From: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net (diesel-benz-digest) To: diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Subject: diesel-benz-digest V1 #947 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, March 29 2003 Volume 01 : Number 947 Forum for Discussion of Diesel Mercedes Benz Automobiles Derick Amburgey Digest Coordinator Contents: New Grille 300 D Q's RE: 300 D Q's RE: Questions on '87 300 SDL RE: Questions on '87 300 SDL Re: Questions on '87 300 SDL Re: 300 D Q's Ad on Craigs list Re: cruise controls 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, 28 Mar 2003 18:21:24 -0500 From: Robert Chase Subject: New Grille Put in my new grille today was a pretty easy project which involved the removal of the outer grille metal and pulling out my old broken plastic. Not only did it remove a couple of chips in the grille but it completely renewed the appearance of the front of the car. Very much worth the $39 it cost for the part. FYI R. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 17:25:01 -0600 From: "Black, Waylon" Subject: 300 D Q's Going to look at another high mileage(390K) 1981 300 D. Car quit while driving and will not restart. Any ideas of what to look for/check other than no fuel and/or timing chain? Guy is not a mechanic and does not want to pay to hav it fixed - hoping to get it cheap. Waylon ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 18:53:20 -0600 From: "Alec Cordova" Subject: RE: 300 D Q's With gasoline motors, it's compression, fuel, and spark. With diesel, it's just compression and fuel. If he will let you dig far enough to check the timing chain, he should let you do a compression check. Valves probably need adjustment, but I wouldn't expect that to cause it to quit while driving. Good luck, and beware the cheap Benz. ;-) Alec > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net > [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net]On Behalf Of Black, Waylon > Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 5:25 PM > To: diesel-benz-at-digest.net > Subject: 300 D Q's > > > Going to look at another high mileage(390K) 1981 300 D. Car quit while > driving and will not restart. Any ideas of what to look for/check > other than > no fuel and/or timing chain? Guy is not a mechanic and does not > want to pay > to hav it fixed - hoping to get it cheap. > > > Waylon ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 19:01:22 -0600 From: "Richard Arnold" Subject: RE: Questions on '87 300 SDL I have had all three problems on my '87 300sdl. The shimmy was a badly worn idler arm; $350.00 at the Mercedes dealer. The cruise control was a bad amplifier, $180.00 for parts, replaced it myself in about 15 minutes. It is located under the dash on the drivers' side. The AC-vents was a vacuum leak in the hoses around the fuse box under the hood. A dry rotted splice was the problem. A length of 1/8"ID vacuum hose is a good thing to have around when these start to rot. Mine has about 160,000 on it and I love the car. Richard Arnold '87 300sdl '73 Alfa Spider - -----Original Message----- From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net] On Behalf Of Robert Chase Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 2:35 PM To: REisenhardt-at-AlienTechnology.com Cc: diesel-benz-at-digest.net Subject: Re: Questions on '87 300 SDL On Thursday, March 27, 2003, at 01:01 PM, REisenhardt-at-AlienTechnology.com wrote: > Fellow Listers > > I have a 1987 300 SDL with about 293k miles on it. Two things that need > attention; one is a must fix, the other is an annoyance. > > Must fix: I have a shimmy at higher speeds (typically higher than posted > limits). The shimmy appears to be (by the wear pattern on the tire) > localized to the left front tire. My first though was an unbalanced > tire, so > I had the tires replaced (originals have had several repairs each). New > tires (with balancing, etc) did not seem to fix the problem. I now > suspect > mis-alignment, although the car does not seem to pull to one side or the > other. I do not want to ruin the recent $400 investment in new tires. I > have > been to a local shop. They estimate about $245 for an alignment, based > on > the fact that they say the car must be fully loaded with fuel (seems > reasonable) as well as sand bags in the car seats to mimic a full load > at > speed. > I paid a lot less for the alignment on my 300SD. I would say that you probably have some suspension problems. I talked to the tech while he was aligning my car (I was under the car with him) and he mentioned that the older Mercedes were somtimes tricky to align due to the alignment controls getting stiff with age. Right when he said that he had a wrench on one of my adjustments and pulled it with a huge CREAK!. My suspension has some issues as well however. I