240D after 500 miles & possible drive to Alaska
 

Well I just wanted to post up my thoughts on my newly acquired 81 240D and post a few questions that some of you long time Benzers may answer.

I purchased my 240D manual 4 speed in Vegas with 136k.. a one owner rust free dirver literally driven by a 81 year old lady who bought it new in Gemany 1981. She owned and had a German MB service it since new. I brought it to a 4500' elevation in Utah and lost some of that oomph I need. Here are my qustions after 500 miles. ( keep in mind the car runs real well and gets 26-28 mpg. I havent done that much straight out higway driving yet. .. ( that comes next)... Alaska baby here I come...I want to get in on the end of the King Salmon run out of Soldatna Ak.
..........here is what I wondered about.........
*Seems like I am really hammering the little engine when I shift at the suggested shift points onthe speedo. Is That OK.. can I over rev?
* when I start to slow down due to long uphills ... do I need to move off the go pedal as I slow ?.. does that cause poor ignition if I leave the hammer down ( unburnt fuel) and lead to overheating? I have not gone over 90c yet btw.
* Can I run/rev that little 4 banger as harder?.. say stay in 3rd gear for extended periods on uphills up to 55 mph. IIRC 55mph+ is the shift point for 3rd. I feel like I may over rev due to no tach.
I am considering driving to Alaska in July via the Alcan highway thru Canada just to say I did it. Will I see some improvement as I get closer to sea level?... what percent would you say in terms of power ? 10-15%
* Any suggestions for a long trip from Utah to Alaska?

I sure like the little bugger for cruising at 65 mph... that seems to be the sweet spot .. What rpms would a stock tire 240D be at 4th gear at 65-70 mph?
any and all suggetions appreciated.

thanks
Bennett

stuff
 

those hash marks are maximum speeds for the gears. they are there so you wont go over them inadvertantly while going downhill. i normally only use them as shift points if maximum urge is needed such as a passing situation. climbing hills, keep the motor sounding happy. dont lug it down and dont rev it to the max. it will tell you if it is happy by its sound. this keeps oil circulating and fan pushing air. you can keep the pedal to the floor climbing and when it sounds like it is beginning to strain shift to a lower gear. in a 240 pedal down all the way is pretty much standard operating proceedure until a desired speed is reached. for the trip just change all filters if you havent already and the oil make sure your tires are good, and if possible take an extra spare tire. the roads up there are pretty rough... also if a big truck is coming from the other way, just pull over as far as you can and let it pass. also take extra headlights or install a rock screen. the rocks like to fly and break stuff... good traveiling. i wish i could come too.

Hammer down and mash your motor - pedal to the metal - Get used to using ALL the gears, constantly shifting to keep first 3 gears at least *close* to peak performance in upper rpm range. And get used to the engine racket, it wont explode.

Those hash marks are NOT redlines. You can grab gears easily 5 mph beyond the shift points without over-revving the engine.

And the 240D performs best if you drop gears no further than 10 mph below shiftpoints..... ie. 4th gear is useless at/below 45 mph. In fact 4th sucks at 55mph when you need high torque for climbing hills or racing around on windey roads. Aint nothin wrong with keeping engine rpm at 55mph in 3rd gear all day long.

Whats killing you on Utah hills is you are probably lugging the engine at low rpm's.

Advice for Utah/Alaska..... bring cartons of cigarettes even if you dont smoke; credit cards and bank debit cards usually offer better currency exchange than what you otherwise get; and less than an ounce of marijuanna is legal in Alaska; at Canada you can get some dynamite hash, openly smoked at nightclubs and saloons - but forget about cossing the border with it.

Another thing ... I just went for a ride in a 83 300D tonight with an auto trans..
engine is retarded to 11* degrees ... ist they bubble timed it and it ran like a dog and nailed. Then they road timed it to 11* and it is a rocket ship...well. kind of :)

I have read that a 240D 4 spd is equal to a 300D normaly aspirated non turbo..

That is way off.. that 300d with 250k could kick my butt all day long... now I'm startin to get second thoughts.. I better not go for a ride in a turbo!

My '83 turbo wagon with a manual tranny is fun-in-a-package. The ALDA is maxed-out so, off idle performance is pretty good in town too. The shifting takes some getting used to and is decidedly an acquired skill coz these gear boxes aren't 'silky smooth' by any stretch. One of these days, I'll get around to installing the 5-speed manual I have in stock. At that point, Marlene the Wonder Wagon will be just about perfect.

My '84 300D has 280,000+ miles and is still strong. In fact, reduced cruise RPMs was about the ONLY difference I could detect after installing a 2.88 differential in her.

I was getting excited about your manual 240D until you said that a normally aspirated 300D could outrun it. That should not happen. Your 240D is not running right.

As far as reliability and going to Alaska. I drove two 240D's a total of 808,000 miles. The first one went 285,000 miles and the second one 523,000 miles. During almost all of those miles in the second one, I was doing business travel that required me to ABSOLUTELY be on time wherever I went.

