1975 240D SITTING FOR 7 YEARS - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JakeVogel · #1 11-04-2013, 04:59 PM

I JUST PURCHASED A 1975 240D WITH 4 SPEED MANUAL, FIRST MERCEDES PURCHASE. THE PREVIOUS OWNER LET VEHICLE SIT FOR 7 YEARS. I TOWED VEHICLE HOME AND WAS WONDERING WHAT SHOULD BE DONE BEFORE ATTMPTING TO START? I WAS PLANNING ON CHECKING GLOW PLUGS, REPLACING AIR, OIL, AND FUEL FILTERS AND FLUIDS.
ANY OTHER MAJOR TASKS I SHOULD PERFORM BEFORE BRINGING BACK TO LIFE?

Quahog · #2 11-04-2013, 05:01 PM

all caps=shouting....

Phil_F_NM · #3 11-04-2013, 05:14 PM

Take out the glow plugs and squirt some MMO into the cylinders. Then turn the engine by hand slowly using a ratchet and a 27mm socket on the crankshaft bolt. Let the MMO soak for a few days and each day turn the engine a bit more to unstick any rings which might have become seized.

You may want to drain the tank and add fresh diesel. Change the fuel filters and definitely change the injector pump oil.

You may want to do a valve adjustment just to take care of it and help the motor to start a little quicker.

Before you start it, crank it without a glow cycle to flush the MMO out of the cylinders. You may need to bleed the injector lines as well. Taking care of these normal maintenance things before you start it up the first time will definitely help it start.

Also have a good, strong battery or a separate deep cycle battery to allow you to crank it. It will probably take a while.

Don't use starting fluid!

Phil Forrest

JakeVogel · #4 11-04-2013, 05:30 PM

IS THE INJECTOR PUMP OIL SEPERATE FROM MAIN ENGINE OIL SYSTEM? HOW IS IT SERVICED?
WHAT IS MMO?

BWhitmore · #5 11-04-2013, 05:38 PM

MMO is Marvel Mystery Oil. Comes in a red can - every auto parts store should have it.

Phil_F_NM · #6 11-04-2013, 05:41 PM

Please take your caps lock off.

The IP oil depends upon the engine in your car. If it is a later 240 and not the original engine, the IP oil supply is fed by the engine oil and no changing of IP oil is needed.
If it is the older type, you will have to drain it or suck it out with something like a fluid reservoir attached to a mityvac.

MMO is Marvel Mystery Oil.

All this stuff is here in the forum and easily found with a little bit of searching. Make sure you take your time to do some easy maintenance on the engine like hand cranking it and ensuring the rings haven't scored the cylinder walls or you could definitely damage the engine.

Phil Forrest

Quahog · #7 11-04-2013, 05:52 PM

having a fresh battery & possibly a charger nearby will help with all the cranking thats going to be going on.

post in comic sans if you want, but please, no more shouting.

barry12345 · #8 11-04-2013, 06:29 PM

Depending on where you live the brake calipers should be checked for free movement. After siting for seven years up here in Nova Scotia probably all would be seized.

If any where not it would be a pleasant surprise. On the otherhand in some climates they might have survived the storage period.

JakeVogel · #9 11-04-2013, 06:50 PM

sorry about the caps/shouting

Quahog · #10 11-04-2013, 07:22 PM

I wouldn't be suprised if it started right up with nothing but a fresh battery. All the same, following Phil's excellent advice will improve the odds and make your car happy.

Also think about a diesel purge to clean out the injection system. Check the condition of the rubber flex-discs on the driveshaft before tearing it up on the road.

Mölyapina · #11 11-04-2013, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JakeVogel

sorry about the caps/shouting

I can't hear you. Speak up!

vstech · #12 11-04-2013, 08:22 PM

OK,
first, I'd pull the oil fill cap, and look at the cam to see if any rust is on the lobe you can see.
if you see ANY rust in there, DO NOT START THE CAR!!!
pull the valve cover off, and clean up the rust first. don't use sandpaper or scotchbright, just use penetrating oil, and wrinkled up aluminum foil. get it as clean as you can, and rinse off the rust particles down into the crankcase, then dump a good 2 quarts of fresh motor oil or transmission fluid over all the lobes, and rinse out the gook left over from cleaning off the lobes.
THEN DRAIN THE OIL!!! you need to drain the oil completely. I'd pull the oil filter loose, and be sure it completely drains out, then drain all the crank case of oil, put the drain plug back in, and put the 6 quarts into the sump. put the oil filter back on, and crank up the car!
(see how CAPS works when typing?)

Mölyapina · #13 11-04-2013, 09:43 PM

I would adjust the valves, change both fuel filters, change the oil and oil filter, check that the alternator turns over (the one in my '84 was frozen up solid), check that the belts aren't stuck to the pulleys (in my '84, some of the teeth were separating from the belt and sticking to the pulley), and run it off of a coffee can (or similar fluid-holding container) of diesel instead of going with the tank because it probably is contaminated.

On the fuel filters, there are two of them -- a clear in-line one right before the IP and a bigger "secondary" that is located towards the front of the engine and actually looks like the oil filter would on some cars (such as our Corolla).

Dieselgiant (don't get scared by his prices, they are out-of-this world

-- Pelican has much better pricing) has a good valve adjustment guide here, although keep in mind that the tops of the lobes on the cam should be pointing towards the oil tube running along the engine (within the valve cover area), not pointing straight up.

To run it off the coffee can, just take the two fuel hoses running to the fuel lines and stick them in a container of diesel and run off of that. Compounding the sediment that tends to build up in tanks during 40 years, diesel fuel attracts water, promoting algae growth over long periods of sitting. If you do keep the car to run, you should clean out the tank.

Also, I think that Quahog said flex disc. Here is why (I realize this is not your car, but it works the same way). A busted flex disc can destroy a lot of good stuff in short order.

As far as a separately-oiled IP, your 240D should have one. The attachment posted here by Roy has instructions on that. You can just use the same oil you use for the engine -- and, speaking of which, Rotella diesel-rated oil is considered one of the best and is relatively inexpensive at Wal-Mart.

Mölyapina · #14 11-04-2013, 10:34 PM

Also, I notice that no-one has mentioned rust yet. Before putting any sort of money into the car, you will want to check for rust. Rust in these cars tends to come in three different forms.

Outside/surface rust, such as in the fender skirts etc. This is not serious except in the sense that it may be pain to repair -- however, it is most certainly not structural.
Rust from the undercoating. The rubberized undercoating sprayed onto these cars ages and eventually can form little pockets where water pools and rusts. This is something best found by crawling the car, and may be structural.
The most common and most nefarious: WATER LEAKS! These cars are so old that the seals are usually failing and allowing water to leak in. It then pools in the floor pans and invents its own way out (hint: it doesn't learn to open the door). Because this rust will begin inside the car, you need to lift all of the carpeting and thoroughly inspect the floor. Rust can oftentimes begin at the inside rocker area, so pull up any plastic caps that may be shielding wiring running along the rocker and check there too! Leave no stone unturned! In the trunk, the spare tire well is known for rusting out as well as the two side wells. Pull up everything in the trunk and check it out.

Rust repair is one of the most expensive and probably the most nefarious problem on these cars -- nefarious because it hides so well.