weekend Wrenching

[79Mercy]

If you decide to replace the covers let me know how your old ones are. I have been looking for bamboo covers for a very long time. Mainly the rear seat bottom cover, and the drivers side front seat back rest. Let me know, thanks.

[alabbasi]

Will do, thanks!

[basspete666]

Hey guys

I'm contemplating the slide into this obsessive yet rewarding realm of Mercedes diesel ownership.

While mechanically inclined, I'm sure there are areas where the not necessarily novice wrencher should fear to tread.

I have yet to purchase a specimen, opting for the opinions of the masses before picking from the vast cornucopia of formidable beasts residing on the meganet.

I have, however, tentatively decided on a 240d manufactured in Germany.

Now the questions, many of which I have no idea of what to ask.

1) Best year.

I'm going for reliability and build quality here, hence the 240d.

I don't need the bells and whistles. I want a 4 speed. No turbo. If I'm hot I’ll turn on the a/c or roll down the window (manually). If it's cold I'll turn the heater on. I get sleepy with the cruise control.

2) What to look for.

Of course I would like to get a prime specimen with 97,000 for $1500 on ebay, but I know the odds are long on that one, so . . .

If it has less than 200k what should I expect to be broken or soon to be broken? 200k -250k? Over 250k how scared am I? Cost of repairs by myself or by competent non-dealer mechanic?

What should have been replaced at or before these points?

3) How much to pay?

Any sage wisdom would be appreciated and respected.

Pete

[GGR]

Yesterday was a good day. I first attended an MBCA DIY session which was taking place in Arlington VA. There was a stunning Pagoda that was just out of a nut and bolt complete restoration.

Later I went to give a hand to a guy who has some Adenauers to take some parts out of part cars he has. In exchange he gave me four Adenauer 15' hubcaps that I will be using on my '62 W111 Coupe with 15' rims. These hubcaps have been in a fire but are not damaged otherwise. I guess rechroming and painting them will do the trick. I'm quite happy because I've been looking for these for a while. The ones I came accross were all in poor shape for crazy prices. So I'm not complaining.

I also got a replacement cnuckle carrier and a series of long bolts (thanks Warren) so I guess I've got all I need to finish the rebuilt of my front end.

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by basspete666

Hey guys

I'm contemplating the slide into this obsessive yet rewarding realm of Mercedes diesel ownership.

Pete[/FONT][/COLOR]

Welcome Pete, I would suggest that you cross post to the diesel forum (if you have not done so already) as there is a lot of knowledge there. Price depends on a lot of things. Condition and location seems to be more important then mileage (Cars with good heaters are probably worth more in Chicago then in Dallas etc).

Check out your local craigslist and also check the forsale section here on this forum. There are lots of cars for sale which may suit your needs and the owners generally tend to be knowledgeable about them as they are enthusiasts.

[alabbasi]

OK it looks like i'm going to need to find a blower motor for the a/c unit. I turned it on today and the thing started smoking so I suspect that the motor is locked up.

I took care of the inline filter problem that created inks in the hose by buying a longer hose and routing the inline filter higher up. To get to it, i needed to remove the battery tray.

Then I took another stab at undoing that hard brake line without success, it looks like i'm going to need to replace the hard line which is not that bad because it runs across the firewall to the master cylinder.

The trunk floor had a lot of surface rust so I cleaned it and decreased it and then painted the trunk floor in POR-15. It's a bit shiny but at least now I don't have to worry as much about it rusting through.

Other then that, I topped up the a/c on the 560SEL. I let Holly use it while I was taking care of her struts and she came by today looking quite hot and bothered (I did not notice). The high side was reading 1/3 of what it should be which indicates to me that there is a slow leak on the high side.

[79Mercy]

Which fan started smoking the heater/ventilation or the AC fan? Sometimes you can bring them back to life with a good cleaning and re-greasing.

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by 79Mercy

Which fan started smoking the heater/ventilation or the AC fan? Sometimes you can bring them back to life with a good cleaning and re-greasing.

It was the a/c fan. The heater fan works just fine.

[79Mercy]

Thats good, the heater fan is a major pain to replace. Im sure you know all about that.

[alabbasi]

It's bloody hot outside! Last week, I ordered some paint from the local paint jobber for the 300D in it's original color, but in base clear as I already have a full gallon of clear and a bunch of reducer and activator.

Today, I thought i would tackle the trunk lid which looks pretty rough as there was a bunch of surface rust on it but fortunately, nothing that had gone right through.

I sanded the rusty areas with a DA and 80 grit paper followed by a coat of etch primer then about 4 coats of lacquer primer while blocking between coats with 320 grit paper.

I should have filled some of the spots where there was a bit of pitting from the rust but I was feeling really tired from the heat.

Then I shot it with 3 coats of base and 3 coats of clear.

You can see some of the pitting still in the paint which is unfortunate, but overall, it looks much better then it did before considering that I prepped and painted this trunk lid outside.

By the time I was finished, it was pretty dark outside but I managed to get some shots.

[JiveTurkey]

That trunk lid looks great Al. I know what you mean about getting lazy in the heat too

[mercmad6.3]

I guess you are pushed for time,but i would have done two coats of etch ,followed by a couple of coats of Spies hecker spray putty. it's bondo that you spray on . It cures the same but leaves a smooth coat you then spray a guide on ,then sand back with #240 then #400. A few coats (2-6) of high build primer ,then let it sit for a day or two . I have also used non sanding primer on top because the surface comes out so good. Non sanding primer has a satin finish and is designed to used immediately with base.
I use #500 on high build to prevent scratch lines and if you leave it for a day or so before sanding the chance of those lines is diminished.

[alabbasi]

Aghh I hate Bondo. I just had to sand down a bunch of rust spots on the roof and then apply bondo to the low spots. That stuff sets up so quickly. I should have bought glaze from the paint jobber.

[mercmad6.3]

The stuff i use is great,no mixing,no filing ,so hours of sanding to get lumps and grooves smoothed out. it goes on like think paint and leaves a layer about 1mm thick. It sands very easily with #240. it fills those rust pits so all you have to is surface sand the layer and then apply the hi build primer.
In Europe you can a polyestor spray putty which can spray on layers up to 3mm thick . it's useless here because the sun heat build up causes problems like shrink cracks etc.

[alabbasi]

Today I went to a junk yard somewhere out in the boonies to pick up a pair of fenders for my W114. They came of a 220D and I was told that they were rust free and in good shape. Well... they had rust on the edges and someone scraped it which what looks like a fork lift truck fork but I think I could work with them so I negotiated them down to $40 / fender.

When I got home, I tinkered a little more with the 300D by sanding down the roof and the rust spots to bare metal, then applying spot etch primer over the metal parts followed by bondo so that I have a smooth surface. Bondo is not a good product.

Lots and lots of sanding was then performed with lots and lots of sanding to go.






I did end up wet sanding and buffing the trunk lid very quickly before it got dark. I think I did a pretty decent job on painting but my prep work was not that good. I'll pay more attention on the rest of the car.