From: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net (diesel-benz-digest) To: diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Subject: diesel-benz-digest V1 #577 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 Friday, June 22 2001 Volume 01 : Number 577 Forum for Discussion of Diesel Mercedes Benz Automobiles John Meister Digest Coordinator Contents: aftermarket rotors am I missing something? Re: am I missing something? Re: am I missing something? Suspension work :was: Re: am I missing something? RE: Suspension work Re: Suspension work Re: aftermarket rotors Rear window switches and O2 sensor Re: Where can I find a diesel Mercedes Benz sedan? alloy lug size Re: mileage vs. warranty 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: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 20:54:24 -0700 From: john Subject: aftermarket rotors I'm looking for the best replacement rotors for my '99 WJ (Grand Cherokee) Someone mentioned a good source, can't remember which list. The dealer has about 60 sets in stock, that says something right there... ;) NAPA had 0. Would racing type ventilated rotors be suitable on a GC??? I think these rotors are also used on Cherokees... URL? price? source? need front and rear, mine are really pitted and not under warranty... (unlike the rear end... ;) thanx, john - ------------------------------------------------------ http://www.WAGONEERS.com/ Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... jesus, don't leave life without him, please! - ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 00:23:15 -0400 From: Evan Reisner Subject: am I missing something? I signed up for a Mercedes Diesel mailing list. Lately, I read more about Jeeps than MB's. Now I realize that DB makes Mercedes and Jeeps - but that's a tenuous link at best. Any chance of staying on-topic? Evan ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 03:28:00 -0500 From: Jon Filina Subject: Re: am I missing something? Evan scratched his head and wrote: > I signed up for a Mercedes Diesel mailing list. > > Lately, I read more about Jeeps than MB's. Welcome to our neighborhood.... > Now I realize that DB makes Mercedes and Jeeps - but that's a tenuous link > at best. Ya gotta understand our list Mom. John is a great guy. He had the Jeep list long before he discovered the merits of owning a diesel Benz. After buying "Fritz", his '81 300D, he saw the light. Unfortunately, Fritz had continual problems keeping the light lit... John finally sold Fritz and spent the next several months lamenting his decision. John finally found a replacement. All was well with the world. But, that was short lived... If things progress the way they normally do, John will sell his current diesel Benz then lament it's departure. After much anguish, he'll find another one. The funds for the new Benz will displace his plans for a new garage, but he will accept that. After a short time, the Benz will be up for sale and we'll go through the cycle again. > Any chance of staying on-topic? Enjoy the ride! Alec will chime in from time to time with some worthwhile advice. Diesel Dan is always good for a word of wisdom, but we haven't heard from him in a while. If you want immediate advice, stay lurking on the Easley/Ritter list, which I believe you are on. You'll get some good tips on this one, but we're here more for the fun than the technical answers. This list may not be the most technical in nature, but sure can be fun! Jon '81 240D 279,100 mi. "Mathilde" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 08:59:22 -0500 (CDT) From: jslash-at-execpc.com Subject: Re: am I missing something? [demime could not interpret encoding binary - treating as plain text] Well said Jon! Enjoy the show Evan ;) Jim/ Jim Hoffman Oconomowoc WI '83 240D > Evan scratched his head and wrote: > > > I signed up for a Mercedes Diesel mailing list. > > > > Lately, I read more about Jeeps than MB's. > > Welcome to our neighborhood.... > > > Now I realize that DB makes Mercedes and Jeeps - but that's a tenuous link > > at best. > > Ya gotta understand our list Mom. John is a great guy. He had the Jeep list long before he discovered the merits of owning a diesel Benz. After buying "Fritz", his '81 300D, he saw the light. Unfortunately, Fritz had continual problems keeping the light lit... John finally sold Fritz and spent the next several months lamenting his decision. > > John finally found a replacement. All was well with the world. But, that was short lived... > > If things progress the way they normally do, John will sell his current diesel Benz then lament it's departure. After much anguish, he'll find another one. The funds for the new Benz will displace his plans for a new garage, but he will accept that. After a short time, the Benz will be up for sale and we'll go through the cycle again. > > > Any chance of staying on-topic? > > Enjoy the ride! Alec will chime in from time to time with some worthwhile advice. Diesel Dan is always good for a word of wisdom, but we haven't heard from him in a while. If you want immediate advice, stay lurking on the Easley/Ritter list, which I believe you are on. You'll get some good tips on this one, but we're here more for the fun than the technical answers. > > This list may not be the most technical in nature, but sure can be fun! > > Jon > '81 240D 279,100 mi. "Mathilde" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 09:03:07 -0700 From: "Robert Crawford" Subject: Suspension work :was: Re: am I missing something? well, yesterday I went and ordered a set of front shocks and a steering dampener for my 300sd. So far my local parts guy has never (Thomas Imports, Medford OR) failed to beat "performance parts" prices. As such I have a set of KYBs on the way. I also asked about a set of springs in order to address