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#31
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Sporting the full mullet and missing teeth you would expect a tow truck driver out of a movie to look like, the driver arrived with a truck in such disrepair I was a little apprehensive. After what I had just gone through, I didn't want another accident.
Ol' Turbo was loaded on to the Flat bed easily, the 2 lugs appearing to handle the load. I informed the driver of the precarious state of the rear wheel, and he aptly installed a wheel strap to secure it further. Rather than use the smooth toll road back to Tulsa, the good Ol' boy chose back roads. I winced at every pot hole the horrid suspension of the tow truck would violently stumble over, and continually asked if the wheel was still there. We made it half way, and I asked for about the 10th time if it was still there. He looked, and sure enough, the wheel had started to jostle loose. By the time we got over, the one lug remaining had completely detached, and the wheel was barely hanging on the hub. We removed the wheel and blocked the caliper up for the remainder of the trip. I certainly couldn't do much with 3 bundts. I chose to have Ol' Turbo taken to the Mercedes dealer in Tulsa, which, of course, was closed on a Sunday afternoon. After remounting the wheel and getting OT off the flat bed, I carefully drove it a very short distance to the service area. Everything felt fine. For a little extra persuasion under the table, the tow truck driver took me to the airport to pick up my rental. I didn't realize my disheveled appearance until going to the bathroom there. I was a few shades darker than my normal tint from dirt. My face, clothes, and hands were covered with grime as well, and my hair was laced with grass. The rental car agent gave me a choice between a Chrysler PT Cruiser or a Chevrolet Cobalt. For a moment I thought a hot needle in the eye sounded more attractive, but decided the Cobalt was the lesser of two evils. I worked at a Chevy dealership for a long time, and was very familiar with the car. They handle and accelerate decent enough, but have the excitement of a brick and the seat cushions feel like they are made of cardboard. The car did its job, getting me back to Ol' Turbo to retrieve my bags and back to the hotel. I guess I should name it the HMS Bounty, eh Jimmy? The future of my cross country trek hangs on tomorrow morning's assessment. The car sits straight, stops fine, and appears to have no damage other than the rotor and hub. I'm hoping the dealer can fix it all tomorrow, but its likely they will have to order parts, pushing it back to Tuesday. If, by some miracle they can get it done in one day, I will continue on my plans, skipping Destin as a stop and arrive in Orlando without delay. If it takes longer, I may reverse my route, taking the more direct Tulsa, Memphis, Orlando jaunt, then return the long way after the GTG. We shall see what happens 7:00 AM. My hotel is nestled closely to the dealership along with loads of entertaining places to go, so I should be able to make a bit of lemonade out of this. I am just thankful and amazed that I was unhurt and the car had such little damage. I think what saved me was the weight transfer to the front when I slammed on the brakes, allowing me to regain control of my 80MPH tail spin. Here is the money shot, I guess. The main rubbing down his hidden behind the caliper, but you can see the second one sticking out. Rolls just fine actually.
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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k 1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k 1980 240D Stick China 188k 2001 CLK55 AMG 101k 2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!! Last edited by TylerH860; 08-10-2009 at 01:21 AM. |
#32
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I'm exhausted. My nerves are shot, and I'm having trouble forming coherent sentences. Sorry you had to bear with me.
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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k 1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k 1980 240D Stick China 188k 2001 CLK55 AMG 101k 2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!! |
#33
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Dam
Quote:
Oh one more thing... Bundts may be had here in Tulsa perhaps.... take a look http://tulsa.craigslist.org/pts/1286486915.html
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-------------------------------- Eric in Plano,Tx 85 300D 277K overall miles 65K on WVO (2 tank) Rebuilt Transmission at 245k miles. 96 CE LT1 94 Nissian Hardbody 96 F250 XLT PowerStroke (also runs on WVO) |
#34
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Glad you and Ol'Turbo survived it, Tyler, and I hope the dealer gets you back on four wheels so you can continue the journey, hopefully with less adventure.
I think I'll check the torque on my Jeep's lug nuts, being as it just got the front rotors turned at the dealer. The same dealer that once put 12 quarts of oil in it even though it takes 6.4 ...
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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles 1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles 2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles 1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles 1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car) |
#35
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wow that sucks.. I would be on the phone right now with that goodyear letting them know they would be hearing from my lawyer
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#36
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Was the caliper even damaged? Looks like things are working out as good as they could!
-J
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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states! Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels. 2014 Cadillac ELR 2013 Fiat 500E. |
#37
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Glad it didn't result in something worse! A messed up wheel hub is way better than a messed up car! Now I'll be even more paranoid about my lugs!
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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life- '15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800) '17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k) '09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k) '13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k) '01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km) '16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k) |
#38
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Let me just say I freaked out when I heard this! I was worried from the first call of "it's vibrating, but I'll just keep driving"!
It just makes your trip even more of an adventure, so hang tight and get here safely! |
#39
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Quote:
I even washed the Batmobile and conditioned all the leather. Back under the cover he went.....
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Jimmy L. '05 Acura TL 6MT 2001 ML430 My Spare Gone: '95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black '85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White '80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed '81 300TD 240K "Smash" '80 240D 230K "The Squash" '81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John |
#40
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Hub Caps Rule
First off, glad to hear you're OK and that you didn't bash in to the center divider. Same thing happened to me in a 1969 VW bug, middle of nowhere, similar seat dropping sensation and then the rear wheel went speeding past me down the highway. When I tracked it down, all the lug bolts were inside the hub cap. Turned into a 1/2 hour delay.
Les Schwab was to blame for that one. Add them to the list if they haven't been already.
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1981 300TD "The Green Lantern" 1980 300TD 1983 300D Euro "China Cat" |
#41
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This is a pretty good point ... if they're being that careless, someone should know about it. You came out of it OK, but the next person they do it to might not be so lucky (or may not have the knowledge and tough car that you have). I really can't believe how careless some technicians can be ... you could easily have been killed, or someone else (I almost got taken out by a wayward wheel on the highway once), or at the very least, your special car could have been destroyed.
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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles 1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles 2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles 1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles 1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car) |
#42
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Also
Also you were in the wide open space that you were and not at high speed with traffic all around you!!!! Imagine OMG. Talk about a Pucker Factor!!!
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-------------------------------- Eric in Plano,Tx 85 300D 277K overall miles 65K on WVO (2 tank) Rebuilt Transmission at 245k miles. 96 CE LT1 94 Nissian Hardbody 96 F250 XLT PowerStroke (also runs on WVO) |
#43
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Nice write up on all your cross country treks, Tyler; made for an interesting read. Best of luck on getting your 300D highway worthy again, perhaps the lost bundt will be a good baking pan for someone...
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'76 240D 311K '92 300E 100.001K '87 300E RIP |
#44
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Wow, fun! It was cool getting to meet you at the SoCal GTG!
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Current cars: 2000 ML55 AMG, 174k miles 2003 C240 T-Modell, 202k miles 1995 S320, 207k Miles |
#45
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****, that will buff right out!
Atleast its a quick and easy fix assuming the hub is OK. When are you coming to Atlanta or have you already come and gone? For future reference thats the hold on to the oh **** bar feeling. I see the hub is toast. Thats gonna be $600 in labor. Don't plan on going anywhere till Wed.
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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg 1995 E420 Schwarz 1995 E300 Weiss #1987 300D Sturmmachine #1991 300D Nearly Perfect #1994 E320 Cabriolet #1995 E320 Touring #1985 300D Sedan OBK #42 Last edited by winmutt; 08-10-2009 at 06:49 PM. |
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