Sad day. The Smoker is gone.... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JimmyL · #1 11-16-2005, 01:17 AM

Me beloved smoker, the Silver Flash, sold on ebay this past Sunday, and they came and picked it up tonight. I was very sad to see it drive away (smoking as it went

). I loved that stupid wagon, and next to a 1948 8N Ford tractor I used to have, it was one of my favorite motorized machines ever.
Always started, drove well, had loads of personality and was my first diesel auto.
I just wanted to thank all you folks who have given me so many ideas over this last year of things to look at, look for, etc..... I never found the problem but had fun trying.
Now all I have to worry about with the '85 wagon is a completely worn out front end, a massive water leak somewhere that ends up in the drivers side rear floorboard and an inop tach.
It's always something eh?

Glinko · #2 11-16-2005, 07:02 AM

Why did you sell it?

SD Blue · #3 11-16-2005, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyL

................ I never found the problem but had fun trying.

Kind of a mixture of a sigh of relief and a sigh of regret. It seems to me that sometimes the ones we have the most frustration with, linger in the memory as "if I had just tried one more thing" everything would have been fine.

I've got a Ford 6.9L right now that is going the same route. Too many projects, not enough money and/or time. I will breathe a sigh of relief when it is gone.

Brian Carlton · #4 11-16-2005, 10:53 AM

Yes, Jimmy, quite the saga with that vehicle. You made every effort imaginable to figure it out, short of pulling the head.

At some point, it's time to let it go. You reached that point.

I'm taking on a similar situation with a 603. I'm sure hoping for a better outcome.

JimmyL · #5 11-16-2005, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glinko

Why did you sell it?

Almost a year and a half of smoking that I could not find with the help of folks here, and my mechanic couldn't find even after having wagon for a month to the day (all he works on is MB's).
Couldn't afford to keep going with it, and ran accross another one.
Good little wagon, and much more comfortable to drive than the '85. If I let go of the wheel it turns right(the '85 that is). Went to have it aligned and they wouldn't do it until I get tie rods and lower ball joints. I wish for now I could just get it to track straight....

RobTheMod · #6 11-16-2005, 09:51 PM

Sad day indeed, but I know the feeling. I parted out an Audi over drivability issues once. At least yours got sold whole...

I'm going outside and have a smoke in memoriam

pawoSD · #7 11-16-2005, 11:29 PM

In michigan they don't care how much your car pollutes, I'd have kept it and driven it everywhere if it was still running ok despite the smoke.

barry123400 · #8 11-16-2005, 11:59 PM

Jimmy, it is somewhat sad to see this end to your saga. Earlier I was going to suggest you consider locating a junker with a good engine and swap it out as the frustation must have become excrutiating. You have so much effort involved it's hoped the new owners may report any fix that occurs just for your curiosity if by chance they master it. What strikes me as really sad is you also liked the way the car drove as well as basically liking the car. I also have been unfortunate enough to work on a couple of friends diesel cars that were non mercedes that the problem was never really pinned down either. One of those engines I worked on was so weird it became almost impossible to define the problem properly. No mater how many times I told myself this is only a car and what I am doing is not rocket science it still was to no avail. What really frustated me the most was the problem was constant and not an intermittent situation. I could not seem to locate the actual cause even with a lot of effort.

JimmyL · #9 11-17-2005, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barry123400

Jimmy, it is somewhat sad to see this end to your saga. Earlier I was going to suggest you consider locating a junker with a good engine and swap it out as the frustation must have become excrutiating. You have so much effort involved it's hoped the new owners may report any fix that occurs just for your curiosity if by chance they master it. What strikes me as really sad is you also liked the way the car drove as well as basically liking the car. I also have been unfortunate enough to work on a couple of friends diesel cars that were non mercedes that the problem was never really pinned down either. One of those engines I worked on was so weird it became almost impossible to define the problem properly. No mater how many times I told myself this is only a car and what I am doing is not rocket science it still was to no avail. What really frustated me the most was the problem was constant and not an intermittent situation. I could not seem to locate the actual cause even with a lot of effort.

It was weird pulling up today and seeing the empty space where it sat.

You know, the '85 isn't a bad car. It is a rocket compared to the '80, just massively pulls to the right and has a yet-to-be-determined water leak. Doesn't smoke, cruise works (no tach

), so I'm OK in the long run I guess. At least with help from you folks I'll be fine.
I just as of yet don't have a good name for the '85, which keeps it from developing a personality really.

Palangi · #10 11-17-2005, 12:28 AM

So you're down to only one Mercedes now? You need to get with it and adopt a couple more...

barry123400 · #11 11-17-2005, 12:44 AM

Jim, did you check your sway bar / ball joint attachment point on upper suspension? would cause a mean pull if broke. Just a thought.

JimmyL · #12 11-17-2005, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palangi

So you're down to only one Mercedes now? You need to get with it and adopt a couple more...

My problem with that is I have a '97 F-150, '79 Chevy PU (bought it new) and a '67 Camaro. Plus the '85 wagon and the parts car. Wife has a Toyota van so I really just need to keep everything driven and semi repaired.
Believe it or not the '67 Camaro has the least amount of miles of all of them (59K

)
Now, having delivered my positioning statement, I would still love a manual 240 one day, or even a slightly older style diesel....

BTW, do you have someplace around here who does your frontend work?

pawoSD · #13 11-17-2005, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barry123400

Jim, did you check your sway bar / ball joint attachment point on upper suspension? would cause a mean pull if broke. Just a thought.

Yeah our 83's is broken on the left, and it pulls to the left like crazy.

Palangi · #14 11-17-2005, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyL

BTW, do you have someplace around here who does your frontend work?

Yes, I know a guy who was Mercedes trained in the Studebaker days. He was sort of semi-retired, but now sort of un-retired, and works as a Shop Mgr at an indy shop. I would trust him to do the work, however, nowdays he does more supervising than actual hands on work. For a front end overhaul, I would want to be sure that he closely supervises the work of the younger mechanic working on it, that is, I would want him to do the diagnosis, and the final review of the work.

FWIW, front end rebuild on mine was pretty close to a kilobuck a couple years ago, but it was in rough shape. After rebuild, it took a couple trys to get the alignment right (he farms that out), but front end has been great once we got the alignment squared away.

Give me a rundown on what the front end issues are (mine was creaky balljoints and shimmy at speed) and I will see what he says about it.

JimmyL · #15 11-17-2005, 11:19 PM

Sent you a pm.
Front end pulls to the right, makes quite alot of noises, and is much harder to turn the steering wheel compared to the smoker (that isn't likely to be suspension stuff though, right?)
Wagon has 212K, so from all I've read that means it is probably worn out if work never done......
NTB said I needed tie rods and lower ball joints (this post may be a rerun)
Recommended to NTB by MB-only indy.
I am going to do a search to see if I can adjust something to at least stop the hard right turn. Then I could buy alittle time to figure out my options.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palangi

Yes, I know a guy who was Mercedes trained in the Studebaker days. He was sort of semi-retired, but now sort of un-retired, and works as a Shop Mgr at an indy shop. I would trust him to do the work, however, nowdays he does more supervising than actual hands on work. For a front end overhaul, I would want to be sure that he closely supervises the work of the younger mechanic working on it, that is, I would want him to do the diagnosis, and the final review of the work.

FWIW, front end rebuild on mine was pretty close to a kilobuck a couple years ago, but it was in rough shape. After rebuild, it took a couple trys to get the alignment right (he farms that out), but front end has been great once we got the alignment squared away.

Give me a rundown on what the front end issues are (mine was creaky balljoints and shimmy at speed) and I will see what he says about it.