Parts Catalog Accessories Catalog How To Articles Tech Forums
Call Pelican Parts at 888-280-7799
Shopping Cart Cart | Project List | Order Status | Help



Go Back   PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum > General Discussions > Off-Topic Discussion

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 04-23-2002, 01:35 AM
MikeTangas's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: So. Cal
Posts: 4,430
700 mile shakedown cruise

After almost 2K miles of local area sea trials, I felt confident enough in my workmanship and health of the 560 to venture out to Las Vegas. Round trip was a shade over 700 miles, including a little cruising on the Strip.

What a highway cruiser the 560 is. We lit out of town on Friday afternoon. Would have preferred to leave early in the day, but the munchkins had school. By the time we left, traffic was building and the real idiots were out. Needless to say, on the way up I didn't get to use the freshly repaired cruise control, except for the first 30 miles . A/C works great, I mean really great, I like it cold, but it got too cold for me and I had to warm up the dial a bit.

Engine ran strong and smooth, pulled all of the killer grades with ease. Anyone who has driven to LV knows how demanding the Cajon pass and the two long grades east of Baker can be. Only required a little extra foot on the pedal to maintain speed, and never had to kick down to passing gear while climbing.

Not being able to use the CC, coupled with the heavy traffic and variable speeds (thanks to the idiots who like to change into your lane - then stomp the brakes) I only got about 15.5 MPG. Have no idea what to call an average speed for the run up, but had the A/C blasting the whole way.

While in LV we had the time to do a little cruise on the Strip. Wifey rode in the back on one leg of the cruise and pronounced the ride "smooth". Replacing the accumulators took care of the "harsh" ride that had been proclaimed just a week ago.

We ended up staying an extra day. OK, so it cost me a little extra cash at the tables , but the easy drive back more than made up for it.

On the trip home I set the cruise at 80MPH and left it there all the way home. Climbing the steep grades with the cruise on was sweet. The speed never dropped from where it was set, even during the steepest climb. I did notice on a couple of the downgrades that the CC surged just a little, but only a couple times while trying to keep the speed down to 80. The surge was almost imperceptable.

On the couple of times I had to disengage the CC, I found when reengaging the CC, you better have the speed close. A couple times I was more the 10 MPH below the set speed, and upon hitting resume, the car launched and immediately settled down at 80. I guess the Germans don't like to waste any time.

The best part of the trip was hitting the filling station near the house. The gauge had dropped just a shade past 1/2 a tank, I had driven about 290 miles on a tad over 14 gallons for a n amazing 20.24 MPG @ 80 with A/C. I'll wait for a couple more long drives to see if this was a fluke, or if it will be the norm.

The car used no oil, ATF, suspension fluid or coolant. The engine temp only went to about 82*C on one long grade, thest of the 700+ miles the gauge was locked on 80*C (enough so that I thought there might be something wrong with the gauge).

The only tools I took with me were - one set of open end/box combos 10-19mm, a pair of pliers, channels locks, vise grips and small needle nose plus one flat tip and one Phillips head screw driver. Also one set of jumper cables just in case, and never had to use any of them .

Nothing like the sense of adventure that comes with taking a trek across the desert a junkyard car. I can safely say that I now have a second Benz I would not hesitate to drive ANYWHERE.

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 04-23-2002, 01:00 PM
Glen's Avatar
...auto enthusiast
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Carlsbad, CA USA
Posts: 1,187
Mike,
Sounds like you had a great trip. And all your blood, sweat, and tears paid off resulting in a great car you can truly depend on and enjoy!
__________________
Glen Tokuhara
Beauty & the Beast and the wagon that could!
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 04-23-2002, 01:30 PM
Moderator
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Southern California, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,538
Great story and glad to hear the 560 is bringing you so much enjoyment.

I'm leaving for LV myself this afternoon with the wife. Just got back last night from a trip to Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Vancouver.

I have a small amount of business in LV, then the rest is R & R.

However, I may not take the Mercedes. It developed another coolant leak, and after close inspection, I determined it was the heater hose going from the back of the engine through the fire wall. I was pissed off and high-tailed it to my mechanic to get it fixed while I work at out of the house this morning to get ready for the trip.

On the way to the shop, I hit the accelerator real hard (in a hurry), and the car stumbles and hiccups and hesitates badly. I am so heart-broken that I'm speechless. What can be wrong with this damn car now????

I can only hope that when the dealer replaced the intake manifold gasket, that one of the spark plug wires went bad, or one of the 'ends' needs to be replaced.

