When you strip the threaded union attached. to oil filter housing on a Mercedes R107

 

Maybe I was an old dumb ass.  Maybe the Fram oil filter purchased from Rockauto was out of spec.  It was not painted with the Fram color and it had some usual writing engraved on it. Whatever the case, it did not seem to fit right. But I forced it anyway, and in the process somehow stripped the threaded union. 8.5 quarters of Castrol on the driveway.  More than a week of looking at the oil stains. Also a week at looking at a dead car in the driveway with no oil in it!

So the key to solving this hideous event is first plenty of scrubbing with RustOleum Degreaser and Concrete Cleaner and Tide, followed by pressure washing. Then the car...

Sometimes you pickup a book or manual and wonder if there will ever be a use for it. That was the case at Hershey years ago, when I found a M-B 450 SEL illustrated parts manual.  Great images, but no parts numbers. So I figured out that if I could get the threaded union off, then I could avoid replacing the entire oil filter housing. With that parts book, I went to my local M-B dealer, and he located the part at a dealer in NJ. $28. 

Next I had to get the stripped union off. Not so easy. I tried a 6 point 32 mm socket but it jumped off -- remember I am looking up at the assembly while under the car. Then I bought a 12 point socket, and still had problems freeing the old union. I could not hold the socket up and turn effectively at the same time. It was tight!

So my mechanic friend Cliff came over and while he went under the car and held the socket tight to the union, I arranged a 5 foot lever to untighten the threaded union. I leaned into it, and suddenly heard a crash and nearly fell over. Cliff thought we broke the socket! But in fact loosened the union and it came off  by hand!

The rest of the story is absent of drama. The new union was screwed in, I used a German Mann filter, added 8.5 quarts of Castrol and everything ran swimmingly. 

But what an ordeal!