From owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Mon Jun 9 12:48:10 2008 From: diesel-benz-digest diesel-benz-digest Monday, June 9 2008 Volume 01 : Number 2782 Forum for Discussion of Diesel Mercedes Benz Automobiles Derick Amburgey Digest Coordinator Contents: Re: [db] "fine" adjustments Re: [db] "fine" adjustments [db] Still think these are the b_st c_rs in the w_rld? Re: [db] "fine" adjustments Re: [db] Still think these are the b_st c_rs in the w_rld? Re: [db] Still think these are the b_st c_rs in the w_rld? Re: [db] Still think these are the b_st c_rs in the w_rld? Re: [db] Still think these are the b_st c_rs in the w_rld? [db] motor mounts 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: Sun, 8 Jun 2008 00:24:31 -0700 From: Bruce Caruthers Subject: Re: [db] "fine" adjustments Our W124 is getting a lot more exercise now, since the Toyota dropped dead on Thursday (distributor? no power getting to the spark plugs at all. Going to have to get it towed to Jim's, I guess). The W124 has been pretty steadily getting around 31+ with all the band gigs and commuting Brooke has been doing with it in recent weeks. My W115 seems to be down to about 19-20mpg. Something is wrong, and I have no idea what (usually got 23-26). No obvious leaks, maybe a tiny bit more sluggish? Otherwise seems to be functioning fine except for the drop in mileage. FYI: Diesel dropped down to 4.69 a day or two ago at the 76 at Alderwood Mall Pkwy and 196th St in Lynnwood (exit 181, near the Barnes & Noble and Old Spaghetti Factory). - -bkc Lynnwood, WA (his) '76 MB 240D [W115.117/616.916] (hers) '92 Toyota Celica GT (currently dead - distributor?) (ours) '93 MB 300D 2.5 Turbo [W124.128/602.962] On Sat Jun 07, 2008, John Meister wrote: > thanx... confirms our thoughts, appreciate the feedback. > > btw, my wife has been driving my benz... 31.1 mpg... the > best I do around here is about 28. ;) also found Diesel for "only" 4.87!!! > filled up... (most places around here it's 4.95-4.99) > > oh, chuck, have another 5 gallons from my teriyaki place... better take > it out of the trunk. :) you may need to bring your pickup... I don't > think what is here will fit on my rear carrier at this point... :) > > john ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2008 07:55:25 -0700 (PDT) From: Jim Hoffman Subject: Re: [db] "fine" adjustments Yeah, I filled up on Fri. Diesel at one station dropped to $4.61! Most others were at $4.71. Jim - --- Bruce Caruthers wrote: > FYI: > Diesel dropped down to 4.69 a day or two ago at the > 76 at > Alderwood Mall Pkwy and 196th St in Lynnwood (exit > 181, > near the Barnes & Noble and Old Spaghetti Factory). ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:14:52 -0400 From: Mike Frank Subject: [db] Still think these are the b_st c_rs in the w_rld? I've become very tired of my '99 stalling. The problem had been undiagnosable up until now: the car would be towed to the dealer, they would turn the key, and it would start. No codes on the ECU, so I must be nuts. Since it's now off warranty, I decided to get to the bottom of it. Pulled the cover off the ECU compartment. As far as I know, it's hasn't been open since 1999 Stuttgart. Here's what I found: http://www.photohost.info/pfiles/203/pics%20001.jpg A nice view of the entire ECU harness. The two rear cards are the engine control, I think the third card is the transmission controller, and the fuse panel feeds everything. Looks like an excellent wiring harness from this birds eye. But take a closer look: http://www.photohost.info/public/view/full/204 An hour with a soldering iron and shrink wrap seems to have fixed my problem, we'll see in time. Just a little disgusted with the total lack of quality... Mike Frank ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2008 08:39:31 -0700 (PDT) From: john Subject: Re: [db] "fine" adjustments excellent mileage on your 124. on your 115, how's the oil? air filter? fuel filters? believe it or not your mileage can drop if the oil is dirty or if it's gotten thicker... if you're using dino oil and the vi improvers break down you're left with pretty thick oil. also short runs can be hard on any oil, doesn't give it a chance to "dry out". Needs to be fully warmed up. also, the fuel filters if they start getting clogged up it can impact your mileage as well... maybe because you have to give it more go pedal to make it go... not sure why otherwise. :) could just be a weaker batch of Diesel too... I've noticed peformance changes a lot (and economy) with various grades of fuel, veggie oil and different batches of bioDiesel. Maybe your bargain juice wasn't such a bargain. :) But then again, it's running and it costs less. ;) how's school going? I've got the dash of my big jeep torn up, rewiring the door locks and alarm system and a/c wiring... jeeps are notortiously bad for wiring, worse than a Mercedes! ;) john ----- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Snohomish, Washington -o|||||o- where Jeeps don't rust, they mold http://wagoneers.com john's 6.2L GW: http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/ SAVE FUEL use AMSOIL Synthetics: http://wagoneers.com/AMSOIL - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Sun, 8 Jun 2008, Bruce Caruthers wrote: # Our W124 is getting a lot more exercise now, since the # Toyota dropped dead on Thursday (distributor? no power # getting to the spark plugs at all. Going to have to get # it towed to Jim's, I guess). The W124 has been pretty # steadily getting around 31+ with all the band gigs and # commuting Brooke has been doing with it in recent weeks. # # My W115 seems to be down to about 19-20mpg. Something # is wrong, and I have no idea what (usually got 23-26). # No obvious leaks, maybe a tiny bit more sluggish? # Otherwise seems to be functioning fine except for the # drop in mileage. # # FYI: # Diesel dropped down to 4.69 a day or two ago at the 76 at # Alderwood Mall Pkwy and 196th St in Lynnwood (exit 181, # near the Barnes & Noble and Old Spaghetti Factory). # # -bkc # Lynnwood, WA # (his) '76 MB 240D [W115.117/616.916] # (hers) '92 Toyota Celica GT (currently dead - distributor?) # (ours) '93 MB 300D 2.5 Turbo [W124.128/602.962] # # # On Sat Jun 07, 2008, John Meister wrote: # > thanx... confirms our thoughts, appreciate the feedback. # > # > btw, my wife has been driving my benz... 31.1 mpg... the # > best I do around here is about 28. ;) also found Diesel for "only" 4.87!!! # > filled up... (most places around here it's 4.95-4.99) # > # > oh, chuck, have another 5 gallons from my teriyaki place... better take # > it out of the trunk. :) you may need to bring your pickup... I don't # > think what is here will fit on my rear carrier at this point... :) # > # > john # ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2008 08:46:00 -0700 (PDT) From: john Subject: Re: [db] Still think these are the b_st c_rs in the w_rld? wait till you see the pictures of my '91 Grand Wagoneer... ;) your pictures looks so nice... I've got my entire dash apart, and this afternoon need to drop the a/c unit to get to two door lock relays over on the passenger side... add to that a guy who installed an alarm system without shortening wires or giving any thought to working on it later... aluminum wire connected to copper without solder or connectors... a tqngled rats nest of loose connections... :( ...saw a wire and connector similar to yours in a friend's car at church last week, and then found a nice mouse nest in the manifold... his oil light was coming on... suspect a rodent had chewed the wiring underneath the v6 manifold, there must have been about 15 bolts to pull that thing off, all I had was my $59.99 home depot tool kit in the trunk of the 300D... I wonder what the printed circuit boards look like in your car. My experience with mercedes is they tend to have small cracks and have issues... reflowing connections helps a lot... haven't seen the problem in my '91, but did in my '80's vintage 123, 126s. john ----- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Snohomish, Washington -o|||||o- where Jeeps don't rust, they mold http://wagoneers.com john's 6.2L GW: http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/ SAVE FUEL use AMSOIL Synthetics: http://wagoneers.com/AMSOIL - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Sun, 8 Jun 2008, Mike Frank wrote: # I've become very tired of my '99 stalling. The problem had been undiagnosable # up until now: the car would be towed to the dealer, they would turn the key, # and it would start. No codes on the ECU, so I must be nuts. Since it's now # off warranty, I decided to get to the bottom of it. Pulled the cover off the # ECU compartment. As far as I know, it's hasn't been open since 1999 # Stuttgart. Here's what I found: # # http://www.photohost.info/pfiles/203/pics%20001.jpg # # A nice view of the entire ECU harness. The two rear cards are the engine # control, I think the third card is the transmission controller, and the fuse # panel feeds everything. Looks like an excellent wiring harness from this # birds eye. But take a closer look: # # http://www.photohost.info/public/view/full/204 # # An hour with a soldering iron and shrink wrap seems to have fixed my problem, # we'll see in time. Just a little disgusted with the total lack of quality... # # Mike Frank # ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:24:42 -0400 From: Mike Frank Subject: Re: [db] Still think these are the b_st c_rs in the w_rld? The ECU sits in a sealed box. I suppose a rodent may have squeezed in through an entry grommet, but it doesn't seem likely. I've had this problem almost since new, so I think the damage happened in the factory. Anyway, it's fixed now, we will see how it works. Mike Frank At 11:46 AM 6/8/2008, john wrote: >...saw a wire and connector similar to yours in a friend's car at church >last week, and then found a nice mouse nest in the manifold... his oil >light was coming on... suspect a rodent had chewed the wiring underneath >the v6 manifold, ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2008 09:46:22 -0700 (PDT) From: john Subject: Re: [db] Still think these are the b_st c_rs in the w_rld? your damage looked like simple vibration/rubbing... the reason for many car fires... john ----- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Snohomish, Washington -o|||||o- where Jeeps don't rust, they mold http://wagoneers.com john's 6.2L GW: http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/ SAVE FUEL use AMSOIL Synthetics: http://wagoneers.com/AMSOIL - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Sun, 8 Jun 2008, Mike Frank wrote: # The ECU sits in a sealed box. I suppose a