Brand New 1983 300SD White POS - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

RNCarl · #16 05-29-2007, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

I have seen several examples of white on gray and white on white.
if you are getting normal stops, it's mostlikely not the booster, but the vacuum pump/leaks in the lines. a bad booster rarely functions. I second (or is it third) the test the glow relay first. unless you are just hankoring for the afterglow feature, or want to spend money, you will get no glow light unless at least 4 plugs are working, less than that, and you get no light.
test test test. then replace.
John

OK ordering a mityvac or buying one... where can one be had?

As for the glow relay,

I already ordered the "kit" of 4 glow plugs and relay from Fast Lane along with the 1 additional glow plug.

To Richard,

I was thinking the same sort of thing with letting the tank run down. Then clean the screen and diesel purge or what you suggested. At some point I will feed her B20 or higher. Yes I will have a stack of filters handy.

What a ton of good advice. I would have never purchased the car without knowing about a forum like this!

.

RNCarl · #17 05-29-2007, 04:34 PM

I know I still have the whole summer ahead of me, but, I am already thinking about cold winter starts and if I don't get on the glow plugs now........

That reminds me, the battery is of unknown age but took an over night charge well and seems to be holding it. - Now that it is fully charged, it does withstand the extended cranking [8-10 sec X2] to get the engine running I am assuming without the glow plugs.

At least the car isn't a daily driver and I can putter around with it until I get most of the work done.

.. off to obtain a mityvac

C.

.

vstech · #18 05-29-2007, 11:04 PM

I love your avatar, I carry one of those made of wood with me everywhere I go!
John
ps does your odometer work?

RNCarl · #19 05-29-2007, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

I love your avatar, I carry one of those made of wood with me everywhere I go!
John
ps does your odometer work?

Actually,

I don't know if it works. the spedo does. I haven't driven it far enough yet. just around the neighborhood with the brakes doing funny things.
c.

RNCarl · #20 06-01-2007, 11:41 PM

I picked up a mityvac 4000 tonight from Sears!

They gave me the online price PLUS 15% off for the sale they were having in the store!

So I scored it for the same price that it could be had for online and I have it in my hot little hands tonight.

Sunday I will disconnect the vac line from the brake booster and see what we get.

Oh, BTW, She wouldn't start. not even click. lights came on etc. No I haven't checked the battery voltage yet. I was just going to start it when I got home tonight and let it run for a while.

BUT, the glow plug light came on.... weird. All the while I have had the car, the glow plug light hasn't come on. All I did was take the cover off the relay box and have a look. NOW if I could get the neutral switch replaced first so the engine will crank.

C.

pgringo · #21 06-02-2007, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RNCarl

Oh, BTW, She wouldn't start. not even click. lights came on etc. ... NOW if I could get the neutral switch replaced first so the engine will crank.

C.

you may crank the car ala "spechal" or whatever her name is on the pimp my ride episode. pop the top on that little black box just foreward of the right front spring perch. put the ignition key in the "on" position. take two screwdrivers each by the handle and not touching any metal on each of the screwdrivers. put one screwdriver on the foreward most phillips head screw under that cover. put the other screwdriver on the rearmost phillips head screw under that cover. cross the screwdrivers and have them make contact...the starter will work.

i had to do this to my '82 300sd out at my family's ranch in the middle of nowhere Texas 20+ miles from the nearest chebby autoparts store. i'm glad i watched that pimp my ride episode online last week!

RNCarl · #22 06-02-2007, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

I love your avatar, I carry one of those made of wood with me everywhere I go!
John
ps does your odometer work?

AFAIK the odo works.... the spedo does work, but... I haven't been able to drive it far enough to notice with the brakes being in the condition they are in. I have only driven it around the neighborhood.

Quote:

you may crank the car ala "spechal" or whatever her name is on the pimp my ride episode. pop the top on that little black box just foreward of the right front spring perch. put the ignition key in the "on" position. take two screwdrivers each by the handle and not touching any metal on each of the screwdrivers. put one screwdriver on the foreward most phillips head screw under that cover. put the other screwdriver on the rearmost phillips head screw under that cover. cross the screwdrivers and have them make contact...the starter will work.

LOL I saw that one too... I just couldn't stand seeing the MB all hacked up like that. I think the host of the show is a hoot. My fave car show is one out of the UK called.... shoot, the 48 yo brain isn't working... aaugh I should just google it.

C.

t walgamuth · #23 06-02-2007, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Eldridge

If I were you, I'd use all the fuel down to E, then remove and clean the tank strainer.

If your SD is like my TD, the tank strainer is in the center of the bottom of the tank. To remove it, it should be easy with a bolt with a 22mm head and a good pair of large vise grips. It probably won't need to be replaced. I cleaned mine with some detergent and an old toothbrush to new condition. The strainer will cost about $22 or so.

You will need to jack up the rear several inches and put the car on jackstands or blocks, and you will also need a large pan to hold the fuel that comes old.

This will allow you to see what sort of crud has accumulated in the tank for as long as 24 years ago, and get rid of it.

I think I'd get a couple of cans of Lubro Moly and purge the engine before changing the other filters. See the Diesel Giant site for how to make a purge jug for cheap out of an old juice bottle and Aa meter or so of 3/16" tubing. If the engine needs a purge, then nothing else will improve performance with less expense.

Good luck!

this is a huge expensive messy job. usually if the tank is infested with fungus the fungicide will kill it and it will come on through the filters.

on the brakes, i would not tear into any calipers until i at least esamined the pads. even wear on the pads most likely indicated proper functioning. i would purge the brake fluid though and replace with the new style synthetic brake fluid.

the cruise control is usually the amp which is located under the dash next to the steering wheel. a small silver box about the size of three cigarette packages end to end with an electrical plug in. available rebuilt.

these 126 bodied 617 turbos are one of the best cars benz ever built. it will take some sorting but when you get them right they can provide years and years of faithful service.

sounds like you are doing good so far.

tom w

RNCarl · #24 06-05-2007, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

this is a huge expensive messy job. usually if the tank is infested with fungus the fungicide will kill it and it will come on through the filters.

on the brakes, i would not tear into any calipers until i at least esamined the pads. even wear on the pads most likely indicated proper functioning. i would purge the brake fluid though and replace with the new style synthetic brake fluid.

the cruise control is usually the amp which is located under the dash next to the steering wheel. a small silver box about the size of three cigarette packages end to end with an electrical plug in. available rebuilt.

these 126 bodied 617 turbos are one of the best cars benz ever built. it will take some sorting but when you get them right they can provide years and years of faithful service.

sounds like you are doing good so far.

tom w

Thanks Tom,

Because of other family commitments

I was able to finally able to put my brand new MityVac to use. I pulled the hose going to the brake booster and measured 18.5-19 vacuum at idle. when revving the engine, the vacuum went to 23-24 and hung there for a good while then settled back to 20. Sooo... looks like vacuum pump is OK?!?

As I said before, after just taking the cover off of the glow-plug relay assy. the glow-plug light came on during initial cold start. I had to cycle the key a few times because of the neutral safety sw issue... You know, shift in and out of park a few times.. try to start in neutral then park.. blah blah blah. Soo when I finally got her to crank - the engine rumbled to life quite quickly!!

I ordered new keys from the local MB dealer last week - only $20 each so I ordered TWO! - See, I thought I misplaced my key, then dread and fear overcame me because I thought I locked my only key in the trunk... BTW is there a remote trunk release? So the next day I went straight to the local MB dealer with my registration in tow ready to plunk down up to $80 for another key. [that was the quote a Boston MB dealer gave me]

Well, I drove the old girl down to the dealer to pick up the new keys and have the car there in case they didn't work and I wanted to see their faces when I pulled in in an old POS. To my surprise no one at the dealer was surprised! Huh, these old Benz's are quite the cult car.

Anyway, the brakes.... I think I need to do a complete brake job. They thumped meaning as the rotor came around there was a quick thud-thud-thud when I stepped on them. Some grinding I assume rust because it became less and less as I drove it. There was considerable fade after about a 12 mile trip. AND there is still the issue of after one or two applications of the brakes or one hard stop I had to stand on the pedal to get it to stop!

- like all the power assist was gone yet pumping the brakes only made it loose assist faster.

To vstech, the speedo and odo DO WORK!! The tach is erratic and I have searched here for a fix.

She rides smooth as glass though...

My son's birthday pool party this weekend so not much will get done on the Benz before then. Maybe some more cleaning before other family sees it and has me committed.

Gawd, I haven't had so much fun working on a car since I was 16!!!!

C.

RNCarl · #25 06-05-2007, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RNCarl

Thanks Tom,

Because of other family commitments

I was able to finally able to put my brand new MityVac to use. I pulled the hose going to the brake booster and measured 18.5-19 vacuum at idle. when revving the engine, the vacuum went to 23-24 and hung there for a good while then settled back to 20. Sooo... looks like vacuum pump is OK?!?

As I said before, after just taking the cover off of the glow-plug relay assy. the glow-plug light came on during initial cold start. I had to cycle the key a few times because of the neutral safety sw issue... You know, shift in and out of park a few times.. try to start in neutral then park.. blah blah blah. Soo when I finally got her to crank - the engine rumbled to life quite quickly!!

I ordered new keys from the local MB dealer last week - only $20 each so I ordered TWO! - See, I thought I misplaced my key, then dread and fear overcame me because I thought I locked my only key in the trunk... BTW is there a remote trunk release? So the next day I went straight to the local MB dealer with my registration in tow ready to plunk down up to $80 for another key. [that was the quote a Boston MB dealer gave me]

Well, I drove the old girl down to the dealer to pick up the new keys and have the car there in case they didn't work and I wanted to see their faces when I pulled in in an old POS. To my surprise no one at the dealer was surprised! Huh, these old Benz's are quite the cult car.

Anyway, the brakes.... I think I need to do a complete brake job. They thumped meaning as the rotor came around there was a quick thud-thud-thud when I stepped on them. Some grinding I assume rust because it became less and less as I drove it. There was considerable fade after about a 12 mile trip. AND there is still the issue of after one or two applications of the brakes or one hard stop I had to stand on the pedal to get it to stop!

- like all the power assist was gone yet pumping the brakes only made it loose assist faster.

To vstech, the speedo and odo DO WORK!! The tach is erratic and I have searched here for a fix.

She rides smooth as glass though...

My son's birthday pool party this weekend so not much will get done on the Benz before then. Maybe some more cleaning before other family sees it and has me committed.

Gawd, I haven't had so much fun working on a car since I was 16!!!!

C.

P.S. I forgot to mention, there is air in the fuel prefilter - the little clear one... maybe that contributes to poor power at launch? Yes it starts in first. I can't seem to loosen the primer thing. Shoud I replace it too???

dieseldan44 · #26 06-05-2007, 11:30 PM

A bubble in the pre-filter is OK. I was alarmed the first time I saw it.

I'm in acton/boxboro, PM me if you ever want to stop by, I have a rig to test your brake booster directly. I hope that dealer you rolled into was foreign motors west..at the right times you can get some priceless looks from the folks shopping for bentleys and six figure benzes.

RNCarl · #27 06-06-2007, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieseldan44

A bubble in the pre-filter is OK. I was alarmed the first time I saw it.

I'm in acton/boxboro, PM me if you ever want to stop by, I have a rig to test your brake booster directly. I hope that dealer you rolled into was foreign motors west..at the right times you can get some priceless looks from the folks shopping for bentleys and six figure benzes.

Thanks Dan,

It was Wagner in Boylston. I'm in Worcester. The thumping and such sounds as though I should pull the wheels and inspect the pads/rotors. I will take you up on it when I get it to that point. I wanted to have it all dolled up by the Summer Nationals! .... maybe, just maybe.

C.

RNCarl · #28 06-07-2007, 10:39 PM

OK,

Where in the trunk is the manual roof retractor/closer thing? I looked around but didn't see anything like a bolt head that could be turned by a socket. If I knew what I was looking for I guess I could find it.

BTW there is more than a bubble in the prefilter... I'd say the top 3rd is air!

I really need to dive into the brakes, I can defensively drive around the poor launch but......... stopping is more important! I want to drive it everywhere now.

How do I get an old AAA sticker off of the paint on the trunk lid. What an eyesore. I thought the PO was a cool guy and perhaps the owner before him put it on... then I remembered that HE repainted the car... That meant HE put an AAA sticker on NEW PAINT!!!

C.

vstech · #29 06-07-2007, 11:48 PM

look on the drivers side forward in the trunk, just below the hinge, above the wheelwell, you will see a hole about 1.5" Diamater, in there is the key and the nut to turn the sunroof manually.
no need to "dive" into the brakes, just get a 10mm box end, a turkey baster, and some fresh fluid, suck out the fluid from the master cylinder, fill with fresh fluid, leave the top off, and loosen each caliper bleed screw for about 10 minutes, each. keep up the level in the MC and watch for the gunk to flow clear out the bleed screw. voila! you just flushed the brake lines!
AAA stickers come off pretty easy with a razor blade, you can try heat, but a blade works best, just the blade, no scraper. gently gently.

RNCarl · #30 06-18-2007, 12:00 AM

What a better way to spend Father's day than to get greasy and work on your project car all day. Both the kids got in on the act and even my niece helped!

What got done:
Wiper blades replaced
Oil change w/filter
radiator flush
All belts tightened (forgot to order new ones from fast lane)

All lower console switches cleaned/ repaired/ lubed and all windows work properly, radio fader works properly, and R.H. remote mirror works properly.

Below are pictures of the switch cleaning/repairs. It's easy, don't replace 'em - Fix 'em!!

I can't seem to resize the files easy. Here is the album on photobucket: http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x138/dadsdiesel/83%20Benz%20300SD/

That should do it.