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  #1  
Old 01-11-2009, 06:05 PM
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Location: Kent, WA
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A few little things

Yesterday we finally had enough of a break in the weather for me to get around to doing a few little things to the CD.

First, a new steering wheel. I had this 13" leather covered wheel. I liked it, but it was just a bit too small - blocked too many things on the instrument panel.


So I sold it to another MB owner who had admired it and replaced it with this 14" wood and leather one


The wood is a shade lighter and a shade redder than the rest of the wood trim, but its still a reasonably good match - I like it!

Next I put in a new thermostat. Running temps around town went from 50*-60* C up to 80*-90* C. That alone should add a couple of mpg in improved efficiency. Runs smooother with no warm idle shake too.

While I was under the hood I took the EGR blockoff plate from my old engine and put it onto the new one.

After that I rebuilt the monovalve. Nice to have temp control again.

Then I installed a replacement climate control head. REALLY nice to have control of where the hot and cold air blows!

Lastly, I installed a new main fuel filter. The one that was on there came with my replacement engine and who knows how old it was. So I took the one off my blown engine, which only had a couple of thousand miles on it, and installed it instead. Made a noticeable difference in dead-stopped acceleration - confirming that the old one was starting to plug up.

Of course its back to raining again today, but at least I got a few things done yesterday...

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1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown

Last edited by rcounts; 01-11-2009 at 09:33 PM.
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  #2  
Old 01-11-2009, 09:44 PM
Registered Hack
 
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Posts: 4,642
that first wheel is wack, Bob.

when you swapped the stat did you drain ALL the coolant, or just enough? How did you refill the beast? And did you find that the temps acted strange at first, but straightened out after a trip or two?
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  #3  
Old 01-11-2009, 11:22 PM
rcounts's Avatar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jt20 View Post
that first wheel is wack, Bob.
Whack? What does that mean? Whacky? Whacked? Or is it more like "phat" or "bad"? Not sure what you're trying to say...

Quote:
Originally Posted by jt20 View Post
when you swapped the stat did you drain ALL the coolant, or just enough? How did you refill the beast? And did you find that the temps acted strange at first, but straightened out after a trip or two?
I opened the valve on the bottom of the radiator, removed the cap from the reservior bottle, and removed the upper radiator hose from the radiator. That let 2-3 gallons drain out of the system.

When I pulled the t-stat housing about a quart or two spilled out and onto the ground. When I was done and had everything buttoned back up, I started the engine and poured the drained coolant out of the bucket back into the reservoir with a funnel. After it got fully warmed up, I added another couple of quarts of 50/50 premix.

Temps never acted weird, just got higher than they had been - more up into the normal range.
__________________
1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown

Last edited by rcounts; 01-12-2009 at 12:39 AM.
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  #4  
Old 01-11-2009, 11:35 PM
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I need to replace the stat on my 85. It runs a little or at 80c, which bugs the crap out of me.
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  #5  
Old 01-11-2009, 11:49 PM
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My 20 year old son dropped by yesterday evening just as I was finishing up with the front calipers on Smash. I asked him if he would do the "inside the car" part of the brake bleeding and of course he said yes.
He laughed when he got in, reminded of how big our steering wheels are. Seems like he said "you think this steering wheel is big enough"!
I don't care much for either of those steering wheels, and believe me, I'm putting that nicely! I hope in time you will come to your senses...... They appear to be of good quality, not cheap or anything, just awkward.
All the other work you did was good stuff. Your car will be much happier running warmer than it had been.
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'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
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  #6  
Old 01-12-2009, 12:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyL View Post
He laughed when he got in, reminded of how big our steering wheels are. Seems like he said "you think this steering wheel is big enough"!
I don't care much for either of those steering wheels, and believe me, I'm putting that nicely! I hope in time you will come to your senses......
Not gonna happen man. With the original "bus" steering wheel it was too hard getting in and out of the car - could barely get my leg in under the wheel. This 14" wheel is about as big as I can handle and still be able to get in an out comfortably. It is just about the perfect size. Nice thick rim too - compared to the relatively skinny stock rim.