It was routine for me to get up in the wee hours and drive 300 miles to be at an important meeting. My company and my own livelihood depended on it. Neither of these 240D's EVER caused me to be late or miss a meeting due to mechanical failure. The closest I ever came was losing an alternator belt about 8 miles from Hope, Arkansas. I rolled into hope, found an auto supply, called ahead to let them know that I might be late, got a belt, stripped to the waist, put on the belt while listening to the car phone, took a call, kept working, went in and scrubbed and dressed and was on time, BARELY.

The scariest part was spending that much time in Hope, Arkansas (Bill Clintons birthplace.)

These cars MUST be among the most reliable cars ever put on the highway.

Enjoy your trip,

ditto
 

the 240s are the best. the highest quality, simplist and easiest to work on ever.

the only weak point is the marginal 45a altenator. not counting the inherent lack of power. oh yeah, the ac is marginal also.

The injector pump timing factor you are speaking of compensates for camshaft chain stretch. 11* degrees is about maximum stretch on the chain. There is no ignition system you understand.

But if the car has been dealership maintained, this should already be set correctly. It's the kinda thing you do about every 100k miles or 3-4* degrees of chain stretch.

But whether or not altitude is factor for injector pump timing is an interesting idea!! Nevertheless you are using gasoline logic if you think 'ignition timing' is the answer.

Major factor is that low-land old lady cars are often the most sluggish diesels of all with carbon fouled piston crowns and valve seats from constantly being driven at low rpm's and never being correctly warmed up. Diesels need clean piston crowns to concentrate heat which ignites the engine on its own accord. The only remedy is high rpm running for extended periods of time to burn the combustion chambers clean.

And Larry aint jokin when he talks about carrying an extra fan belt. ONE belt operates the alternator and water pump too. Selectively search Larry's posts and you will get some darned good advice.

Of course the alternator bracket is the biggest joke on the 240D.... you will see, the ridiculous alt bracket is more complicated and has more weaknesses than the entire car.

Great info.... Larry, dieseldog, others.. thank you

So would you suggest the following..

diesel purge
valve adjust
new fluids ( running castrol 20/50 gtx right now)
check chain stretch even with 136K?
Should I bubble time it?

to the last poster: why is your screen name 240Dieseldog.. your worrying me!

I went to Alaska in my 240D in 1999. Was a great trip. Rev the engine like you stole it but make sure you have nice clean oil every 5000 miles. Consider bringing a filter with you for the change up there.

Only trouble I had was an alternator that went bad - the mounts got all oval and the belt wouldn't hold tension. NAPA in Anchorage sold me a Delco alternator that worked great for several years until I sold the car.

Contrary to poplular belief, the roads up there are pretty good. I recall only having to drive 100 or so miles on gravel plus several hundred more (by choice) on the Dalton highway.

From the driver's seat: http://homepage.mac.com/grozier/resources/100mph.html

Ted

anyone who plans a trip to Alaska with a 25 year old car 500 miles after they bought it has world class cojones....

The drive to Alaska is a trip like you'll never experience again...unless you drive it twice. My wife and I drove the ALCAN in 1972 from Panama City, FL...4,544 miles. Wore out a set of shocks and had a windshield busted. That was when only 25 miles of the highway through Whitehorse was paved. However, you were given good advise to take spare headlights, etc. A rock screen for the radiator and lights would also be advisable.

You'd better get to Soldotna before July 15th if you want to be assured of hitting the King run. Though the season goes till 31 July, they often close the Kenai to taking Kings after mid-July. Terrific first run of Red Salmon (Sockeye) this year, but have no idea what the second run (~20 July) will be like. Historically the runs are smaller in the odd-numbered years, but 2005 seems like it might be an exception.

If you miss the Kings, then you'll be ok for late Reds and if you hang around you can get in on the Silvers which start around the second week of August on the Kenai peninsula.

Enjoy the trip!

cojones?
 

about 10 years ago i bought one of my 8 or so 240ds. it had about 180,000 on it i think. i picked it up on thursday, changed oil filter, oil, fuel filters, air filters and headed out on a 1000 mile one way trip. my wife thought i was nuts (no mention of world class cojones by her)... i said no... i was just sure it was a good sound car. no problem. it didnt miss a beat.

I drove from Upstate NY to Anchorage in 1976 with a 1975 240D, the first new car I ever bought. No problems, and back then the road was, as someone noted above, all gravel except for a few miles on either side of Whitehorse.

If the car is performing very poorly, meaning you have too little power, check the throttle linkage carefully. These cars have a series of levers that turn the throttle movement of your foot to a twisting motion that moves the fuel controls on the injection pump using a linear motion. There are a couple of prime spots where the linkage can get loose and you lose up to a third of the available, and necessary, throttle motion at the injection pump. I have repaired this on my 1982 and 1983 240D (the 1982 is dead and being readied for the scrap yard) using popsicle sticks and electrical tape to take up the slack in one of the joints.

Good luck and enjoy the drive. I also made the trip once in a 1967 Fiat 124 Sport Spyder, in late February. The road was much better, all solid, smooth ice. But it was mighty cold. Jim