Fwiw, I also noticed that when I glanced at my garage floor and noticed the coolant leak, I also noticed that my oil leak at the head gasket is getting incredibly bad, that the oil is pooling on the floor, like someone turned on the spicket.

I called the mechanic and he confirmed the head gasket leak is now almost too bad to let go much longer.

I guess in the next couple of months, I'll be doing the head gasket, valve guides and seals. Another $2,000 on the Mercedes. My wife is going to kill me...
__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 04-23-2002, 10:37 PM
Moderator
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Southern California, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,538
Just got into Las Vegas.

I took the Mercedes.

I am pleased to report that I got 26.12 mpg. Had to fill up as soon as I pulled into town to get an accurate reading. It was almost exactly 250 miles from Diamond Bar to Las Vegas.

This is a record for me.

26.12 mpg, all highway driving, average of 80-85 mph, in a 93 W124 with the 3.2 liter M104 engine.

Right it in the record books. 26.12 mpg.
__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 04-24-2002, 12:12 AM
MikeTangas's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: So. Cal
Posts: 4,430
I've been thinking about that 20MPG...

and I think it might be a fluke, caused by different fuel delivery systems. I probably got 19MPG in all actuality, because I probably got an extra gallon or so on my fill-up in LV.

In California they have a vapor recovery fuel nozzles, Nevada doesn't. I fill up the same way everytime, let it run till the nozzle kicks off automatically, then hold the handle until it kicks off a second time. Without the vapor recovery in Nevada, the pump most likely ran a little longer before cutting out on both pump stoppages.

Either way, 20MPG or 19MPG is pretty dang good in my book for a 5.6L plant (I just ran the numbers factoring an extra gallon usage, came out to 18.9MPG, still not bad at all). I'll have better figures after a few more long drives and I'll keep y'all posted.
__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 04-24-2002, 12:24 AM
David C Klasse's Avatar
CheFrac is Back!
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Mission Hills in the City of San Diego
Posts: 2,355
Mike,
The car sounds amazing! I'm so glad it's running beautifully... I bet all the hard work is now paying off!! I hope to see it at the next meet.

Paul,
I'm sorry to hear your car is acting up again!! But it looks like you still went to Las Vegas, did you get the car repaired before-hand?
__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 04-24-2002, 12:57 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Canada
Posts: 48
Thumbs up Ole '76 800 miles of excitement

Glad to hear about the NV trips enjoyed by all. Thought I'd share my recent trip. I travelled from Edmonton, AB to Saskatoon, SK and then on to Prince Albert, SK with return last week. Was a total of some 800 miles counting local travel.

I took the 450 to friends, acquaintences, idle passerby's, really anyone that would take a peak.

The car drove remarkably well. I had a brief inspection done prior to leaving but was really a "I believe in you, if you believe in me" trip. Average 21-22 mpg at 75 mph and would have done better but my smile was probably dragging on the aerodynamics.

Well, I don't want to use more than my fair share of bandwidth.

I have developed some small problems, but I will post for help later. For now, I'm just smilin!

Best wishes to all

Mike
__________________
1976 Mercedes 450 SEL (170K Miles)
1999 Nissan Altima GXE (45,000 km)
1986 Ford Bronco II 4x4
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 04-24-2002, 12:40 PM
Moderator
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Southern California, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,538
David,

The head gasket is still leaking like a siv, but I didn't have that repair done. I did have the heater hose replaced.

Regarding the terrible hesitation and stumbling that I encountered when I took the car to the mechanic - we couldn't duplicate it. He test drove it, we test drove it together, and it wouldn't do it again.

I have no idea why it did it the one time, but if it's a wire or an "end", maybe it'll get worse over time.

We'll have to wait and see.
__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 05-01-2002, 07:35 PM
MikeTangas's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: So. Cal
Posts: 4,430
MPG update

Took the 560 to the match this past weekend. 300 mile round trip to Castaic and back, through LA traffic. No cruise control due to traffic level, average speed about 75, resulted in a hair over 17MPG. I think 19-20MPG is a reasonable expectation for long steady highway drives. Not bad for a 5.6 liter plant.
__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 05-02-2002, 12:21 AM
Moderator
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Southern California, U.S.A.
Posts: 8,538
By the way, on the way back from Las Vegas, I got 23.95 mpg, had the cruise control set at 80 mph most of the way. There must have been a strong headwind, or it's mostly uphill heading back to So. Cal, but I got 2 mpg less than on the way.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:38 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Peach Parts or Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page