the sagging rear end (on the car) that I grumbled about a while back. He told me that I needed the numbers off the existing springs. So once I start on that project, replacing the springs, the car will be out of order for about a week. As such that is a project that I will be putting off for a while. Can the rear springs alone be replaced or do I need to replace all four at once? Does anyone happen to know what these numbers are? - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Filina" To: "Evan Reisner" Cc: Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2001 1:28 AM Subject: Re: am I missing something? > Evan scratched his head and wrote: > > > I signed up for a Mercedes Diesel mailing list. > > > > Lately, I read more about Jeeps than MB's. > > Welcome to our neighborhood.... > > > Now I realize that DB makes Mercedes and Jeeps - but that's a tenuous link > > at best. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 09:37:44 -0700 From: ccordova-at-avaya.com Subject: RE: Suspension work First: Experience of other list members strongly suggests that you will not be happy with KYBs. Should have spent the money and gone for Bilstiens. Second: Sagging W126 rears are often the rubber subframe mounts for the trailing arms and differential, rather than the springs. Sorry to be a downer and not even answer your questions. As for price comparisons, have you checked with Rusty? (rusty-at-mbz.org, http://rusty.mbz.org) Good parts, good prices, good service. If your local guy has to order them anyway, you're even on time. Don't know if Oregon has sales tax, but you generally don't pay sales tax on out of state mail order, which often makes up for the shipping charges. Alec -----Original Message----- well, yesterday I went and ordered a set of front shocks and a steering dampener for my 300sd. So far my local parts guy has never (Thomas Imports, Medford OR) failed to beat "performance parts" prices. As such I have a set of KYBs on the way. I also asked about a set of springs in order to address the sagging rear end (on the car) that I grumbled about a while back. He told me that I needed the numbers off the existing springs. So once I start on that project, replacing the springs, the car will be out of order for about a week. As such that is a project that I will be putting off for a while. Can the rear springs alone be replaced or do I need to replace all four at once? Does anyone happen to know what these numbers are? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 10:18:29 -0700 (PDT) From: Jerome Kaidor Subject: Re: Suspension work > First: Experience of other list members strongly suggests that you will not > be happy with KYBs. Should have spent the money and gone for Bilstiens. > *** I have to agree. I installed KYBs in my 300D a few months ago. Control of body roll is deficient, which leads to a less than confident stance on mountain roads and in high winds. It's a mystery to me why this is so: KYB's in general have a very good reputation, and a set of them transformed my VW bus for the better - you'd think that was a more challenging application than a relatively low-slung sedan. - Jerry Kaidor ( jerry-at-tr2.com ) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 10:21:43 -0700 (PDT) From: john Subject: Re: aftermarket rotors looks like the factory isn't going to cover this... seems that the odometer may have been tampered with... NO WARRANTY. I called Randy's Ring and Pinion, they quoted me half the cost of repair that the dealer did, no surprise... Randy's said the axle is fine if it's setup correctly, he said the factory setup the preload wrong and that's why they fail. john On Thu, 21 Jun 2001, jim blair wrote: >-->A: The WJ wasn't covered under the factory recall on the brake rotors >-->and calipers? You may want to joggle their memory on that! Call >-->206-575-8100 for Olympic brake supply for the rotors (that's the >-->warehouse so let them know it's for your business) going for performance parts, not stock at this point... no warranty... no recall either, they did check. >-->(Got MSN instant Messenger yet? I just got it on Webtv) what, are you insane? Why would I do that??? I'm trying to get away from microsoft, why on earth would I use their services??? >--> On the diff, everyone I've talked to says dump it for an iron D44 or >-->it'll go out almost evrytime you push it hard (don't they test those >-->things offroad?) yeah, they did test 'em, they just didn't set 'em up right. :) ---- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** 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: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 11:54:47 -0600 From: "HAALAND,SCOTT (A-Roseville,ex1)" Subject: Rear window switches and O2 sensor Well, this is a bit off topic, but I'm getting desperate. By the way (this is on topic) I found a switch for my back window in the 300SD from a junkyard. I think I got it out of a 78 300D, but apparently all the switches are compatible. Now both windows in the back go up and down from the center controls. What's interesting is that neither of the rear switches *work* for moving the window, but if they aren't installed, then the front-center switches down work either....strange (yes, I tried switching the child saftey switch back and forth). However, I'm totally happy to be able to roll down the windows (it's supposed to be up to 104 degrees today in Sacramento!!!) Gotta get that AC fixed!! (maybe after the vanagon project and the wife's acura project---sigh) Here's the off-topic question. I'm almost finished with a project I've been working on for a couple of months that was *supposed* to take 2 weekends. I'm putting a new 2000 Jetta/Golf 2.0L engine into my 1983 Vanagon. It's in, it's running, and it's almost ready for a smog. The LAST thing I'm trying to