rodent may have squeezed in through # an entry grommet, but it doesn't seem likely. I've had this problem almost # since new, so I think the damage happened in the factory. Anyway, it's fixed # now, we will see how it works. # # Mike Frank # # At 11:46 AM 6/8/2008, john wrote: # # >...saw a wire and connector similar to yours in a friend's car at church # >last week, and then found a nice mouse nest in the manifold... his oil # >light was coming on... suspect a rodent had chewed the wiring underneath # >the v6 manifold, # ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2008 14:44:31 -0400 (EDT) From: ejpomeroy-at-qtm.net Subject: Re: [db] Still think these are the b_st c_rs in the w_rld? Ahh, yes! The Volvo Harness disease, only now seen in a Mercedes. I have seen this in virtually all the wiring that is anywhere near the engine in my 60's through late 70's Volvos. Had something to do with the plastic formula used, even back then, to comply with certain regulations. Made the plastic 1) brittle then crumble to dust or flake off in chunks, or 2) melted easily when two twined wires got warm. It got so bad that I started cutting the entire harness from where it came out of the firewall and then spliced in new (U.S. made) wire to each of the lines and onward to destination under the hood. A bear of a job but the only one that solved electrical gremlins. Good detective work. Hope it corrects the issue. > I've become very tired of my '99 stalling. The problem had been > undiagnosable up until now: the car would be towed to the dealer, > they would turn the key, and it would start. No codes on the ECU, so > I must be nuts. Since it's now off warranty, I decided to get to the > bottom of it. Pulled the cover off the ECU compartment. As far as I > know, it's hasn't been open since 1999 Stuttgart. Here's what I found: > > http://www.photohost.info/pfiles/203/pics%20001.jpg > > A nice view of the entire ECU harness. The two rear cards are the > engine control, I think the third card is the transmission > controller, and the fuse panel feeds everything. Looks like an > excellent wiring harness from this birds eye. But take a closer look: > > http://www.photohost.info/public/view/full/204 > > An hour with a soldering iron and shrink wrap seems to have fixed my > problem, we'll see in time. Just a little disgusted with the total > lack of quality... > > Mike Frank ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2008 12:46:50 -0700 (PDT) From: john Subject: [db] motor mounts RE: looking for better motor mounts to reduce 6.2L Diesel vibration in '91 Grand Wagoneer (using Novak adapter kit) Talked to Novak about the vibrations associated with their motor mount kit... Chevy V8 into a Full Size Jeep... the engineer noted that their current offering is optimized, not too soft, not too firm, but not intended for a Diesel... the dimensions I am working with are: 5/8" bolt (ID) largest diameter of the existing mount 2.25" smallest diameter of the mount 2" total thickness: 1.25" here's a picture of the kit: http://www.novak-adapt.com/images/pics/mounts/mmx-nc1.jpg the donut in the middle is the object of interest. The two constraints are: 5/8" Inner diameter of the rubber total thickness of about 1.25" here's the location: http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/Omega-motor-mounts-lights_28May2008/ this picture shows the driver's side most clearly: http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/Omega-motor-mounts-lights_28May2008/P1180366.jpg passenger side: (removed in an attempt to try the 55-57 chevy v8 mounts) http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/Omega-motor-mounts-lights_28May2008/P1180364.jpg I do not see an issue with a larger outside diameter mount, there is at least 4 inches of clearance and shape is not a limiting factor. I would think that increasing the thickness a bit would not be a significant problem, but would think that 1.5" would be the safe limit. If too much thickness is added it could begin affecting underhood clearance and driveline angle. I went to NAPA and we tried mounts for a 55-57 Chevy V8... correct shape but the ID was way too small and the OD was also quite small, if I had opened the ID up I would have had a thick o-ring. A chunk of vibration absorbing rubber or some kind of compound capable of holding about 500 to 600lbs with a 5/8" hole in the middle and maybe about 3" in diameter, or even 3" x 3" square or so would work. Layering of material would be fine too. Open to any ideas. The project is almost done and got 23.75 mpg on a trip from Portland, Oregon to Seattle traveling at the posted limits (60-70 mph). Suggestions on vibration reduction mounts or materials? The guy at Novak has heard of a liquid filled mount possibly used on a Ford Taurus V6. I'm open to any ideas, preferably one that will bolt right in. Polyurethane is NOT recommended... neither is pasta or ravoli. ;) thanx, john meister ----- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Snohomish, Washington -o|||||o- where Jeeps don't rust, they mold http://wagoneers.com john's 6.2L GW: http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/Omega/ SAVE FUEL use AMSOIL Synthetics: http://wagoneers.com/AMSOIL - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of diesel-benz-digest V1 #2782 **********************************