Florida bound on Biodiesel

[biobenz240d]

The wife and I are heading from western New York to the gulf coast area of Florida. We will be taking our '83 240D with 260K on the clock, overall round trip should be about 2900 to 3000 miles . I will be filling the trunk with all the cubies of bio that I can fit about 55 gal. plus the reg tank. Total gals about 72 of 100% bio. Thurs. eve temps should be about 25f when we leave, so I won't be fueling up until just before we leave. The bio will be in cubies in the basement keeping warm until go time. Aside from all the obvious, oil change, diesel purge,check all fluids , is there anything that I should check to prevent any problems? I've owned the car about a year now and have done all the maintenance. I have all the confidence in the world in this car but just want to cover all bases. I've read about the harmonic balancer bolts coming loose on a few MBZs, so I will check that. Any other maint. items I should check ,please let me know , I still have 2 more days to tinker. Thanks in advance. I will have data to relate when I return (oil consumption ,fuel mileage etc. and pics).

[WINGAS]

BASTID! thats jealousy talkin'

I wish I was taking mine, but just picked up an engine wiring harness yesterday, injectors are at Dan Buchenhagen's ( Accurate Diesel ), but I told my wife NEXT TIME. I reckon it'll cost around $110 in the 95 E300 D, and around $300 in the Tahoe to run 1200 miles.

We'll need a hitch/small trailer to carry all of mom and kids stuff in treh Mbz. Man, they dont travel light.

Hey, we're leaving Wednesday after work , well ( 3-4 pm), shooting down to Pittsburgh, etc. We should exchange cell phone #.

Because my Tahoe has 130K on it ! Kidding, I rebuilt the whole thing, its better than new. Although my wife has some weird anxiety about it. Hey, cant learn 'em all.

When you leaving? I'll PM you my cell phone in case we're running down close to the same time.

And I want to leanr about the bio coop 'round here.

[BioBens]

Temps are in the teens in Montana and my bioD TDT is purring. I'm sure you know to carry a spare filter. Also, some 3/16 ID tubing for replacement fuel lines on cylinders. I hope you can throw the sunroof wide open just south of Atlanta. And finally, the fishing's pretty good on the W. coast of Fla about now.

Have FUN!

[WINGAS]

Hehehe, fishing on eh west Coast. Brother, you've read my mind!

Last year we spanked Mackerel. HOLY MACKEREL!

Locals said they were OK eating. WHAT!, they were deeeelicious. Did them jsut like I do Wally up here ( dont eat much local Wally, our waters so dang clean up here in teh Great lakes - NOT!), ala French. We had the whole condo floor stopping by for some.

Wonder what species it is this year? Only banged the snook my first year there( 95 or so). and I didnt even know what the heck I was catching! Now that I know it's " THE game fish" I cant buy one.
Dang.

Just like seeing huge bucks during turkey season, and tons of birds during deer season. My luck!

[probear]

Originally Posted by BioBens

Temps are in the teens in Montana and my bioD TDT is purring. I'm sure you know to carry a spare filter. Also, some 3/16 ID tubing for replacement fuel lines on cylinders. I hope you can throw the sunroof wide open just south of Atlanta. And finally, the fishing's pretty good on the W. coast of Fla about now.

Have FUN!

He would have been able to open the roof if he'd been through here today or tomorrow. Seems the Canucks left the door open and starting Thurs, well, see below....

Today
Apr 3
Isolated T-Storms
82°/63° 30%
Wed
Apr 4
AM T-Storms
72°/42° 40%
Thu
Apr 5
Sunny
61°/36° 10%
Fri
Apr 6
Partly Cloudy
56°/34° 10%
Sat
Apr 7
Mostly Sunny
55°/29° 10%
Sun
Apr 8
Partly Cloudy
54°/35°

As to the supplies, I'd bet the only thing you might need is a couple of spare fuel filters. I ran B100 all last summer and did not have one hose problem.

Have a fun trip

[biobenz240d]

Heres a pic from 4 weeks ago , while I was recovering from minor knee surgery. 52.5" 42.8lbs Barracuda caught on 20 lb. spinning tackle. Pending IFGA Line class record for 10kg class.

[vstech]

man, I wish I had taken the benz... stupid suburban brakes are acting up... replaced pads, and one caliper, but no brakes to speak of... working on it, may try bleeding some more, but thinking it's the MC... #$)*@&) FUN BLEEDING MC through the stinking ABS!... trailer sprung two leaks on opposite sides on both axles...&)&%$#()@)&@)!!! try finding single throw slave cylinders in friggin lakeland FL... "should be here tomorrow..." do they think I don't know tomorrow is always coming and never here?
maybe TOMORROW, I'll get somewhere.
the kids really wanna see Disney... and the new euro Wagon.
John

[Jadavis]

I speak from experience on this:

That much weight in the trunk will make the car drive like a pig. I ended up moving as much as I could to the back seat. That is just too much weight too far back. It totally throws off your center of gravity.