do get a small vibration at certain speeds in the steering wheel. Not a biggie really and I know where its coming from since my suspension sometimes creaks while braking. Im planning on having an "overhaul" done sometime in the future where all the rubber in my suspension and rear end are replaced. Ill probably have them find out whats creaking at the same time. > Questions: Does this estimate seem reasonable for the work to be done, > or > should I consider an alternate shop? Does mis-alignment seem like it > may be > the cause, or should I look elsewhere? > > I dunno. I would research the suspension a little before plunking down non refundable money like that. If they "guarantee" that they can fix it I would jump on the chance for them to give me a free painstaking alignment > > Annoyance: my middle vents do not open. All climate controls operate > correctly, AC comes on when it is supposed to, heater comes on when it > is > supposed to. However, when the AC is running, all air is diverted to the > defrost vents. AC air still flows to the side vents, but on a hot day, > having the air flow to the defrost vents makes cool down time an > extended > experience. > > Any thoughts on where/what I should investigate? > > My car does the same thing. I think that the car "defaults" to defrost as a "limp home mode" in the event of a system failure. My electrical stuff on the front switches work as well as the thermostat but I don't get vent switching. Im guessing mine has a loose vacuum line or a failed vacuum module in the dash. > > > > Thanks in advance for any and all help, > > Even with alll my car's problems its probably the best car I have ever owned. > > Randy Eisenhardt > Alien TechnologyTM Corporation > 18410 Butterfield Boulevard > Suite 150 > Morgan Hill, CA 95037 > 408.782.3971 (direct) > 408.782.3910 (FAX) > reisenhardt-at-alientechnology.com > www.alientechnology.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 17:09:40 -0800 From: REisenhardt-at-AlienTechnology.com Subject: RE: Questions on '87 300 SDL Richard Thank you! I will check the cruise control and AC vents. The idler arm, sadly, will have to be done by a dealer or independent shop (I'm just not that handy...). I also just swapped out the passenger and driver seat cushions due to a severe lean to the outside on the driver's side. Turned out to be two broken springs. I also really like my car ("Big Ben", named by my 6 year old son). Thanks again, Randy - -----Original Message----- From: Richard Arnold [mailto:richardarnold-at-charter.net] Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 5:01 PM To: 'Robert Chase'; REisenhardt-at-AlienTechnology.com Cc: diesel-benz-at-digest.net Subject: RE: Questions on '87 300 SDL I have had all three problems on my '87 300sdl. The shimmy was a badly worn idler arm; $350.00 at the Mercedes dealer. The cruise control was a bad amplifier, $180.00 for parts, replaced it myself in about 15 minutes. It is located under the dash on the drivers' side. The AC-vents was a vacuum leak in the hoses around the fuse box under the hood. A dry rotted splice was the problem. A length of 1/8"ID vacuum hose is a good thing to have around when these start to rot. Mine has about 160,000 on it and I love the car. Richard Arnold '87 300sdl '73 Alfa Spider - -----Original Message----- From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net] On Behalf Of Robert Chase Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 2:35 PM To: REisenhardt-at-AlienTechnology.com Cc: diesel-benz-at-digest.net Subject: Re: Questions on '87 300 SDL On Thursday, March 27, 2003, at 01:01 PM, REisenhardt-at-AlienTechnology.com wrote: > Fellow Listers > > I have a 1987 300 SDL with about 293k miles on it. Two things that need > attention; one is a must fix, the other is an annoyance. > > Must fix: I have a shimmy at higher speeds (typically higher than posted > limits). The shimmy appears to be (by the wear pattern on the tire) > localized to the left front tire. My first though was an unbalanced > tire, so > I had the tires replaced (originals have had several repairs each). New > tires (with balancing, etc) did not seem to fix the problem. I now > suspect > mis-alignment, although the car does not seem to pull to one side or the > other. I do not want to ruin the recent $400 investment in new tires. I > have > been to a local shop. They estimate about $245 for an alignment, based > on > the fact that they say the car must be fully loaded with fuel (seems > reasonable) as well as sand bags in the car seats to mimic a full load > at > speed. > I paid a lot less for the alignment on my 300SD. I would say that you probably have some suspension problems. I talked to the tech while he was aligning my car (I was under the car with him) and he mentioned that the older Mercedes were