From: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net (diesel-benz-digest) To: diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Subject: diesel-benz-digest V1 #879 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 Saturday, February 8 2003 Volume 01 : Number 879 Forum for Discussion of Diesel Mercedes Benz Automobiles Derick Amburgey Digest Coordinator Contents: Accord as a bad road trip car Re: '87 300TD Vacuum issues Benzaholics, the Diesel Chapter... Re: Benzaholics, the Diesel Chapter... Re: '87 300TD Vacuum issues Re: Benzaholics, the Diesel Chapter... Re: Benzaholics, the Diesel Chapter... Re: Benzaholics, the Diesel Chapter... 190D specs 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: Fri, 7 Feb 2003 20:37:26 -0600 From: "Alec Cordova" Subject: Accord as a bad road trip car I haven't spent serious long hours in a Japanese car. I would have expected an Accord to be reasonably nice for long trips. I know my wife definitely misses MB and BMW for lots of drive time now that she has an '00 Ford Expedition. And we recently borrowed a friend's Dodge Ram pickup to tow a horse half way across Texas. It was the previous generation, but it was the Cummins diesel. After just 2 or 3 hours, our tailbones were killing us from those seats. Now that DC is letting Chrysler/Dodge go rummaging through the MB parts bins (so far, engines, suspensions, and big time on the 5 speed auto tranny), it'll be interesting to see how they develop as cars to spend a great deal of time in. Thanks for the specific opinion on the Accord. I'll add it to the files stored somewhere in a corner of my mind. I already store way too much about cars, A little more won't hurt now. ;-) Alec ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2003 23:04:52 -0500 From: Robert Chase Subject: Re: '87 300TD Vacuum issues Oh... I think you read that wrong or perhaps i aimed to confuse I would want a 60's or 70's sl as a backup to my 300sd. I think a silver 60's vintage SL with a manual transmission would be ONE HELL of a nice backup car for the oil burner. And being a backup car the mileage would stay away and I could drive it on nice days and when my SD was in for service. I was seriously looking at a w140 diesel as a backup but after I did some research (and the good advice I got here) and after a test drive I decided against it. Perhaps when the 300sd gets too expensive to run every day I will get one but thats not bloody likely within the next 20 years or so. My first pick would be the 60's Pagoda SL but those are getting pricey so unless I got a good deal I would probably go with a 72 or newer since those are becoming amazingly cheap. The Accord is driven so little that when I got into it this morning I felt my tires were slighly out of round with the cold tempatures and not being driven in a week. Once the tires warmed up the vibration went away.... R. On Friday, February 7, 2003, at 09:29 PM, Alec Cordova wrote: >> Now Im looking to get rid of the Accord and pick up a 60's SL or a 72 >> SL >> (72's are not real common and is the year of my birth as well). A >> silver 60's model would be a wonderful backup car for when the main one >> is in the shop. >> > > Umm, a 60's SL as a backup to a first year 107 SL? (Oooh. Try to find > the > high compression 3.5 V8 that I don't think ever made it to the US.) > Yeah. > That would be one heck of a pleasant "backup" car. ;-) > > And it sounds like we're too late. You're already another Benzaholic. > > Alec ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2003 21:56:07 -0800 From: john Subject: Benzaholics, the Diesel Chapter... At 07:49 PM 2/7/2003 -0600, Alec Cordova wrote: >three models will end up as my sixth. ;-) > >My name's Alec, and I'm a Benzaholic. Got the call today, the kid is putting the deposit down on the 280Z, rest of the money probably next week... :) Gas prices are hitting $1.57 for reg unleaded, Diesel remains at $1.41 or so. :) This will be my fifth Benz, fourth Diesel. I almost bought a couple Mercedes over in Germany. I had a shot at a '68 with a bad transmission... I worked on my pastor's '67 and actually got to drive it while my car was in the shop. Neither of those cars are what we see in the US of course, they were both lower, "normal" models. My first Benz was an experiment I guess... a '68 220D. Engine made a horrible noise... bad injector, and probably other issues, got it running but never 100%. Then I had a '74 450SEL... that ruined owning a Gas benz for me. ;) Then I got that '75 240D, then Fritz, the '81 300D, then I had the '83 300SD... and you know what???? This will be my SIXTH BENZ, 5th Diesel!!!! sheesh, I lost count... I'm more out of control then I first thought... But I'll tell you with all honesty, when out there on I-5 and I-405 I'd rather be sitting in that '87 XJ sitting on 31x10.5 tires and three inches of lift looking DOWN at all those little import sedans... and even steven across at those soccer moms in those big ugly lincoln navigraders... ;) But the basic economy of the Diesel, combined with unemployment, will make the 190D a blast... We can go for a drive and not run up a big gas bill... just driving the '99 WJ to church and the grocery store costs almost $150 a month!!! Hey, Red Green will be on in 5 minutes, getting off the soap box... I'm a man... but... later, john - ----------------------------- Oh well, I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess -Red Green - ------------------------------ http://www.WAGONEERS.com/ Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... jesus, don't leave life without him, please! