte....
(09-22-2010, 09:01 PM)Captain America Haha I laughed too, also at the fact I've seen "the" spelled: the, teh, hte....
made the trip to santa barbara with no problems. 155 miles to get there, 100-130 miles while there, 155 miles back. with the accumulators the car rides SO smooth especially on the freeway.
while doing accumulators i discovered that the passenger side axle feels like it has some play in it, where the drivers' side does not. i've also noticed some clunking back there every now and then but cant find a way to replicate it.
leaking coolant, not sure where as i just replaced both upper and lower rad hoses. somewhere around the rad though, as its dripping off the part of the body that goes under the rad. its slow enough that i can drive ~150 miles before temp starts to go up above normal.
(09-28-2010, 09:35 PM)dropnosky what kind of noise did the rack make up there during that drive?
(09-28-2010, 09:35 PM)dropnosky what kind of noise did the rack make up there during that drive?
You should know it.... you have one
Call the dealer, they can look it up for you. The D is roughly 21 gallons
to keep things organized, i've started a separate thread in the engine section for my engine swap project.
http://www.superturbodiesel.com/std/my-8...-1843.html
holy crap i snapped a half shaft.....or rather the inner CV joint on one. no idea how.
do i buy a new replacement or get oen from the junkyard? what's the easiest way to do the r&r on these? my daily driver is officially dead right now and it SUCKS
edit: have kragen bringing in a rebuilt half shaft, should have it later on today. $125 and it has a lifetime warranty, which beats the junkyard right now ($56 with 30 day warranty, and i'd still have to find a way to get to the junkyard with my car being dead).
(10-26-2010, 01:44 PM)stan holy crap i snapped a half shaft.....or rather the inner CV joint on one. no idea how.
do i buy a new replacement or get oen from the junkyard? what's the easiest way to do the r&r on these? my daily driver is officially dead right now and it SUCKS
(10-26-2010, 01:44 PM)stan holy crap i snapped a half shaft.....or rather the inner CV joint on one. no idea how.
do i buy a new replacement or get oen from the junkyard? what's the easiest way to do the r&r on these? my daily driver is officially dead right now and it SUCKS
picked up axle from kragen (well, now its been taken over by o'reilly)
over the weekend driving up to santa barbara as usual, got pulled over for dead running lights. twice. got a fix-it ticket, so my solution is thus: bought 2 universal trailer/truck lights, going to mount them to my bumper. bright lights finally!
using these type:
going to start trying to work on the half shaft tonight, and splicing into the stock tail light harnesses.
on the agenda as well:
-reinstall all the carpeting and dead pedal now that i got the car dried out from the last rain. seal up any holes i find (and plug the one in the floor and one behind the dead pedal).
-fix the shifter bushings (already have replacements)
-replace the leaky return line (already have a new one, but might need more)
-replace coolant temp sensor (already have new one)
whats the problem with your running lights? I like the round light idea, but if you go to all the trouble to wire them in, you might as well also fix the stock running lights. Are these gonna point down off the bumper, next to the revers lights? How are you going to mount them
(10-26-2010, 11:53 PM)stan FAIL. i need a 22mm wrench and 14mm hex, i have annular joints which means i have to open the diff up to pull out a clip to do the job. uggghhhhh. looks like i'm taking the bus to the auto parts store tomorrow!
(10-26-2010, 11:53 PM)stan FAIL. i need a 22mm wrench and 14mm hex, i have annular joints which means i have to open the diff up to pull out a clip to do the job. uggghhhhh. looks like i'm taking the bus to the auto parts store tomorrow!
I think those lights would look hideous on a 123! Why would you do that? Your tail lights dont work or they are just too dim?
(10-27-2010, 08:42 AM)winmutt What do you need a 22mm wrench for?
(10-27-2010, 08:42 AM)winmutt What do you need a 22mm wrench for?
alright so here's what i accomplished today:
installed passenger side half shaft, has lifetime warranty!
-rewired hella 700FFs so its more mud-proof (romping messed up my connections last time)
-pulled off front bumper and tightened up the hella mounts
-replaced one leaky injector return line (may have to replace others, we shall see)
-replaced SLS high pressure line (got this from my 85 engine)
-wired up the trailer light for a drivers side running light for now (it had to be done, but i am ordering a new set of stock tails too)
-put brighter bulbs in my turn signals so hopefully asshats on the 101 see them now
-degreased, wire brushed, then degreased the diff cover again, painted it with silver wheel paint so its all pretty.
