87 300 dt...a slew of problems and no crank now
 

Well I got this rare bird for tempting price. I knew it was a project, and there is quite a bit of backyard mech work done to it. Mechanically its in decent shape, 165K, no blow-by. Rough shifting, all vacuum hoses are rotten, PO is a flipper of older mercs, knows just enough to get things running with duck tape. He pulled the air filter completely out "since it was to dirty to drive like that":rolleyes: Yeah, that kind of a attention made me glad to grab it.

Well after thorough cleaning the car thanked me by stalling twice, jamming the sunroof (barely made it to shut), a/c defaulted to heat (yeah, in Florida!), and the most recent escapade is that there is no crank :(

Drove to work fine, never a hint of hard crank. Key in ignition, cranked 1-2 revolutions than quit. Still lights on the dash, glows fine, key on "crank" there is "click" from starter area but that is it. Windows roll up and down fine, (presumably battery is fine?).

Tried to jump #65 to #71 today, a LOT of sparking, not even a budge from the starter :confused:

Soo...any ideas? I hope its just a starter and not a seized engine or what not...

pull the front engine cover under the car (assuming your PO left them in place...) and get a 27mm socket on the crank bolt, and see if it will turn.
HOPE its just a starter. I've got 5 of them if you NEED one.

Might not even be a starter, get the battery load tested and clean the terminals first.

After that, confirm that the ground strap between engine and chassis is good.

Not a bad idea to make sure the engine turns with a socket, though it probably will.

Did you measure your battery voltage before and during cranking attempts?

oh, and WELCOME to the forum!
great choice for vehicles. I've got 2 sedans and 2 wagons.
several of us have lots of experience with the model, and love to assist members with the car!
keep us posted.
and put up some pics of the car, and it's problems!

Thanx for the replys and welcome's!
No, I did not checked the battery yet. The car died at my work, so most likely I will get it towed back home where I have some tools. I will post pic soon, tho the car is a great 50-footer :rolleyes:

vstech, I hope its just a seized starter as well...I drove the car for ~250 miles before this incident, never a hint of any engine problems, upon arriving at work no noises/rods coming out for some air etc. Good suggestion on 27 mm, I will do that first

I use the 27mm pass through socket in 1/2" drive pass through ratchet from lowes in kobalt tools. the socket sticks out JUST enough to clear the belt pulley, and the ratchet is JUST the right thickness to clear the shroud!

So I crawled underneath it today with 1'1/6 socket...worked like a charm...thankfully the rad shroud is flexible! Turned the crank no prob, breathed sigh of relief...Its not seized :cool:

Didnt had the time to muck with other stuff (I had to ride my Kawasaki there, I couldnt carry lots of tools. Checked the ground strap - all firm and dry. But when I was under the car, I noticed something strange...well, considering PO fix-it-the-redneck-way, I shouldnt be surprised...

There is a sensor of a sort hanging freely from the starter area. Decent gauge, 2-wire incased in black rubber. I couldnt figure out where it should bolts to. Part # on it is: 6065422817. The "sensor" part is black plastic, somewhat wedge-shaped with a little round metal stub sticking from one side. The metal stub is cylindrical, 1/8 inch long, also slanted into a wedge. It has only one bolt hole, which is lined with metal, leading me to conclusion that is a switch of a sort. I was really stocked thinking that is the starter "go" line, but avast, I cannot find where it should go! And to make things weirder, in very close vicinity on the bell housing there is almost identical "sensor", going up and around the starter, in the same manner as the one which hangs freely :confused: After some pondering, I would not be surprised if PO had it replaced (Crank position sensor?), without bothering to pull the old one out.

I won't be able to get back to it in next few days since I'll be at work and no time to play with it, so suggestions are welcome

It doesn't sound so much like your battery - my 240d does the same thing - it sounds like the connection to the starter needs to be cleaned.

Pull the big wire off the starter and hit everything with a little sand paper to clean it up. Then put some di-electric grease on there (optional) and bolt it back down tight (dont break it).

After that - check the ground wire on the battery - where it attaches to to body. These get corroded too. They will give you enough juice for lights etc. but can't pull the amps needed for cranking.

If it was as dirty as you say - I'd lay odds its just dirty connections.

Now that you've turned the engine slightly, try to crank it and see if it was just a dead spot in the starter.

Another mishap...a mechanic that I payed my hard earned money ( a "friend-of-a-friend" recommendation deal ) pulled the starter today while I was at work and managed to sever the fuel line. I came home to Exxon-Valdez spill of fuel (hopefully its just fuel!). Idiot had chopped the fuel line that goes to the main filter.

So now I had to crawl underneath it after my 12 hr shift to cover everything in kitty litter and fix the leak :mad: It was dripping almost a drop every second...Fortunately I managed to just shortened the hose and re-attach everything. So far its holding, nothing is dripping no more. I still dont know how the mess happened since the severed point is so high up (in regards to the fuel tank/pick up. Unless it was pulling backward through the filter, from the return line?

And my apartment complex is very eco-friendly, you cannot even change your own oil here :rolleyes:

But what pizzed me most is that he didnt even say a peep about it, he just wrapped it with a towel, threw another rag underneath the car and left...:furious: Not even a word! :veryangry

yeah, the fuel tank will empty itself with an open line... especially if the nose of the car is lower than the rear...

fixed!
 

Starter rebuild, car towed to mech for installation. Engine cranks 3x faster (so it seems!) and its much easier on the start. She runs! Mech gave me 14-point list of things that needs to be fixed, so Im far from done but at least its driveable now :)

Thanks everyone for the advices!