From owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Wed May 14 06:31:36 2008 From: diesel-benz-digest diesel-benz-digest Wednesday, May 14 2008 Volume 01 : Number 2756 Forum for Discussion of Diesel Mercedes Benz Automobiles Derick Amburgey Digest Coordinator Contents: Re: [db] Is anyone home? Re: [db] Is anyone home? Re: [db] Is anyone home? Re: [db] Is anyone home? Re: [db] Is anyone home? Re: [db] How you know you're old Re: [db] Home ethanol brewing device Re: [db] Is anyone home? Re: [db] smart cars and project progress Re: [db] gearing Re: [db] Is anyone home? Re: [db] smart cars and project progress Re: [db] How you know you're old 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, 14 May 2008 01:10:05 -0400 From: Jon Filina Subject: Re: [db] Is anyone home? Jerry, That's the one rule I learned back in my CP/M days that still holds true: Ya mess with it long enough and it's work! Software may just be a "senient being"-you pester it enough it'll eventually give up.... Jon Everyone wrote: >> Jon Filina wrote: >> >>> CUPS? What printer are you installing? >>> >> *** Brother MFC-8860DN. It's on the network. CUPS found it after I >> installed >> the Brother drivers. The fax is another matter. Brother's backend >> driver seems >> to be broken. They'd neglected a really simple software requirement, and >> it broke >> all printer discovery - not only for Brother printers but for all others >> also. >> Luckily, it was in a shell script so was easy to fix. But there's more >> stuff, it >> looks like I have to actually *understand* CUPS to fix it :(. >> >> > > *** Got it working! Now I can type lpr -P brotherpcfax -o ####### file.ps, > and a moment later - out on the network - the multifunction machine beeps, > comes to life, and starts dialing. Way cool. > > Only thing is, I don't store anything as a .ps ( postscript ) file. > No problem - say "pdf2ps infile outfile" to make it :). > > - Jerry Kaidor ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 01:12:52 -0400 From: Jon Filina Subject: Re: [db] Is anyone home? Big John , Are ya a glutton for punishment??? Wait a sec... Yep.. Jon John wrote: > got XP working on the vista only compaq from frys too... > > what a workout... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 23:58:21 -0700 (PDT) From: john Subject: Re: [db] Is anyone home? yeah, gave up when the video driver ate itself and the highest res was about the same as my treo... then I decided to let vista have a shot at it... it didn't like the wireless card or the tv tuner or the fact that there were two other OSes living on that "other" drive so it self destructed while trying to repair itself and wiped out its own restore partition... frys gave me considerable grief for it... they thought I had loaded linux and xp on that drive... I made it quite clear that I had purchased a 320 g drive that was used... when I did the installs I unplugged the wimpy 120g sata with vista... not sure what happened to vista, but it sure imploded... this mac-mini is pretty sweet... I've loaded firefox and thunderbird and am downloading open office... also setting up a tv tuner... plug and play... for real... XP is the only microsoft os allowed here... well, maybe W2k3 and win98. ;) vista and ME are excluded... maybe windows 2010 will be ok... but by then Ubunutu and SuSE will be really sweet... oh yeah, that pc must have had a hardware problem, both ubuntu and suse failed on install... almost done with the openoffice download... my jeep is going in for regearing first thing in the morning. :) noticed that shadowfax was taching 2500 rpm at 60mph... omega with 331s wouldn't get to that rpm until about 85 mph... :) later, john ----- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Snohomish, Washington -o|||||o- where Jeeps don't rust, they mold http://wagoneers.com ** http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/ ** - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- On Wed, 14 May 2008, Jon Filina wrote: # Big John , # # Are ya a glutton for punishment??? # # Wait a sec... # # Yep.. # # Jon # # John wrote: # > got XP working on the vista only compaq from frys too... # > # > what a workout... # # ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:30 -0700 From: Kevin Subject: Re: [db] Is anyone home? While that's probably not the best, keep in mind 2500 means different things to different vehicles: - most mercedes turbo diesels consider that a little below peak torque. - the engine in the jetta hasn't even begun to make anything remotely resembling power at 2500. - the 6.2 in the black chevy is totally happy cruising - in a police interceptor ford in overdrive, you're probably pushing 95 - the cummins in the 2005 ram is getting about 11 miles per gallon and you can't hear the pantera coming out of the stock CD player over the roar from the engine and the whine from the turbo :) On Tue, May 13, 2008 at 11:58:21PM -0700, john wrote: > my jeep is going in for regearing first thing in the