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you're thinking about Lasik, you have to check out this place: http://www.restorevisioncenters.com/ My vision went from over 20/200 to 20/15 or better! Tell 'em john at wagoneers.com sent you. :) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2003 01:42:13 -0500 From: Robert Chase Subject: Re: Benzaholics, the Diesel Chapter... Unemployed? You too? I just was laid off today. The economy really sucks right now. R. On Saturday, February 8, 2003, at 12:56 AM, john wrote: > At 07:49 PM 2/7/2003 -0600, Alec Cordova wrote: >> three models will end up as my sixth. ;-) >> >> My name's Alec, and I'm a Benzaholic. > > Got the call today, the kid is putting the deposit down on > the 280Z, rest of the money probably next week... :) Gas prices > are hitting $1.57 for reg unleaded, Diesel remains at $1.41 or so. :) > > This will be my fifth Benz, fourth Diesel. I almost bought a > couple Mercedes over in Germany. I had a shot at a '68 with a > bad transmission... I worked on my pastor's '67 and actually > got to drive it while my car was in the shop. Neither of those > cars are what we see in the US of course, they were both lower, > "normal" models. My first Benz was an experiment I guess... a > '68 220D. Engine made a horrible noise... bad injector, and > probably other issues, got it running but never 100%. Then > I had a '74 450SEL... that ruined owning a Gas benz for me. ;) > Then I got that '75 240D, then Fritz, the '81 300D, then I > had the '83 300SD... and you know what???? > > This will be my SIXTH BENZ, 5th Diesel!!!! sheesh, I lost count... > > I'm more out of control then I first thought... > > But I'll tell you with all honesty, when out there on I-5 and > I-405 I'd rather be sitting in that '87 XJ sitting on 31x10.5 tires > and three inches of lift looking DOWN at all those little import > sedans... and even steven across at those soccer moms in those big > ugly lincoln navigraders... ;) > > But the basic economy of the Diesel, combined with unemployment, will > make the 190D a blast... We can go for a drive and not run up > a big gas bill... just driving the '99 WJ to church and the grocery > store costs almost $150 a month!!! > > Hey, Red Green will be on in 5 minutes, getting off the soap box... > > I'm a man... but... > > later, > john > > > ----------------------------- > Oh well, > I'm a man, > but I can change, > if I have to, > I guess > -Red Green > ------------------------------ > http://www.WAGONEERS.com/ > Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... > jesus, don't leave life without him, please! > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > If you're thinking about Lasik, you have to check out this > place: http://www.restorevisioncenters.com/ My vision went from over > 20/200 to 20/15 or better! Tell 'em john at wagoneers.com sent you. :) > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2003 22:44:16 -0800 From: john Subject: Re: '87 300TD Vacuum issues At 09:00 PM 2/7/2003 -0500, Robert Chase wrote: >72's are not real common and is the year of my birth as well). I am getting old... ;) any car my age is worth more then I can afford.... ;) Of course they did have a bunch of cool ones that year... on the top of pg 30 of Nitske's Book on the production models from '46 to '95 is a nice 300SL coupe of my vintage... and of course the Tbird was cool that year too... and the ford pickup, and the willys pickup... ;) john - ------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.WAGONEERS.com/ Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... jesus, don't leave life without him, please! - ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2003 22:50:32 -0800 From: john Subject: Re: Benzaholics, the Diesel Chapter... At 01:42 AM 2/8/2003 -0500, Robert Chase wrote: >Unemployed? You too? yep, Jan 23rd was my last day... over 5 years in the same job, salary growth was excellent... oh well... >I just was laid off today. The economy really sucks right now. right on... I've got tons of IT related skills too... never seen it this bad, usually if one sector is down I go to another... in '85 I got laid off from Intel, went