Dad, there's something wrong with the SDL. You see, at 105, it emits clouds of smoke

[WANT '71 280SEL]

Yesterday I had a long stretch of open 4 lane highway so I decided to see what the SDL could do. I had the A.C. on and the ambient temp was around 78? Well, I was cruising at 72 (speed limit's 65) when I decided to floor it. I have to say, I'm not all that impressed with the car's highway acceleration (nor city for that matter) even without the A.C. So anyways, the temp went up to the 100 mark and stayed there during the high speed run and I kept seeing streaks or clouds of dark black smoke. The car could have gone faster but it wasn't speeding up too fast and I wasn't really going for top speed. What does this sound like to you guys? My cross-over's been cleaned as well as the ARV and EGR being taken care of, though the cross-over was already clean when I took it apart. Does this sound like an injection timing problem? I've been wanting to take it into the indie's to have it timed.

Also, when I got off the interstate and was sitting on the off-ramp, there seemed to be a slight surge to the engine rpms. Not really noticeable by watching the tach but there was a correlating surge on the oil pressure gauge. My oil pressure was reading about 1.2 when I was sitting still which I would point to my lack of oil cooler as to that happening.

As for responsibility, I knew what I wanted to do and I knew the condition of my car. I have new tires and the front-end is as tight as can be. Still, I know things could go wrong and that's why I did it when no one else was around. Plus, I'm 19 and that's the kind of stupid stuff kids like me do

Thanks
David

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by WANT '71 280SEL

As for responsibility, I knew what I wanted to do and I knew the condition of my car. I have new tires and the front-end is as tight as can be. Still, I know things could go wrong and that's why I did it when no one else was around. Plus, I'm 19 and that's the kind of stupid stuff kids like me do

Ahhh..........think nothing of it.............Hattie does the same foolish things with his SDL............just hope you have excellent tires.

[pawoSD]

You don't have an oil cooler? That can't be good for the engine.....they put that on there for a reason......after a high speed run my oil pressure will dip down to 1.3 for a short while with an oil cooler...a brand new one! After a few minutes it climbs back up to between 1.6 and 2. So I don't want to think of what your oil temps get to without one!

[WANT '71 280SEL]

Mine climbs right back up just as yours does. I intend to put a cooler on. You have to keep in mind these cars are over-engineered in the first place. I'm using synthetic oil and I think the biggest problem with hotter oil would be the piston cooling or the turbo cooling. However someone posted here that they had a Volkswagen with an oil temp gauge and it really never got that hot. It was a diesel as well. Also, autozen, who's been fixing MBs for 30 years said these are over-engineered as well. If I were pulling a camping trailer up a mountain at 80 mph, maybe then I'd have a problem. Until I can find a decent used one though I have to make do with what I have. I have a "U" shaped pipe in the place of my cooler that was there when I bought it. On a 603 the oil cooler is hidden behind the bumper, it's not next to the radiator like on a 617.

Thanks
David