Part One - Preparation.

It was months ago that I committed to a paddle trip down the Rogue River in Oregon. My friend Eric and I would meet some California friends there. The only question was whether to drive or fly and, if we drove, which car? It's a real hassle to fly with kayaks and accompanying gear and once you get there you need transportation anyway, so we leaned toward driving. Also, it's kind of nice to see the country from the road. The decision was either my '83 300D or his '95 4-Runner. Mine is easier on fuel and there is a "gas crunch" on. The MB also rides much smoother, but is it up to the task? Besides, we took his old Volvo to Utah a few years ago and it blew a head on a Colorado mountain pass. We had to rent a Ryder truck and tow the car back home to Alabama. We could have left it there since it has never been fixed, but that's another story. The point is, it's my turn to court disaster.

Some posts on this forum convinced me that these cars are up to the task, if properly maintained. That was my concern. I bought this car back in October and have done a few minor things to it, but I still didn't feel confident that all the bugs have been discovered and worked out. Time and money were scarce in the weeks before departure date, but I was foolishly determined to make a go of it.

Eric and I have two requirements for a long car trip - music and a/c. The radio didn't receive very well, but my portable cd player plugs into the cassette slot and sounds pretty good. A/c was a harder question. The previous owner had knocked a good bit off his asking price because the a/c compressor was dead. I had assumed he was right about that and had been driving with the windows open all spring and summer to beat the heat. But I researched a/c problems on this forum. I discovered that the compressor clutch wasn't turning. I checked for current at the clutch and didn't have any. I traced that back to the low pressure switch, jumpered that, and the clutch engaged. I charged the system with three cans of R-134 and the a/c started blowing cold! I only get 60 deg. at the dash vents, but that was enough to keep the car cool.

Then I changed the trans. fluid and filter and drained the oil for an oil change.

The next thing was to repair a leaky oil cooler line. I ordered one from a local indy shop because I didn't want to wait for it to come mail order. I just got the lower one since the upper one wasn't leaking and it cost $$. This looked like a simple fix. I planned to do this job Saturday morning and do other things before my planned departure Tuesday evening. Boy was that estimate wrong! There is no way to remove this hose without removing the engine mount. The lower engine mount bolt was not accessible because the access hole in the sub-frame did not line up with it. I ended up drilling out the access hole to make it bigger. This worked, but if I had to do it again, I think it would work to loosen the two bolts on top and the aluminum bracket from the engine. Then the whole thing might be moved around enough to get to the bolt.

The next problem was that this engine mount hex bolt was striped! I managed to hammer a bit into it and loosed it. But it was obvious that it had to be replaced. It could be tightened but not loosened. I didn't want to put it on and not be able to get it off if need be. So I began the search for a replacement. NAPA had one but it didn't have the washer/spacer the old one had and the washer on the old one was not going to be removed. I don't know how they get the washer on in the first place, but it will not move past the threads. So I went back to the Indy shop and they sent me to a junk yard. What a find! This yard specializes in Euro cars, mostly MBs. They sent me to their bolt bucket where I searched in vain for the bolt. Then a woman who worked there took pity and she and I began a search for the proper bolt. Picture me in nice casual clothes (on my way to an eye doctor appointment) riding with this lady in a dirty golf cart in 90 degree heat searching the yard for a W123 body with the engine still in it. She pulled at least two bolts that were the wrong size (not from W123!) before she pulled in the heavy hitters. We must have spent an hour and a half looking before she had someone pull an 83 300D with a fork lift and she removed the proper bolt.

The yard charged me $10 for the bolt and an ashtray (with working cig. lighter connection) and I tipped her $10 for her trouble. She deserved more. I was 45 min. late for my eye appointment and they made me wait another hour and half before they could work me in. This was Tuesday, my departure date, and I managed to get the bolt in (with advice from this forum) after dark in about 30 min. Then some friends came by and wanted to hang out. Eventually I finished packing, loaded the car and was good to go! By now it was 2 a.m. But I had a new oil cooler line, new oil and filter, new trans fluid and filter, working a/c and working cig lighter (which I needed for the c.d. player). I drove the hour to Eric's house and crashed in his spare bedroom.

NEXT - Part Two - Departure: What problems await?

Sounds like a fun trip! Keep us posted, hopefully the rest of the trip will be problem free.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200