From: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net (diesel-benz-digest) To: diesel-benz-digest-at-krusty-motorsports.com Subject: diesel-benz-digest V1 #179 Reply-To: diesel-benz-at-digest.net Sender: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Errors-To: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Precedence: bulk diesel-benz-digest Wednesday, July 28 1999 Volume 01 : Number 179 Forum for Discussion of Diesel Mercedes Benz Automobiles John Meister Digest Coordinator Contents: Re: sun questions Re: reality check... please... RE: sun questions Re: reality check... please... Re: sun questions Re: reality check... please... MPG update Re: Rocking 300D - almost gone now How low is low (on fuel)? Re: sun questions Re: How low is low (on fuel)? Re: VW TDI Re: reality check... please... cruise, thanks, and website. Some diesel here. Re: cruise, thanks, and website. Some diesel here. road work in Minnesota... Re: cruise, thanks, and website. Some diesel here. Re: sun questions Diesel Benz Digest Home Page: http://www.digest.net/diesel-benz/ Send submissions to diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Send administrative requests to diesel-benz-digest-request-at-digest.net To unsubscribe, include the word unsubscribe by itself in the body of the message, unless you are sending the request from a different address than the one that appears on the list. Include the word help in a message to stag-digest-request to get a list of other majordomo commands. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 09:01:53 +0200 From: Thorsten Windhues Subject: Re: sun questions Hi all, I would like to expand this question a little bit. I am thinking of using sun foil during the summer time, but in the winter I would prever not to have them. So does anyone know of a removable version that can be put on in the spring and taken off in fall? Thorsten At 11:31 26.07.99 -0700, you wrote: >I live in Phoenix, AZ and I am concerned about keeping the vehicle in as good >as a shape as it is now. >Can anyone recommend a kind of window tinting (and prices if known) and what >to watch out for when buying it (installation info, brands to watch out for, >ect.) Also, is there any good solutions to protecting the paint from the >weather. > >Thanx, > >Brian Korn > >1985 300D w/ 189000mi ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 10:03:04 -0400 From: Al Potter Subject: Re: reality check... please... john-at-wagoneers.com said: > What is my 81 300D with 140,000 miles worth approximately? Hmmmm...... What's reliability and quality worth? Al Potter 82 300CD (243,000) 83 300D (480,000) PS: As you can see, as far as I'm concerned, mileage has very little to do with the value proposition. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 08:45:27 -0700 From: "FELTY JOHN M (JOHN)" Subject: RE: sun questions Window Tint. - I believe that you may be referring to a car cover. I don't know of any window tint that you can put on and pull off of your car. As for window tint, it is a necessity in Phoenix, and I have had several different types installed on my various vehicles. Most of the reputable installers will carry top grade films.(Because they don't like to replace it) I would choose a metalized film that has a decent installation and replacement warranty. A decent job should last at least ten years. John M. Felty - -----Original Message----- From: Thorsten Windhues [mailto:Windhues-at-unidui.uni-duisburg.de] Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 12:02 AM To: diesel-benz-at-digest.net Subject: Re: sun questions Hi all, I would like to expand this question a little bit. I am thinking of using sun foil during the summer time, but in the winter I would prever not to have them. So does anyone know of a removable version that can be put on in the spring and taken off in fall? Thorsten At 11:31 26.07.99 -0700, you wrote: >I live in Phoenix, AZ and I am concerned about keeping the vehicle in as good >as a shape as it is now. >Can anyone recommend a kind of window tinting (and prices if known) and what >to watch out for when buying it (installation info, brands to watch out for, >ect.) Also, is there any good solutions to protecting the paint from the >weather. > >Thanx, > >Brian Korn > >1985 300D w/ 189000mi ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 09:18:03 -0700 (PDT) From: john Subject: Re: reality check... please... On Tue, 27 Jul 1999, Al Potter wrote: >--> >-->john-at-wagoneers.com said: >-->> What is my 81 300D with 140,000 miles worth approximately? >-->Hmmmm...... What's reliability and quality worth? >-->Al Potter >-->82 300CD (243,000) >-->83 300D (480,000) 480,000!!! are these miles or Kilometers? rofl... (like it would make much difference.... :) so the real question is, how does your climate and cruise control system work? :) FWIW, I checked the Kelly blue book web page... around $4k retail, trade in was pathetic... :( I think going with a new engine/trans with a turbo makes more sense... john >--> >-->PS: As you can see, as far as I'm concerned, mileage has very little to do >-->with the value proposition. >--> >--> ---- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- john-at-wagoneers.com **** Snohomish, Washington USA don't leave life without jesus, please... http://wagoneers.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 09:21:04 -0700 (PDT) From: john Subject: Re: sun questions There is a "static-cling" type of sunscreen. I've seen it in the parts stores and JC whitney. You cut the material to the size needed and press it on your windows. Should work fine, however, it'll probably look a bit tacky... pun intended... :) john On Tue, 27 Jul 1999, Thorsten Windhues wrote: >-->Hi all, >--> >-->I would like to expand this question a little bit. I am thinking of using >-->sun foil during the summer time, but in the winter I would prever not to >-->have them. So does anyone know of a removable version that can be put on in >-->the spring and taken off in fall? >--> >-->Thorsten >--> >--> >--> >-->At 11:31 26.07.99 -0700, you wrote: >-->>I live in Phoenix, AZ and I am concerned about keeping the vehicle in as good >-->>as a shape as it is now. >-->>Can anyone recommend a kind of window tinting (and prices if known) and what >-->>to watch out for when buying it (installation info, brands to watch out for, >-->>ect.) Also, is there any good solutions to protecting the paint from the >-->>weather. >-->> >-->>Thanx, >-->> >-->>Brian Korn >-->> >-->>1985 300D w/ 189000mi >--> >--> ---- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- john-at-wagoneers.com **** Snohomish, Washington USA don't leave life without jesus, please... http://wagoneers.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 11:39:05 -0700 (MST) From: Korn-at-asu.edu Subject: Re: reality check... please... On Tue, 27 Jul 1999, john wrote: > On Tue, 27 Jul 1999, Al Potter wrote: > so the real question is, how does your climate and cruise control system > work? :) > Is having trouble with those systems common for older MB's? I have been having trouble with intermittent failures in both. Does anyone know any solutions? (Esp. for the cruise control) Thanx Brian Korn 1985 300D p.s. congrats on the 480,000 whatever mark! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 00:23:21 +0200 From: "Pieter Noorlander" Subject: MPG update Hi John, If it is not too much to ask, I would like you to update my data in the DieselBenz MPG table. After monitoring fuel consumption for 9 months I am proud to present these figures: Year: 1983 MODEL: 300TD worst mpg: 25 avg mpg: 27 best mpg: 28 MILES: 209K State/Country: Nederland first name: Pieter BODY: 123 Not too bad for a 15 years old 3 litre diesel burner :) TIA, Pieter '83 300TD (Hermann) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 00:22:54 +0200 From: "Pieter Noorlander" Subject: Re: Rocking 300D - almost gone now After replacing the leaking fuel lines at the tank the violent rocking at idle is gone. I suppose the system was taking in air through these porous hoses, like some of you suggested. There is still some engine movement left at idle, but I can live with that, after all I am a Diesel lover :) And aren't these 917 engines not supposed to swing? (-pun intended) Thanks for all the tips, Groeten uit Holland, Pieter '83 300TD (Hermann) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 00:23:08 +0200 From: "Pieter Noorlander" Subject: How low is low (on fuel)? Well, I finally got round to repairing the fuel gauge sender, the 'low on fuel' idiot light wasn't working - still thanks for the tips, Mike. Removing the sender unit from the tank was the trickiest part, the (*) thing kept on leaking all over the place. After disassembling the unit it turned out that the wire for the light was broken at the bottom, so I resoldered it to its lug, tested by moving the float by hand, the needle moved accordingly, and when it made contact at the bottom the idiot light shined brightly. So far so good. Time for the newbie question now: When is the light supposed to come up? I think most other cars I've driven started showing the idiot light at about 1/5th of the end of the scale, what's the Mercedes policy here? Since the test I never saw it shine, while I kept on driving till the needle was at the lowest end of the scale. How many litres (or gallons) are left after that? This is a W123 wagon, BTW - don't know if there's a difference with other models. The trip odometer is reading app. 660 km at that point, mileage is about 1 litre in 11 kilometres, 60 litres used, 70 litre tank, 10 litres left. Hmm, according to the owners manual this should be about right, 10 litres reserve. I hope you non-metric folks can make sense of this :) Groeten uit Holland, Pieter '83 300TD (Hermann), for the time being still depending on the trip odo :) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 18:44:39 +0000 From: richard Subject: Re: sun questions static ling window tint, easyon/off wally world= wal-mart richard ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 20:23:01 From: Michael Frank Subject: Re: How low is low (on fuel)? Pieter: 10 Litres sounds right. My light comes on at 2.5-3 gallons. When the light is on, the needle is at the very first slash mark on the left. If you really want to know, you will need to drive until the light comes on. Suggestion: carry a can of fuel when you do this, no point in getting stuck! BTW, the trick to pulling the sending unit is to remove it from the tank VERRRRY slowly. As you've discovered, it holds about a litre of fuel, and it trickles out. Regards, Mike Frank 1979 300CD 1999 E320T rAt 12:23 AM 7/28/99 +0200, you wrote: >Time for the newbie question now: When is the light supposed to come up? I >think most other cars I've driven started showing the idiot light at about >1/5th of the end of the scale, what's the Mercedes policy here? Since the >test I never saw it shine, while I kept on driving till the needle was at >the lowest end of the scale. How many litres (or gallons) are left after >that? This is a W123 wagon, BTW - don't know if there's a difference with >other models. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 19:52:35 -0700 From: john Subject: Re: VW TDI the TDI is awesome. I've driven two of them, one manual, one AT. Both were amazing... john At 10:56 AM 7/27/99 -0700, Farnes_Quinn wrote: >Hi John, > >Hey, I've kinda had the hots for the VW TDI, too ever since I saw one about >4 years ago. I was driving home up a long hill and noticed this bright >shiny black VW Jetta ahead of me with temporary dealer plates. Two >sales-droid-looking guys wearing suits were in the front. I noticed the >letters "TDI" on the right side of the trunk lid. Had no idea what that >meant. As I followed, admiring the car, I thought I detected a sort of >familiar odour, somewhat redolant of #2 (Diesel, that is), but absolutely no >smoke, despite the thing scaling a pretty steep hill. The car climbed just >fine. I didn't have to slow down (Toy p/u) at all. When I got home, I >logged on to the internet and found that TDI stood for Turbo Direct >Injection, a new Diesel engine that VW was just introducing to the US. That >car must have just landed at the local dealer. > >Anyway, I've never driven one, but have talked to a couple of owners who >have had mixed experiences with the car. Don't know if I'd part with a lot >of money for one, but the Jetta TDI looks like a kick to drive. I'd need >something bigger, at least Passat-sized, and preferably a stationwagon for >the kids. Wish there was more info on the internet about them. Market for >Diesel passenger cars in the US must be really marginal given the high cost >of fuel. > >My Camry's for sale now. Saw a couple of people sniffing around it this >a.m. before leaving for work, so maybe that 300TD I've been lusting after is >getting a little closer. Front main seal just started to dribble a little, >and I don't want to get into that. If God meant us to drive cars with >transverse engines, He would have seen to it that they would design them so >that you could get your hand between the "front" of the engine and the right >front fender well! > >Cheers! > >Quinn > - ----------------------------------------------------- john-at-wagoneers.com http://www.wagoneers.com ...don't leave life without Jesus, please! Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... - ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 20:13:08 -0700 From: john Subject: Re: reality check... please... At 11:39 AM 7/27/99 -0700, Korn-at-asu.edu wrote: >> On Tue, 27 Jul 1999, Al Potter wrote: > >> so the real question is, how does your climate and cruise control system >> work? :) >Is having trouble with those systems common for older MB's? I have been >having trouble with intermittent failures in both. Does anyone know any >solutions? (Esp. for the cruise control) >Thanx >Brian Korn >1985 300D >> >>p.s. congrats on the 480,000 whatever mark! On the cruise control, take it apart, reflow all the solder joints, tighten up the cable going to the throttle, make sure the vacuum lines are good, and then you only wrestle a little bit to make it work correctly... :) john - ----------------------------------------------------- john-at-wagoneers.com http://www.wagoneers.com ...don't leave life without Jesus, please! Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... - ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 23:43:51 -0500 From: "Matthew J. Mason" Subject: cruise, thanks, and website. Some diesel here. Hey all - John: regarding that last bit on the cruise amplifier, is that all those guys are doing (you know, the ones who will charge you 80 bucks to fix your cruise box)? Is it really as simple as fixing a bad solder joint, or is there some more precarious symptom to watch out for? My cruise box is on the fritz too (no pun intended), and I wouldn't mind having it up and going again... (btw, this is an '80 240D, the vacuum-controlled cruise rather than the electrical system in the later models) ...Having grown up in a VW diesel family, John ('77 and -- I believe -- '79 Rabbit Diesels, and an '82 Vanagon -- dubbed "the adventure van" because of all the problems we had with it), I cringe at the thought... but I know I'm out of date on that one. Good luck with the TDI... Thanks to Rusty at Wholesale Parts in Atlanta for helping find that engine... good price, quick shipping, etc. A quick plug, for those who don't know about Wholesale already: Rusty Cullens Wholesale Parts, Inc. 1-800-741-5252 On that note -- I'm planning to take a bunch of pictures and put them on my website when we do this engine swap on the 240D (and a few other repairs). If there are any suggestions as to what would be most useful (i.e. tricky camera angles that the manuals don't show well enough, or just stuff you'd like to see), post your suggestions by the weekend (because after that, my activity on e-mail will be spotty for a few weeks). later, -- matt ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 21:58:44 -0700 From: john Subject: Re: cruise, thanks, and website. Some diesel here. At 11:43 PM 7/27/99 -0500, Matthew J. Mason wrote: > >Hey all - >>John: regarding that last bit on the cruise amplifier, is that all those >guys are doing (you know, the ones who will charge you 80 bucks to fix your >cruise box)? Is it really as simple as fixing a bad solder joint, or is >there some more precarious symptom to watch out for? My cruise box is on I'd hope they are doing more... but having worked in electronics since the late 60's they probably aren't. What I may do, if I can find another amplifier unit like mine, is to reverse engineer the box, capture the schematic, then reengineer it for tighter values, hopefully to reduce some of the hysteresis in the circuits. When I was reflowing the joints on mine I noticed they don't use precision resistors, simple carbon types with probably 10% or greater tolerance. The circuits were pretty simple. I did something like this with a German windshield wiper delay box I retrieved from a BMW in Germany... was able to adapt it to multiple cars... So, if anyone has an amplifier box that's "on the fritz", I'll dive into it, grab some precision samples, build a schematic and parts list, post in on http://www.wagoneers.com/DieselBenz and use it... :) They charge so much because it does take time and a careful eye and a skillful hand to reflow the board correctly... :) >the fritz too (no pun intended), and I wouldn't mind having it up and going >again... (btw, this is an '80 240D, the vacuum-controlled cruise rather >than the electrical system in the later models) >Thanks to Rusty at Wholesale Parts in Atlanta for helping find that >engine... good price, quick shipping, etc. A quick plug, for those who >don't know about Wholesale already: > Rusty Cullens > Wholesale Parts, Inc. > 1-800-741-5252 I second that plug... He's been beating my jobber pricing at the Benz dealer on more than one occassion. :) Rusty, what can you get a tranny for for my 81 300D? shipping to seattle? >>On that note -- I'm planning to take a bunch of pictures and put them on my >website when we do this engine swap on the 240D (and a few other repairs). I've got space on my server... you build the pages and email 'em and I'll put 'em up there... make sure you put YOUR email on the pages... :) >If there are any suggestions as to what would be most useful (i.e. tricky >camera angles that the manuals don't show well enough, or just stuff you'd >like to see), post your suggestions by the weekend (because after that, my >activity on e-mail will be spotty for a few weeks). The best thing to help us is to identify the steps, AND if you can remember, identify the tools needed along the way. Take shots that show the trick ways you figure out how to do the job without spending a bazillion deutsche marks for a one off tool... :) john - ----------------------------------------------------- john-at-wagoneers.com http://www.wagoneers.com ...don't leave life without Jesus, please! Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... - ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 22:10:27 -0700 From: john Subject: road work in Minnesota... How many does it take to improve a highway in Minnesota? (the real answer is 3, how many can you count? :) http://digitalcity.netscape.com/twincities/news/article.dci?article=270124 some excerpts: ...9 protesters ... arrested Monday as they tried to stop crews from cutting down 30 trees... next phase of Hwy. 55 construction in Minneapolis. One laid in front of a police cruiser and another tried to use a bike lock to attach himself to a front-end loader before police knocked him to the ground and dragged him away. ...50 protesters ...60 law enforcement personnel watching ...the three-man crew ...to fell about 30 trees. Amid drum pounding, bullhorn shouting, and shrieking, members of the loosely organized protest movement reacted angrily, some sobbing, as one by one, the trees were knocked down. One man stood for minutes with tears flowing. "They [the trees] are living things. They may not be like us in the living sense, but they drink the same water,"... "Should they be destroyed so people from the suburbs who fled the city 20 years ago can be able to get back quicker to the city to loot it?"... (said one protester.) :) john - ---------------------------------------------------- john-at-wagoneers.com http://www.wagoneers.com http://www.freegift.net/ - ---------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 00:25:27 +0000 From: richard Subject: Re: cruise, thanks, and website. Some diesel here. i have been warned that since the brake light circuit triggers the disconnection of the cruise, that it is most important to use the proper brake light blub,,,bosche 21 watt...i carry two for spares richard ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 14:18:23 +0200 From: Thorsten Windhues Subject: Re: sun questions Hm, sounds interesting, but I could not find it at jcwhitneyusa.com. Thorsten At 09:21 27.07.99 -0700, you wrote: > >There is a "static-cling" type of sunscreen. I've seen it in the parts >stores and JC whitney. You cut the material to the size needed and press >it on your windows. Should work fine, however, it'll probably look a bit >tacky... pun intended... :) > >john ------------------------------ End of diesel-benz-digest V1 #179 *********************************