Benz addiction
 

Very well thought out Dieselschnell....

"The old girl just needs me to stay alive".....(That says it all)

This forum gets me wrenching on the old beasts when I sometimes do not feel like working on them ....a true support group.....Thanks to all........!

Not just you!
 

I have a saying....**** happens! Oh my, I just think I've found another benz! Love those 450SL's! Blown engine? Hmmm, I'll bet I could put a 617 turbo diesel from a 300D:idea: in that!

I always tell myself, "These are persistently lovable machines". Of course I meant that when:

1. Owning them.
2. Fixing them.
3. Blasting down the highway
4. Going on adventures
5. Having temperamental moments
6. Witnessing them self-heal
7. Racking up the miles
8. And so on...

Cheers!

Amen.....
 

I've got the Benz addiction as well.....it began as a Diesel affliction, and manifests itself while browsing e-bay for a parts car.....and I see a nice old SL gasser......:D

SB

I agree, " My name is Michael, and I have an addiction...."
I think my "problem" started when I looked at a 240D ( on a lark). The car was 20+ years old, with under 20,000 miles! and it looked showroom fresh. It drove and rode like new. That one got away, but I was hooked.
When working on my Mercedes, I am constantly surprised by the little touches that no one but the mechanic would ever see and appreciate. Like the way the pan gaskets fit over a lip so they don't slide around when you reassemble. Or the way there are clips molded into various parts that secure the wiring harness so its out of the way and neat. Little touches that the regular owner would never see and appreciate, and would ceretainly not add to the perceived value, but little touches that show that an Engineer thought all this out, and the bean counters did not eliminate.

Well said, these cars are built with every last detail taken into account.Old world craftsmanship, down to the last detail. You might think ,why is this made like this and then you'll see why . Form follows function. I don't know about the new MBZ's, but the 123's ,are built with perfection and endurance in mind. Close a door on a 123 as compared to a new car and you'll see what I'm saying. My 25 year old MBZ is built better and sounds more solid than any new car I've looked at. I'll keep wrenching on them because I enjoy doing it. Keeping up with the little problems allows you to be able to jump into a 25 year old car with 265K on the clock and go for a 3000 mile ride because deep down inside yourself, you know that it won't let you down.
BTW, my name is Mark and I am an MBZ addict!!!:D :D

My name is Jackson and I have a problem. I quit cold turkey 2 years ago when I sold my 83 240. I never quit turning my head at stoplights at the chatter of a diesel. I missed the highs and lows of fixing a potentially expensive problem with an inexpensive part shipped in from Texas, just to have another spring up.

Then I passed this sweet 83 300d with 145k for $1500. I am back and have 2 major panic attacks and numerous highs just this month. Ahh, my fix.


Jackson

Weeeeeel, about 6 or 7 years ago, I got a hankerin to drive Diesel again, so I started with what I knew. GM... sorry. anyway, after buying 3 lemons, and not really getting anywhere, (I still have the lemons in my yard...) one of my computer customers was griping about his wife's "old" MB, and how the mechanic was telling him that repairs would way outstrip the value, and he should just get her a new lexus or sumtin. so he asked me if I knew anybody mechanical that wanted an old diesel benz... I took the keys that day, and went and picked up the car... 82 SD, no start.
I got it home, charged the battery, and it fired right up. well, it took a few cranks, like 6 or 7 seconds of cranking, but it fired up. I drove it for a few months, as he let me keep his tags and insurance while he tracked down the title. one thing led to another and I now have 8...
hello, my name is John and I Love MB Diesels.
...hello, I see a nice 85 SD sitting under a tree, hmmmmmm

The first year or two are the worst. Once you get them up to snuff they don't require that much.

Some people get away with less, but assuming you will put what you paid for the car in it, within the first year or so is usualy a good assumption.:D

Well then, it buoys the spirit to see so many kindred souls. I guess I have a sort of "stray puppy" weakness for some things, cars especially. I see a neglected car sitting under a tree collecting mung or sinking into the ground and I say to myself "awwww"...I prognosticate about it's life and what it would take to get it running. :rolleyes:

I guess it works well with Benz especially-they are built like fire engines-tough, but not without needing a little careful, regular maintenance. I read Mr. Jalopy's Blog on Blogger (http://hooptyrides.blogspot.com) and he said the 124s were amongst the last of the really solid Benzes made-like they were machined from a single block of steel. I don't know if I would want a new one or not, even if I did have the cash. My interest started with the 123s lines as a kid-they just looked so timeless, and still do in my opinion.

Someone once told me my "sickness" simply meant I can see the value in all things-I'll buy that-But not before I buy that parts car over there....:D

DS

You know...?
 

They do make medications to help us quit these addictions BUT THEN....

