1963 Mercedes Benz 190DC Fintail. New fuel tank and leaks.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Grinding down the weld on the trailer hitch that caused it not to be taken down went faster than expected, so the fuel tank is now out. And for a car that spent its first 20 years on unpaved roads, there was as much mud and crap on top of the fuel tank as expected.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Inside of the fuel tank.

 

And the fuel level sender is completely different from the one everyone sells to these cars. And have checked the numbers on it and can't find anything. but it is stamped 3 63 wich i guess is march 1963 and this car was registered in May 1963 so this could be the original to the car?

[hairnet]

https://www.lllparts.co.uk/product/a1105421204

?

 

[Dyslexic Viking]

5 minutes ago, hairnet said:

https://www.lllparts.co.uk/product/a1105421204

?

 

In drawing it looks similar to the one most sell, the one below.

[Dyslexic Viking]

And the floor above the fuel tank has been scrubbed and cleaned and I am very happy with the condition of it only a little  surface rust that will be treated and painted over.

[Dyslexic Viking]

After some research, the fuel tank sender I have is only for the 52 liter tank and all the other larger tanks have the other fuel tank sender.

[Dyslexic Viking]

New fuel tank arrived today and I am very happy, It's the fuel tank from Danish JP Group that I was hoping for and it seems well made. It also came with a new tank filter and seems to fit.

 

But it is massive, 82 liters, 30 liters larger than what the car had.

The only thing is, as expected, that the paint is not the best, so I managed to prime and paint one side today and will do the other side tomorrow.

[Dyslexic Viking]

And I need to have something to cushion between the fuel tank and the car and have been thinking about using Gorilla tape in thick strips. It does not attract moisture and is durable.

Are there any reasons why I shouldn't use it? And in that case, what else?

[Saabnut]

11 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

And I need to have something to cushion between the fuel tank and the car and have been thinking about using Gorilla tape in thick strips. It does not attract moisture and is durable.

Are there any reasons why I shouldn't use it? And in that case, what else?

No reason you should not use it or some strips of closed cell foam. The important bit there is closed cell as that will not retain moisture  

[TrabbieRonnie]

Excellent work, most people (well, me!) would have just thrown it on as it was I think, I admire your high standards!

Haven't used Gorilla tape so can't comment, but well done as always, great updates 👍

[GrumpiusMaximus]

16 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

And I need to have something to cushion between the fuel tank and the car and have been thinking about using Gorilla tape in thick strips. It does not attract moisture and is durable.

Are there any reasons why I shouldn't use it? And in that case, what else?

Couple of Danish potatoes should do the job.

[captain_70s]

That tank is HUGE. You'll only need to fill it once a year!

[hairnet]

would sound deadening work - the ones with the foil on the outside???

or some offcuts of rubber floor matting (inside or outside) kitchen floor or similar?

[Dyslexic Viking]

I have taped the high points on the top of the fueltank and realized I had a sheet of rubber cut it up into some strips and will use that too.

And yes, this fuel tank is huge, when the package was delivered I was really wondering what I had bought. And with the mileage of recent years, the car will only need about 1 to 2 fill-ups a year.

Just got the other side of the fuel tank painted also. Will let it dry and harden until tomorrow then apply underseal to the underside of the tank to protect against rocks chips and wear.

Hope to get it in the car on Sunday.

[loserone]

Hopefully with the new bigger tank you'll be coming on down to euroshitefest

[hairnet]

one tank viking

[Dyslexic Viking]

3 minutes ago, loserone said:

Hopefully with the new bigger tank you'll be coming on down to euroshitefest

This is a bit too tired for that. And it doesn't like speeds over 80km/h. And it would be about 4000km round trip.

And it will almost certainly break down, so if I had been so stupid, someone here would have to commit to picking me and the car up and transporting us home if necessary, and a bunch of you here would have to commit to finding and breaking that person's kneecaps if he didn't pick us up and got us home.

[Scruffy Bodger]

I was going to suggest strips of cut up inner tube if you had access to some.

[hairnet]

85 km to the port

1000km to hoek from hirtshals

even at 80kmh no problem

and cool AF doing it

 

[Dyslexic Viking]

This has been a frustrating day but the new fuel tank is in.

 

It's big and unwieldy, and getting it into the car without scratching it was challenge enough. And to make things worse, someone had the not-so-smart idea of attaching the trailer hitch to the fuel tank's rear bolts so they were bent, gave up on straightening them and had to make the holes in the fuel tank bigger.

And I'm glad I taped all the high points on the tank as when I look in to the fillpoint, the tank is touching the car. Marked with a red arrow.

 

And the fuel pipes had to be moved, the old tank had an outlet pointing to the left on the left side of the tank, the new one has an outlet pointing forward and in the middle. Carefully bending the pipes and cutting off a bit of one of them got them into place. And this is such a stupid design, all that prevents all 82 liters of diesel from flowing out is a hose clamp and a hose, The old tank was the same. So I wish there was room for two hose clamps on the lowest hose on the tank side, but there wasn't room.