Actually I even liked the 13" better than the stock wheel. My only complaint with it was that the rim blocked my view of the oil pressure and temp gauges and the lower portion of the speedo. I could see the fuel and upper center part of the speedo and tach though. With the 14" wheel I can see everything except the top of the speedo and tach - and I already know where the markings are on those - so it's all good.

So you don't like the wood wheel with the rest of the wood trim, eh? I thought it looked pretty good...
__________________
1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown
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  #7  
Old 01-12-2009, 12:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rcounts View Post

So you don't like the wood wheel with the rest of the wood trim, eh? I thought it looked pretty good...

I think it LOOKS great, I'd just miss the bus-sized wheel. I actually see mine as a feature.
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Past cars:

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


Current:

1987 300SDL
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  #8  
Old 01-13-2009, 12:49 AM
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All I can say is you guys who like the BUS wheel must have skinnier legs than mine. My right thigh is about 33" in diameter at the mid point (I used to be a swimmer) where it needs to slide under the steering wheel. A 3" smaller diameter wheel means 1-1/2" more space between the bottom of the wheel and the top of the seat - which makes a BIG difference...
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1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown
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  #9  
Old 01-13-2009, 01:02 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rcounts View Post
All I can say is you guys who like the BUS wheel must have skinnier legs than mine. My right thigh is about 33" in diameter at the mid point (I used to be a swimmer) where it needs to slide under the steering wheel. A 3" smaller diameter wheel means 1-1/2" more space between the bottom of the wheel and the top of the seat - which makes a BIG difference...
My legs aren't even a reasonable facsimile of skinny... but I'm tall. So the seat in mine stays literally all the way back, with the back portion of the seat lowered somewhat from "bolt upright". So once I scoot my right knee under the wheel as I get in, the rest of the time I'm far enough back that the wheel centers over my legs about 2-3" north of the knee.
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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

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


Current:

1987 300SDL
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  #10  
Old 01-13-2009, 11:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bustedbenz View Post
My legs aren't even a reasonable facsimile of skinny... but I'm tall. So the seat in mine stays literally all the way back, with the back portion of the seat lowered somewhat from "bolt upright". So once I scoot my right knee under the wheel as I get in, the rest of the time I'm far enough back that the wheel centers over my legs about 2-3" north of the knee.
Well, at 6' I'm not exactly short, but I've got a fairly long trunk and proportionally shorter legs (31" inseam). Obvioulsy shorter legs than yours since the wheel hits me just south of mid-thigh. My seat is just a couple of notches forward from being all the way back, and the backrest is reclined several degrees as well. Still makes for a tight fit to slide my leg under with the stock wheel.

I wonder if it would be possible to raise the wheel - even a little - by modifying the bracket where the steering shaft bolts up under the dash. I know that the coupes have a lower roofline than the sedans, which makes me wonder if the steering column might be angled differently to make the wheel sit lower too.

Hmmmn, gonna' have to take a look at that...
__________________
1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown
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  #11  
Old 01-13-2009, 12:55 PM
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Posts: 343
I'm average also - 6'. The legs just don't fit under the steering wheel. A smaller steering wheel really is a necessity in order to drive the car comfortably for a long length of time.

Even tiny Japanese sub-compacts are more comfortable on the legs.
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  #12  
Old 01-13-2009, 03:32 PM
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Yeah, I'm less purist and more pragmatist. If its hard to get in and out of, and not comfortable to drive, then something has to change. In this case it was simple - change the steering wheel.

I'm keeping the stock wheel, just in case I were ever to sell the car to someone who IS a purist and just HAS to have that feeling of "driving the bus", but as long as I'm the pilot, the smaller wheel stays...
__________________
1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown
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  #13  
Old 01-13-2009, 05:41 PM
pelon's Avatar
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Valencia, NM
Posts: 218
i like the new one...

wanna sell it???
roberto

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