Daytonacoupe66
New member
Hi; I recently picked up my new to me 1998 U1350L that was imported from Belgium to Canada, and is an ex-Belgium Army truck. It is a lovely Unimog with 6500 kilometers and no rust, and is my first Unimog so a steep learning curve. I’m getting the know the truck by dealing with the basics; fluid changes all around. I'm having a tough time finding an owner’s or service manuals for the SBU 437 Unimog; best I’ve been able to come up with is a SBU 427 owner’s manual. Some stuff is there but some items are different, and the level of detail for a newb is lacking. If anybody with a similar ride has suggestions I’d appreciate your views – are you folks tapping into an annual membership with Mercedes WIS? The lack of up to date literature is challenging me big time – I do most of my own work providing I can find the proper guidance, and manuals are usually no problem to dredge up. No luck on good literature for this truck.
I bled the front brakes last evening; gravity. Used a clear hose and clear 4 litre container to catch the old fluid. It was dirty. Process = siphoned out both resevoirs first. I bled the right front two calipers first, then the two left front before rain drove me inside. Overall, I poured approximately 2 litres of DOT 4 through the smaller reservoir on top of the MC at the mid left side of the truck, and the level never got below half so no air was introduced. The larger reservoir did not go down and needed no replenishing. From my reading on this and the Benz sites I was under the impression that the front 4 calipers shared hydraulic circuits with the rear? So…should the larger reservoir level not go down as well when I crack one or more of the front bleeder screws? I’m puzzled because the left front caliper produced an endless stream of small bubbles, almost frothing, that no amount of fluid would eliminate. Where are the bubbles coming from – I’ve driven the truck and there have been no leaks. Good brakes as well.
Second question pertains to bleeding the clutch; the fluid is dark. This U1350L does not have a PTO. I cannot find a slave cylinder on the bell housing, but there is what appears to be a bleed nipple at the top rear vertical axis of the housing. Is the slave inside the housing, perhaps on the throw out bearing? If so, I assume that a gravity bleed would work for refreshing the clutch fluid? Is there somebody out there with a similar truck who has had experience with this set up?
Opinions are appreciated. These are rare trucks in my part of the world (Nova Scotia, Canada), and I’m grateful for the internet and this site.
Cheers…..
I bled the front brakes last evening; gravity. Used a clear hose and clear 4 litre container to catch the old fluid. It was dirty. Process = siphoned out both resevoirs first. I bled the right front two calipers first, then the two left front before rain drove me inside. Overall, I poured approximately 2 litres of DOT 4 through the smaller reservoir on top of the MC at the mid left side of the truck, and the level never got below half so no air was introduced. The larger reservoir did not go down and needed no replenishing. From my reading on this and the Benz sites I was under the impression that the front 4 calipers shared hydraulic circuits with the rear? So…should the larger reservoir level not go down as well when I crack one or more of the front bleeder screws? I’m puzzled because the left front caliper produced an endless stream of small bubbles, almost frothing, that no amount of fluid would eliminate. Where are the bubbles coming from – I’ve driven the truck and there have been no leaks. Good brakes as well.
Second question pertains to bleeding the clutch; the fluid is dark. This U1350L does not have a PTO. I cannot find a slave cylinder on the bell housing, but there is what appears to be a bleed nipple at the top rear vertical axis of the housing. Is the slave inside the housing, perhaps on the throw out bearing? If so, I assume that a gravity bleed would work for refreshing the clutch fluid? Is there somebody out there with a similar truck who has had experience with this set up?
Opinions are appreciated. These are rare trucks in my part of the world (Nova Scotia, Canada), and I’m grateful for the internet and this site.
Cheers…..