somtimes tricky to align due to the alignment controls getting stiff with age. Right when he said that he had a wrench on one of my adjustments and pulled it with a huge CREAK!. My suspension has some issues as well however. I do get a small vibration at certain speeds in the steering wheel. Not a biggie really and I know where its coming from since my suspension sometimes creaks while braking. Im planning on having an "overhaul" done sometime in the future where all the rubber in my suspension and rear end are replaced. Ill probably have them find out whats creaking at the same time. > Questions: Does this estimate seem reasonable for the work to be done, > or > should I consider an alternate shop? Does mis-alignment seem like it > may be > the cause, or should I look elsewhere? > > I dunno. I would research the suspension a little before plunking down non refundable money like that. If they "guarantee" that they can fix it I would jump on the chance for them to give me a free painstaking alignment > > Annoyance: my middle vents do not open. All climate controls operate > correctly, AC comes on when it is supposed to, heater comes on when it > is > supposed to. However, when the AC is running, all air is diverted to the > defrost vents. AC air still flows to the side vents, but on a hot day, > having the air flow to the defrost vents makes cool down time an > extended > experience. > > Any thoughts on where/what I should investigate? > > My car does the same thing. I think that the car "defaults" to defrost as a "limp home mode" in the event of a system failure. My electrical stuff on the front switches work as well as the thermostat but I don't get vent switching. Im guessing mine has a loose vacuum line or a failed vacuum module in the dash. > > > > Thanks in advance for any and all help, > > Even with alll my car's problems its probably the best car I have ever owned. > > Randy Eisenhardt > Alien TechnologyTM Corporation > 18410 Butterfield Boulevard > Suite 150 > Morgan Hill, CA 95037 > 408.782.3971 (direct) > 408.782.3910 (FAX) > reisenhardt-at-alientechnology.com > www.alientechnology.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 20:11:43 -0500 From: Robert Chase Subject: Re: Questions on '87 300 SDL Hey, I have read on the mbz site that most of the time the cruse control amp is victim to cold solder joints. If your handy with a soldering iron you could probably fix it yourself. I plan on doing that myself but have not had time... R. On Friday, March 28, 2003, at 08:09 PM, REisenhardt-at-AlienTechnology.com wrote: > Richard > > Thank you! I will check the cruise control and AC vents. The idler arm, > sadly, will have to be done by a dealer or independent shop (I'm just > not > that handy...). I also just swapped out the passenger and driver seat > cushions due to a severe lean to the outside on the driver's side. > Turned > out to be two broken springs. I also really like my car ("Big Ben", > named by > my 6 year old son). > > > Thanks again, > > Randy > > -----Original Message----- > From: Richard Arnold [mailto:richardarnold-at-charter.net] > Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 5:01 PM > To: 'Robert Chase'; REisenhardt-at-AlienTechnology.com > Cc: diesel-benz-at-digest.net > Subject: RE: Questions on '87 300 SDL > > > I have had all three problems on my '87 300sdl. The shimmy was a badly > worn idler arm; $350.00 at the Mercedes dealer. The cruise control was > a bad amplifier, $180.00 for parts, replaced it myself in about 15 > minutes. It is located under the dash on the drivers' side. The > AC-vents was a vacuum leak in the hoses around the fuse box under the > hood. A dry rotted splice was the problem. A length of 1/8"ID vacuum > hose is a good thing to have around when these start to rot. > > Mine has about 160,000 on it and I love the car. > Richard Arnold > '87 300sdl > '73 Alfa Spider > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net] > On Behalf Of Robert Chase > Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 2:35 PM > To: REisenhardt-at-AlienTechnology.com > Cc: diesel-benz-at-digest.net > Subject: Re: Questions on '87 300 SDL > > On Thursday, March 27, 2003, at 01:01 PM, > REisenhardt-at-AlienTechnology.com wrote: > >> Fellow Listers >> >> I have a 1987 300 SDL with about 293k miles on it. Two things that > need >> attention; one is a must fix, the other is an annoyance. >> >> Must fix: I have a shimmy at higher speeds (typically higher than > posted >> limits). The shimmy appears to be (by the wear pattern on the tire) >> localized to the left front tire. My first though was an unbalanced >> tire, so >> I had the tires replaced (originals have had several repairs each). > New >> tires (with balancing, etc) did not seem to fix the problem. I now >> suspect >> mis-alignment, although the car does