89 300SE hesitation
 

My wife just purchased a 89 300SE w/147k miles. Accelerator pedal seems stiff, is there a lubrication procedure/point for the linkage. Also, when accelerating from a stop it seems to hesitate. Any ideas?

Thanks all for your help. There was more of an "operator error" than a problem. Lubricating the accelerator linkage took care of the stiff pedal. The hesitation when accelerating from a stop is more of an awareness of the vehicles size/weight/engine combination than anything else. Thanks again for helping a newbee.

Jeff

Yes, the throttle linkage is supposed to be lubed at every (or every other) service.

Also, what exactly do you mean... it hesitates when accelerating? I had a similar problem... if you search ACCELERATION RESISTANCE you'll see the post and maybe it will apply to you. Do you ever get any clunks?

Have you had a w126 before? I was very surprised at the hesitation when I first bought one. I'm on my second w126 now and it's the same. When you are at a standstill, drop the gearbox down to '2' and then put it back into drive. When you accelerate away, it will start in first gear, it should seem a lot better.
My pedal is definately very stiff compared to more modern cars, I think it's another charachteristic (poor spelling :)) of the W126.
I don't know how hesitant and stiff things are in your particular car, all of the above could mean nothing!

Re: 89 300SE hesitation
 

The pedal is naturally stiff, unless its the late model where they advanced from the K-jet series you're currently on. You may lube it - but doubt if that would make much difference. The alternative is to insert ball-bearings at the end where the linkage pulls onto the K-jet - that would make it exceptionally smooth, so I was told as I have not modified our 300SE to this effect.

Accelerating from a stop - well, how much time does it hesitate? Its quite common for a second or so, but not longer than this. Imagine you're pulling a curb weight of (as someone said it in this forum) 3 light trucks put together. The 300SE will not give you a split response like a sportscar would. Its a luxury sedan that gives you power on the move. Be that as it may, our 300SE accelerates to 100 (from stop) within 10 seconds. Now, thats really pulling in the powerplant towards the firewall!

Inspect the pedal closely,126 pedals are known for breaking at the plastic hinge on the front side of the pedal where it connects to the metal rod.
this cond. makes the pedal feel funny(resistance to acceleration.
MF