-Jim

[biobenz240d]

I had the same thoughts, I have the trunk loaded already and will be taking a test run tomorrow to see how she handles . I still have time to make some adjustments. The tires are new Goodyear and tire pressure is jacked up to compensate for the weight. The test drive will tell all.

[pawoSD]

55 gallons in the trunk is nearly 440lbs. Yikes. + another 180lbs in the fuel tank.....+ stuff I am assuming for the trip in the backseat....+ 2 people.....thats going to be one hard working 240....I hope you can hit the speed limit.

[bhahl]

Biobenz, good luck with your trip to Florida, although we had Florida weather yesterday in WNY (70*). And of course are expecting snow today, figures that I just took my W115 out of storage.

I am interested in knowing more about the WNY biodiesel coop. I live in the southern tier and travel through OP to EA often to visit family. Let me know more about the coop.

Brian

[spugeddy]

I live in NW FL, (Destin) and Mackerel gets left at the dock for the Chinese restaurant guy to pick up....(not joking)

There are plenty of them to catch here, and you also catch a lot of Bonita, but the best tasting are the grouper, yellow fin, amberjack, mahi

Originally Posted by 427L88

Hehehe, fishing on eh west Coast. Brother, you've read my mind!

Last year we spanked Mackerel. HOLY MACKEREL!

Locals said they were OK eating. WHAT!, they were deeeelicious. Did them jsut like I do Wally up here ( dont eat much local Wally, our waters so dang clean up here in teh Great lakes - NOT!), ala French. We had the whole condo floor stopping by for some.

Wonder what species it is this year? Only banged the snook my first year there( 95 or so). and I didnt even know what the heck I was catching! Now that I know it's " THE game fish" I cant buy one.
Dang.

Just like seeing huge bucks during turkey season, and tons of birds during deer season. My luck!

[biobenz240d]

Originally Posted by bhahl

Biobenz, good luck with your trip to Florida, although we had Florida weather yesterday in WNY (70*). And of course are expecting snow today, figures that I just took my W115 out of storage.

I am interested in knowing more about the WNY biodiesel coop. I live in the southern tier and travel through OP to EA often to visit family. Let me know more about the coop.

Brian

PM me with your e-mail address and phone #. I'll get in touch when I get back from FL on the 15th. I live in Orchard Park near the stadium.
E-mail wnybiocoop@verizon.net or mark3885@verizon.net
Everybody enjoy your Easter holiday , I'll have pics and mpg data when I return.

[biobenz240d]

Originally Posted by pawoSD

55 gallons in the trunk is nearly 440lbs. Yikes. + another 180lbs in the fuel tank.....+ stuff I am assuming for the trip in the backseat....+ 2 people.....thats going to be one hard working 240....I hope you can hit the speed limit.

with fuel fast approaching $3/ gal. I figure as the trip progresses , I will be getting lighter by the mile. Bio at $.68/gal ( plus the weight) vs petro d at $2.89/gal. its a no brainer , fuel mileage will suffer in the beginning but should improve with distance covered. We're packing light, only 1 suitcase in the back seat and just the wife and myself. (very slim wife) LOL ,she liked that comment, score one for me! Is taking along an extra injector pump overkill? I have it neatly wrapped in a box on the rear floor. Better to have it and not need it , than to need it and not have it. Can't wait to get going , catch you all later

[biobenz240d]

Well we made it to Florida. Sat. afternoon the car ran flawlessly all the way down. Running B100 was a bit tricky , when we left Orchard Park NY, the temp. was 23F. with light lake effect snow. The roads were clear for the first 25 miles, then it started to pile up. When we reached the NY-PA border there was almost 6" of snow on the road. I was happy that I had the 60gal. of bio in the trunk for traction. We finally got away from the snow near Pittsburg and was clear sailing all the way to Savannah Ga, where we stayed overnite. Then on to Madiera Beach on Sat. 1272 miles in all on B100. Now for the mpg report. Home to Savannah , 920 miles 26.25 mpg about what I expected with all the weight and the mountains. Savannah to Madiera beach 352miles 23.46 mpg I don't get it , through the mountains , with trunk loaded pushing hard to hold the speed going up the hills and I get better mileage than running flat , less weight,and a steady 67 to 70mph. I'm open for any explanation! BTW before I left, I put a BB in the 3 way connectors from the egr and 3-2 valve , hoping to up the performance and the mpg. motor oil consumption was about 1/4 qt. for the whole trip down give me your thoughts for the ride back home on sat and sun. I will have enough b100 to get me back to Charlotte NC then I'll have to buy 2 tanks of petro diesel unless I can find BIO for sale.