Yeah, it's a Florida Statute.

And after I searched the state high and low for a non-rusty one and had to get one out of California!

Blah!

Take care of it- we are here to help.

Rick

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

Nice looking 2002, I still think those are one of the best beamers made.

Well its mostly the air cleaner housing the rattles, or shakes rather. When sitting in the car you can feel a slight shake. But the air cleaner housing is actually quite loud when it hitting other engine components.

Hmmm. Is the trannie seal something that could be done with a few friends, or is that going to take a shop? I don't know much about the mechanics of a Benz yet.

Air cleaner....easy fix. A search will turn up the details.

Unless you can find experienced help, I would take it to the shop.

Cheers,

Bill

Here are a few pics of the car.

Also, the tires are shot on it, they are 195/70/14. I have a set of brand new state police winter tires in my garage from one of my BMW's, they are 185/65/14, will these work?

I am hearing a lot of flack about diesel cars, like I may be getting in over my head? Are these cars difficult to find parts for, or prone to problems?

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I'm sure they will fit, but they are about 5% smaller diameter, so your speedo will read 5% high and you will probably decrease your highway fuel mileage by a couple of percent.

Edit: Also take a look at the load rating of the tires and compare it to the original tires. This is a pretty heavy car.

The tires on it now says the weight is 595 Kg. My winter tires are 510 Kg. Will these work, or is the car too heavy ? Also, any of you happen to have a pass. side windshield wiper? This one is missing.

Don't use the smaller tires. The SD is a heavier car, overloaded tires tend to come apart at the worst possible time.

That is one sweet looking car.

Watch for rust under the chrome fender guards.

Can't help you with the WW Wiper, though Phil might be able to. Click the Buy Parts tab.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

I was acutally wondering, do the fender guards come off? the chrome is a little over powering IMO. I peeled them back a little, no rust just VERY dirty and grimmy.

They should be screwed on. I'd take them off and leave them off. All they're good for is collecting junk and promoting rust.

Cheers,

Bill

Parts are not difficult to find for these cars. You can find most of what you would ever need fot it right here on this site.

I second the motion that you remove the fender chrome trim pieces. The 116 is notorious for rust (though I am fortunate to have 2 southern ones that are essentially rust free) I wouldn't take the chance in MI with rust getting started underneath there.

One other item to look out for is the Climate servo. It's the one part on these dream machines that Mercedes kinda whiffed on. They are problematic and have a fairly high failure rate. Replacements or rebuilds are readily available but they are not cheap. $400 - $600.

__________________
Joe

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1980 300SD - 495k miles - 'The Ambassador'
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Former Family Members
95 C280
73 280SEL
90 300D
87 300SDL (X2)
86 560SEL
84 300D
80 300SD

what exactly is the Climate Servo and how do I know if its bad? (sorry if i sound dumb, i have never dealt with a MB before)

That sound borderline to me. 510 kg is 1125 pounds. 1125 x 4 = 4500 pounds which may be less that the GVW of the car, and that's assuming the weight is distributed evenly between the four tires. I don't think I would use them.

The tires on my car have a load rating of 93, which corresponds to 650 kg or 1433 pounds:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=35

195/70/14 or 205/70/14 Michelins will make that car ride and handle like it should.

__________________
1959 Gravely LI, 1963 Gravely L8, 1973 Gravely C12
1982 380SL
1978 450 SEL 6.9 euro restoration at 63% and climbing
1987 300 D
2005 CDI European Delivery
2006 CDI Handed down to daughter
2007 GL CDI. Wifes

I like 205/70-14s on my 300D. Currently I'm using Firestone Affinity LH30, they seem to work well both wet and dry (about $400 installed).