Done!

Yes, it's done.  All hooked up, and rattling like a paint shaker!  Well, maybe not quite that much, but my G is back on the road with it's fancy new turbo-diesel.  It took me 6 hours at a muffler shop to get the new exhaust system in place using the stock route & 2-1/2" pipe, but it's quiet as a mouse now and ready for the next 25 years (I hope).

Final work included throttle linkage modifications (I joined linkages from the 280GE and 300SD), installing the previously missing front drive-shaft (all seems okay with the axle & T-case so far), connecting various wires (Coolant temp is still inop, and I have no glow light yet), and installing the last 3/4" elbow for my valve cover breather - the hose arrived just in time!

The test drive was great, albeit without an exhaust system, but the turbo makes exhaust noise surprisingly quiet.  No adjustment have been needed yet, but I'll go through and change fluids, adjust valves, purge injectors, change filters, etc next week.

One thing I noticed was that the rear end seemed to sag a little, and the drive quality was very mushy, like a top-heavy bus.  Since I had my new set of springs in the garage I decided to install the rears just for kicks.  Wow, it's a really good thing that I did.  Those old springs had rusted so badly that the thinner tops and bottoms had broken through, and each spring came out in 3 pieces!  The new ones popped right in and gave me a mild lift (~2") and much better ride.

The fronts are more involved to install so they'll have to wait until next week when I have more time.  I know my front panhard bar is bent so when I remove it for the springs, I'll install a replacement at the same time.  It's also a good time to replace the 4 flexible brake lines in front since they have to be removed anyway.  That and some DOT-5 fluid will round out most of my scheduled upgrades.  At some point my brush-bar will go on, but I'd really like to get it powder-coated first... more time... more money...

Sometime in the next year I'll think about painting my G, but that's another big project I have no time for at the moment.  I want to just drive for now!