From: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net (diesel-benz-digest) To: diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Subject: diesel-benz-digest V1 #517 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 Thursday, March 22 2001 Volume 01 : Number 517 Forum for Discussion of Diesel Mercedes Benz Automobiles John Meister Digest Coordinator Contents: Re: Windshield question. Re: new features... Valve Adjust Wrenches vacuum system maintenance? Re: vacuum system maintenance? RE: vacuum system maintenance? Re: vacuum system maintenance? Re: Mercedes engine parts 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, 20 Mar 2001 20:37:36 -0600 From: "Ben Howell" Subject: Re: Windshield question. This seems to be a problem on cars that have aftermarket windshields installed the average consent of most people I have talked to is to get the OE windshield and it will last forever reguarding pits. Now when big stones and tree limbs..... - -- On Tue, 20 Mar 2001 20:51:09 Barnes, Mark wrote: >The windshield on the 1985 300sd seems to have thousands of tiny little pits >which is hard to see through when light hits it. Is this a known issue with >the Benz? Any ideas or solutions you have are appreciated! I was thinking >of trying to find a windshield polishing shop or something like it. > >Regards, > >Mark > Get 250 color business cards for FREE! at Lycos Mail http://mail.lycos.com/freemail/vistaprint_index.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 22:11:43 -0500 (EST) From: John Fieber Subject: Re: new features... On Wed, 21 Mar 2001, Mike Mehringer wrote: > Really? I didn't think any should be open. Really. The vacuum control valve, a white plastic gizmo on the top rear of the injection pump, provides a carefully controlled level of vacuum based on throttle position. (The transmission needs this) It adjusts the vacuum supply by making a controlled leak. A vacuum line, usually black, coming out the side of the vacuum control valve and going through the firewall where it abruptly ends happens to be the vent line. It goes into the passenger compartment to avoid sucking in dirt and stuff. Depending on the year, there may be other lines that also connect to the vacuum control valve where the vent line does. Those are simply other parts of the vacuum system that need venting and that is where they tap into the vent line going through the firewall. - -john ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 11:29:21 -0500 From: Mike Aimino Subject: Valve Adjust Wrenches Does anyone know of a discount source of valve adjust wrenches? I desperately need to do a valve adjustment, but I find the $78 price tag for 3 wrenches a little hard to swallow. Mike '81 300D ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 09:35:37 -0800 (PST) From: john Subject: vacuum system maintenance? someone posted the other day about replacing the vacuum lines or doing other maintenance on the vacuum system... care to elaborate a bit? :) On my xj jeeps you can buy a vacuum harness, inexpensive and modular, very handy... but the benz doesn't look like that's a possibility, and I went through a lot of effort to get all the vacuum pieces for the 300D. What can be done to "clean it up". Thankfully my '83 300SD is in stock configuration and in working condition... except for the transmission shifts... they vary, daily... and other little clues that something isn't 100% with the vacuum system right now... like a couple times it kept running after turning the key off, turned it on, then back off and it was fine... weird... So... what do I use? Mr. Clean and a wire brush? Scotchbrite and carb cleaner? a propane torch and 5 gallons of Diesel... :) thanx, john ---- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** john-at-wagoneers.com via PINE on Linux **** http://wagoneers.com ** ** http://junkscience.com ** http://snopes.com ** http://freegift.net ** Snohomish, Washington USA ...don't leave life without Jesus, please... - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 11:34:29 -0600 From: "Ben Howell" Subject: Re: vacuum system maintenance? There are vacume lines that are connected to the ignition tumbler harness or whatever its called. I don't know what to tell you except that if you can "re-turn" the key and it starts working then I would say that there is a leak in your ignition vacume thing. To talk to the man about this call Rusty Cullens www.rusty-parts.com, or Randy Steel at www.epsparts.com or George Murphy of Performance Annalysis Company. Tell em I sent you. Anyway they know all about that stuff and can probably diagnose you over the phone and get you the part that you need and tell you how to install it. Ben 79 300SD 184k miles 83 240D 346k miles - -- On Wed, 21 Mar 2001 09:35:37 john wrote: >someone posted the other day about replacing the vacuum lines or >doing other maintenance on the vacuum system... > >care to elaborate a bit? :) > >On my xj jeeps you can buy a vacuum harness, inexpensive and modular, >very handy... but the benz doesn't look like that's a possibility, and >I went through a lot of effort to get all the vacuum pieces for the 300D. > >What can be done to "clean it up". Thankfully my '83 300SD is in stock >configuration and in working condition... except for the transmission >shifts... they vary, daily... and other little clues that something isn't >100% with the vacuum system right now... like a couple times it kept >running after turning the key off, turned it on, then back off and it was >fine... weird... > >So... what do I use? Mr. Clean and a wire brush? Scotchbrite and >carb cleaner? a propane torch and 5 gallons of Diesel... :) > >thanx, >john > > ---- > >------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ** john-at-wagoneers.com via PINE on Linux **** http://wagoneers.com ** >** http://junkscience.com ** http://snopes.com ** http://freegift.net ** > Snohomish, Washington USA ...don't leave life without Jesus, please... >------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Get 250 color business cards for FREE! at Lycos Mail http://mail.lycos.com/freemail/vistaprint_index.