-filled the diff with GL-5 80W-90, marked the date, odo reading, and oil weight with red paint pen. left room for future fills.
odometer is at 186,931. i sure am racking up the miles on this thing it seems.
(10-29-2010, 12:06 AM)stan alright so here's what i accomplished today:
installed passenger side half shaft, has lifetime warranty!
-rewired hella 700FFs so its more mud-proof (romping messed up my connections last time)
-pulled off front bumper and tightened up the hella mounts
-replaced one leaky injector return line (may have to replace others, we shall see)
-replaced SLS high pressure line (got this from my 85 engine)
-wired up the trailer light for a drivers side running light for now (it had to be done, but i am ordering a new set of stock tails too)
-put brighter bulbs in my turn signals so hopefully asshats on the 101 see them now
-degreased, wire brushed, then degreased the diff cover again, painted it with silver wheel paint so its all pretty.
-filled the diff with GL-5 80W-90, marked the date, odo reading, and oil weight with red paint pen. left room for future fills.
odometer is at 186,931. i sure am racking up the miles on this thing it seems.
one issue that has become obvious is that my front camber is WAY off. in only a couple thousand miles, its scrubbed most of the outer edge of the front tires off. i'm not sure wtf could cause this....do our cars have camber adjustments that i could have corrected, or am i pretty much going to have to chop my front springs?
(10-29-2010, 12:06 AM)stan alright so here's what i accomplished today:
installed passenger side half shaft, has lifetime warranty!
-rewired hella 700FFs so its more mud-proof (romping messed up my connections last time)
-pulled off front bumper and tightened up the hella mounts
-replaced one leaky injector return line (may have to replace others, we shall see)
-replaced SLS high pressure line (got this from my 85 engine)
-wired up the trailer light for a drivers side running light for now (it had to be done, but i am ordering a new set of stock tails too)
-put brighter bulbs in my turn signals so hopefully asshats on the 101 see them now
-degreased, wire brushed, then degreased the diff cover again, painted it with silver wheel paint so its all pretty.
-filled the diff with GL-5 80W-90, marked the date, odo reading, and oil weight with red paint pen. left room for future fills.
odometer is at 186,931. i sure am racking up the miles on this thing it seems.
one issue that has become obvious is that my front camber is WAY off. in only a couple thousand miles, its scrubbed most of the outer edge of the front tires off. i'm not sure wtf could cause this....do our cars have camber adjustments that i could have corrected, or am i pretty much going to have to chop my front springs?
(10-29-2010, 12:06 AM)stan
one issue that has become obvious is that my front camber is WAY off. in only a couple thousand miles, its scrubbed most of the outer edge of the front tires off. i'm not sure wtf could cause this....do our cars have camber adjustments that i could have corrected, or am i pretty much going to have to chop my front springs?
(10-29-2010, 12:06 AM)stan
one issue that has become obvious is that my front camber is WAY off. in only a couple thousand miles, its scrubbed most of the outer edge of the front tires off. i'm not sure wtf could cause this....do our cars have camber adjustments that i could have corrected, or am i pretty much going to have to chop my front springs?
(10-29-2010, 12:06 AM)stan one issue that has become obvious is that my front camber is WAY off. in only a couple thousand miles, its scrubbed most of the outer edge of the front tires off. i'm not sure wtf could cause this....do our cars have camber adjustments that i could have corrected, or am i pretty much going to have to chop my front springs?
(10-27-2010, 12:33 PM)Captain America I think those lights would look hideous on a 123! Why would you do that? Your tail lights dont work or they are just too dim?
(10-29-2010, 12:06 AM)stan one issue that has become obvious is that my front camber is WAY off. in only a couple thousand miles, its scrubbed most of the outer edge of the front tires off. i'm not sure wtf could cause this....do our cars have camber adjustments that i could have corrected, or am i pretty much going to have to chop my front springs?
(10-27-2010, 12:33 PM)Captain America I think those lights would look hideous on a 123! Why would you do that? Your tail lights dont work or they are just too dim?