1981 380sl 3.8l 107 vacuum diagram and other questions - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dima4855 · #1 03-25-2006, 02:28 AM

Greetings,
Took my car to the mechanic today for him to adjust the air/fuel mixture and the shifting points of the transmission. Everything looked good except (as some of you know from my previous posts that the heater/ac is not working and it has been determined that it's not working because of the servo). So I ordered the electronic replacement for it, but the mechanic told me that all of the vaccum lines under the hood are either not correct or are broken.
1. Does anyone have a vaccum diagram so that I can start from scratch?
2. Also my steering box leaks I will take it out to save $300 and pay the mechanic $150 to rebuild it and put new seals in it. Any pointers on doing that?
3. He also mention that my cruise control brain is fried and the replacement brain would be $250. Any recommendations to do that job cheaper or a place to get new module.
4. Lastly, the power antenna does not go up and down any suggestions on that? Even if press it there is no movement the same mechanic assumed that the whole thing needs to be replaced. Any ideas?

dima4855 · #2 03-25-2006, 10:10 PM

So I bought some manuals from ebay and they were the wrong once. Any suggestion where I can buy the right ones? The mechanic said that they are only on cd?

Richard Wooldridge · #3 03-25-2006, 10:32 PM

Hi there,
You can download the vacuum diagrams from the unwiredtools.com website. Their diagrams are simplified in that they are laid out better and also if you have a color printer they show the colors of the tubing. I am assuming your climate control is the ACII version, the same as my '79 450SL has. It has the servo unit under the hood that dies an early death.
You can get those original vacuum diagrams by purchasing one of the CD's that are available on Ebay, they also show the wiring diagrams. They are very hard to see and use, I found.
People say that the usual cause of the cruise control control unit's failure is poor solder joints inside the can that's mounted above the driver's footwell, and that you can many times fix it by simply resoldering the joints. If the joints are like the ones in the tachometer amplifier that my '82 300D uses, the reason they are bad is that Mercedes uses poor solder. Use solder sucker braid to remove as much of the old solder and resolder using good quality 60/40 rosin core solder.
On your power antenna, make sure it is a Hirschmann, that is the OEM antenna. If it is, try taking it apart and cleaning it up, occasionally you can fix it by just cleaning up the old grease and crud inside the antenna box. If it's corroded too badly you will have to buy a new one. If the mast is what's bad, you can get a new mast for the Hirschmann at Performance Products.

dima4855 · #4 03-26-2006, 02:26 AM

I downloaded the wiring diagram from unwired.com. Now the mecahnic said that the actual engine vacuum lines are screwed so he sugessted that I yank all the existing hoses around the airfilter and start from scratch.

dima4855 · #5 03-28-2006, 05:23 AM

any other bright ideas?

Richard Wooldridge · #6 03-28-2006, 10:48 AM

Hi,
The service manual for the V8 engine, 116 & 117 has the diagram you need on page 14.7 11-050, I believe. (This diagram is for the 116 engine. Is that what you have?) That diagram should be on the CD. I could try faxing them to you if you have a fax, but I don't know how readable it will be.
I don't think I would rip out what's there, if the engine is running most of the vacuum lines have to be correct.

dima4855 · #7 03-28-2006, 02:02 PM

I am pretty sure that my chassis is 107, don't know about the engine, how would I find that out?

whunter · #8 03-28-2006, 02:24 PM

R107 Roadsters
Chassis 107.045
Engine 116.960 V8
Model 380SL
Years 1981
HP 155
Weight 3685
Wheel Base 96.9"

MB Tech Manuals from MBUSA cost $19.99 plus S&H
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=142445

Have a great day.

dima4855 · #9 03-28-2006, 02:27 PM

yep I ordered the service manual on cd from them. I thought it had 205hp?

dima4855 · #10 04-20-2006, 07:20 AM

Okay, put in the electronic conversion kit. The auto hi and lo didn't work becuase the fresh air flap vaccum switch had a bad diaphram cost $50 and wasn't too bad putting it in.