It's not as bad as the thread title indicates, but it did have a little flame going in the engine bay

I was driving the car back home when I noticed the A/C not working too well (it was 105+ outside). I look down at the coolant temperature gauge and it's at 110 degrees C. I'm sitting in traffic so I look for a place to pull over when I see smoke rising out of the grills in front. I'm thinking it's coolant boiling over so I turn the A/C off and the smoke goes away. Coolant temps drop below 100 C and I try the A/C again... this time the car bogs down a bit and it really takes some pedal to make it move. I come to a stop and see more smoke pouring out of the front grills so I immediately pull over this time. I pop the engine bay (with the car still running) and am greeted with a huge cloud of grey-ish smoke that smelled somewhat sweet, but real familiar for some reason.

I start looking frantically around the engine bay when I notice molten chunks of rubber dripping onto the ground. I thought that was weird and looked down at my A/C compressor... ahhh! flames!! The belt was on fire! I slammed the hood shut and turned the compressor off, then the engine off. I waited a few seconds and re-opened the hood to find the flames extinguished but the belt still bubbling like crazy where it connected to the compressor. No good. The familiar smell I was smelling earlier was burnt rubber

Sooo... I need a new A/C clutch/compressor assembly. I don't like messing with A/C stuff myself so I took it to a shop that specializes in older MBs. They quoted me $800.00 to overhaul the system and replace the compressor, belt, dryer, gaskets, and refill with new R12 freon.

Should be done today and then I can continue to drive the tank. Just thought I'd share this somewhat amusing story

Could have spiced it up a little, like, "So, what was I to do? Stuck in traffic with no fire extinguisher, I had no choice but to whip it out and give her the old R. Kelley treatment. The good part is that I got three phone numbers!"

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1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

I would say luck was on your side, rubber and plastic fires generally are some of the hardest to get put out, usually very tenacious. (of course, so is a flash fire on an intake manifold pooled up with carby cleaner because someone had to learn a lesson the hard way about how not to find vacuum leaks......won't do that again...)
-Chris

I had a similar experience when I locked up my (brand new) AC compressor a few years ago. It melted the belt and made lots of smoke, but no flames. I cut the belt and had to peel it off the pulley. Apparently mine failed due to a clogged expansion valve. The shop redid the entire system at their cost.

I almost spit my soda out reading that.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

I once had a '72 cutlass (with a 350 Rocket,,, talk about power) Well anyways, in 90+ degree weather, I had the A/C turn on max. It was working fine, then I heard a strange sound, so I turned the A/C off and smoke started coming in through the vents. I was only 1 or 2 miles from home, so I drove home. When I got home, I opened the hood, and the compressor was on fire. Locked up clutch. apparantly when the A/C cycled off, the clutch didn't disengage and the belt slipped until the car was turned off. Scarey feeling.

Marty

When I got my '83 300D, the belt was missing from the A/C. I installed one. When I hit the A/C button, the car stalled. GM R4 compressor was locked up tight. Replaced compressor and receiver/dryer. Flushed system, vacuumed and converted to R134a. Old style hoses lose a bit of the R134a, but system works. Total cost about $250.

burnt rubber in a 300D?? Must have been a previous car..

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79 MB 280 SEL Euro 133k
77 MB 450SL 154k
05 Mustang GT Vert (3) 104k
12 TSX Wagon Tech (66k) (192k)
06 Subaru Outback base (135k) 164k
16 Acura MDX (109k) 111k
18 Silverado 2500 LTZ Midnight (212) 56k
97 Ford Ranger 163k
11 RAV4 154k
01 Escape 173k
04 Honda Pilot 292k
1967 Mustang (Resto Project)
1968 Mustang (Parts Bin)
00 Ford Ranger 124k

Yeah...

I spend a lot of time at the racetrack with my Lotus Elise. Talk about polar opposites with the 300D. The 300D is so much different then the Lotus (heavy and slow lol) but I love it all the same. I've always had a soft spot for older Mercedes diesels. I brought the 300 to work today and had a few comments from co-workers... the car really stands out among the new C6 Corvettes and Porsches dotting the lot. It's in excellent shape and they asked where it's been hiding for the past 20 years. I'll post pictures later on today if I can.

I still give my friend back east crap for giving his door locks the "R. Kelly" treatment to unfreeze them one day