price of diesel and stuff - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

t walgamuth · #1 12-07-2005, 10:59 PM

took a trip again to kalamazoo. on way back bought near indiana border on sr 39 at family express diesel for 2.30.9 including all taxes.

went up to help my mom (80 years and still kicking and driving) buy a new car since she wrecked her old one. drove buicks (yuck), hyundias (not bad), subaru forester (not bad), and looked and listened to corolla, rav4s, and a mitsubishi. all the ones that we just listened to and didnt drive had a lot of blowby. the sales man (one of them) said "they all do that" i said "no they dont" and poped the hood on my 350sdl and said "feel that, and this car has 149k miles on it". he said "oh.... my car has a lot too, guess i will have to start checking for it" i explained how the blow by comes from leaking rings. i guess a lot of folks just dont change the oil enough.

we bought the buick (yuck). it was just like the one she wrecked, but newer. i figured she is too old to learn all the controls from a new car. and she loved that crazy buick.

the 350 ran like a top, but i discovered that at 2 degrees outside, my heater doesnt put out much heat.

tom w

#2 12-07-2005, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

we bought the buick (yuck). it was just like the one she wrecked, but newer. i figured she is too old to learn all the controls from a new car. and she loved that crazy buick.

My mom, who's in her 70s, buys a new midsize Buick whatever about every 5 years (100,000 miles) just like her last one. She's had about 5 of these things, but I guess she's used to them. My aunt, who's 85 has one just like it. I guess that's Buick's market.

t walgamuth · #3 12-08-2005, 09:09 AM

and buick will soon follow oldsmobile... and if they dont watch out gm will follow.

tom w

#4 12-08-2005, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

and buick will soon follow oldsmobile... and if they dont watch out gm will follow.

tom w

I guess they can't live in the 50s forever. They do seem to have a strange market mix right now, grandmothers driving their traditional boats and rap stars driving those Caddy SUV things. Strange.

sailor15015 · #5 12-08-2005, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

and buick will soon follow oldsmobile... and if they dont watch out gm will follow.

tom w

The GM plant in Oklahoma is slated to be closed in this next round of cuts. I hate to think of all those people around here who are going to be out of jobs. My dad is a sheet metal worker and his company had an ongoing maintenace job with them. Losing this particular job probably won't make a difference but it does make it hit home.

softconsult · #6 12-08-2005, 09:40 AM

"and a mitsubishi. all the ones that we just listened to and didnt drive had a lot of blowby. the sales man (one of them) said "they all do that" i said "no they dont" and poped the hood on my 350sdl and said "feel that, and this car has 149k miles on it". he said "oh.... my car has a lot too, guess i will have to start checking for it" i explained how the blow by comes from leaking rings. i guess a lot of folks just dont change the oil enough."

I'm a little bored this morning, so I thought I would challenge this stuff about blow by.

So how exactly does a person "feel blowby"? Since blowby goes past the rings and into the crankcase from which it is sucked out by the emissions system, what exactly are you observing when you make this diagnosis?
I can imagine what the salesman was really thinking about the know it all customer he was dealing with. However, most car salesmen are dumber than rocks, so maybe he actually believed you.

Sounds to me like a very strange way of choosing a car.

Sorry , but I just couldn't read what you wrote and let it go by as fact.

Steve

t walgamuth · #7 12-08-2005, 06:25 PM

it is well accepted that measuring blow by is a good way to tell if the rings are sealing well.

the combustion process is contained by the rings. if the rings are well worn they will leak more of the combustion past them into the crankcase, which is thereby pressurized. since the valve cover is connected to the crankcase by the oil drian holes if you take off the oil filler cap when the engine is running you can feel readily the blowby. on a really good engine such as my 500sec there will be none detectable. i will accept some on a used car, but the ones that i rejected would blow up a ballon in a minute i bet. if the blow by is great, you lose power past the rings and probably will use oil.

it is not a test that will guarantee a good motor, but it is a reliable measure of worn rings. i think.

tom w

bottom feeder · #8 12-08-2005, 08:36 PM

Changing the subject a little - you mentioned earlier that the heat in your MB was not the greatest at 2F. Is there a way to improve this? Maybe changing the concentration of coolant? I have one of the best 240D's on the road, but it is a little cool in the passenger compartment lately (here in central Wisconsin we've been below 0F almost every morning for the last week.)

Hatterasguy · #9 12-08-2005, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by softconsult

I'm a little bored this morning, so I thought I would challenge this stuff about blow by.

So how exactly does a person "feel blowby"?

Simple actually, if you are experianced enough you just need to pop the cap and look and you can pretty much tell.

But on a tight engine you should be able to pull the oil cap and put your hand over the hole. You will feel slight suction.

On a gas engine a little blow by is normal. Gas engines will run forever with blow by as long as the cylinder compression is even you are fine for awhile. With a diesel blow by is the beggining of the end since diesels are compresion engines. But like gas engines diesel's can run for awhile with lots of blow by.

sailor15015 · #10 12-08-2005, 09:08 PM

After changing the oil on the bimmer, I started it up and took off down the road and it ran horribly! I was think crap, I've really screwed something up. Turns out I'd left the oil cap off and putting it back on cleared it right up. Why would taking the cap off make it idle lower and rougher?

#11 12-08-2005, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailor15015

After changing the oil on the bimmer, I started it up and took off down the road and it ran horribly! I was think crap, I've really screwed something up. Turns out I'd left the oil cap off and putting it back on cleared it right up. Why would taking the cap off make it idle lower and rougher?

By leaving the oil cap off you basically created a vacuum leak. The crankcase gases are recovered in to the intake by engine vacuum, leaving the cap off makes a big hole in the system. I'm sure you didn't hurt anything.

sailor15015 · #12 12-08-2005, 09:33 PM

So do all gassers need to have a closed crankcase or is this something that is car-specific? Our diesel engines need to breath or they won't run, correct? What makes this difference?

#13 12-08-2005, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailor15015

So do all gassers need to have a closed crankcase or is this something that is car-specific? Our diesel engines need to breath or they won't run, correct? What makes this difference?

All 1970s and later cars have some way of capturing the crankcase gas and returning it to the intake. Your diesel has a vent from the valve cover to the intake. The diesel doesn't have any intake vacuum available to "pull" the gases into the intake, so it relies on pressure to "push" the gases into the intake. Older cars just vented the crankcase to the atmosphere.

t walgamuth · #14 12-08-2005, 10:00 PM

i will put some cardboard in front of the radiator on the bottom half. this seems to help it generate heat.

tom w

TheDon · #15 12-08-2005, 10:25 PM

i drove by the lowest priced diesel in my area.. 2.29 yesturday.. 2.33 today.. wtf