Happy new owner - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

TTaM · #1 10-21-2002, 12:20 AM

Well, we finally got it. This weekend, my father and I flew down to San Antonio from Chicago, purchased our '76 240D and drove it the 1300 or so miles back to Chicago straight through. What a great car. The 4sp manual tranny made the car actually fun to drive. Some of the larger hills in Missouri gave us grief, but all was fine. Motor mounts probably should be replaced. Now for the questions. The car got around 27mpg w/ speeds between 65 and 75. Is this what we should be getting, we were thinking it would be a little more. Also, the dash lights didn't work at first, but w/ some manipulating, we got them to come on. Is this a common problem? An easy fix maybe. It seems to be the switch. Also, many of you said at the speed we were going, your cars smoked. Ours didn't smoke that much, is this a good sign? Oil comsumption... what should we expect? This car has the orginal Becker Europa am/fm radio w/ the one speaker. Should we keep this or update to a newer system? The heater blower isn't functioning. If a new blower is needed, is it going to be a big fix? It came from TX and the last owner never had to use the heater. We get heat while moving, but that is just from it blowing through. Last question... the fuel gauge doesn't seem to work, is it worthwhile to attempt a fix? I know on my Bronco II, the gauge doesn't work, and the fix would be a real pain so I just use the trip odo. to tell when to fill up. Hey, the clock works, so I'm happy. Sorry for this novel of a post, I guess I'm just excited of the possibilities with this car. Thanks for all the help and advice you guys have already given me.

Holson Adi · #2 10-21-2002, 12:34 AM

Congratulations!

Any pictures? I would love to have a stick shift diesel!

27mpg sounds about right!

I'd do the following..
Change oil and its filter, change fuel filters, change air filter, run diesel purge at full strength, change the brake fluid, flush the radiator?

the dash lights could be fixed by taking out the potentiometer and cleaning it I think.

If the original radio works and you don't particularly care about sound quality just keep it the way it is.

I'd replace the speaker but I wouldn't bother adding speakers anywhere else except maybe the rear deck.

Wow.. have fun! (I would!!)

I love getting a 'new' used car just because I like fixing up these little things..

#3 10-21-2002, 12:43 AM

The car got around 27mpg w/ speeds between 65 and 75. I would say this is pretty good considering the gearing. I 'll bet that figures goes higher at 55-60mph as well!

diesel don · #4 10-21-2002, 10:51 AM

Congrats and welcome!

1. MPG - pretty normal i'd say along with the others
2. Oil consumption - i have some that don't use it but my 240D takes about one quart per 1000 miles. I've heard that this is pretty normal
3. Did you notice your fuel guage bouncing? You mentioned the lights were touchy. My hunch is that you might have a grounding problem with the instrument panel. You can do a search for the lighting issue under "potentiameter" (might not have spelled it right). When I popped my cluster out and reworked a ground, my fuel guage started working along with the temp guage.

Don

jcd · #5 10-21-2002, 12:16 PM

You have my dream car.

Everything you list is normal,,,,almost expected. Do some "searches" and you'll find a wealth of info on each topic.

Good luck and welcome to the club.

JCD

dieseldaddy · #6 10-21-2002, 01:43 PM

CONGRATULATIONS!
It is good to have a another Bears fan on here!
(It is still early in the season)
All the advice sounds right in line. I would say that the mileage sounds great. I would just be sure to check the oil pretty regulary for the first couple oil changes just to be sure that you are not using too much (running out of it...I mean) and do NOT believe that the fuel gage is telling you the truth.
I have a 1983 240D that *sometimes* reads correct, but in an attempt to see how many miles I can get on a tank, I have been stranded...twice.

So, good luck and GO BEARS!