This might be long letter, but...

Recently I've got married.

My wife's father tell me 'bout (something like 1979) MB 450 W116.
5 years ago (!) one guy asked him to drive the car to Moscow and back (approx. 2500 km).
The car was returned in very bad condition. Engine was blowed down.

After 8 month of repair works done by me and father we got stuck at all.(I must say, that we live at very center of Russia in very small town -- no one can help us at all, no any official services, parts, information etc.)

So, there are many questions:

1) WHAT is engine type at all? In documents we got a MB 450. The engine number is 116945.

2) All of vacuum connections are gone. Any K-Jetronic descriptions from Internet tells practically nothing.

3) Engine starts, works very poor on high RPM for a minute, then stops. After it starts only on the next day.

And many more...

I must add that I earn something about $100 a month. This is good for our town. That's why we can't afford any official spares.

Beast,
I think its time for a divorce. At the rate of $100.00 a month, it would take you about 10 years to get that car up and going. There is an old saying in the USA . "It's ok for someone to look at your wife, but it's not ok to let someone drive her all night to Moscow".
But seriously, your best bet is to get ALL your parts right here at this website, it's called Fastlane.
Good Luck, and remember, bicycles are not a bad option.

The number you give for the motor is wrong. The 116 part tell me it is a small V8 in the class 3.5, 3.8, or 4.2. Looking through the world parts system the lowest numbered 116 motor was the 116.960 which was a 380.

The proper motor for a 450 would start 117. Check what is stamped into the block behind the left cylinder head. Look between the firewall and the motor. The block sticks out and the number is stamped there. The full number will have 14 numbers grouped 117.986.12.xxxxxx. The 12 is for left hand drive (1) and automatic (2 a zero as in 10 would be a manual trans).

Do you have pressure gauges? Do you understand the principles that K-Jet operates? Do you understand how to change the mixture?

__________________
Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

BTW how do you live on $100 a month. Does your work also pay for your housing and food and healthcare. Is all that still supplied by your government.

Since I couldn't even pay my electric bill with $100 a month, I have to assume money has a different meaning in your neighborhood.

__________________
Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

1) Well, the nuber is wrong, I agree. Somehow it fly out of my head.... A bit later it will come.
2)We now working on pressure gauge.
3)I think that I understand K-Jetronic principles... I've read everything that I can on it. But, there are many valves, connections and other things that are not described in any of these articles... That's the point. We don't know what these valves do, how they can influence the motor behavior.
4) Of course, your $100 is not ours. I pay for rented flat about $30 per month. My cigarettes cost $0,2 per box. And so on. I repeat, $100 for our town - one of the best salary for my level. My friend works twice harder and his income is about $70/month.

How do you intend to solve the minor glitches on the Beauty? For one, I don't know if you can get many parts where you are unless you are able to fashion and modify some essentials, particularly gaskets.

Fortunately, your beauty does not possess much electronics, so getting her up and going would be a breeze, unless of course it takes a few more days for her to awaken. She must be a sleeping beauty.

But for all of curiousity, have you solved -

"Engine starts, works very poor on high RPM for a minute, then stops. After it starts only on the next day.

And many more... "

It does really sound like a poor marriage made in hell.

Give her up for a reliable Lada? You might just be able to save whatever you would have spent on repairs and pick up another newer MB in a few years' time.

Look at what wise Oliver did.

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

This reminded me of a fellow passenger I shared a moment with while flying to London many eons ago.

He was Moroccan, and an accountant by profession. Working in London, but whose roots remain firmly embedded in Morocco.

He bought himself a nice Benz while in London for about 5 to 8 thousand pounds. Drove it to and fro work, and had it detailed and maintained.

Then for his vacation, he takes the trusty ole beauty for a drive across the channel, down to Morocco - and sells it for a song. Flies 1st class back to London, and starts shopping for another Benz.

A very profitable entreprise.

Now, it could happen to you.

Think about it.

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

The K-jet system is really quite simple, unless you want to fix components.

When the car starts, does the motor run evenly ever? After it starts be prepared to press down on the airflow plate. If doing this improves the condition then the engine is running too lean. If this causes it to die the condition is too rich. If it is too rich grabbing the center nut with thin pliers and lifting should improve the running. If any affect is gained by these actions, make a mixture adjustment at the 3mm allen screw. This is under a plug, exactly between the airflow cone and the fuel distributor. Clockwise is richer.

Use those instructions to see if mixture is your problem. There is a lot more to it but tell me how this works.

