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Filter in the Fuel Tank

Started by jtwoods4, 01 September 2012, 07:34 PM

oversize

Oh and NOW they say removed the tank FIRST!!!!!  LOL!   ::)  Way easier I know......  Good advice that if the tank's still in the car to try the 22mm first.  You might be lucky and the strainer comes lose too.
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

Casey

When I pulled this tank I just unbolted the hose. The junkyard lifted the car up with a forklift first. It was a bit of a bear though - was very tight. I don't understand why you'd want to remove the filter and hose in one go with a special tool?

Sounds like the filter will come out when you try to loosen the hose, or it won't and then you use a socket. I think you can get the socket for around $10 at Sears.

Big_Richard

#17
.

Casey


oversize

Quote from: Casey on 02 September 2012, 04:22 PM
When I pulled this tank I just unbolted the hose. The junkyard lifted the car up with a forklift first. It was a bit of a bear though - was very tight. I don't understand why you'd want to remove the filter and hose in one go with a special tool?

Sounds like the filter will come out when you try to loosen the hose, or it won't and then you use a socket. I think you can get the socket for around $10 at Sears.

It's a question of access.  The 42mm is very hard to get to in the car, but the hose is easier to get at and a regular spanner can be used.  If the filter comes out with the hose then your life just got a little easier!  A 42mm socket is not something that's regularly used and in Aus it's set you back far more than $10....
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

Beastie

Quote from: oversize on 02 September 2012, 09:16 PM
Quote from: Casey on 02 September 2012, 04:22 PM
When I pulled this tank I just unbolted the hose. The junkyard lifted the car up with a forklift first. It was a bit of a bear though - was very tight. I don't understand why you'd want to remove the filter and hose in one go with a special tool?

Sounds like the filter will come out when you try to loosen the hose, or it won't and then you use a socket. I think you can get the socket for around $10 at Sears.

It's a question of access.  The 42mm is very hard to get to in the car, but the hose is easier to get at and a regular spanner can be used.  If the filter comes out with the hose then your life just got a little easier!  A 42mm socket is not something that's regularly used and in Aus it's set you back far more than $10....
This reminds me of when I tracked down and bought a 14 mm hex key to undo the plug in the oil pan of my 108. It was hard to find one and it wasn't cheap! And it gets very little use, only being used for oil changes and for nothing else. And when I sell the car I'll have no use for it at all. In my opinion, these cars need too many specialist tools. It's all fine and dandy if it's 1982 and you're a Mercedes-Benz dealership because you're likely to have the tools at your disposal. But nowadays, futher down the road as the cars age, your average joe mechanic does not have them and I certainly don't have them.
1979 280SEL

"She's built like a steakhouse, but she handles like a bistro."

Casey

Quote from: Beastie on 02 September 2012, 10:50 PM
This reminds me of when I tracked down and bought a 14 mm hex key to undo the plug in the oil pan of my 108. It was hard to find one and it wasn't cheap! And it gets very little use, only being used for oil changes and for nothing else. And when I sell the car I'll have no use for it at all. In my opinion, these cars need too many specialist tools. It's all fine and dandy if it's 1982 and you're a Mercedes-Benz dealership because you're likely to have the tools at your disposal. But nowadays, futher down the road as the cars age, your average joe mechanic does not have them and I certainly don't have them.

Bah, gonna have to call B/S on this. I have the same oil drain plug on the early 450's. Hex bolts are quite standard - I've got sets of both hand keys and sockets that I've most recently been using to disassemble and reassemble furniture. I had to go but a stupid American set just to adjust my vice. 14mm is larger than your average generic purpose set, and so is a 42mm socket, but these are in no way specialist tools, they both are available in much larger sizes. Sears has a set of large 4 hex sockets including a 14mm, I think a 17, and two American sizes. At $40 though, I opted to spend under $10 on eBay for a nice Hazet one instead. The later 450's don't use that same plug anymore, which makes me sad. I might see about swapping them. The rear diff also has that style of plugs, even on the later models.

Part of the fun of working on these cars is collecting a good set of tools. :)

Beastie

Quote from: Casey on 02 September 2012, 11:02 PM
Quote from: Beastie on 02 September 2012, 10:50 PM
This reminds me of when I tracked down and bought a 14 mm hex key to undo the plug in the oil pan of my 108. It was hard to find one and it wasn't cheap! And it gets very little use, only being used for oil changes and for nothing else. And when I sell the car I'll have no use for it at all. In my opinion, these cars need too many specialist tools. It's all fine and dandy if it's 1982 and you're a Mercedes-Benz dealership because you're likely to have the tools at your disposal. But nowadays, futher down the road as the cars age, your average joe mechanic does not have them and I certainly don't have them.

