In January I bought an '89 300CE - which I love! About April I started having problems with it dieing at a stop - it would just loose power and be difficult to restart. I took it to the "local" MB dealer (70 miles away) and they replaced the fuel pump relay. I then drove it from Arkansas to California with no problems. However, when I got home the problems started all over again - at a stop shuddering loosing power all warning lights coming on and dieing - and it was getting harder and harder to restart, but once it was restarted it would run perfect for a week or so. 'Bout the third time this happened after my return from California I had it towed to the dealer. They claimed it started right up for them and they couldn't duplicate the problem I was having - so they replaced the crankshaft sensor. Drove fine for about a week -then I didn't drive it for a week because of the weather - tried to start it last Sunday - nothing it won't start at all now - it turns over - makes a "popping and hissing noise", least that's what it sounds like to me, but won't start.

I have to admit I am "mechanically challenged" - so what I would like from ya'll is a list to take to my MB dealer and say "I want you to check x,y and z. Please... The dealer claims the codes come back fine, and starts and runs everytime for them. ALSO, while trying to replace the bulb in my third brake light the service tech broke the housing - they say they cannot find another to replace it - can anyone help me locate one?

Thank you for all your time and effort.

Many times dealers don't like 20 year old cars. And in fact unless they have a technician who worked on MB's 20 years ago they don't know how to test & fix them.

You need to have someone start with basics. Of course fuel pressure is one of the most important issues.

__________________
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Have the current draw by the fuel pumps checked -- a bad pump will pull too many amps.

Have the idle control valve and associated rubber hoses checked -- a big vacuum leak will cause this.

Check the cap, rotor, wires, and plugs -- a loose rotor will cause all kinds of trouble, and they are known to fail and break off. When it stops turning, the car won't run at all, and may make all sorts of noises when you attempt to start it because the plugs may fire at random.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

Thank you both for your help. I will take the list to my dealer and have them check everything mentioned.

While I understand dealers may not perfer to work on 20 year old cars, I have not been able to locate an independent mechanic(I have even thought about flagging other MB drivers and asking them - )

Again, thank you for your help.

I would support what doc said and suggest a independent thta only works on atleast German cars. They are all over invest the time and look. Look at their parking lots.

But beyond that I can't tell you how many times I've had a nostart dropped off by wrecker only to start the car up and drive it for days.

If you have in fact a really dead car it will probably be easy for a real tech to deal with. Intermittants are hell.

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

Hello,

Go to this posting I made some months ago. If you are mechanically challenged, then you are at the mercy of the shops. Its going cost you a lot of $$. You will find that the shops don't how to fix these cars either. They just start replacing things without understanding the real issues.

URL...................300ce running rough

Gavinbr

I went to that thread and read enough to see how money gets spent. It amazes me that anyone throwing that many parts at a car can unilaterally condemn shops. I imagine that anyone who throws parts at cars to repair them also thinks Acme Foreign car with five fiats out front is probably a place to save money on auto repair.

Someone ought to start a thread on how to find a repair shop that can install one part where one part is needed and fix the car. I'll give you a couple good indicators of that shop. First they will have the highest labor rate around, because they are equipped, trained, and pay quality techs, second they will have one or more SDS (diagnostic computer), and third they will have more than five MBs 10 years old or less in their shop ALWAYs.

The second indicator is probably the simplest way to gauge a shops mentality. Many might ask why have a SDS when my car is too old for on-board diagnostics? The reason is commitment. Commitment to the technology involved with a specific car brand. Does the shop intend to fix problems or shot gun them as that thread exposes. The point is to separate repair merchandisers from real technicians. The shop committed to repair will have the tool, the shop committed to maximized profit first will not. The shop who has techs that can fix cars will have a SDS because those techs won't work in a shop without.

If you know that you want just a water pump, maybe a repair merchandiser can save you money in their ill equipped, poorly trained, poorly paid shop. All the consumer advocates will state that the best bet long term is to find an indy that specializes and stay with them. Anybody using more than one part to solve a problem in my shop better have some real data to support it.

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

Hello,

Just thought I would throw my two cents re' stevebfl comments.

I agree with your comments, but try and find one!

Good example, is Buzzie took it too a Mercedes dealer, with all the latest test equipment, and they replaced the fuel pump. It didn't do the job, whats next,
will they put the old one back at no charge? I doubt it!

Gavinbr

gavinbr, yes, my MB dealer has said if the replacement of the crankshaft sensor didn't fix the problem they would put the "old" one back in and credit me for the new one - we'll see.

As for finding an independent MB mechanic - I believe I may have found one I own an independent bookstore and yesterday a customer pulled up in an beautiful "older" 82 MB - as she was paying for her books I asked who did her maintenance - her "ex" husband, who only prefers to work on older MBs. She gave me his numbers - told me to tell him she referred him. So maybe, just maybe I will be able to park my 92 Mazda 929 "hooptie" and go back to driving my "baby"

Oh, and here is an "interesting" story concerning my local MB dealer - in April in Arkansas we had a HUGE hail storm - size of golf balls - my parking light covers were broke. The dealer replaced them - and I took off for California - somewhere in Oklahoma in the middle of the night one of the covers came off - flies right off the car. I had to wait until I got to Vegas to have it replaced. But wait - there's more! After the dealer in Vegas replace the cover and the light bulb - the turn signals wouldn't work - they had put in the wrong bulb!

Maybe, it's time for me to become a little less "mechanically challenged". Although I must say I do know enough to check all the fluids - but then I had a husband who always said "ugh, me man me fix car, you woman you go bake cookies" But I am learning alot by reading this forum daily - thank ya'll

Hello Buzzie,

What about the fuel pump relay you had replaced?

I forgot to mention that the 3rd brake light is different from the 300e in that its longer because of the slope of the rear window. I have replaced mine and they should be able to get these from the dealer. What happens with the rear brake light[3rd] is, it sits in the sun and the plastic becomes extremley brittle, and you have to be very careful removing the back portion to replace the bulb. Your MB repair shop should have known this. They probrably had the the young lad do this?

My CA 300ce has 250K miles on it now and it just passed the Ca smog again.
Like you I love the car and so does my wife who drives it every day to work, 80 miles a day. Its hard to believe that these cars when new sold for 56K. I have the original invoice and we are the 2nd owner. The manufactures estimated Hwy gas consumption is 22 mpg. The only major repair we have had is the transmission went out. Its never been to the shop, I have fixed everything, except the tranny.

However, it comes at a price these cars are old now, and the fuel system may have been state of the art at that time, but as the computer and its associated components age, wierd problems start to arise. Some of these were recognised early on by Mercedes. So, when you take to the shop for repair some of these older guys who new the car arent there anymore.

Good luck

Gavinbr