I have just purchased a 1968 250and have a few questions. The transy is good, clutch strong and it runs good at about 60mph. At 70 it feels like you are pushing the car too much. Could this be lack of compression?

The CV boots rubber appear to be dry. No visible signs of cracking yet. Is there a best way to tell if the CV Joints are damaged, and if so what I am in for in terms of expense and time?

I just purchased this car for 1,500 (it has 132k) with thoughts of having a car to work on and learn a bit. I am now wondering if I got lass than I pad for. Any help is appreciated. The body looks great.

chobbs,

What a neat car! I had a 68 230 with a manual transmission and it was a really fun toy to have. The 250 has a better engine. I'm pretty sure it has a double row timing chain and a few other advantages. I ended up getting rid of mine after rebuilding it and never being able to get oil pressure, it was a very sad thing.

It sounds like you just need to do a compression check, and give the engine a good going over. If the cylinder compressions are all within about 10% of each other, then go ahead and put in plugs, go over the ignition, set the timing, and with the problem you describe, check the centrifugal advance to ensure that it is working properly.

I assume that this engine has dual Zentih carburetors. One of the members here, I believe it was wilton went through a very long effort getting his Zeniths right. There should be a very long post or two as of about late February or early March. You should read and study the post(s). Wilton had quite a challenge, but hung on and kept working through it. He finally got the car running well, and showed a lot of folks on this forum what his troubleshooting tenacity was made of.

As long as the CV boots are not split open, you probably have no problem to worry about. As long as the joints aren't loose or making any noise, check with the parts shop on this site and see if the boots are available. It will be a good bit of work, but change them, and you won't have to worry about them any more.

Enjoy your new toy,

------------------
Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

Thanks Larry

This board is great. It's nice to be able to have a forum like this which is so informative

The drive axle boots can not be replaced like normal C/V joints on other cars. The can that goes around the joint has to be crimped/rolled together. The special tool at one time cost near a thousand bucks. I think I paid around $500 for mine. I saw one a few years later for less than four hundred, but I would be surprised if its still available as MB quit using that axle for replacements a number of years ago.

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Steve Brotherton
Owner 24 bay BSC
Bosch Master, ASE master L1
26 years MB technician

chobbs,

Well Steve gave the news. Are these boots leaking or just dried out and cracked? If they're not leaking yet, I think I'd not worry about it for now and keep a close eye on them. Sounds like the only practical answer would be used axle shafts.

Good luck,

------------------
Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

chobbs,

I had mentioned that I thought that it was wilton who had become knowledgable about the Zeniths. I was incorrect, it was wjbell.

Search for all wjbell's posts and read them. I believe you will find them to be extremely helpful in getting your 250 running like it should, which is pretty darn good.

Good luck,

------------------
Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

Thanks

I just found the thread of posts you are talking about. Great string of messages. I'd say his persistance is truly admirable, and looks very helpful