I finally, after numerous close calls, bought a fintail - Page 8 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

WANT '71 280SEL · #**106** 03-30-2007, 01:28 PM

I'll be sure to do some shopping at Home Depot next weekend. Thanks a lot, Mark.

-David

wbain5280 · #**107** 03-31-2007, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WANT '71 280SEL

I
One last thing. It seems that whenever I look at these cars for sale, they never actually have carpet in them. The only carpet I ever seem to see if that which covers the transmission tunnel. What did these cars originally have covering the floors?

Thanks
David

P.S.
Does anyone know what P/S pumps are interchangeable with a '66 230S? I may be able to get one off a '67 250S.

My 220S has the thick rubber floor mats in front, carpet in the back and on the trans hump.

Many parts from the W111 and W108 sedans are interchangeable, like the PS pump.

Mark DiSilvestro · #**108** 03-31-2007, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbain5280

My 220S has the thick rubber floor mats in front, carpet in the back and on the trans hump.

Many parts from the W111 and W108 sedans are interchangeable, like the PS pump.

Note that the early PS pumps, up through at least '65, had a straight shaft but later ones are tapered, so the pulley won't interchange. If whatever pump you get comes with the pulley, you should be OK.
Also, some PS pumps have the fluid reservoir attached, while others have it mounted remotely, usually next to the battery.

Happy Motoring, Mark

WANT '71 280SEL · #**109** 04-03-2007, 08:11 PM

I am currently ordering parts for the car and one such part is the thermostat. I have an option of either 79° or 87°. I do not plan on driving the car in the winter. Also, the car has a Kuhlmeister A/C unit. Because it is a summer car and has A/C I assume I should get the 79° unit? Let me know what you think.

Other parts include spark plug wires, 2 front wheel seals, 2 minor carb. kits, an alternator belt, and a valve stem seal kit. The parts are rather generic obviously since I am still working on getting the car to stay running half way decently. BTW, I have attached a picture of the minor carb. kit. Can the pictured gaskets be replaced rather easily without diving too far into the Zeniths, past the point of no return? There is a major gasket set but it's over twice as much money and looks like it has about every gasket in a Zenith, and my goal is not a total rebuild.

Thanks
David

WANT '71 280SEL · #**110** 04-03-2007, 08:22 PM

One more thing. Because I plan on doing my valve stem seals pretty soon (while I have the valve cover gasket off to adjust the valves) I was looking at valve cover gaskets. There is a valve cover gasket that says it's a "hexagonal block side cover gasket."

One more questionable part is a valve cover grommet gasket.

I have attached a picture of both. Do I want to replace both of these parts with the valve cover off?

Thanks
David

WANT '71 280SEL · #**111** 04-15-2007, 11:42 PM

I made it up to the shop today and spent a couple hours with the old girl. I got her running for the first time this year. It took awhile to get everything primed so it would fire, but it eventually got there. Turns out I had the 3rd and 4th plug wires mixed up at the spark plugs so it ran better after that. A few things though:
1) there is an intermittent clunking or knocking that sounds like it is coming from the engine. By uncle though it sounded like a rod bearing that is possible loose. It got a little better when the engine warmed up but it sort of came and went. Also, it got quite a bit better after I fixed the plug situation. The car is an auto and leaks tranny fluid pretty badly. My uncle also mentioned that the torque converter could have come loose. Or, if the tranny were really low on fluid is there anything that might make a noise like that? We couldn't really figure out where it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from the back somewhere like cylinders 4-6. The noise sounds like it would only be on 1 cylinder if it is an internal engine problem. I didn't really think these engines are known to need bottom end work. Is there anything that possibly comes loose after time and sounds like a bad rod bearing?
2) The front carb is leaking rather badly. It seems to be coming from the piece that the fuel return line comes off of. There is an "eye" piece which is the shape of a banjo and hallow in the middle where the return line plugs onto. Also, there is some sort of plunger looking thing that screws onto/through the "eye" piece. On this plunger piece, a little arm seems to rest against it or have the ability to push in a pin which is about 1/8" thick. Anyway, the pin does not move at all. Is this pin suppose to move and what is the purpose of this plunger piece? It seems to take about a 21-22mm to remove this "plunger" thing with the pin. I assume it is the copper crush rings that are leaking. Sorry I don't have any pics, but I'm doing my best to describe the parts. They are Zenith 35/40 INAT by the way.
3) Other than the large fuel leaks (the other one is coming from the rear carb but is much less severe), the carbs work great. With the plug situation figured out, the car idled very well. We were both surprised with how well the engine ran after the car had been sitting 8 years. After the fuel leaks are fixed, the carbs should be pretty set and ready to go.
4) One last thing, the rear carb has a vacuum line hanging off of it. I cannot figure out where it goes. I can't seem to find any fitting on the front carb where it would go. I assume it's for the vacuum advance. Sorry for the long post, but I made some progress today and am pretty excited. Though if the engine noise turns out to be the bottom end, I am not going to be in a very good mood and there will probably be one more w111 sedan parted out for ebay.