Nobody likes a quitter................:laugh3:

The way I tend to see it. Is this the old mercedes that may drive you to drink?:D What exactley is the last straw? Some ebay examples if tackled could easily be it. .
Or could some situations become an obsessive compulsive disorder? There are some borderline indicators of it out there.
In either case your circle of aquaintences will grow. You know, support groups like mercedesshop.com and mental health proffesionals.
I can almost see it now. Doctor I hear strange engine noises. That should get you some attention. You fellows know the noises I am reffering to. Or am I the only one hearing them? In most cases for all practical purposes the noises are really in our heads anyway so to speak.
Just try telling the doctor you are upset because your head is cracked. Or your slipping badly between gears..
Then there is the general paranoia of what is going to go south next. Your guess is as good as mine. Something will sooner than later usually. You know the senario. The drivers window went up and down yesterday and will not move today. Why the drivers window? Why today? Perhaps the switch just needs a litle more pressure. You have to be there to relate to this. The extra switch pressure does nothing of course but you already knew that. :)
One reason we drive diesels is for the high milage and get about twenty five miles per gallon.Tremendous logic there. My current quote when asked about milage. Less than you would imagine plus it seems to depend on the phase of the moon. Yet I can burn free fuel for only the price of an occasional engine. The cars are rumoured will last forever but will you?
Then there is the general axiety component. When it's a little cold will it start? Are my oil cooler lines going to blow? I know they will but when? If I change them now will I strip the oil cooler threads? The new hoses may be sub standard? Will they hold? This I describe as the ultimate vicious circle. Same rule applies to radiator hoses it seems. What is the new fuel going to destroy and when? Plus guess the new noise game. That last one is priceless.
We are generally protected from group therapies as they cannot get enough of us together. We just live too far apart. :)
I have noticed when asked how many older mercedes I own people kind of weakly nod their heads when responding to my answer. . Something is really scary in that...Now I say just two and the conversation continues normally.
Have any of you wondered why car crazy has not done a show on us yet? It has crossed my mind we qualify more than most.

Well I am not sure how compulsive I am anymore-I USED to have a problem with packratting (now it's called Colyer Syndrome-watch the TV for a commercial, touting some drug for treating it next...), so now I have to be careful, especially as a relatively new property owner, that I do not run afoul of the borough by starting my own parts car junkyard. Figures-now I have enough money for some good quality crap in my yard and I'm supposedly "cured" from such a "compulsion". One day I'm going to move to the desert and have some REALLY cool crap piled up. Then when I die you guys can come and pick the boneyard like a bunch of rabid Jawas.

I've had a mental health "professional" or two hear my "case"-one told me I needed to watch more TV-I fired her on the spot and took a long drive-oddly after the drive I felt better, and it was then I knew I was on to something.

I don't think the car makes me drink-I enjoy having a few whilst working on her, but it's usually in the company of friends rather than alone. I DO feel like I should be drinking Beck's or something, but then it passes and I go back to a Yuengling, or a Pabst when I'm really slumming or when the mortgage is due...:eek: I think Greta is going to be like the palace at Versailles-I'm going to start at one end and work my way around, and when I get "done", it will be time to start over. I'll be "that old guy with the ancient Mercedes".

First, I'm gonna need some kind of funny hat...maybe lederhosen.

DS

Packratting, I built more storage areas until the first time I brought something I forgot I owned and remembered it was in storage later. At that point I initiated self treatment.
I also considered seriously buying a new mercedes diesel but could not resolve the issue of perhaps endless troubles after the warranty period.
I though about approaching mercedes to see if the car was really troublesome after warranty they might provide complementary meds for my remaining period of ownership.
That way I reasoned I would not care how troublesome it was or if I was charged 2000 for a basic oilchange.
So there will be no modern mercedes diesels in my garage. All those members out there driving and waiting for their heads to crack or rods to bend might easily have been spared the ongoing axiety with complementary meds.
All in fun gentleman. The only thing that has never been defined properly is how we get hung up on mechanical devices but we do. I have seen various attempts over the years to explain it but never a really good effort that rang true.
Yet it is a component of my life I am glad I did not miss. My compulsion is easily understood. I owned an early gas mercedes that was heads and shoulders ahead of it's time years ago. I realise mercedes has not maintained it's lead. Build quality back then was phenominal compared to the competition and driving it was an experience as well.

Yeah, the death of quality in M-B is something I have read a little about. I guess time was, you built a car and said "here it is, this is how we made it", and the buyers eventually came and if they liked it, they stayed. Now with demographics research and focus groups and such, it's more about making a car for the consumer. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for getting what I want, but chances are I can find it without some college grad telling me what I "need", or settling for their idea of what I need based on their education which has little to do with my life experience. I first started seeing this when I sold GMC trucks and they started putting leather in them-the average pickup owner and potential buyer would say "what the hell do I want with that leather in there?" But eventually GMC convinced them that was what they "wanted" and told them they "deserved it". Plus it was around that time that massive use of the farm equipment tax credit was starting, and businesses were buying huge vehicles just to do it. It kind of made me sick. Then the H2 came out and I really got sick. Needless to say I no longer sell cars.

I don't see owning a new one, just like I never saw owning a new BMW when I drove one-Gramps was right, they don't make 'em like they used to.

DS