morning. :) > > noticed that shadowfax was taching 2500 rpm at 60mph... omega with 331s wouldn't > get to that rpm until about 85 mph... :) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 00:12:35 -0700 (PDT) From: john Subject: Re: [db] Is anyone home? the important part of that was: # - the 6.2 in the black chevy is totally happy cruising thanx! :) john ----- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Snohomish, Washington -o|||||o- where Jeeps don't rust, they mold http://wagoneers.com ** http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/ ** - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- On Wed, 14 May 2008, Kevin wrote: # While that's probably not the best, keep in mind 2500 means different things to # different vehicles: # - most mercedes turbo diesels consider that a little below peak torque. # - the engine in the jetta hasn't even begun to make anything remotely # resembling power at 2500. # - the 6.2 in the black chevy is totally happy cruising # - in a police interceptor ford in overdrive, you're probably pushing 95 # - the cummins in the 2005 ram is getting about 11 miles per gallon and you # can't hear the pantera coming out of the stock CD player over the roar # from the engine and the whine from the turbo :) # # On Tue, May 13, 2008 at 11:58:21PM -0700, john wrote: # > my jeep is going in for regearing first thing in the morning. :) # > # > noticed that shadowfax was taching 2500 rpm at 60mph... omega with 331s wouldn't # > get to that rpm until about 85 mph... :) # ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 06:07:23 -0400 From: "Renaud (Ron) OLGIATI" Subject: Re: [db] How you know you're old On Tuesday 13 May 2008, my mailbox was graced by a missive from Mike Frank who wrote: > 4) Why a "head unit" needs a detachable face. Fortunately, they come > with a little storage box (is this called a head case?). So you can remove it and take it away when you park the car, thus making your radio less attractive to the anti-social elements of society who would be tepted to break your window and steal the radio to pay for their daily fix. Cheers, Ron. - -- Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. -- Mark Twain -- http://www.olgiati-in-paraguay.org -- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 12:22:43 GMT From: "jasonbassett-at-juno.com" Subject: Re: [db] Home ethanol brewing device Yeah, BUT....... Expect it to be banned soon. After all, the reason you can't buy E100 at the gas station, but instead E85 (15% gasoline) is because of the OTHER name for ethanol: MOONSHINE! Ladies and gentlemen, for only $9,995.00 you can get a machine that will make cheap fuel for your car AND your parties! Heheh... J - -- cosmos wrote: Not diesel, but altnerative.... food for thought: - --------------------------------------------------------------- Home refueling with ethanol?another reason to pick up surplus drinks at parties Company unveils home ethanol-brewing device. Reuters(5/9, Gardner) reports that a new company, the E-Fuel Corp., "hopes drivers will kick the oil habit by brewing ethanol at home that won't spike food prices." On Thursday the company unveiled the device, called the E-Fuel 100 MicroFueler, and touted "it as the world's first machine that allows homeowners to make their own ethanol and pump the brew directly into their cars." The unit sells for $9,995 and "resembles a gasoline station pump and nozzle -- minus the slot for a credit card" or the digital readout numbers. E-Fuel explained that the device "ferments fuel from sugar, the price of which is historically cheap as global supplies are glutted." E-Fuel founder and CEO Thomas Quinn said that by connecting the Microfueler to "a power source and a water source," and adding yeast to the sugar, approximately "35 gallons of ethanol" can be produced in a week, explains CNet's Green Tech Blog (5/9, McCarthy). E-Fuel's executives maintain that "its sugar-based ethanol won't hurt food prices because sugar is a surplus crop, and that sugar ethanol is inherently more efficient than corn. And it's safe to make at home, because no combustion is involved." In Wired's Autopia blog (5/8), Chuck Squatriglia noted that it is "an open question whether switching to home-brewed ethanol will save you much money." Federal tax credits can "cut the price to $6,998." And "[a]nother $16 buys you enough yeast to make about 560 gallons of ethanol, and you'll have to pay for the sugar and water." It takes "as many as four gallons of water to make one gallon of ethanol," Wired pointed out. The price of "sugar is where the math could break down." Currently, sugar "sells for about 20 cents a pound in the United States, and you need 10 to 14 pounds of it to make a gallon of ethanol." However, Quinn said that "changes in the North American Free Trade Agreement allows the importation of inedible or 'ethanol-grade' sugar from Mexico for as little as 2.5 cents a pound." Wired noted that a "permit from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms will allow you to make ethanol legally," but it must be mixed with gasoline to make E-85 ethanol. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 05:32:24 -0700 (PDT) From: Jim Hoffman Subject: Re: [db] Is anyone home? HUH?!? ELEVEN miles to the gallon??! All around driving average I'm getting 17-18 with mine. If I can set the cruise around 55mph I'll get over 20. What's up with your Cummins?!?! Jim > - the cummins in the 2005 ram is getting about 11 > miles per gallon and you > can't hear the pantera coming out of the stock > CD player over the roar > from the engine and the whine from the turbo :) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 05:38:42 -0700 (PDT) From: Jim Hoffman Subject: Re: [db] smart cars and project progress - --- "Richard P. Welty" wrote: > chuck goolsbee wrote: > >> # John! Talk me out of it!!!! > > > > > > > > That is like asking Keith Richards for advice on > healthy living. =p > in Richards' defense, whatever he's doing is clearly > working for him -- > he's not dead yet. > > Richard > It's hard to argue with that logic Richard... And he IS 64 so not to shabby for the life he's lived. That's gotta be like 160 in "Rock 'N Roll" years!! ;) Jim ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 13:03:11 GMT From: "jasonbassett-at-juno.com" Subject: Re: [db] gearing Keep in mind that your fuel economy may suffer. Diesel fuel burns slowly, so the less revs you turn, the better, to a point. I wouldn't change it unless it just can't MOVE without downshifting. Just me. J - -- john wrote: I have an opportunity to regear my '91 Grand Wagoneer... I'll be installing the Detroit Electrac on Thursday... I'm wondering if I should change the gears from 3.31 to 3.73. The GMC Jimmy and 3/4t truck both had 3.73s, the Jimmy came with 31x10.5 tires. At highway speeds with the trailer in tow it seems to want to downshift... in traffic it's not exactly fast off the line and again at around 45 to 50 seems to like to drop a gear to accelerate. I'm thinking that 3.31s might be too steep... it has the 700R4 can't find the gear ratios right now... think it's about a .74 OD though engine info: Typical Specifications Displacement: 6.2L (379ci) Bore & Stroke: 3.98x3.80 inches HP -at- RPM: 135 -at- 3600 Torque -at- RPM: 240 -at- 2000 Compression Ratio: 21.3 Injection: Indirect, Mechanical, Stanadyne Rotary DB-2 Aspiration: Natural Max EGT: 1100max/900 sustained* from: http://www.oramagazine.com/archive/2004/08-august/0103-tech-finesse-2.asp so if max torque is at 2000 rpm I should shoot for that at 55-60 mph, right??? john ----- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Snohomish, Washington -o|||||o- where Jeeps don't rust, they mold http://wagoneers.com ** http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/ ** - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 13:07:03 GMT From: "jasonbassett-at-juno.com" Subject: Re: [db] Is anyone home? That one wire could kill it if it was the main feed wire to the distributor center. Other than that, ummmm.....I hate gas engines? My only one is the lawnmower......I have no other gas engines to make happy. I like it that way. J - -- Kevin wrote: If that sonoma was a chrysler, I'd say it needs to relearn its idle. Had that happen on an XJ after its battery went WAY dead. I haven't done much with the fleet lately, other than work on my brother's XJ. Got the faithful F250 back online for that brother to move himself back home from school at the end of the month. I have to drop the driveshaft on the ram this week (center bearing is wiped out), have to replace the oil pan on the chevy (with 6.2), and should be getting the old man emu lift later this week to solve the suspension problems the diesel landcruiser has. Needless to say, Linux and mercedes are the least of my worries :) On Sun, May 11, 2008 at 05:57:57PM -0700, Jim Hoffman wrote: > Yesterday my daughter helped me install my new lift > pump on the 5.9l Cummins. Got it all bolted down > before I had to take her to a friends house. Then > when my son got home he helped me hook up the fuel > lines and fire her up! I'm back in the diesel world > again! I love that truck. Then I started working > on a '97 GMC Sonoma that my son-in-law gave me for > my son. It was dead. Codes said it needed an EGR > valve. Spent $159 on a new one of those but still > no joy. Then while my son was cranking and had my > head under the hood I noticed a nice arch between > the coil wire and a hose fitting! Pulled the wire, > wrapped it with electrical tape temporarily and > she started! But she only runs for about 10 seconds > and then dies. Starts right back up and then does > the same thing. If I keep the RPMs up and "feather" > the throttle hard I can keep it running but not for > real long. Then it starts right back up again. > Too many sensors for me to figure out without some > type of diagnostic system. I hate computerized > engines! I just HATE them! :( > Maybe I'll fix the fuel line leak on