This must be my week for interesting car experiences.

Took the 280C on the DC beltway for about five miles and got off on an exit that is downhill with a sharp curve to the right. As I slowed and went into the turn, I noticed some blue smoke out the tailpipe. As I came out of the turn and accelerated a bit, the car behind me disappeared in the largest and densest cloud of smoke I have personally ever seen.

A WWII destroyer making smoke could not have done it better.

Since everything else seemed OK, and there was no place to pull over, I kept heading for the office, and the smoke cleared quickly. I went down a long hill and made a left, again leaving a huge cloud of smoke.

Made a quick detour to Foreign Service. After a quick conference, we decided that they would check for a loose valve seal and make sure everything was OK with crankcase ventilation. If this stuff was OK, I would take it home and do a compression check. I left feeling rather chagrined.

They called a couple of hours later, having determined that the vacuum pump had died. The pump is bolted to front of the cam cover and is driven by the exhaust camshaft. On turns and downhill, oil was running into the pump and being sucked into the intake manfold.

The purpose of the pump is to make sure that the emissions stuff has a stable supply of vacuum.

Their price for a new pump was $482.

BUT, a happy ending - Fastlane has a rebuild kit, now on its way for $27.95, shipping included.

AND, I want to tell you, that was some smoke.

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

I had a turbocharger go out on a diesel truck driving on the downtown connector here in Atlanta. One lady, if honking horns and middle fingers were not enough, showed me that she was dialing 911. The smoke was incredible.

__________________
"BECAUSE KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE"
G. I. JOE.

Chuck; Please post the result of the vacuum pump rebuild when complete. My '74 280C has a similiar problem.

__________________
David
'00 Mazda MPV Family's car
'83 300D 235,000
'84 109E 175,000
'74 280C 125,000 in garage; needs rehab or sell for parts???

Chuck,
Just reading your email about your smoke dispenser and saw that you have a '86300E with a 5 speed. Is that 5 speed manual and if so which serial number is it? I'm looking for a Mercedes 5 speed to put in my '83 300 Turbo Diesel.
Thanks,
Ben