Hey guys,

I am the owner of a 88 300TE and my dad (his account name is Merkey) usually posts my problems...but i thought i'd post this time as all the problems happen when i drive it.

Basically the spark plugs get black stuff over the top every 1000 miles and the misfires get worse slowly, so we clean them up and it runs beautifully afterwards with only a few minor shakes.

What i find is though, after filling my car up with gas (every 200-240 miles) the misfires start immediately. I know every time i take the gas cap off, there is a lot of pressure...is this normal? Could there be a problem with the gas cap/pressure problem?

Well anyways, yesterday it was misfiring a lot at low speeds(tends to get better if i get up some speed) and after going through Taco Bell drive through it was misfiring like crazy and so i wanted to get up some speed...so i pulled out and tried to accelerate and it simply didnt. Nothing. Foot to the floor no acceleration whatsoever. Obviously i got beeped at so i pulled over and tried again...locking it in 2nd...and just about got up to 40 to get into a parking lot. During the acceleration there was a very strange clunking coming from somewhere near the exaust manifold. So i stopped and pulled the hood and the manifold was glowing red...like a molton color red. I dont know if this is normal because after i let it cool down for 15mins and drove home(it drove okay on the way back...) i pulled the hood right away and it was not one bit red.

I managed to get a picture, but it had cooled down a little bit by then and wasnt glowing as red, but you can still see it.



I dont know much about cars, so im just checking if it should be this hot, because this was where the knocking sound was coming from almost certainly. And what could be the connection between the shaking after putting gas in the car?

Thanks,

1984 300d Turbo
Your Valve Stem Seals Need To Be Replace A Diy 4-8 Hrs, Oil Is Leaking To The Cyl And To The Plugs

Yep, we just got the tool to do the job about a week ago, so we will probably do it very soon.

Do you ever get any white or bluish white smoke out of the exhaust? This is usually the most notable sign of oil in the cylinders.

If you don't get any smoke or burning oil smell from the exhaust, sounds like you may have a mixture and/or timing problem.

Hi Everyone,

You just cant beat having smart kids with cellphones can ya!

I was pretty shocked when he showed me the pic.

That is the precat glowing, right?
I have seen headers on Turbo cars glow and I understand that Cats can get up there too, but that pic surprised me.

Timing is good, altho we did try it without the timing resister in for a while, and mixture was set with a meter to about 40%.
The car has been running pretty well, but we are now aware that the valve seals need doing, from this thread...
Spark Plug Horror! Look!

I am a bit concerned about the glowing header/precat... it was about 7pm, he was not driving it hard and the ambient temp was about 65.

Any thoughts?

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2009 Mercedes ML320 Bluetec

I have never smelt any burning from the exaust, but after i pulled the hood when i found the glowing manifold/pre-cat, there was a very strong burning smell...

I wish i was fast enough and took a picture of it when it was the moulton red color. It was pretty cool (but not really as its a problem and i was freaking out a little)

I did almost the same journey today at the same time at the same speed. Popped the hood...again not a slight bit red. It's definatly not normal.

Ellington...
Good call, I thought that too, but this is a random issue...
Today, with nothing touched, the car is running just fine!
If you look at my post further up,follow the link, you can see the plugs when we pulled them recently.
We are planning to get the valve stem seals done in the next two weeks or so.
I am just puzzled by the glowing exhaust!

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2009 Mercedes ML320 Bluetec