Mountain road and a rock... sounds very much like the car was driven over a rock that was so big, it punched a hole in the oil pan, followed by all the oil draining out of the car and the car locking itself up because it had no oil in the engine... that sounds like a good reason to have a rebuild.

I'm betting that's what it is.

Just do regular maintenance and pay attention for problems. Clunky shifts on these cars can be fixed with time and are very unlikely to leave you walking in the meantime.

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

I spoke with my dad about it, and he said what happened is the car was that it was run without oil. Apparently my grandfather convinced the insurance company that it was caused by a rock causing a leak, but my dad was a bit more skeptical.

I still don't know how long ago that was, I'll have to ask again.

Sounds like a grounding problem to me

Window regulator rebuild kits are $17/each on ********az. fastlane may have them too, not sure.

The shutoff issue is more definitely a vac issue. it it happens there is a nice big 'STOP' button on the engine that will kill it.

Sounds like your vacuum system for the trans needs repair/replacement.

Fastlane has fogs IIRC, they arnt prices that bad. the rest isnt worth worrying about unless it causes rust (but in SOCAL that prolly isnt an issue like it is here in michigan)

Dont forget to check the bolt that holds the filter in for leaks, mine leaked when i replaced the filter. I had to get new orings from the dealer (cost like $3)

good luck!

fixed

If it is still just occasionally that the engine won't shut off, then it is just a small vacuum leak and may be difficult to find. However, if the engine does happen to keep running, sometimes just pressing one of the CCU buttons (auto-low or auto-hi, any of them, just not the "off" button) will shut the engine off . If that doesn't work there is a manual shutoff near the injection pump.

Sometimes the leak is in the vacuum shut-off cylinder on the back of the injection pump. If you decide to replace this item, do a good search on the forum for "runaway engine", mis-installing the cylinder can be a major problem!

__________________
1980 300SD W116 - Daily driver. 362,800 miles and counting. (about 100 miles / day) -- on hold, have a ticking vacuum pump. New one on the way.

I really don't want to divert the thread on this, but I'm not sure that's right. I used the phrase "pressure differential", which means that the difference in pressure isn't great enough to lock the doors again. I don't think "vacuum differential" makes sense. The phrase "there isn't enough vacuum" is better, but not by a whole lot.

"Low enough pressure" is more correct than "enough vacuum". I'm pretty sure my original post was correct, the pressure differential is not great enough.

Not looking to pick a fight, just trying to explain myself.

A bit more on topic:
This is entirely possible. How can I check it? I can scare up a voltmeter somewhere (and maybe even a scope if I'm lucky) , what leads should I be looking at?

Boy that's clever, I wish I'd thought of doing that! I will definitely keep that in mind!

You are correct, there is a pressure difference whether or not the pressure happens to be greater or less than atmospheric.

Seems to be a solid car. Tidying it up with a new rear bumper impact strip
(for a few dollars at the junkyard) and repainting the hood are a good idea.

It's a nice color, and the grille badge and the nice sheepskin seat covers indicate some pride of ownership.

Ask around and see if there are records on the car, to see what has been done. They need filters and fluids from time to time, don't neglect those.

They are good cars, but high mileage is not a concern, if they have been kept up along the way.. In fact they qualify for free high mileage grille badges at 250,000 kms and 500,000 kms, so you should look into that at some point. I think you'd qualify to get both free; ask at the Mercedes dealer in Oakland, on Broadway, or Stead's in Walnut Creek.

One of the best cars Mercedes ever built. The biggest fans of them are right here , and also on www.schumanautomotive.com and www.benzworld.com (w123 section)

You whtied out the license number, but if it was a lifelong one owner car, it'd have the California blue plates.

It doesn't. It has the 1994-2008 lipstick script ones, and I would want to know why? Prior wreck destroyed originals,, Calif personal plates before, former out of state, other reason?

http://www.calpl8s.com/cgi-bin/show.cgi?st=ca&cat=script

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I actually have the strip, it was falling off and I just can't seem to get it to stay in place, is there some trick to it?

It was my grandfathers, and he was very proud of it. I'm proud to have it now, which is why I'd like to keep running it if at all possible

You caught me Sorry about the paranoia, but sticking my license places on the web didn't seem smart. You are correct though, it does have the script California plates. I believe my grandfather bought it used some time around 1995, which would explain it. It's a shame too, since I like the way the old blue plates look. Not quite as much as I like the old black and yellow ones, but you hardly see those any more.

I just have to make this comment: I too have recently acquired an old 300D (actually, last night) and you, Deadly Muffin, seem to be asking the kinds of questions that the experienced members here find interesting and I will be watching your posts closely! I have to say buying a new car on a Monday, when I have to work all the daylight hours until Saturday is proving to be frustrating. Besides the test drive, I've only driven around the block! I did run out as soon as I woke up this morning to see if I could get it started-so far so good.