The pressure gauge is a must if fuel is the problem and adjustment isn't the answer. Let me know, I'd be glad to help get another MB back alive.

__________________
Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

Its gonna take lots of perseverance for this beauty to walk again ...

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

1) First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for attention you pay to my problem. Before this I've visited ALL of the Russian MB sites/forums and no one EVER ANSWERED!

2) Secondly, I must say I'm sorry for my English. 3 years of school - that's all.

3) That's will not be a solve I THINK right now, because we tried all of things like that. Reading articles on K-Jet I not only looked for a solutions, but tried to understand all principles. Mixture is not the problem I think, because we even tried to add or remove (I have no dictionary near me and I don't know how it called...) thin and thick circles (0,1 mm and 0,7 mm) in primary pressure regulator (I think it is named so), which is located in fuel distributor.

Next. When it starts up, I must press accelerator so deep to keep it running...

BUT! We will try to follow your instructions and later (tomorrow I hope) I'll describe what happened.

4) I wrote down ALL of the numbers I can. But I left them in garage. :-( One thing I remembered - 116985 is the engine number.

5) More details came: when two "repairmens" :-) tried to solve the problem, they screwed out the control pressure regulator. And then they disapear. After a month of a chase they gave it back. BUT, Anatoli (that's my wife father's name) was surprised - there was MADE IN FRANCE stamped on it. It is BOSCH, but he didn't remember that string to be there...

All the rest including the number of pressure regulator I will post later tomorrow.

P.S. BTW, I have 5 photos of my engine. I've made them with Kodak Digital Camera for one person in Russian INet, who wanted to help. After he read all my letters and saw that pictures he never wanted to help no more...

Beast,

Nikolai Salnikov is a Mercedes Benz technician who lives in Moscow. I don't know him personally, I'm just throwing out a name. It might be useful to try and get in touch with him.

Kuan

Beast,

Where do you live in Russia? Do you ever travel through Moscow? Can you get <> (the newspaper) where you live?

What are the names of those thick and thin circles in Russian? Gaika?

If you go through Moscow, you may want to visit the Avtorinok on the West side. It one exit north of Mozhaiskoye Shosse on the MKAD. There are lots of dealers and B/U parts there.

I ahve a mechanic friend who lives in the Otradnoye region who has his own Mercedes. I think it was a W123 body style - I don't remember as I drove only BMWs in Russia.

Other than that, keep asking around this forum, it is the best resource in either hemisphere.

Davai,
Josh

__________________
81 300D 250K (sold)
79 240D 200k
83 Volvo Station Wagon (282k)

Hello, all.

Here are the numbers

chassis 116028 12 048850
engine 116985 12 013858
control pressure regulator BOSCH 0438140 056

More of that: near the table with chassis numbers to the left there is one more plate with many stamped numbers. It looks like this:

04D 8546726 43
116028 12 03182 2
876G M -
260 420 466 511 580

I don't know what does these numbers mean, especially second string.

1) It didn't save "spaces" between the numbers (in previous post)...

2) I live in Ozersk town, 150 Km from Chelyabinsk. This town is closed (it name was Chelyabinsk-65), here is situated most powerful nuclear facility in Russia - PA "Mayak". It restores used nuclear fuel, produces fuel for nuclear plants, extracts plutonium from atomic weapons e.t.c. I was working on it till 1 of april, as a designer for a newspaper "PrO MAYAK". Now I've lost my job there (because of my boss, who wanted her daughter to have that job). Now I'm not employed, but that's not the problem - I'm one of the best designers in town - the problem is in salary. No one can pay more than $70-$80. I start to work in other newspaper by the 1 of May.
BUT! The good news is that Anatoli today began to work on Mayak - our income will be twice bigger.

3) The name in russian is shaiba! I'm sorry... :-(((

4) Well, I'll travel to Moscow, I'll buy that newspaper and WHAT??? I don't know WHAT to fix! I don't know WHAT to buy. Or I'll get in touch with that MB technician - I can't transport my car to Moscow, and I can't drive him INTO town - IT'S CLOSED! Can you understand our situation? Anatoli is desperate! He is trying to get the car up for five years! You are (all of you) the only our hope.

So lets fix this thing. Do the mixture test as I told you and tell me the results.

Do you understand how to change the mixture? (fuel/air)?

Your car is a 350SE and the motor is a 3.5l

The only thing I can tell you about the other group of numbers is the 876G is the paint code for Glasurit paint.

__________________
Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician