From: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net (diesel-benz-digest) To: diesel-benz-digest-at-krusty-motorsports.com Subject: diesel-benz-digest V1 #4 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 29 1998 Volume 01 : Number 004 Forum for Discussion of Diesel Mercedes Benz Automobiles John Meister Digest Coordinator Contents: Re: liststats - Sunday night Re: what's going on? Jon F. --> name that car Hello and Question RE: Jon F. --> name that car Re: what's going on? turbo question poor starting 240D Re: turbo question Re: turbo question Re: poor starting 240D Re: Hello and Question basic diesel info Fritz back from the shop... 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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 13:13:15 GMT From: rafbeas-at-mindspring.com (R Beasley) Subject: Re: liststats - Sunday night On Sun, 26 Jul 1998 22:39:18 -0700, you wrote: >greetings from Snohomish... :) =20 > >The current score is: >-------------------- >Diesel-Benz: 30 OK, what is going on here - anything other than a discussion of the weather? Rosalie -my cars:'82 300D Mercedes & '84 diesel Lynx other cars - '85 300 d Mercedes, '84 Escort diesel,=20 '94 Beacon electric (formerly '85 Escort diesel) '65 Galaxie conv., '71 Ford crewcab PU, 1932 PB Conv.Sedan '65 Valiant (for sale), and others not currently licensed.=20 MBCA member ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 07:50:43 -0700 From: john Subject: Re: what's going on? At 01:13 PM 7/27/98 GMT, R Beasley wrote: >On Sun, 26 Jul 1998 22:39:18 -0700, you wrote: >>>greetings from Snohomish... :) >>>The current score is: >>-------------------- >>Diesel-Benz: 30 >>OK, what is going on here - anything other than a discussion of >the weather? >>Rosalie -my cars:'82 300D Mercedes & '84 diesel Lynx >other cars - '85 300 d Mercedes, '84 Escort diesel, >'94 Beacon electric (formerly '85 Escort diesel) >'65 Galaxie conv., '71 Ford crewcab PU, 1932 PB Conv.Sedan >'65 Valiant (for sale), and others not currently licensed. >MBCA member We've been waiting for you to get here. Tell us more aobut your 300D's, what kind of mileage do they get? :) Have you found the light bulb that feeds the fiber optics up to the console? It's out on my 81 300D... :) john > --------------------------------------------------------------- john-at-virtual-cafe.com http://www.virtual-cafe.com/~john/ Snohomish, Washington USA - where jeeps don't rust, they mold... - ------------------------------------------------------------------ '81 Mercedes 300D, '81 Jeep J10(SJ) Pickup, '88 Jeep Wagoneer(xj) - ------------------------------------------------------------------ jesus - don't leave life without him... - ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 16:02:31 -0400 From: "Matthew J. Mason" Subject: Jon F. --> name that car >I assume your's is a 240D. I owned a 220 gas model years ago, but don't >remember hearing of a European 2.4 liter gas model. You are correct. No such model, the gas 2.4 liter. My car, the as-yet-unnamed 240D, is of course a diesel. Possible names, suggested by other people: Grace -- classy, but boring. Gromit -- after Nick Park's canine character in the Wallace & Gromit animations, because the dog and the car share the same color. MB calls it "light ivory." Fritz -- sorry John! I had a collie named Fritz, and besides that, a friend of mine made the obvious connection (German car, German name). But I never thought it fit well enough. Flash -- anyone who has driven a 240D, manual or not, knows why this name isn't quite appropriate! :) I'm open to more suggestions... the "Name Matt's 240D" contest is underway! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 16:42:51 -0400 From: Marty Smith Subject: Hello and Question By way of introduction, we have a 1985 300TD which we got 9 years ago = from a wrecking yard. The car had been in an extensive front end = accident and the owner of the yard had done all of the body work, but = had given up with the electrical problems which turned out to be a = crushed wiring harness. We have put 100K miles on the car since then, now 150K miles, and this = year had the body completely stripped and redone, new ball joints, = brakes, windshield, the works, and she looks and drives like new. However, our ignition switch was going on us, the heater wasn't coming = on unless you wiggled the switch so we had the core replaced last week. = When I got it back from my mechanic, the radio no longer turns off when = you shut off the car. I assume the radio is fed power through the = ignition switch and my mechanic just goofed in getting it rewired. Is = this something a driveway mechanic like me can fix, or do I have to take = it to our mechanic who is an hour away? BTW we had so much fun with this car that we bought an 89 420SEL nearly = two years ago which had had an interior fire and had also been totaled. = We imported it from Canada and actually installed the headliner and all = the trim ourselves. It is a beauty and so much fun to drive. These = cars are so much fun because the parts are so interchangeable. =20 Even though I drive the SEL now and we reserve the wagon for our 'road = and snow car' my heart is still with the diesel. We take it to Vermont = every other week and have never had problems starting it. In the winter = we plug it in and put its 'snood' on. The snood is a flannel backed = vinyl cover which extends from the roof rack and covers the entire front = end of the car almost to the ground. The snood seems to reduce the wind = infiltration and help keep the engine warmer. TIA for information regarding the ignition switch. mart M. Blakey Smith AIA Manager of Planning and Architecture Facilities Planning Division University of Massachusetts Amherst 360 Campus Center Way Amherst MA 01003 (voice) 413-545-6496 (fax) 413-545-3684 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 15:01:29 -0700 From: "Meister, John" Subject: RE: Jon F. --> name that car Claude, for that French overtone (light ivory color made me think of that one...) Gerhard? Sehr gute? :) or, like one engineer friend of mine called his 78 Volare: Old Smokey... good luck... john meister sr CAD sys admin, Intermec meister-at-intermec.com (425) 356.1663 http://www.intermec.com ( http://www.virtual-cafe.com/~john john-at-virtual-cafe.com ) > ---------- > From: Matthew J. Mason[SMTP:mmason-at-blue.weeg.uiowa.edu] > Sent: Monday, July 27, 1998 1:02 PM > To: diesel-benz-at-digest.net > Subject: Jon F. --> name that car > > >I assume your's is a 240D. I owned a 220 gas model years ago, but > don't > >remember hearing of a European 2.4 liter gas model. > > > You are correct. No such model, the gas 2.4 liter. > My car, the as-yet-unnamed 240D, is of course a diesel. > > Possible names, suggested by other people: > > Grace -- classy, but boring. > > Gromit -- after Nick Park's canine character in the Wallace & > Gromit > animations, because the dog and the car share the same color. MB > calls it > "light ivory." > > Fritz -- sorry John! I had a collie named Fritz, and besides > that, a > friend of mine made the obvious connection (German car, German name). > But > I never thought it fit well enough. > > Flash -- anyone who has driven a 240D, manual or not, knows why > this name > isn't quite appropriate! :) > > I'm open to more suggestions... the "Name Matt's 240D" contest > is underway! > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 22:05:00 GMT From: rafbeas-at-mindspring.com (R Beasley) Subject: Re: what's going on? On Mon, 27 Jul 1998 07:50:43 -0700, you wrote: >>>OK, what is going on here - anything other than a discussion of >>the weather? >>>Rosalie -my cars:'82 300D Mercedes & '84 diesel Lynx >>other cars - '85 300 d Mercedes, '84 Escort diesel,=20 >>'94 Beacon electric (formerly '85 Escort diesel) >>'65 Galaxie conv., '71 Ford crewcab PU, 1932 PB Conv.Sedan >>'65 Valiant (for sale), and others not currently licensed.=20 >>MBCA member >We've been waiting for you to get here. Tell us more about your = 300D's, >what kind of mileage do they get? :) =20 Both the MBs get about 26-28 mpg. The diesel Lynx gets about 45 mpg. The diesel Escort gets 50 mpg, the Beacon electric costs about 80 cents/25 miles (not as good as the Escort, but better than the MBs. The PU gets maybe 10-12 mpg, and I can't remember about the PB. I think the Valiant gets about the same as the MBs. My '82 300D had about 145K on it when I bought it in July '94, and it now is turning 187K.=20 >Have you found the light bulb that feeds the fiber optics up to the >console? It's out on my 81 300D... :) Don't know - I'll ask my husband. grandma Rosalie ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 16:23:37 -0700 From: "Meister, John" Subject: turbo question is it possible to add a turbo to a regular 300D? Could I just buy the manifolds and turbo and drop it in? later, john john meister sr CAD sys admin, Intermec meister-at-intermec.com (425) 356.1663 http://www.intermec.com ( http://www.virtual-cafe.com/~john john-at-virtual-cafe.com ) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 18:58:30 -0500 From: "Dan Gordon" Subject: poor starting 240D My two month old '81 240D has a hard time starting from sitting overnight or after sitting 9 hours at work - and this in the warm summer months. I have not located what may be a fuel leak which appears under the car overnight - and that may be the problem. Is there any list collective comment on air in fuel system, or poor fuel pressure and poor starting? It starts fine but it coughs and stumbles and smokes a bit. Thanks for comments. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 21:26:51 -0400 From: Richard Welty Subject: Re: turbo question At 04:23 PM 7/27/98 -0700, Meister, John wrote: >is it possible to add a turbo to a regular 300D? Could I just buy the >manifolds and turbo and >drop it in? i don't "know" the answer to this, but i was looking at a catalog that covered engine internals the other day, and the turbo takes a different bottom end kit for rebuilds. my experience with turbo gas motors tells me that you often build a lower compression motor with milder cams when you use a turbo, else you'll be blowing holes in pistons. the same might well apply to a diesel. richard ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 21:26:51 -0400 From: Richard Welty Subject: Re: turbo question At 04:23 PM 7/27/98 -0700, Meister, John wrote: >is it possible to add a turbo to a regular 300D? Could I just buy the >manifolds and turbo and >drop it in? i don't "know" the answer to this, but i was looking at a catalog that covered engine internals the other day, and the turbo takes a different bottom end kit for rebuilds. my experience with turbo gas motors tells me that you often build a lower compression motor with milder cams when you use a turbo, else you'll be blowing holes in pistons. the same might well apply to a diesel. richard ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 20:53:09 -0700 From: john Subject: Re: poor starting 240D At 06:58 PM 7/27/98 -0500, you wrote: >My two month old '81 240D has a hard time starting from sitting overnight or >after sitting 9 hours at work - and this in the warm summer months. I have >not located what may be a fuel leak which appears under the car overnight - >and that may be the problem. Is there any list collective comment on air in >fuel system, or poor fuel pressure and poor starting? It starts fine but it >coughs and stumbles and smokes a bit. Thanks for comments. If you have a fuel leak it'll definetly make it hard to start. You'll have to crank long enough to build up pressure in the injectors. What you can do is use the manual pump to prime the system next time you try to start it after it's been sitting for a while and see if that helps. Then check all your fuel line fittings from the filter to the pump and then the return lines from the injectors back to the secondary fuel filter. You could also have a bad injector, trace the leak... If the fuel system is all tight, the next thing to check is the glow plugs... If the fuel and plugs check out and you're blowing smoke, you may have other problems... bad injector again, or even a ring... if the smoke is white it could even be a bad head gasket that seals up once it's warm... I'm going worst case analysis now, so don't freak out... have you checked your coolant? Bubbles, oily? Now, back to reality. Check those fuel lines, especially the ones between the injectors, those return lines are notorious for leaking. Cheap fix too. later, john --------------------------------------------------------------- john-at-virtual-cafe.com http://www.virtual-cafe.com/~john/ Snohomish, Washington USA - where jeeps don't rust, they mold... - ------------------------------------------------------------------ jesus - don't leave life without him... - ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 21:04:10 -0700 From: john Subject: Re: Hello and Question At 04:42 PM 7/27/98 -0400, Marty Smith wrote: >However, our ignition switch was going on us, the heater wasn't coming on unless you wiggled the switch so we had the core replaced last week. When I got it back from my mechanic, the radio no longer turns off when you shut off the car. I assume the radio is fed power through the ignition switch and my mechanic just goofed in getting it rewired. Is this something a driveway mechanic like me can fix, or do I have to take it to our mechanic who is an hour away? I'm wrestling with my radio right now... It's not hard to pull out(81 300d), but I haven't really gotten into it yet. It looses its marbles every now and then and comes on full blast without any stations programmed... Someone on alt.mercedes suggested that the power and memory leads were switched... will check it out. Could be a related problem with yours. However, if your wrench changed the ignition switch and it showed up then it's quite possible he miss wired it, which could create other problems for you. My radio will play just one notch off of on. I wouldn't recommend tearing into the ignition switch unless you knew what you were doing... been there, done that, not a great deal of fun... the drive will be fun anyways... :) john --------------------------------------------------------------- john-at-virtual-cafe.com http://www.virtual-cafe.com/~john/ Snohomish, Washington USA - where jeeps don't rust, they mold... - ------------------------------------------------------------------ jesus - don't leave life without him... - ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 22:05:31 -0700 From: john Subject: basic diesel info I was wondering how many of you folks have ever read Chilton's Diesel Guide? My copy is dated 1980, author James Joseph. isbn 0-8019-6754-6 I'm sure it's been updated. Excellent information. I don't usually recommend Chiltons. They went down hill in the late 70's / early 80's... :) But this one is worthy of your investment. I've read it cover to cover a few times. Good solid technical info. I've had lots of Diesels. 1980 Olds Cutlass LS, 5.7L, 80 VW Rabbit, 79 Olds Cutlass LS 5.7L, 81 VW pickup, 85 Jeep XJ 2.1L Turbo Diesel, 68 MBZ 220D, 83 GMC Jimmy 6.2L, 80 VW with an 82 Diesel & 5spd, 79 VW, 75 240D, and now Fritz, my 81 300D. In addition, while in the Army I was licensed to drive several large objects that also happened to be Diesel powered, like a Bus. Ever driven a 19 ton bus on the Autobahn? :) Especially when floored it did 50mph... and it was painted OD green. Got to drive some newer style buses stateside, mostly on details. My primary job involved working in air conditioned secure buildings doing crypto repair. So I didn't mind playing with the Army's toys. :) My hausmeister in Messel (suburb of Darmstadt) had a snazzy Golf back in 78, very fast and he bragged about it's fuel economy! Better than his moped he said. :) My first Diesel was the Olds Diesel. I'd been overseas and hadn't heard about GM's gift to the Diesel community. I liked the car, it reminded me of some of the mercedes I'd seen in europe... :) I had the engine "targetmastered" at 80,000 miles. They had fixed the problems by 1984, but the damage to the Diesel world was irreparable. What a shame. My 80 Olds died in spring of 96 with 230,000 miles on it, a self-inflicted wound I might add... I "fixed" something in the tranny and didn't get a little pawl back in the right place... and it dropped into first gear at 65mph... can you say damaged lifters? I knew you could... damaged lifters led to a broken camshaft on I-405 days later at 60 plus mph... the clattering finally stopped and I coasted to the shoulder, fired up the cell phone and rode home on a hook... I fell in love with Diesels because of that Oldsmobile. And as we all know Mercedes is the ULTIMATE Diesel motorcar. Mercedes IS the Diesel auto. Driving a Benz is an addictive experience. The feel of it, the way it operates... it makes you forget your in the slow lane... :) (unless it's a 450SEL, then you're just watching the gas gauge move...) The love affair with Diesels contined through all the other vehicles mentioned. My plan was to dieselfy my 81 Wagoneer, Old Blue. Common Sense, time constraints and the fact that Old Blue was pristine made me sell him rather than hack him up... My 81 J10 has no engine/trans or xfr case. I have a 4.0L, 4spd auto and xfr case already, but am still thinking about my dream FSJ Diesel. We've even given some thought to using a 300D engine. The torque is there, the durability is there... I've located a couple of used motors for less than a grand... However, a 6.2/6.5L makes more sense for a rig that tips the scale the way an FSJ does... Old Blue tripped the scale at over 5,200lbs loaded and occupied... The J10 will be less, but still well over 4,000lbs... In the meantime, I'll drive Fritz. The little wagoneer provides me with a higher ride and my off-road pleasures... sure wish it was a Diesel sometimes... :) but the 4.0L is an awesome gas motor, for an american car. Maybe they will market the ML-270TD stateside... We can only hope. :) later, john --------------------------------------------------------------- john-at-virtual-cafe.com http://www.virtual-cafe.com/~john/ Snohomish, Washington USA - where jeeps don't rust, they mold... - ------------------------------------------------------------------ jesus - don't leave life without him... - ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 22:34:12 -0700 From: john Subject: Fritz back from the shop... I picked up Fritz from the shop after work. They adjusted his valves, and changed the ATF to Amsoil Synthetic. With filters and gaskets the bill came to $167. $59.20 labor for the valves, $48 for the ATF change. Adds up in a hurry doesn't it. :) I could have done this stuff myself but I've got too many other projects going on and I couldn't find all the gaskets when I was gathering parts... It looked like the valve cover had been a major oil leak too... He's also starting to slip going into 3rd gear. Anybody ever lost 3rd gear completely? Will the car keep going and just skip that gear or is it "fatal"? :) One nice thing they did was fix the rattle I had underneath, it was just a loose exhaust clamp, no charge... Next project for me is to fix the door locks and the stereo... later, john --------------------------------------------------------------- john-at-virtual-cafe.com http://www.virtual-cafe.com/~john/ Snohomish, Washington USA - where jeeps don't rust, they mold... - ------------------------------------------------------------------ jesus - don't leave life without him... - ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of diesel-benz-digest V1 #4 *******************************