Okay ;

The Fall T.T. Run was this past weekend , I don't think I can ride my Moto for three days anymore so I did another marathon service on my 1982 240D and headed off .

I did take all four wheels off to look at the brake pads, they're in great shape but the brake fluid is dead black and I've not flushed it in 5 years or more .


So, going down hill from 9,000' elevation I decided to follow my buddies home made Hot Rod, an old Austin Healy with a big Mazda rotary engine and up graded suspension bits....

He's a seriously fast driver and I was able to keep up with him in the handling but I managed to overheat the brakes and boil the brake fluid to the point where I lost the service brakes completely and these were switchbacks and 9% ~ 13% down grades plus I was hustling along , I managed to get pulled over and check things, everything looked okay and the reservoir was still full of fluid so I put the car into second gear and turned on the A/C and hazard flashers and descended the rest of the mountain at 20 MPH or so, stopping in Porterville for lunch I let the car cool off for an hour and the brakes were okay again .

Sadly, I left my Garmin mounted above the rear view mirror and by the time I opened the car again the dash temperature was over 125 F and the Garmin was dead, not even a flicker of life .

I tried holding it in the air flow of the A/C's dash out lets, no joy so I carefully put it into my ice chest making sure it couldn't get wet, still no joy after four hours of driving with it cooling off, in the end I left it wedged into the vents on my hotel room's A/C and it worked again in the morning .

I was well pleased my my 123.123's ability to hold to the road so well, I was able to outrun almost every one else going through the twisty bits or down hill .

I love the light alloy disc typ wheels .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Good show! Yes those little wheels are the bees knees.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Coming from a guy who was deeply concerned that I hadn’t changed my manual transmission fluid in a mere 30k miles, I have to say, Nate, I’m shocked.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

You're -so- right Shern .

As one ages out it's very easy to make excuses or not doing the full job .

This Summer we had a serious heat wave, for reasons I don't fully grasp I began working like a madman and have gotten much done including another old Motocycle that's up and riding safely and quickly, not finished by any means but I can now hop on and ride it as far as I want .

My beloved 240D is similar ~ it's just one more old base model Mercedes but for some reason I love it and it's my hands down favorite for long distance travel and road rallies .

I just finished a three day even and was able to outrun all but one vehicle .

Not too shabby .

You'd be shocked if I'm able to post up my dash/gauges/console/radiator/tranny service pictures of late .

The car goes back together sufficiently to be driven almost every night, still chasing parts....

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Your disks must have been glowing red!

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92 e300d2.5t
01 e320
05 cdi
85 chev c10

To gain some good performance I’ve found that it’s a good practice to give these old diesels their regular valve adjustment , I’ve noticed the pickup is muched improved and the 55 to 70 highway on the onramp becomes non labored after the service . One note to the adjustment , after tightening recheck your lash , on some occasions it would tighten up too much requiring another go at the correct lash . The only cost is your time and a valve cover gasket , that is if you already have the wrenches .

This is so as is running it hard occasionally .

After this last TT Run my 240D's power is noticeably better, idles smoother and slightly faster too .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better