to Boeing. When boeing was in the doldrums in the early '90's I had tons of offers, didn't leave until '96, but never had a time when I couldn't get a job. I'm just starting to work on it now, already have a few nibbles, so I don't expect to be out of work for too long... UNIX Sys Admins with a good s/w development and engineering background don't stay out of work very long. I've got more consulting work lining up then I can handle... fearing that I'll have a full time job and not be able to do it all... but consulting doesn't have good benefits. ;) Anyway, getting this 190D is one of my steps to help ease my finances a bit... would like to sell the '99 WJ (grand cherokee) and get out from under some short term debt... thankfully houses are still selling if I need to get out from under the mortgage... could still salvage my equity, not sure how long that option will last though... what kind of work did you do? anyone else out of work? Maybe we should gather our resume's and post 'em on my server to help everyone out a bit. I do that for guys at my church too... let me know if you need some space... :) john >R. - ------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.WAGONEERS.com/ Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... jesus, don't leave life without him, please! - ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2003 02:16:55 -0500 From: Robert Chase Subject: Re: Benzaholics, the Diesel Chapter... Hmmm, I was a Software/Hardware engineer for a company that resold pre owned supercomputers. Before that I worked for Silicon Graphics. I have a good amount of experience and about 4 certifications but unfortunately I work on the Ferarri of the computer world. As everybody wants one not many people can afford them nor to keep them running. Hmmm McBoeing Chances are your an IRIX system administrator too . They have a lot of SGI equipment. Atlanta is an SGI free zone with very few customer sites which is unfortunate for me. It seems that the only people who can afford the really high end stuff is the government and I unfortunately don't want to work for a government site or contractor at all. I don't like the idea of "not knowing" what the machine I keep running does. Im considering getting out of the technology market anyway. I am having thoughts of either opening up my own MB service facility or opening a contracting service that specializes in home theatre setup. (home theatre is my other obsession other than Mercedes Benz products). The MB route would be fun but I would have lots to learn about all the different models and in a "hit the ground running" kind of way. It would be difficult to run a business without understanding everything so you know your mechanics aren't screwing your customers. Stuff like the R&R on a transmission that could have been adjusted first is the classic example. The home theatre route would be eaiser as I have a great "demo" room at home. My living room converts within seconds from a comfortable room with stylish danish furniture to a 100inch home theatre (used to be 300 inches but that was at my old loft with more wall space). I like the idea of equipment blending into the room rather than overpowering it. Home theatres with movie style seating and racks of equipment all over the place are not my thing. Good luck with the 190. Thats a good car and one of the first Mercedes I drove which "gave me the idea" of buying one. A friend let me drive his girlfriends 190 because he wanted my opinion on it. I was amazed with how such a compact car could have such a heavy and secure road feel yet still be quite maneuverable. R. On Saturday, February 8, 2003, at 01:50 AM, john wrote: > At 01:42 AM 2/8/2003 -0500, Robert Chase wrote: >> Unemployed? You too? > > yep, Jan 23rd was my last day... over 5 years in the > same job, salary growth was excellent... oh well... > > >> I just was laid off today. The economy really sucks right now. > > right on... > > I've got tons of IT related skills too... never seen it this > bad, usually if one sector is down I go to another... in '85 > I got laid off from Intel, went to Boeing. When boeing was in > the doldrums in the early '90's I had tons of offers, didn't > leave until '96, but never had a time when I couldn't get a job. > > I'm just starting to work on it now, already have a few nibbles, > so I don't expect to be out of work for too long... UNIX Sys Admins > with a good s/w development and engineering background don't stay > out of work very long. I've got more consulting work lining up > then I can handle... fearing that I'll have a full time job and > not be able to do it all... but consulting doesn't have good > benefits. ;) > > Anyway, getting this 190D is one of my steps to help ease my finances > a bit... would like to sell the '99 WJ (grand cherokee) and get out > from under some short term debt... thankfully houses are still > selling if I need to get out from under the mortgage... could still > salvage my equity, not sure how long that option will last though... > > what kind of work did you do? > > anyone else out of work? Maybe we should gather our resume's and > post 'em on my server to help everyone out a bit. I do that for > guys at my church too... > > let me know if you need some space... :) > > john > >> R. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > http://www.WAGONEERS.com/ > Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... > jesus, don't leave life without him, please! > ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2003 23:29:45 -0800 From: john Subject: Re: Benzaholics, the Diesel Chapter... At 02:16 AM 2/8/2003 -0500, Robert Chase wrote: >Hmmm, > >I was a Software/Hardware engineer for a company that resold pre owned >supercomputers. Before that I worked for Silicon Graphics. I have a good >amount of experience and about 4 certifications but unfortunately I work >on the Ferarri of the computer world. As everybody wants one not many >people can afford them nor to keep them running. well, SGI's are cool, but not exactly something I've gone out of my way to have... :) however the admin tools are splendid, and I like the way the webserver works... :) >Hmmm McBoeing Chances are your an IRIX system administrator too . been on 'em, but primarily I do the Mercedes of UNIX, HP-UX. IRIX is one of the versions of Unix I've played with, along with AIX, Solaris, Ultrix, SCO, Linux, Aegis, and so on and so on. ;) >They have a lot of SGI equipment. Atlanta is an SGI free zone with very >few customer sites which Boeing had a lot... they moved from IBM AIX to HP-UX... of course that was a few years ago, not sure what they're running now as their primary systems... probably windoze... since another senior HP admin friend of mine just got laid off from boeing... :( >is unfortunate for me. It seems that the only people who can afford the >really high end stuff is the government and I unfortunately don't want to >work for a government site or contractor at all. I don't like the idea of >"not knowing" what the machine I keep running does. :) FWIW, I just bought an HP C3000 for myself... 1g of ram, 9 gig drive... not sure why, I already have a b132 and a B180... guess I'll be selling those along with the Sun Sparc Classic... and my Canon FTb and a variety of other stuff on ebay. ;) http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/dieseljohn/ I do have a C3000 on ebay right now, just like the one I bought for myself... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11221&item=3400485250&rd=1 >Im considering getting out of the technology market anyway. > >Good luck with the 190. Thats a good car and one of the first Mercedes I >drove which "gave me the idea" of buying one. A friend let me drive his >girlfriends 190 because he wanted my opinion on it. I was amazed with how >such a compact car could have such a heavy and secure road feel yet still >be quite maneuverable. thanx, I appreciate the positive reinforcement on the 190D, the list mom has three of 'em too... he's just across the sound from me. ;) Have a feeling we'll get to spend some quality time with our 190d's, especially with the "Free time" I have now. ;) john - ------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.WAGONEERS.com/ Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... jesus, don't leave life without him, please! - ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2003 23:44:42 -0800 From: john Subject: 190D specs (from Nitzke's book, pp 210, 211) 1983 - 3,357 units - $23,510 (east coast) 1984 - 5,327 units - $? 1985 - 1,876 units - $23,810 (west coast) OM601 Diesel engine - 2.2L Fuel consumption 35 mpg city, 44 mpg highway (automatic) 4 cyl, overhead camshaft 72 hp at 4,200 rpm 22:1 compression ratio 96 ft/lb -at- 2,800 rpm max speed 5,000 rpm (5,100 1985) gear ratio (automatic) 1 - 4.25 2 - 2.41 3 - 1.49 4 - 1.00 rear axle 3.42:1 104.9 in wheelbase track f/r - 56.2/55.7 length 175.0 width 66.1 height 54.4 in tires: 175/70/ r14 - 1985- 15" tires turning circle 35.0 feet weight: 2,645 lbs - 1985 2,700 lbs max speed 97 mph / 156 km/hr 0 to 60 mph - 18.6 seconds 14.5 gallon tank (55 liters) - ----------------------------- Oh well, I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess -Red Green - ------------------------------ http://www.WAGONEERS.com/ Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... jesus, don't leave life without him, please! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you're thinking about Lasik, you have to check out this place: http://www.restorevisioncenters.com/ My vision went from over 20/200 to 20/15 or better! Tell 'em john at wagoneers.com sent you. :) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ End of diesel-benz-digest V1 #879 *********************************