Bah, gonna have to call B/S on this. I have the same oil drain plug on the early 450's. Hex bolts are quite standard - I've got sets of both hand keys and sockets that I've most recently been using to disassemble and reassemble furniture. I had to go but a stupid American set just to adjust my vice. 14mm is larger than your average generic purpose set, and so is a 42mm socket, but these are in no way specialist tools, they both are available in much larger sizes. Sears has a set of large 4 hex sockets including a 14mm, I think a 17, and two American sizes. At $40 though, I opted to spend under $10 on eBay for a nice Hazet one instead. The later 450's don't use that same plug anymore, which makes me sad. I might see about swapping them. The rear diff also has that style of plugs, even on the later models.

Part of the fun of working on these cars is collecting a good set of tools. :)
:o My anecdote is not bullshit. >:(  I had trouble tracking one down, it was pretty expensive, and I have very limited use for it. I'll concede that it's not a 'specialist tool' - it's just a hex key - but if they'd used a more common size or used a bolt that I could get a socket onto it would have been simpler, was my point.

There's no need to drag this topic further off point.

1979 280SEL

"She's built like a steakhouse, but she handles like a bistro."

jazzy tee

how much does this filter cost?

Casey

#24
Quote from: Beastie on 02 September 2012, 11:38 PM
:o My anecdote is not bullshit. >:(  I had trouble tracking one down, it was pretty expensive, and I have very limited use for it. I'll concede that it's not a 'specialist tool' - it's just a hex key - but if they'd used a more common size or used a bolt that I could get a socket onto it would have been simpler, was my point.

There's no need to drag this topic further off point.

I didn't mean anything personal by it geez.  And I'm not dragging the topic further off point by addressing something you brought up.  The discussion of tools needed to address the issue this thread is about isn't really off-topic either.

The point I was trying to make is that both of these sizes are common enough to be found at a regular tool store, including the tools department at Sears.  Yes larger sizes cost more than small ones.  Small ones also wear out faster and are more likely to strip, and may not be able to handle the required torque.

There are some special tools that really help when working on these cars (not that I think these are them), but the same is true of *any* make of car.  I really don't see it as a Mercedes-specific problem.

How about this Ford tool?

Casey

Quote from: jazzy tee on 03 September 2012, 08:57 AM
how much does this filter cost?

$27.50 from MercedesSource, not sure of dealer pricing:
http://mercedessource.com/node/734

Also am not sure if this part is appropriate for petrol tanks or only diesel.

TJ 450

Yes, just about any car requires special tools of varying kinds. Mercedes are actually remarkably special-tool free compared to other cars I've worked on.

I needed a ridiculous square drive tool for my Volvo sump plug, but then it was a French engine after all, haha.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

Beastie

#27
Quote from: Casey on 03 September 2012, 09:02 AMThe point I was trying to make is that both of these sizes are common enough to be found at a regular tool store, including the tools department at Sears.

The point I was trying to make is that your experience and mine were very different. An opinion or experience that differs from your own is not automatically "bullshit".



Back on topic, both links provided so far have listed only diesel vehicles as being suitable for the specific part in the links: "90D 240D 300D 300CD 300SD 300SDL 350SD 350SDL 300D 2.5 and E300D 1977 to 1999"

I couldn't guess if it's also suitable for the petrol cars but I wouldn't chance it without asking the supplier first. I'd guess there's a small fundamental difference between the diesel and petrol filters otherwise they'd be grouped together.

I've never owned a diesel so I can't say for sure but, would diesel fuel clog a filter more rapidly than petrol? Perhaps there's greater demand for diesel filters and that's why they sell them? I'd also be pretty sure that using used vegetable oil or 'bio-diesel' would clog the filters up very quickly which may also explain why they'd stock diesel filters and not the petrol ones. They seem to sell petrol filters for the 126 chassis tho... so why not for the 116 chassis? Strange.
1979 280SEL

"She's built like a steakhouse, but she handles like a bistro."

TJ 450

Yep, there's a different strainer for petrol vs. diesel. From memory the petrol version has "benzin" embossed on it.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

oversize

BMW is the pits for special tools!  I'm sure most local garages wouldn't have a full set of large torx sockets....

So does anyone have the part numbers for the petrol and diesel filters?  If they're different numbers it'd suggest they're not interchangable.  It'd certainly be better to replace one rather than try to clean some of the examples shown earlier!
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P