No one calls Click and Clack about old MB diesels
 

I have been entertaining my ears for a few years now listen in to Car Talk, and it seems like one ever calls Click and Clack about problems with an old Benz diesel. Just wondering why this is. Not all old diesel Benz owners are DIYers. Is it because Click and Clack dislike diesels?

Cheers,
Andrew

Good question...now that you mention it I don't ever remember hearing one either.

Perhaps we should all email tham about are cars.

This can be done at:
http://www.cartalk.com/email/email.html

That show is so totally prescreened, those clowns only respond to the calls that they they can make fun of like 100,000 mile Tauruses and Volvos driven by 40+year-old women with weird names "Fawn from Fresno."

Statistics have to play some part in this. What percentage of all drivers (or of all drivers of cars over 5 years old, or of all drivers of cars over 10 years old, or whatever) are driving old Benz diesels? Now, eliminate those among that group that are avid enough DIYers that they don't turn to Car Talk for advice. I would guess that what's left if a relatively tiny pool of potential callers.

If you search the archives on their site, you will find a couple of entries regarding old Benz diesels. In one of them, they caution someone not to continue using ether as an aid to cold weather starting.

There are a number of other entries on their site concerning other diesels. Browse them if you wish to see if there is any consistent attitude regarding diesels.

Click and Clack are unnecessary due to this forum...

"Hello, this is Click and Clack at Car Talk, how may we help you?"...."Well, this weekend I was rebuilding my 722.303 trans and modifying the piston guide inside the K2 clutchpack. After removing the rivets and threading the drum, I was about to follow the instructions in the rebuild kit specifying a 82 degree countersink to 11.2mm diameter for the included M5 x 0.8 countersunk screws. But obviously, these are ANSI/ASME B18.5M conforming screws, which have a 90-92 degree head. What should I do?"..............................................CLICK

I did
 

:eek: Several years ago a caller asked if he was better off in a diesel or a gasser pick up truck for his construction business. He started and stopped his engine many times a day and was concerned about excessive wear.

They told him a diesel was out of the question because every time he shut it off the cylinder walls would have the oil film washed away and wear would be accelerated :eek:

I was able to get on the air by telling the screener that:
I was a professional mechanic.
I had put over 200,000 miles on my daily driver and I had never changed spark plugs, ignition wires, points, rotor or distributor cap.
I mentioned that it sounded like it was running on five cylinders all the time but it still got 22 MPG.

They laughed a lot and chided me for being so lazy :D

Then I confessed that it was a 300D MB. The laughter stopped. :P

Then I asked them why they told the other guy that his cylinder walls would be wiped out quickly when a diesel engine is "killed" by shutting off the fuel instead of stopping a spark.

They were pretty good natured about it. Everyone makes mistakes, eh?

I really like them (for entertainment), but their auto advice is sometimes... questionable, to say the least. I once heard them tell someone that the windshield film on their 912 was due to a leaky heater core.:rolleyes:

I did hear them take a call from a woman who was complaining that her husband had collected 2 or 3 300TDs. They pretty much told her to put up with it because it was better than alternative midlife crisis activities. Good advice.:)

I need to try that line with my wife......and see if she buys it or not....:D

Yeah, they're not actually all that handy for solving real problems. But no one, all of us excepted, wants to hear how to fix actual problems.

It seems like the calls are all either "I ran over a deer and now there's a loud BANG whenever I start the car, and the steering vibrates and makes a 'rattle-tattle' noise over 20mph. Should I take it to a mechanic?" OR "I'm a 37-year old stay at home mom with 7 kids. My husband wants me to drive a safe car, but I really like mid 70's Porsches, and I don't want to buy a minivan. What car should I get for taking all these kids to soccer practice? Is it OK to put a kid in the fore trunk on a Porsche?"

At least their weekly brain teasers, and "stump the chumps" are fun.

I was listening before when a lady called in and said she was looking to buy a 450SEL that was converted to veg oil and whether it was a good buy or not. I think they told her it would be a safe car because of being a 1970's tank. She seemed pleased by this and that was that. I said to myself, whoa, that car is definatley not original anymore!! :eek: I'll bet someone plopped a 617 in it after a catastropic V8 failure or something.....then they went wvo.....

I listen every week because they are funny and I get my dose of Boston accent for the week (lived there long ago). It's also funny (for an x-eastener) to hear how Boston-centric all their comments are, they sound like they've never been out of the state. I suspect they are better at their radio show than actually fixing cars. It's fun to check out the hate mail on their web site from people who complain about their crumby advice, or the fact that they insulted someone's favorite car (e.i., What's wrong with my Vega, I think it's the best car ever made?).

Good entertainment!

I have a heard a person call in about a problem with a turbodiesel W123 but don't remember the specifics.

I heard that one too, and I was a bit confused by her thoughts as well.

Great entertainment, generally good advice.:)
I respect these philanthropic gentlemen, and treat the show as general entertainment.:)
They do very well covering the mess of models out there.
Browse the following link, and see how many of these vehicles you have worked upon or would even recognize their name?:eek:
http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-automobile-manufacturers

Look on their CarTalk key word search for "Mercedes" = 104 results found.

I would invite them into my home or garage without hesitation.:D

These guys are part time psychologists it seems.
That advise is something I suppose my wife has figured out already :)
1971 220 (gas) 4-spd manual 106441
1979 300TD w/ ’85 turbo engine 298446
1983 300D 244626
1985 300TD 226868
1987 300D 262300
1987 300D $400 project car MSHIP* (money sink hole in progress)
* http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/126703-so-i-dont-87-300d-%24400.html

I'd guess that rather than an engine swap, that "450SEL" was the recipient of a trunk emblem swap. :D Then again, my Occam's Razor needs a new blade. :)

Say what you want about them but they have their own radio show, their own consulting company, a degree in engineering from MIT, and a money making garage while most of the rest of us are struggling to make ends meet.

I agree that they are good entertainment and it is fun to see if my solution matches theirs. I can't say that I would take my car to them, esp. the Diesel, but humor is where one finds it.

i listen to them
 

often when i am driving on sat.

i suspect they only air callers that they can solve the problem of. usually.

but i do enjoy them and most of the general advice is good.

they do an excellent job of skewering the values of the clueless american manufacturers. i remember once they were discussing quality. it went something like this. so the (fill in the blank) (ford lets say) engineers took apart a toyota engine to see why they lasted so long....they took the alternator pully off and looked at it and said hey, we maybe should copy this design, look at those stiffening ribs, ....yeah the other engineer said... and just make it a milimeter thinner to cost less... yeah the first engineer says.... and make it out of cardboard. hysterical laughter. you get the idea. but the point is stll well taken as far as i can see.

tom w