Flex disk replacement W107 DIY??

[Strife]

It sounds like you are doing the right thing, drawing a "baseline" on the car and replacing rubber and consumables before they fail. No question, it will cost less and your enjoyment of the car will be higher than doing things as they become obvious. I did many of these things on both of my cars and I have gotten (knock on wood) 70K of relatively trouble-free miles out of that work. If you don't plan on keeping the car forever, document everything and save the receipts; you will get back a good percentage of your dollar.

[Strife]

Originally Posted by 300sdToronto

The power plant is in great shape and was upgraded about 10K miles ago to a twin chain etc. It was a single with 100K miles on it when I bought the car - living dangerously.

Wow, very few people have done this; the parts new alone are quite expensive, never mind the labor.

[300sdToronto]

Yes, I have to say that these cars are a money pit compared to my 300SD. Everything seems much more complex than the w126 body as it's all crammed into a smaller space and the design of some elements (flexdisks, front suspension components for example) did not properly consider the need for major future maintenance when these cars were designed!

[300sdToronto]

Ok, I need some very BASIC help here on seals. Ive R&R'd tractor transmission but up to now - thankfully - I've never had to tangle with an automatic other than doing basic fluid and filter changes on the bottom.

The tranny is leaking fluid at the front. I assumed it was a front seal (which is a round seal on Fastlane) and I've also been warned to get a front pump seal (which looks like a big o-ring) in case that's the issue.

Someone also mentioned a torque converter seal but I can't find a one of them on Fastlane or competitive parts sites. Is a torque converter seal and the front seal the same beastie?

Thanks!

[rs899]

The torque converter seal or front seal on Fastlane is this:

W0133-1634133

This thing looks sort of like a wheel bearing seal and seals the neck of the TC where it slides over the input shaft of the tranny.

The pump seal is:

W0133-1642641

As you said , it's huge O-ring. The front pump fits into the front casting and this keeps it from leaking.

You MIGHT also need a W0133-1635036, front cover (paper) gasket. I honestly can't remember...I did a 722.3xx and part of a 722.1xx and my memory is fuzzy...


I hope you have a transmission manual- there is a 722.3xx factory manual floating around somewhere and an exploded parts diagram

[300sdToronto]

Originally Posted by rs899

The torque converter seal or front seal on Fastlane is this:

W0133-1634133

This thing looks sort of like a wheel bearing seal and seals the neck of the TC where it slides over the input shaft of the tranny.

The pump seal is:

W0133-1642641

As you said , it's huge O-ring. The front pump fits into the front casting and this keeps it from leaking.

You MIGHT also need a W0133-1635036, front cover (paper) gasket. I honestly can't remember...I did a 722.3xx and part of a 722.1xx and my memory is fuzzy...


I hope you have a transmission manual- there is a 722.3xx factory manual floating around somewhere and an exploded parts diagram

This is really useful, thank you. I do have the manuals on CD and will start the laborious job of going through all the PDF's to find the right file for the transmission manuals - the index uses an ancient version of flash which no longer works.

Unfortunately access from Canada to the online parts and service manuals at MB USA seems to be blocked. You are referred to the Canadian site, only to find that MB Canada does not provide a parts or service online service. Arghh!

Overall doing the tranny front seals and the flexdisks does not sound too bad if I work with this indie I've found. I may wait on the control arm bushings until I am around an experienced MB indie as prior experience of that job sounds very useful. This all started because my trusted local Mercedes indie closed down and there is not a reasonable local alternative ...

I am off to check out Benzworld as there seem to be more "hands on" 107 posts over there and the old CD manual set. Will report back as the job progresses. Need the weather to warm up some more....

RL

[cushjbc]

This thread got me motivated - this junk came out of my driveline. Rear engine mount was squashed and weak. Front disk faked me out because the rear side looked good; when I got it out the front side showed the most damage (cracks, cord showing). The center bearing was as you see it. The bearing was just resting in the collar of the mount which is amazing. The rear flex had minor cracks that were most visible which is what made me tackle this job.

Lessons learned:

1. Remove the exhaust system from the exhaust manifold. I tried to pull the resonance damper and mid section - wasted 3 hours fighting that.

2. Be careful when you press the center bearing onto the rear propeller shaft in front of the U-joint. I over did it and damaged the bearing; Do Over!!

The job took 8 hours but I wasted half that with a blank stare learning and thinking.

[meltedpanda]

OK , now that you know how, can you come over and do mine PLEASE

[Strife]

While you are at it, I'm only maybe 1/2 hour away...

[Strife]

While you are at it, I'm only maybe 1/2 hour away from meltedpanda...I have two.

[cushjbc]

I would love to help but it's too nice to leave ABQ right now; hardtop is coming off today. I will be a good wingman on this forum when you decide to tackle it.

I know it is tough for some to find access to a pit or a lift, as Nobby has said, but it sure makes the job quicker. I use the auto hobby shop at Kirtland AFB. The lift I used was a drive up that had front and rear auxilliary jacks that slide on rails. This made it easy to lift the transmission and make numerous up / down lifts at the rear axle. Bring some wooden boards to pad the transmission pan. (Chassis Service manual instruction)

The job calls for a 46mm open end wrench to work a collar at the mid-point. That was a tough item to find - I bought and used a 15" adjustable wrench. The bolts on my new flex disks use 10mm allen heads in lieu of 19mm hex. You will need a snap ring plier to R&R a snap ring in front of the protective cap on the center bearing (I forgot mine and was lucky enough to borrow one). You will need a gear puller to remove the old bearing from the forward spline of the aft prop shaft (I brought mine but it was too small - again lucky enough to borrow a bigger one). Bottom line - plan and load up the right tools for the job; I thought I had this covered but NOOOOOOOO!

I didn't intend to write so much but figured it was better to get it down before I forget it. After reading this, you probably don't want me anywhere near your cars.

[meltedpanda]

LOL, no you are still welcome. Frankly the lack of a lift has kept me from this job, I need to do the carrier bearing

[RadioTek]

I didn't have too bad a time when I replaced my disks with just jackstands. I just made sure that I had them solidly placed. But my creeper had roken a plastic wheel mount, so I used a large piece of cardboard box. It was pretty easy to slide around on, and the security of having the driveway to work against was helpful, I didn't have to worry about breaking another creeper.

Scott

[nobby]

Originally Posted by meltedpanda

Frankly the lack of a lift has kept me from this job, I need to do the carrier bearing

I almost think that lieing on the garage floor doing this work gave me more leverage and kept me from having my arms above my head.
Maybe because I've done it all my life, but I don't have any problem working under a car that is securely on jack stands.

[300sdToronto]

My project too is very much alive. I am just moving more slowly than some of you other guys.

I had the car up on a lift this week and surveyed the work to be done. I think my transmission flare may be vac related as it goes away under hard acceleration, so I need to do some testing. Also it looks like the rear cover on the diff has an oil leak and I am trying to decide if I can get it off without having to drop the rear axle. Looks like it is not too bad a job to remove the diff mount....

I am extemely busy for the next couple of weeks so expect updates when I get more time to tackle the beastie.