Thanks
David

Mark DiSilvestro · #**112** 04-16-2007, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WANT '71 280SEL

I made it up to the shop today and spent a couple hours with the old girl. I got her running for the first time this year. It took awhile to get everything primed so it would fire, but it eventually got there. Turns out I had the 3rd and 4th plug wires mixed up at the spark plugs so it ran better after that. A few things though:
1) there is an intermittent clunking or knocking that sounds like it is coming from the engine. By uncle though it sounded like a rod bearing that is possible loose. It got a little better when the engine warmed up but it sort of came and went. Also, it got quite a bit better after I fixed the plug situation. The car is an auto and leaks tranny fluid pretty badly. My uncle also mentioned that the torque converter could have come loose. Or, if the tranny were really low on fluid is there anything that might make a noise like that? We couldn't really figure out where it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from the back somewhere like cylinders 4-6. The noise sounds like it would only be on 1 cylinder if it is an internal engine problem. I didn't really think these engines are known to need bottom end work. Is there anything that possibly comes loose after time and sounds like a bad rod bearing?
2) The front carb is leaking rather badly. It seems to be coming from the piece that the fuel return line comes off of. There is an "eye" piece which is the shape of a banjo and hallow in the middle where the return line plugs onto. Also, there is some sort of plunger looking thing that screws onto/through the "eye" piece. On this plunger piece, a little arm seems to rest against it or have the ability to push in a pin which is about 1/8" thick. Anyway, the pin does not move at all. Is this pin suppose to move and what is the purpose of this plunger piece? It seems to take about a 21-22mm to remove this "plunger" thing with the pin. I assume it is the copper crush rings that are leaking. Sorry I don't have any pics, but I'm doing my best to describe the parts. They are Zenith 35/40 INAT by the way.
3) Other than the large fuel leaks (the other one is coming from the rear carb but is much less severe), the carbs work great. With the plug situation figured out, the car idled very well. We were both surprised with how well the engine ran after the car had been sitting 8 years. After the fuel leaks are fixed, the carbs should be pretty set and ready to go.
4) One last thing, the rear carb has a vacuum line hanging off of it. I cannot figure out where it goes. I can't seem to find any fitting on the front carb where it would go. I assume it's for the vacuum advance. Sorry for the long post, but I made some progress today and am pretty excited. Though if the engine noise turns out to be the bottom end, I am not going to be in a very good mood and there will probably be one more w111 sedan parted out for ebay.

Thanks
David

Can't help with the vacuum hose and it's
nearly impossible to diagnose noises without actually seeing/hearing the engine, but -

Check the ignition timing. I've seen excessively advanced timing cause a knocking situation.

Pull the valve cover to inspect all the cam-lobes, followers or adjusters for excessive wear, looseness, dislocation.

Get down under to the converter axcess cover and check the flywheel-converter bolts. also pry against the flywheel to see if the flywheel-crank bolts could be loose. Unfortunately, If all this checks out OK, you may be in for a tear-down/overhaul.

As for the front carb fuel-return valve, You'll be lucky if it's just a gasket. Usually the valve's internal diaphragm cracks and it's no longer availible separately. You'll have to buy the whole valve. Summer 2005, I got one for a 66 250S, from Phil here at PartsShop, for about $100. Also initially, the new replacement valve from Phil leaked even worse than the old one! Turned out the new valve's internal fiber gasket had shrunk out of place from sitting on the shelf for too many years. Didn't want to waste more time trying to order another valve, and possibly having the same problem, so I dissassembled the old and new valves to see what I could do. I forget if was able to reseat the 'new' gasket or salvage one from the old valve, but one way or the other I was able to cure the leak.

Rear carb leak could be gaskets or the float valve sticking. Hope this helps.

Happy Motoring, Mark

WANT '71 280SEL · #**113** 04-16-2007, 02:33 PM

Thanks, Mark. I'll check it out tomorrow when I am back in town. What does the arm do that pushes against this valve? I assume that pin should be able to move? It is stuck now so I guess I'll just have to remove the valve tomorrow and see what I can figure out.

About the vacuum hose, are these supposed to have a vacuum advance hose on the rear carb? If I remember correctly, the car runs better when the line is plugged. It's only about 5-6" long so the only place it seems it would reach is the front carb.

Thanks
David

Mark DiSilvestro · #**114** 04-16-2007, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WANT '71 280SEL

Thanks, Mark. I'll check it out tomorrow when I am back in town. What does the arm do that pushes against this valve? I assume that pin should be able to move? It is stuck now so I guess I'll just have to remove the valve tomorrow and see what I can figure out.

About the vacuum hose, are these supposed to have a vacuum advance hose on the rear carb? If I remember correctly, the car runs better when the line is plugged. It's only about 5-6" long so the only place it seems it would reach is the front carb.

Thanks
David

The arm that "pushes against this valve", is supposed to push against this valve. It probably won't move because the diaphragm is hard as a rock and/or the pin is glued-solid by varnish.

I'm pretty sure that vacuum hose doesn't connect to the front carb, but instead connects to a vacuum-dashpot on the rear carb's throttle linkage. The dashpot will look something like the distributor's vacuum advance unit. Usually, a dashpot is used to slow throttle closure, and prevent stalling. Is your dashpot missing?
Did someone 'borrow' it before you bought the car? Plug the hose until you figure it out.

Happy Motoring, Mark