The most times I've been able to lock and unlock the doors with the engine off in my '80 300 TD is nine.
As for making biodiesel, I don't think it will fly if the only factor is cost-saving. It requires a good bit of time and careful work. I have not done it; what I do is blend vegetable oil with a solvent (gasoline). Either way, you will really get in touch with how much fuel you use, because you will be handling every gallon. Collect it from the restaurants, carefully as a little spill goes a long way. Take it home, settle out most of the particles, filter through a fabric filter that I make from blue jean legs. Mix in 10% RUG ( toxic, explosive, and costs money), and put in the car's fuel tank. Dispose of the stuff that's settled and filtered out. That's what I do. Some people think I'm taking a risk of coking up the piston rings and such because of the heavier viscosity of veggie oil. Maybe so.
Making biodiesel means getting the oil home, then processing with a mixture of lye (toxic and costs money) and methanol (toxic and very flammable and costs money) then letting it settle. Then disposing of the by-product (liquid glycerine soap, about 10 % of the quantity you start with). This is a lot different from driving up to the fuel pump and sticking a nozzle in your tank for a couple of minutes once or twice a week. There are also some potentially problematic legal issues. There's lots of information on Biodiesel.infopop and other forums. Steve

Thanks Steve, and I'll keep that in mind. Biodiesel is definitely a long term goal, especially since I live in an apartment.

Right now I want to make sure the car's in decent shape, and start fixing/working on what I can. I posted a thread somewhere around here looking for a good mechanic since I'm new to all this.

I have to admit, the car's growing on me. Barring a huge failure (something like the engine needing another rebuild) I'd like to try and keep the old girl on the road. To do that, I'm trying to make a list of what needs to be checked and what maintenance I need to stay on top of.

Problem is, this is my only car, I don't have a lot of money (just graduated) and if it dies I'm completely stuck. I don't see how I can keep this car around and tinker if it can't get me to and from work every day. It sucks, but I don't have much wiggle room on this so I'm doing all the reading I can, and I'll give it my best shot.

I found that most problems with Mercedes, as someone else pointed out to me, are usually surface problems. For example the car stalled on the Bay Bridge. Well, no one changed the fuel filters, so guess what? A $10 repair that's not been done will cause you ....problems later. Not sure about your model, but on mine they have a pre-filter. The big one gets changed maybe once every 30,000 miles, the clear smaller one is like, $2.50 and gets changed when it's visually getting dark. That's why they make them clear.

With the transmission and shut off problem, here's the deal...

They work on vacuum. Sucking. Whooooopp. The sucking makes the valves in parts close so they go up and down, etc., like door locks and shut off valves. Go to Auto Zone, you can rent a Mity Vac for free. You buy their rental tools and when done, return for refund, or they might let you use it in the parking lot without doing the paperwork. Anyways, disconnect the one vac hose going into your shut off valve. That's where the big STOP lever is. Hook up the Mity Vac to it. Squeeze the handle. The stop lever should go all the way down, and hold there for like, 5 seconds or so, before slowly rising back up. If it doesn't, your valve is messed up. They're about $30 and not too terribly hard to put in, but if you do it, make SURe you read the posts about runaway diesel. In short, your engine will rev as fast as it will go, and your engine will blow up and probably kill or severely injure you.

To prevent a runaway diesel is sort of easy, again, read the posts, but on mine, I separated the turbo crossover tube (gotta start learning the names of the parts), and was ready with a piece of cardboard to put in there to deprive the engine of air. I had someone start the car, all was well, I had him stop it, and put the crossover screws back in. You can do it, just be prudent.

Your transmission could likely be a vac hose off. Check around the battery compartment to see if any of the little hoses are loose. If so, bingo. That's probably your problem. Also check other areas for tiny hoses that have gotten out of whack.

Might want to take it to a mechanic to have them bring the car up to where it should be, otherwise you'll spend time doing a lot of little things that pop up, if it's been badly neglected.

Jeff 1991 300d

My rear bumper strip had been pushed out of place due to someone backing into something. It was well attached but need to be repositioned.

I pulled it all the way off, routed both ends into the black corner trims at either side then got one end started by hand. Using a heave wooden mallet I was able work my way around, basically just wailing it in to place. I probably could have used a heavier mallet (maybe dead blow) as it did take a fairly heavy hand. Worked great. Just make sure that the ends are under the corner trim when you start. I did have to beat on the top of the corner trim to get the strip seated underneath.

Wow, its no that easy to describe a procedure using only a keyboard. Let me know if none of that made sense.

__________________
1979 300D 275K

I desperately hope this is true. Minor problems I can deal with! I also keep a very close eye on that little filter now, I don't mind replacing it even when it's not too clogged up. $3 or so is not too high a price to pay for piece of mind.

That's the plan, I have another post somewhere asking for advice on where to go, I think I found a good place to try and I'll post an update as soon as I get it checked out.

I took a crack at putting the bumper strip on last night, no luck. The two hard plastic pieces are mostly intact, but the clips at the ends are broken. I'm going to try cutting the plastic bits into smaller pieces like someone suggested, and then I'm going to put the car up on blocks and try again. There were bits of glue on the piece already, someone apparently had the same problem in the past.

On a somewhat amusing side note, working under bumper without the car on blocks, I managed to bump my forehead on the exhaust and now have a perfect semi-circle in the middle of my forehead to explain at work. No, I will not be posting pictures.

Also, I got a chance to talk to my grandfather at my cousin's wedding. He told me a couple things I thought I'd pass on to those who are interested: The car had 112,000 miles on it when he bought it (1995ish I believe), and the transmission has been rebuilt at some point.

I'm afraid, although I had many more questions, that's all the information I got. He has Parkinsons and can barely communicate at all. When speaking is so is difficult, you realize there are far more important things to talk about than cars.