Anyone listen to the tappet brothers this weekend? Guy called in from Chicago with an 83 300d. Had added anti-gel in the cold weather and afterwards can started missing at lower rpm's with white smoke. Cleared up at higher rpm's but always returns at lower rpm's. Car has 125k on it. Brothers diagnosed a blown head gasket. What does everyone think? Guy said he had a coolant leak somewhere since he could see it on the ground.
I think blown headgasket's on 617's are pretty rare so I'm not confident in their diagnosis. I was thinking perhaps an injector problem of some kind.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I heard the show.

Those guys are diesel haters. Probably lib'rul Democrats.

I agree, sounds like maybe an injector problem.

It was a grandma car. 125k, as I recall.

Fuel filters and valve adjustment wouldn't hurt either.

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Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

This is what I think of Click and Clack's advise. That is the first time I've heard someone with a 123 call in. And they got bad advise. They were too quick to say bad compression or a blown head gasket. Anti-gel should cause either one of those things to happen. I too put my money on a bad injector.

I'm a lib'rul and I own three diesels.

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I'm a lib'rul and I own nine diesels including my JD 855.
Not a "stir the pot type" but I just couldn't resist on this one.

I missed the show this weekend but I usually try to listen to it on Monday at work. The "Tappet Brothers" are good mechanics but they are also trying to make snap diagnoses over the phone to mostly clueless (mechanically) people. What kind of accuracy do you expect.

Good entertainment for the most part though. Except for the incessant snorting laughter by which brother I can never remember.

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1982 240D auto
1978 300CD auto
1985 300D auto
1983 300TD auto
1984 Porsche 944 5 speed
1973 Opel GT 1900 4 speed
1967 Chevy C30 350 Sm420
1973 Mustang Grande Convertible 302 C4
1981 VW Pickup 1.6D Turbo 5 speed
1983 Rabbit 1.6D Factory Turbo 5 speed
Plus parts vehicles...

I use to like to listen to those guys. I never hear them much anymore. They are shooting from the hip in most instances. Heck it's free advice, why not.

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1982 300SD

I don't believe the two are mutually exclusive.

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1987 300TD 309, xxx 2.8.2014 10,000 mile OCI


Be careful of the toes you step on today, as they may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow. anonymous

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter won’t mind.” Dr. Seuss

I heard the show. They didn't ask the right questions but the owner probably wouldn't have been able to answer the right questions anyway. C&C have talked about Mercedes diesels in the past and have gotten it wrong then, too (something about biodiesel, as I recall, they thought it was the same as WVO).

Anti-gel would not cause a blown head gasket or cracked head (especially in a 617) but then again, it could have been a coincidence, the owner might very well have some kind of serious problem that happened about the time he added the anti-gel.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

They were surprised it had 5 cylinders. They need to go back to MIT.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

They are very entertaining and they freely admit that sometimes they get lucky and give out the right answer.(stump the chumps) Click and Clack are a welcome relief from all the dismal news that is in the media these days. They make their listeners laugh or feel happy. They show a working knowledge of thermodynamics and physics. Could be MIT? I like them.

Green party, 1 diesel starts, the other doesn't, but I'm thinkin' 'Yes we can!'.

Blown head will show in the coolant.

Bad injector can be isolated- idle, crack a injector line, observe smoke, tighten, proceed to next. The one that turns the smoke on and off is bad.

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CC: NSA

All things are burning, know this and be released.

82 Benz 240 D, Kuan Yin
12 Ford Escape 4wd

You're four times

It's hard to

more likely to

concentrate on

have an accident

two things

when you're on

at the same time.

a cell phone.

www.kiva.org It's not like there's anything wrong with feeling good, is there?

Tom and Ray, alias Click & Clack, are great diagnosticians. If you listen to the process they use to diagnose a problem, it will be helpful in diagnosing your own. I haven't listened in a while, mostly because when they say at the end of the show - "Well, you've just wasted another perfectly good hour . . .", I usually am thinking, yea, I could have been gettings some other stuff done. I do really enjoy them when I am driving but am not usually driving on a Saturday morning when they are on. I especially like the puzzler and the credits at the end of show.

I have never heard them talk about diesels but wish I was listening to this one. I see you can listen online so I'll have to check it out. http://www.cartalk.com/ct/review/index.jsp

I think Tom is the snorter. He just looks more like a snorter to me, and I think I have heard him snort when Ray was talking.

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85 300D 75K Anthracite Grey 0-60 in 13 seconds **For Sale**
84 300D 333K Black (The Velveteen Rabbit) 0-60 in 14 seconds
00 Toyota Sienna 208K (Sold)
15 Subaru Outback 43K
11 Subaru Outback 67K
98 Ford Taurus 100K (Gertie - Was Grandma's - drove it to church and shopping - really) Daughter's car now.
30 Model A Ford 2 Door Sedan (Sold) 0-60 in . . . Never reached 60

I suspect that is the Chicago owner I spoke with the following Monday..

Turned out the anti-jell was for gasoline engines = alcohol based.
Alcohol and diesel oil (unlike gasoline, which can be blended) do not mix



Tom and Ray are wonderful people, and freely admit their show is entertainment with the best diagnosis time allows.

They have xxxx seconds for each call, glad it is not me..

I really enjoy listening to them (and have since about 1988), but I think they blew it on this one. I have it on most Saturday mornings when I am generally working on..you guessed it..cars anyway...so its not a waste of time. In fact, listening to them and the problems makes me thankful that I have a fleet of third world cars that respond well to my knowledge and tinkering. I find lately that I guess along with them pretty well.


Rick

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

I considered this the second worse diagnosis I have ever heard from them. The worst was a couple of years ago when a guy with a jeep cherokee called in. He said he was towing a large trailer and during long steep grades he had white smoke coming from under the car.
Click and clack thought it was an intermittant leak in the transmission cooler . It seemed fairly obvious that the guy didn't have a transmission cooler and he was boiling fluid on long grades. They said to check the fluid level regularly and not worry.
That guy probably has a new tranny by now. Hoperfully the rebuilder recommended a cooler.

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1985 300 TD 448K
1984 300 TD 278K

1983 240D euro 240k
1994 f-250 idi turbo 330K
1986 f-350 IDI
1987 F-350 IDI

1985 JD 1050 4wd
1965 IH 3660

Come on people! It's a comedy show about cars! I'll quit listening when their humor quits making me laugh. I used to listen to a show called Goss' Garage, and it was dry as toast. Plus the guy has an ego the size of a small planet and a whiny, grating voice that just bugs the hell out of me. Sure his advice is probably better - but that's why I buy the FSM for.

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1984 300TD