do is retrofit an Oxygen (O2) sensor into the exhaust pipe. I drilled a hole in the exhaust pipe, just before the catalytic conv., and used an 18 mm spark-plug anti fouler sleeve in the hole to receive the O2 sensor (I cut off half of the anti-foul sleeve)... I'm getting it welded today on my lunch break. I got this Bosch O2 sensor from a VW junkyard from a 2000 Jetta. Problem is, it has 4 wires, and I don't know how to wire it to my new engine. Here's my *guess*: Brown - Ground Grey - ECU O2 sensor signal White#1- Power?? White#2- ??? Any ideas? Where can I find the wiring specs for this Bosch O2 sensor? Part number 0258006 237/238. Thanks, Scott ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 12:05:12 -0700 (PDT) From: john Subject: Re: Where can I find a diesel Mercedes Benz sedan? On Thu, 21 Jun 2001 Karrs5-at-aol.com wrote: >-->Where can I find a diesel Mercedes Benz sedan? try http://www.autotrader.com 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: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 20:01:17 -0400 From: "John Heflin" Subject: alloy lug size Anyone know the length of the lugs for the alloy wheels? A set came with the wheels I bought but I think they belong to the steel wheels. the reason.... My front left tire blew its tread (but stayed inflated) on I-70 at 75mph on the 240D (going downhill :). The steel belt part of the tire tore right through the metal in front of, and behind the tire as well as part of the quarterpanel. I figure this is a good oppertunity to take my new wheels in and have them put new tires on them, then just put them on the 240 for now. Oh and the best part of the story was I had left my mbz tire iron in my other car from the drive to pennsylvania last weekend! I had to limp my car (literally, it wobbled) to a service station a couple miles out in the middle of nowhere, and as luck would have it, it was a 7-11 gas station, so no one had any mechanical experience (or even knew what I was talking about). But It wasnt so bad after all, I soon heard that ever so familiar sound and saw a 300SD (w116) pulling in to the station, and of course, he had the tire iron! I have to say much thanks to that guy, wherever he is now. John _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 20:47:32 -0700 From: john Subject: Re: mileage vs. warranty At 11:17 PM 6/21/01 -0400, mpolkkidodge-at-netscape.net wrote: >If the State certified the Miles those are the actual miles that everyone >including Chrysler has to go by. they should not be able to say that they >will not cover a repair based on a suspected tampered odometer if the >mileage is true to the certified amount >john wrote: > > looks like the factory isn't going to cover this... seems that > > the odometer may have been tampered with... NO WARRANTY. hold on friends... the auction place included a mileage statement that says the actual mileage is unknown and it is suspected that it was tampered. State police said so too. And based on the trouble with programming the key, it's obvious they swapped out the brains. So all bets off on the mileage... I went into the dealer stating that I'd purchased it as a theft recovery vehicle at an auction, and that it was re-vin'd by the Washington State Police. The dealer checked both vins and had records of it. Where they sort of messed up was in the math of converting from Kilometers to Miles last week. The last service under warranty was at 67,000 kilometers... The odometer now reads 31,000 miles. I didn't do the math at the time, but have since, and it's over 36,000 miles. In fact, it would be 41631.87 miles. :) Neither of us really figured it out, the problem was they said, sure, it's under warranty, bring it in... I did... they had trouble with programming the keys, looked it up again and then said, no warranty. Not a big deal, except that they were going to charge me the 4 hours the tech had spent "inspecting" the rear end. :) I said I'll pay for the key programming fee, even though you didn't program it, but I'm not paying the labor on the rear end inspection... They agreed and I only paid the $40 to have the key program attempted... I'm happy. I'm also looking at buying the extended warranty from the dealer, I stopped in, gave the VIN's to the finance guy and he's looking into it. I really don't care if they sell me one or not. At close to $2,000 I could replace just about any major part on the thing out of a wrecking yard... The only thing that might cause me to buy one is they're transferable and if I sell this thing it'll give the new owners a nice safety net and make it easier to sell. The dealer said it would cost about $1,500 to get the computers swapped out... I found a pair of computers for it for $250, just need to verify the part numbers. I didn't check on new parts at the dealer yet, will before I buy used though. :) Dealer service departments are, well, I don't usually like to use that kind of vocabulary... so let's just say they're for covered warranty items only. :) And after talking to the tech at Randy's Ring & pinion I'm not sure I'd have a dealership set up a R&P either. :) The tech said that once those rear ends are setup properly with the correct preload on the bearings they're fine. He said the factory overloads the preloads which wears out the carrier bearings. :) So the Dana 44's in the WJ Grand Cherokees are not something that are problems if set up correctly... And I trust what the guys at Randy's Ring & Pinion say, they know gears, that's all they do. :) So, it'll cost about $400 to $500 to get the noise fixed, but it'll be done correctly. I may add a skid plate truss setup to it just as an insurance policy, the tech seemed to think that wouldn't hurt at all. :) later, 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 #577 *********************************