Crankcase Full Of Fuel. 1991 350SDL - Page 7 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

babymog · #91 10-03-2015, 09:23 AM

Looks great SDog, congrats!

krwsenior · #92 10-03-2015, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooljjay

Just an fyi from someone who rescued an vo burner.....You will continue to have problems with the car, the more it is driven and the more it is cleaned....The more issues that will arise...I would never want to rescue any vo burner with a newer engine this complicated. I replaced everything from the injectors back to the tank, all the hard lines where caked with wvo.....wvo builds up more carbon then burning straight diesel....thus the issues that kept popping up......carbon burning off valves, clogging oil filters, fuel filters clogging from residue in hard lines, bad valve steams, rings worn....list goes on.....I am proud you saved this car but even for free I wouldn't have taken it, specially with rust/rot issues....Doesn't this car also have the issues with spring perch? I would really worry about that!

This opinion seems a bit extreme to me. I've never had a problem with my IP at all (or any of the fuel system). Almost 200k of the 353k on the car has been on straight wvo or a blend. I'm sure there are many cases of abused cars out there, but wvo can be run without harm to the engine if done properly. (not intending to highjack the thread - just giving another opinion).

Squiggle Dog · #93 10-04-2015, 01:56 AM

I think a large problem with waste vegetable oil is when it has set for a while and coagulated and turned rancid. I imagine this can clog the system and block lubrication to moving parts. I noticed that everything the WVO oil touched was coated in a gritty layer of goo that was very hard to remove.

Either way, the car will be run on mostly diesel, I imagine (no more WVO as the system was removed in order to simplify the engine bay). It's my roommate's car and he might put in a tank of B99 biodiesel right before an emissions test. It has all Viton and biodiesel-resistant seals and hoses in the fuel system (which is very, very clean at the moment).

mannys9130 · #94 10-04-2015, 11:53 AM

The 126 has no issues with the spring perch.

B99 will clean the HELL out of the fuel system.

The only downside is how it plugs one filter after another after another.

Honestly, the IP being replaced takes care of most issues that could crop up in a car abused and run on crappy low quality WVO. Ring stickage would be next on worst cases, and usually an MMO soak would solve that.

People get all doom and gloom over the repairs they have to do. It's an old car. It's going to give you nothing but problems, wvo or not. You have 3 options: 1. Buy parts and fix it if it's manageable. 2. Sell it before you get upside down. 3. Junk it if it's just a hoopty heap of crap. Honestly, lots of case #3 drive around Tucson and as long as they get their owner from A to B they are appreciated and valuable.

Squiggle Dog · #95 10-04-2015, 03:30 PM

Last year I filled the tank with B99, so it sure is clean now (whatever it didn't clean out I cleaned manually).

I realize that old cars need constant repair. But that's why I only drive/put money into one car. I have no interest in owning anything fairly new as I don't like the modern styles and complication.

My roommate is in a situation where he has 5 cars and only one of them is roadworthy. The 350SDL is still a ways off from being a daily driver (the transmission has no reverse, it needs tires, and the brakes need maintenance). All these cars are nickle-and-diming him.

He picked up the free 350SDL because he had always wanted a white W126, and the gasoline ones are gas-guzzlers. We picked it up from a forum member and were a bit overoptimistic about its current mechanical condition and the amount of future maintenance it would need. It had working air conditioning at the time (it no longer blows cold), and neither one of us has a car with working air conditioning in Phoenix, Arizona, so getting a free, running car with working air conditioning from a forum member sounded like a no-brainer.

Unfortunately, the injection system was on its way out and injection pumps are hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Even with the great deal on the injection pump, I am sure my roommate is already $1,000 into the car.

Ideally, we were hoping it would be something he could pick up and he could start using right away. If we had known the cost that would be involved in getting it back on the road (even though it was driven here from Minnesota) we may have decided against getting it.

But, in the end I think this will be a great car for him. It's large, comfortable, AND fuel-efficient. The air conditioning may work again with a recharge (it was already converted to R134a and even has a parallel-flow condenser which looks original). Once it gets new tires and brake work, it should be fine to drive around, keeping in mind reverse doesn't work. I may even tackle removing the transmission and replacing the reverse clutch pack.

I think that this will be an ideal car for my roommate. It's unfortunate it's taken so much time and expense to get it there, but neither we nor the previous owner could have forseen it, as it was running and driving at the time and had just driven across several states.

I think that now that the engine is running very well, that my roommate can justify spending money on it again, especially since it will be his new daily driver as he doesn't want to keep putting 70 miles per day on his 1965 Ford station wagon.