I drove home my first diesel, a 95 E300 yesterday.

(My mom and stepdad called me a "greasemonkey" when I worked in a machine/auto shop in high school> Not being gifted at running a Bridgeport, I went off to college..)

Grease monkey as in diesel owner and , methinks, afficionado. First, as regards the above reference, I like the smell of diesel fuel, as it reminds me of being a 16 yr old kid cleaning parts in the machine shop, which used kerosene ( and tri chor if ya wanted some cancer)

So I dont mind the smell. Hey, when you're coming up on ur 46th in a few weeks, being reminded of your 16 yr old days is cool.

HAvent driven an MBz in over 25 yrs! ( 1980 300TD around the block when I was a kid). so yesterday, I hopped into the '95 E 300 I bought off Ebay and drove 400+ miles home, through the crappiest winter weather you can imagine in Central PA. I filled the tank and within 50 miles the snow cleared and I had dry roads to run on.

220,000 miles and the car acts like its on a string. Taut, tight, all there. Amazing.

Never had a car get out of a fishtail as quickly as this little sedan does.

The last 250 miles were done @ 80-85 mph with some WOT passing. I topped off the tank when I got into Buffalo. 8.25 gals into 285 miles. Not flippin' bad.

Having driven US cars ( Chevys in particular ), I can REALLY appreciate the engineering in these rides.

As I told my girlfriend ( wife).. " Honey, I dont think I'll ever own another brand of car again."

(Well, I do run a rebuilt Chevy truck through the Buffalo winter. They do make awesome full size trucks.)

I am truly impressed with this 220K specimen. It will be a "three season" car for me in Buffalo NY. With fuel economy to help offset the three ton "halftrack" I run in the winter.

I'm in big time! And I'm sure I'll be asking for some help. So far Russell at Diesel Giant has been of help!


( like if the 15-40W Rotella I use in the old solid cammed big block Chevy is the right stuff for the diesel. Its going in today, along with a few ozs of EOS).

A long , " hey y'all.

to the world of diesels I think you will be very happy, I have an 87 300D turbo and I love it. Has the same body as your car but different engine (3.0L 6cyl.) Mine will turn 314K this weekend. Stll runs perfect, doesn't use/leak oil, I too am very happy. You have many miles ahead, congratulations.

__________________

Muleears
'07 E320 Bluetec 133K my DD
'04 Jaguar XJ8 VDP, 34K
'10 Hyundai Accent 60K Grocery Getter
'02 VW Golf soon to be on the road again
'97 E300 Diesel Son's DD
'61 VERY tolerant wife

Hampton Roads, VA USA

Gone but not forgotten:
'67 250S 95K
'86 300SDL
'87 300D Turbo, 364K! R.I.P.
'98 E300 Turbodiesel, 213K
'02 S420, 164K
'01 Prius 138K

I hope to get the 314K milage badge, AT LEAST, under my care!

We hope so too. A true testament to a Benz!

That right there is the reason 99% of us drive a diesel MB. I go to junkyards to find parts- but in the process I "deconstruct" at least one car that has the part in no good shape to understand how to remove the good part on another yard car. The I get the good part, then when it comes to my car the operation goes usually smoothly. I'm always amazed and end up saying to myself- "now that's the way it should be built". The mechanics ARE/WERE the engineers for the MB's I own.

Take the oil filter for eg.,! Now that's an oil filter!

Looks like I'm going to need a crash course in the tuning of a 606.910 engine. Whileit ranfine yesterday, it was running when I got to the dealer.Now I know why; cold start this am was brutal. VERY noisy, & smokey. Not ready to be my daily driver until I square that away. Its injector timing that causes the noise,isnt it? It certainly "rattles on acceration. THe noise on cold start is very metallic. Sounds like only one cylinder as well.

I swapped the oil andfilter out, even though I plan on purging it next.Prolly should have kept the old oil in until after the purge. But I wanted to get some Rotellain there. Lordknowswhatthey put in atthe dealer, or IF,since it wasnt fresh oil.

Guys, I cant even figure out where the main fuel lines are. There are so many in the "Medusa"!

Best start searching this site and learnin'! Now I's gunna be a real greasemonkey! This engine should run much better when started at 50 + degrees. And the rattle on acceleration isnt normal, I should think. Much akin to the pre-ignition I once heard in my high compression 427.

Built/maintain one of those well, now have to learn how to tune a diesel. Quick too, I wanna drive this buggy! I love it! Man, if the motor needs a tune, the 34 mpg might even have been low. Kripes man, I cant imagine 37 mpg from a ride like this!