[Dyslexic Viking]

And a question.

How bad is it to let diff oil leak into the drum brake and drive it? Because I can't afford to have someone fix this before the end of August, approximately. As this is a nightmare job and I don't want to do this myself so the choice is to continue driving the car with the oil leak or to leave and park it until I can afford to fix it.

[juular]

2 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

And a question.

How bad is it to let diff oil leak into the drum brake and drive it? Because I can't afford to have someone fix this before the end of August, approximately. As this is a nightmare job and I don't want to do this myself so the choice is to continue driving the car with the oil leak or to leave and park it until I can afford to fix it.

That brake will probably not do much in the way of stopping if it's contaminated. Saying that, I drove my Amazon like this for months before even noticing that diff oil was pooling under the wheel.

Once the seal is replaced you'll need to change the brake shoes and get the drum thoroughly cleaned out.

[TrabbieRonnie]

Hi DV,

Excellent news on the fuel tank, well done that man.

Has your diff got a vent?  If so, check it's not blocked up, relieving any pressure build up will help!  If not, can you buy one?  I'm sure a 4x4 parts supplier will have something you can replace the fill plug with? 

When you park, drive the leaky side up on something, so at least it's not going to seep out overnight?

If it's not stinking/smoking after a drive, it'll be a very small leak just now, I would be happy driving it.  Your brake shoes may well get contaminated and ruined eventually though...

Good luck fella.

[TrabbieRonnie]

Meant to say as well... I honestly wouldn't worry about putting a heavier oil in the diff if you can get some, with the mileage your doing it would be fine, especially if temporary.

My old Toyota liteace had a leaky diff, developed at 180,000 miles.  I drained it and replaced with ep0000 liquid grease from work (very, very VERY thick oil!)... It never leaked again, and was scrapped for other reasons at 300,000 miles!

[Dyslexic Viking]

The diff has a valve and I cleaned it last year so it's good. 

It was dripping out of the drum and seems to have just started. So what I could do is take the wheel and brake drum off and see if this has just started. If it has and the brake shoes are not contaminated with oil, then it is probably best to wait and not drive it. As new brake shoes are about £200. Safety is also a thing and is a little worried how this will affect the braking effect as the brakes are already weak. The wheel bearing is also meant to run in grease and not oil, so when oil leaks out, there is probably oil in the wheel bearing as well.

I will think a little.

[Scruffy Bodger]

3 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

And a question.

How bad is it to let diff oil leak into the drum brake and drive it? Because I can't afford to have someone fix this before the end of August, approximately. As this is a nightmare job and I don't want to do this myself so the choice is to continue driving the car with the oil leak or to leave and park it until I can afford to fix it.

A friend of mine has on numerous occasions over the years dealt with contaminated brake pads and shoes by taking to them with an electric heat gun. Warm them gently and you'll see the fluid bubbling out of them.

I've done it once and it worked a treat. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

I have now removed the wheel and brake drum and it is leaking as suspected from the axle seal. And it runs down from the axle on the backplate and comes out into the drainage holes in the backplate where the oil hits the outer edge of the brake drum. And the brake parts are without any oil on them.

So a question and it's probably hard to say, is it possible that the oil will never come into contact with the brake shoes and the inside of the brake drum since it runs straight out now? Or will it eventually splash oil all over the brakes? 

Brake backplate and the 6 holes are on the bottom.

[juular]

1 minute ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I have now removed the wheel and brake drum and it is leaking as suspected from the axle seal. And it runs down from the axle on the backplate and comes out into the drainage holes in the backplate where the oil hits the outer edge of the brake drum. And the brake parts are without any oil on them.

So a question and it's probably hard to say, is it possible that the oil will never come into contact with the brake shoes and the inside of the brake drum since it runs straight out now? Or will it eventually splash oil all over the brakes? 

Brake backplate and the 6 holes are on the bottom.

I'm going to say it's almost certain it will eventually get onto the shoes.

Now that you have the drum off, is this not most of the hard work done towards replacing the seal?

[Dyslexic Viking]

17 minutes ago, juular said:

Now that you have the drum off, is this not most of the hard work done towards replacing the seal?

It isn't. According to the manual, the brakes must be dismantled, then the brake back plate off and loosen the bolts that hold the axle shaft, then use a puller and pull out the axle shaft. And if I remember correctly there are 3 or 4 seals/gaskets. A gasket on the outside, and one seal in the axle and the rest on the axle shaft.

I'm starting to realize that Mercedes like to be a little annoying and makes things more complicated and difficult than they need to be.

[hairnet]

new shoes

not worth not doing even for small kms

even if you think theyre not contaminated they will be