Well, It's been about a year and a half since my daily driver 1976 230 died on me, so I can't really complain.

I left it in the garage for 2 weeks while I was away, so that may be part of the problem, because the problem started about a week after I came back.

I drove it for 1/2 hour in -18 C temperatures last week, came back out to it and it wouldn't start. Left the car to cool for a while and it got me home no problem.

Two days later, I stopped to get gas on the way home and after filling the tank, it wouldn't start again. Left it for a while, still nothing. I then changed the carb.(Stromberg 175) diaphragm, nothing. I took off the choke housing and made sure the choke/piston was moving freely, it was.

I managed to get it going by pulling off the vacuum lines and air filter housing and nursed it home, because the moment I took my foot off the gas it died, so I had to keep my foot on the gas and the brake at the same time.

I really don't know what else to do. I'm not too familiar with how vacuum works on my car.

Any advice on what else to check?

I'm suspecting it's a vacuum issue (of which I've had for years)

I'm hoping it's not transmission or engine related (I've been delaying working on my tranny for a few months)

Thanks,

AARON ROCHARD

1976 230 W115 4 cyl.

Aaron:

I suspect the recent Canadian winter and an inactive battery may have caught up with you. If you can get it going, it wouldn't hurt to have a shop load test the battery.

__________________
Mike Murrell
1991 300-SEL - Model 126
M103 - SOHC
"Fräulein"

Thanks, but I haven't noticed any dips in power when trying to start it, and there has been no indication of power loss. Is it possible, that it can still be the battery ?

Aaron Rochard

1976 230 W115

Well, second morning in a row that the mechanic says he has the car running well and it won't start when cold. He says he tapped the carburetor with his "magic hammer" and it started, leading him to believe it is the carb.

Any ideas ?

Sounds like maybe the needle/seat needs replacing ?

Let me know.

Thanks,

AARON ROCHARD

1976 230. 4 W115

Just wanted to update you on my car, because it's still giving trouble. I had the carb. re-built and the mechanic fixed my cold idle problem by bypassing one of the resistors on the firewall (it wasn't functioning properly) however, the car starts with no problem while cold.

When warm, it turns over, starts and then dies. If I pump the gas, it will rev, but if I keep constant pressure on the gas it dies.

The mechanic got it fixed by adjusting the bi-metal coil in the choke housing to the rich position and the problem went away, the car ran great, but when I turned off the car and re-started it after 30 seconds, same result. Cough, sputter die.

The only thing I think that is left to check is the little spring under the choke piston that gives the piston resistance. Other than that, I don't know what else to check. The needle ? We checked the fuel pump and it's not leaking.

If you can help, please !

Aaron Rochard

1976 230.4 W115

We've been at -20 in Manitoba for a few weeks now. This damn frigid weather plays havoc with cars. I have a domestic with a carb and last week she started coughing and bucking on the highway in this cold weather. At the same time started fine cold then hard starting when hot - with pumping of the gas pedal to get it going then bucking under load. Not wanting to work on it in cold weather - I dumped a pint of gasline antifreeze into the tank and ran a can of carb cleaner through the carb and rinsed the outside of the carb down with another can. Three days so far - no more problems. Might be worth a try for you. Another tip for weather like this - never let your gas tank go below half full while it is so cold. Frost will form on the walls above the gas and melt into water when it warms up and cause icing problems when it gets cold again. If you park in a heated garage when it is -20 and go out with the car - it makes the frost to water problem worse.

Looks like my car is back on the road and working again. It seems that the start up problem was due to the solenoid sticking after I shut off the engine. The mechanic unplugged the solenoid and re-set the mixture, and I drove to work for the first time in a month !!!

I suppose the carb-rebuild was a waste of money, but I won't dwell on that, at least Betsy's back on the road.

Thanks all,

Aaron Rochard

1976 230.4 W115