The Honeymoon is over in less than a week - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

TylerH860 · #1 08-06-2008, 11:23 PM

Ol' Norm ('80 300TD) and I had a bad day.

The first problem I had was the odometer quit. I removed the speedo and followed the instructions on Diesel Giant, but only made things worse. I barely got the thing back together and in the dash. The odometer which formerly read 181xxx now reads a jumbled 250xxx. I guess I'll find a temporary replacement and send that one in.

Any suggestions on good odometer re builders I can mail this off to?

(FYI, the odometer was replaced with a new one at 40k once already while under warranty, hence the lower mileage than on my signature)

Then.... I just broke the door key off in lock. I was able to remove it, but now I can't lock the doors. Thankfully the ignition has a different key. What are my options here? I could pull the driver's handle and use the key off my friend's parts car, I suppose. Anything easier than that?

Chad300tdt · #2 08-06-2008, 11:26 PM

Give your VIN# to a MB dealer and order new keys. They cost $12 each and take 1-2 days to get them.

Sorry to hear you're having issues with Ol' Norm. Don't give up.

JimmyL · #3 08-06-2008, 11:38 PM

Tyler, Tyler, Tyler.........
Dude! Kind of like the servo, the speedo can be evil also!

I got the gears/wheels all catiwhampus on my old '80 wagon. That is not an easy thing to get back into place and have them all even. Doh!
I don't know of any rebuilders, but I have repaired 3 that were slipping. Never remove that shaft that goes through the gears!!!
Dumb question, but did you make sure the speedo cable was working. {I'm required by law to ask}
Don't give up on Norm. It won't be the last time he effffs with you.....

TylerH860 · #4 08-06-2008, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyL

Tyler, Tyler, Tyler.........
Dude! Kind of like the servo, the speedo can be evil also!

I got the gears/wheels all catiwhampus on my old '80 wagon. That is not an easy thing to get back into place and have them all even. Doh!
I don't know of any rebuilders, but I have repaired 3 that were slipping. Never remove that shaft that goes through the gears!!!
Dumb question, but did you make sure the speedo cable was working. {I'm required by law to ask}
Don't give up on Norm. It won't be the last time he effffs with you.....

The speedo was working normally, so I assume the cable is?

As per the instructions, I did remove the shaft that goes through the gears. 2 hours later I jammed the thing together and put it back in the dash.

About the locks... Since the ignition and the doors are different on this one, I assume they've one of them has been replaced? So how will I know that I'm getting door keys?

Chad300tdt · #5 08-06-2008, 11:44 PM

Did the door key or ignition key lock and unlock the hatch?

TylerH860 · #6 08-06-2008, 11:57 PM

The door key... I guess that means its the original. Thanks

Oh... I forgot to mention what's in the back of the wagon: My little score of the day.

JimmyL · #7 08-07-2008, 12:22 AM

One of the few styles of wheels I would actually put on the wagon. Where did you get them? That is a very nice score! Going on Norm?

derburger · #8 08-07-2008, 12:26 AM

I think those wheels would look good on my coupe, much better than my 8-Hole alloys. If only my friendly neighborhood PicknPull wasn't full of Ford Taurus's.

TylerH860 · #9 08-07-2008, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyL

One of the few styles of wheels I would actually put on the wagon. Where did you get them? That is a very nice score! Going on Norm?

Yes, they will be going on Norm.

Its a sad story, actually. They were on a 1985 500SEC Euro with 70k original miles. It had a very minor front end collision many years ago and sat outside, never to be fixed.

Black on Beige, minty interior, what a shame. It is so sunbaked now that's its not worth restoring.

vstech · #10 08-07-2008, 01:03 AM

too bad that's not a wagon triangle... did ya get the clip for the deck lid?
nice wheels!
for the locks, go back to the parts yard and yank a few 123 door handles, and pull out their tumblers and pull yours and match leave #'s until you have fixed yours. then go to the dealer and order a new tumbler and matching key.
have a great day!

Jeremy5848 · #11 08-07-2008, 01:17 AM

A good speedo/odo rebuilder, highly recommended, I have used them. Not close to you, sorry. Expensive, more sorry (cost me about $160 to have my '87 odometer rebuilt and shipped back to me).

Palo Alto Speedometer
718 Emerson St
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 323-0243

vstech · #12 08-07-2008, 01:21 AM

I found that when repairing the odo's it's best to pull the trip reset arm off and set it aside, and use the rod from the trip mechanisim to keep the numbers in order. it is exactly the same size and length as the odo rod.
easy peasy...

rcounts · #13 08-07-2008, 01:26 AM

Please don't take this wrong Tyler, but I did the odo repair on mine last weekend in about a half hour with no problems.

The secret is that you don't pull the shaft out - you push it out with a 7/64 drill bit as (sorta') desribed in the repair procedure. Then when it is time to put it back in you push the drillbit out with the shaft. That way there is NO point in time when there isn't a shaft in place and the number wheels never get out of sync.

BTW, instead of using a screwdriver to rough up the part of the shaft where the pot metal gear rides, I followed the advice I saw posted here somewhere and used a pair of vice-grip locking pliers adjusted to where they would firmly "snap" closed on the shaft. Then I removed them, rotated the shaft 90* and "snapped" the pliers closed on it again.

The teeth of the pliers created a bit of a diagonal knurling on the shaft for the gear to really bite on. I may have over-done it just a little because when I slid the shaft back in and the new knurled area started to go into the hole through the pot metal gear it stopped sliding in and wouldn't budge by hand. I had to literally DRIVE the shaft back in place the rest of the way by tapping it in really HARD with the butt of a screwdriver. It ain't EVER gonna' slip on that shaft again - and no messy lock tite required!

One other tip I'll offer for anyone doing this repair is that the most of the screws that hold the cluster into the housing have 6 mm hex heads as well as phillips screw slots. The open end of most interchangeable-bit screwdrivers is 1/4" and that is just a few thousanths bigger than 6 mm, so the screwdriver handle works really well for loosening and tightening the screws...

Nice score on the AMG stars BTW...

TylerH860 · #14 08-07-2008, 01:29 AM

Now ya tell me.... Too late now.

And I don't take it personally, considering my mechanical ineptitude I think I did pretty well.

Somebody give me a certificate of participation ribbon!