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 11:45:57 -0600 From: "Alec Cordova" Subject: RE: vacuum system maintenance? I'm not one of the serious (or even half-serious) mechanics on this list with vast (or even half-vast) experience in the innards of these cars, but I'll chime in anyway, since I'm playing hooky from work after staying till midnight last night. The diesel Benzes have elaborate vacuum systems. (Duh!) I think care and feeding of this level of engineering has a few primary concerns. There is a lot of heat under the hood. That can dry out vacuum hoses and make plastic connectors brittle. Either of these may develop leaks. Additionally, we must remember the source of the vacuum. It's either being drawn from the innards of the combustion process, or a mechanical device is generating it, and that mechanical device is driven by the motor. Couple of gaskets involved right here to keep motor oil from entering the vacuum system. As they say, it's a bit of a sticky wicket if you start getting oil sucked into the vacuum lines and fittings. Anyway, these sources of vacuum must provide for a physical connection from metal to plastic or rubber. Those silly Germans seem to be quite attracted to Banjo bolts. I remember seeing more than a few on some VWs, too. Banjo bolts are those hollow tubes that have something like a hollow ball on one end, usually with a threaded hole or two in that ball. Weird looking things. Over time, they can accumulate some internal gunk just from what's been floating around in what little air there is inside a vacuum system. For a thorough MB vacuum system cleaning, it might even be a good idea to START with these Banjo fittings. Basic metal parts. I assume the cleaning materials and methods should be standard enough, once you reach the inside of those parts. This could also lead you to attempt cleaning, or simply replacing, some particular hoses or fittings, if you "follow the trail" of whatever mess you find in the Banjos. And yes, shutting down these motors is not accomplished without vacuum. But if it happened once or twice, it could simply be that you had used up most of your current vacuum supply with something else. Maybe door locks or climate control flaps, or something. Just bad timing against an older system, and your vacuum was somewhat insufficient when you attempted to stop the motor at that instant. Probably not indicative of a serious problem. Whoa! I'm kind of rambling here, aren't I? Must be time for more coffee. ;-) Alec Cordova Taylor, Texas 95 C280 89 300CE 85 300DT - -----Original Message----- From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net] On Behalf Of john Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2001 11:36 AM To: diesel-benz list Subject: vacuum system maintenance? someone posted the other day about replacing the vacuum lines or doing other maintenance on the vacuum system... care to elaborate a bit? :) On my xj jeeps you can buy a vacuum harness, inexpensive and modular, very handy... but the benz doesn't look like that's a possibility, and I went through a lot of effort to get all the vacuum pieces for the 300D. What can be done to "clean it up". Thankfully my '83 300SD is in stock configuration and in working condition... except for the transmission shifts... they vary, daily... and other little clues that something isn't 100% with the vacuum system right now... like a couple times it kept running after turning the key off, turned it on, then back off and it was fine... weird... So... what do I use? Mr. Clean and a wire brush? Scotchbrite and carb cleaner? a propane torch and 5 gallons of Diesel... :) thanx, john ---- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** john-at-wagoneers.com via PINE on Linux **** http://wagoneers.com ** ** http://junkscience.com ** http://snopes.com ** http://freegift.net ** Snohomish, Washington USA ...don't leave life without Jesus, please... - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 10:16:03 -0800 (PST) From: john Subject: Re: vacuum system maintenance? well, the bigger issue is the shifting. the engine shutoff only happened once or twice and not since, but it tipped me off to something up with the vacuum... john On Wed, 21 Mar 2001, Ben Howell wrote: >-->There are vacume lines that are connected to the ignition tumbler harness or whatever its called. I don't know what to tell you except that if you can "re-turn" the key and it starts working then I would say that there is a leak in your ignition vacum e thing. To talk to the man about this call Rusty Cullens www.rusty-parts.com, or Randy Steel at www.epsparts.com or George Murphy of Performance Annalysis Company. Tell em I sent you. Anyway they know all about that stuff and can probably diagnose you ov er the phone and get you the part that you need and tell you how to install it. >--> >-->Ben >-->79 300SD 184k miles >-->83 240D 346k miles ---- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** john-at-wagoneers.com via PINE on Linux **** http://wagoneers.com ** ** http://junkscience.com ** http://snopes.com ** http://freegift.net ** Snohomish, Washington USA ...don't leave life without Jesus, please... - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 23:38:38 -0800 From: john Subject: Re: Mercedes engine parts At 12:47 AM 3/22/01 -0500, "Joseph E DeMers" wrote: >Hello John - > >I need some help in gettting OM636 engine parts. Where is a good sourse for >this stuff? Any places to avoid? ON something like this I'd check with Rusty Cullens, he's down in Atlanta, GA, but can ship anywhere. If he doesn't know, he'll know who would. I know he's got a number of contacts and sources up the East Coast. My West Coast sources wouldn't be able to help you any better than rusty... :) Rusty Cullens Wholesale Parts, Inc. 1-800-741-5252 >I'm located in Connecticut. > >Do you have any experience with this engine? I would like to remove all the >injectors for testing, where do I buy the needed special tools? I know nothing about that model... I've only played around with the 615/617 types... Although I'd be willing to guess the injectors are 27MM. ;) and the fuel lines 17mm, and the little clamps 8mm... of course that is a guess... >Thanks for your time. > >BTW, this engine is in a 1987 40' sailboat, & is marinized by Nanni Diesel, >a company in France. >Joe DeMers If Rusty can't help you then I can dig up the Mercedes wrecking yard down in Portland, Oregon, they may have some knowledge of marine applications... john - ------------------------------------------------------ http://www.WAGONEERS.com/ Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... jesus, don't leave life without him, please! - ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of diesel-benz-digest V1 #517 *********************************