my F-350 and > get that running first. Problem is, the Sonoma > should get pretty good fuel mileage if I can get it > running. Two kids home for the summer plus my wife > and I... Most cars I've needed to have running at > one time in my life!! ;) > > Hope everyone had a great weekend!! Mine was pretty > productive ;) > > Jim ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 13:13:18 GMT From: "jasonbassett-at-juno.com" Subject: Re: [db] smart cars and project progress I'll save John the trouble: you absolutely CAN'T get parts for that engine. It's a total orphan. If you get one working, it'll be great until something goes wrong, then it'll be a boat anchor. Don't bother. You'd be further ahead to just buy a decent 124-body 300D, or even a 190D than that. J - -- Jim Hoffman wrote: I'd really like to see the SmartForFour... A diesel version of that would be nice. Yesterday I started thinking of rebuilding one of the Mazda 2.0l diesels that I took out of my Escort and Linx before I scraped them. Find an old Escort down south somewhere that has a body still and do a diesel transplant. John! Talk me out of it!!!! ;) Jim - --- john wrote: > On Mon, 12 May 2008, Zee Man wrote: > # Btw If anyone cares,, > # I have some experience with the Good old > SMARTCAR. I rented a few while > # visiting Sicily ... They are a neat little car, > but i think i would rather > # drive a Mini Cooper S.. The SMART just isnt > right for America yet..Unless of > # course its only to commute to work and back and > pick up one child and a bag of > # groceries.... For any other purpose I just dont > think so... > # > # http://www.geocities.com/z_man401/smartcar.htm > # > # Bob > # 78 Cherokee Chief > # > > when they offer the Diesel SmartCar version I will > be interested... > have you seen the crash videos of these things on > the internet? they > are amazing little cars... the Diesel version > should get incredible > mileage... something like 79mpg or better... > > I'm looking for one of these to carry behind Omega > instead of > a spare tire... ;) > > BTW, I picked up the 4.10 gears for my '91 Grand > Wagoneer with > the 6.2L Diesel... with the power band between > 1,800 and 2,800 rpm > it made sense to go with 4.10s over the 3.31s. The > 4.10s will > work with either 235s or 31s. Randys ring and > pinion and an > engineering buddy both agree I'll get better mileage > setup this > way. I had no idea how much I was lugging this > engine... but thinking > back to cruising on I-5 at 70mph I was having > trouble on slight > grades... had to downshift! looking at the > numbers I understand > why... also understand why at 90mph this thing > seemed peppier > than off the line. > > http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/TECH-INFO/6.2L-Diesel-ratios-GW.pdf > > my new radio arrived tonight too... have the a/c > unit to install... > it's coming together.... :) Thursday Omega gets > re-geared... :) > > I'm sure the 0 to 60 time will be better than 19.75 > seconds... > > later, > john > > ----- > - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Snohomish, Washington -o|||||o- where Jeeps don't > rust, they mold > http://wagoneers.com ** > http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/ ** > - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 13:19:39 GMT From: "jasonbassett-at-juno.com" Subject: Re: [db] How you know you're old HAHAHA! I love it! Too true. Rather glitzed up, aren't they? Just get a walkman and a tape adapter and keep your old one with knobs. Simple enough. J - -- Mike Frank wrote: I decided that since my new old car only had a cassette radio, I needed something more up to date so that I could listen to my books on tape (which are no longer on tape). So I set out to buy a car radio. I don't understand: 1) Why I need a remote control for a car radio 2) Why I need a fold out LCD screen on a car radio 3) What all the abbreviations stand for: CD/MP3/WMA/HDR/USB/SD/MMC/XM/Din1/TEL/NAVI/AUX 4) Why a "head unit" needs a detachable face. Fortunately, they come with a little storage box (is this called a head case?). 5) Where do all these damn wires go? 6) Why do the video screens flash endless advertisements when you turn the radio off? 7) Why I can't have a tone control knob. I find it more reassuring than having to scroll through menus. A nice, old fashioned tone control instead of a graphic equalizer with fifty controls. 8) Why I the selector buttons are the size of ittybitty pixie fingertips? 9) Why I need to waste money on high fidelity for a noisy car? 10) Where am I supposed to find room for a subwoofer and a center speaker? 11) Knobs. Did I mention that I like knobs? How about a volume control knob? I either need to borrow a kid to help with this project, or find a wife who can operate one of these contraptions while I drive. I may stick with cassettes. Sorry, having an Andy Rooney moment. Mike Frank ------------------------------ End of diesel-benz-digest V1 #2756 **********************************