not seem to pull to one side or > the >> other. I do not want to ruin the recent $400 investment in new tires. > I >> have >> been to a local shop. They estimate about $245 for an alignment, based > >> on >> the fact that they say the car must be fully loaded with fuel (seems >> reasonable) as well as sand bags in the car seats to mimic a full load > >> at >> speed. >> > > I paid a lot less for the alignment on my 300SD. I would say that you > probably have some suspension problems. I talked to the tech while he > was aligning my car (I was under the car with him) and he mentioned that > > the older Mercedes were somtimes tricky to align due to the alignment > controls getting stiff with age. Right when he said that he had a > wrench on one of my adjustments and pulled it with a huge CREAK!. My > suspension has some issues as well however. I do get a small vibration > at certain speeds in the steering wheel. Not a biggie really and I know > > where its coming from since my suspension sometimes creaks while > braking. Im planning on having an "overhaul" done sometime in the > future where all the rubber in my suspension and rear end are replaced. > > Ill probably have them find out whats creaking at the same time. > >> Questions: Does this estimate seem reasonable for the work to be done, > >> or >> should I consider an alternate shop? Does mis-alignment seem like it >> may be >> the cause, or should I look elsewhere? >> >> > > I dunno. I would research the suspension a little before plunking down > non refundable money like that. If they "guarantee" that they can fix > it I would jump on the chance for them to give me a free painstaking > alignment > > >> >> Annoyance: my middle vents do not open. All climate controls operate >> correctly, AC comes on when it is supposed to, heater comes on when it > >> is >> supposed to. However, when the AC is running, all air is diverted to > the >> defrost vents. AC air still flows to the side vents, but on a hot day, >> having the air flow to the defrost vents makes cool down time an >> extended >> experience. >> >> Any thoughts on where/what I should investigate? >> >> > > My car does the same thing. I think that the car "defaults" to defrost > as a "limp home mode" in the event of a system failure. My electrical > stuff on the front switches work as well as the thermostat but I don't > get vent switching. Im guessing mine has a loose vacuum line or a > failed vacuum module in the dash. > >> >> >> >> Thanks in advance for any and all help, >> >> > > Even with alll my car's problems its probably the best car I have ever > owned. > >> >> Randy Eisenhardt >> Alien TechnologyTM Corporation >> 18410 Butterfield Boulevard >> Suite 150 >> Morgan Hill, CA 95037 >> 408.782.3971 (direct) >> 408.782.3910 (FAX) >> reisenhardt-at-alientechnology.com >> www.alientechnology.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 17:28:30 -0800 From: Greg Fiorentino Subject: Re: 300 D Q's At 03:25 PM 3/28/03 , Black, Waylon wrote: >Going to look at another high mileage(390K) 1981 300 D. Car quit while >driving and will not restart. Any ideas of what to look for/check other than >no fuel and/or timing chain? Guy is not a mechanic and does not want to pay >to hav it fixed - hoping to get it cheap. > > >Waylon I guess you all know that the timing chain on these engines should be replaced BEFORE it breaks or slips. If not, the pistons and valves can do ugly things to each other. Greg Fiorentino Vancouver USA gfior-at-dslnorthwest.net '84 300D Turbo '79 300TD '85 F-350 6.9 crew cab ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 18:08:04 -0800 From: "Paul Schwartz" Subject: Ad on Craigs list If anyone is near Berkley (Bezerkley) CA and want a cheep Benz. I found this on craigslist. Paul 77 Mercedes 300D, does not run - $100 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---- Reply to: benedictaj-at-yahoo.com Date: 2003-03-28, 3:06PM straight white body with nice blue interior. diesel engine. we will tow within 5 miles of our west Berkeley home. make an offer, I doubt we will refuse. there is a catch--must be out of here by April 1st. Call Bene or Jeff 510-644-3946. By the way, we do not know what is wrong with it, but it is definitely engine trouble. it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 18:47:22 -0800 From: john Subject: Re: cruise controls At 08:11 PM 3/28/2003 -0500, Robert Chase wrote: >Hey, >I have read on the mbz site that most of the time the cruse control amp is >victim to cold solder joints. If your handy with a soldering iron you >could probably fix it yourself. I plan on doing that myself but have not >had time... >R. That fixed the problems I had with my 300D. Reflowed the solder and all was happy. 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 #947 *********************************