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  #1  
Old 05-10-2009, 04:07 PM
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86sdl hard starts

Picked up my 300sdl yesterday. A couple issued so far that i need some guidance on. During the safety inspection the inspection shop found i need rear wheel bearings and rotors. How hard is this to do? Do i have to pull bearings to due the rotors?

The 2nd thing is this morning when i went to start it it took three times. It was 49 degrees. Could the glow plugs be weak?

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Old 05-10-2009, 07:27 PM
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Location: Blue Point, NY
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Originally Posted by buffa98 View Post
During the safety inspection the inspection shop found i need rear wheel bearings and rotors.




The 2nd thing is this morning when i went to start it it took three times. It was 49 degrees. Could the glow plugs be weak?
How, exactly, did the shop confirm that you need rear wheel bearings? This is an extensive job requiring skills and special tools and the diagnosis is usually made when there is a complaint of noise from one side of the rear axle.

Check the 80A strip fuse under the cover of the glow plug relay for a crack..........better to just replace it. This diagnosis is applicable if the problem manifested itself suddenly and, prior to today, there were no starting issues.

The other possibility is that the relay itself has given up the ghost. You'll need a suitable voltmeter to check for voltage at the glow plugs during the start sequence.


The final possibility is two or three bad glow plugs. This would require the driver to be inattentive of prior symptoms leading to the no start condition.
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Old 05-10-2009, 08:21 PM
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How, exactly, did the shop confirm that you need rear wheel bearings? This is an extensive job requiring skills and special tools and the diagnosis is usually made when there is a complaint of noise from one side of the rear axle.
Was getting new tires...... the guy doing the inspection and tires showed me the 12 & 6 o'clock play - about 1/4 inch. He said this is a bearing and I assumed it was! I am new to this vehicle. He did check the rear wheels the way I would check the front wheels for bearing play. ALSO, during the drive home yesterday - the car got a weird shimmy shaking the steering whel - when I slowed down it went away it didn't return when sped back up but did occur again a little further down the road at approximately 65 mph.

As far as starting - the car sat for 18 months prior to my buying it yesterday. I added new fuel, new fuel filter, new battery & after 6 tries it fired. I drove it 40 miles and then this morning see previous post.

86 300SDL
New Transmission (prior to sitting 18 months)
New Radiator
Assorted New suspension parts in front
purchased for $1K, hoping to put no more then $1500 into it
Odometer doesn't work - it is down the road repair - but any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you for your help!

Scott
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Old 05-10-2009, 09:49 PM
Inna-propriate-da-vida
 
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How long of a glow cycle did you do?

Was it colder today than the day you bought it?
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On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

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  #5  
Old 05-10-2009, 10:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buffa98 View Post
Was getting new tires...... the guy doing the inspection and tires showed me the 12 & 6 o'clock play - about 1/4 inch. He said this is a bearing and I assumed it was! I am new to this vehicle. He did check the rear wheels the way I would check the front wheels for bearing play. ALSO, during the drive home yesterday - the car got a weird shimmy shaking the steering whel - when I slowed down it went away it didn't return when sped back up but did occur again a little further down the road at approximately 65 mph.

As far as starting - the car sat for 18 months prior to my buying it yesterday. I added new fuel, new fuel filter, new battery & after 6 tries it fired. I drove it 40 miles and then this morning see previous post.

86 300SDL
New Transmission (prior to sitting 18 months)
New Radiator
Assorted New suspension parts in front
purchased for $1K, hoping to put no more then $1500 into it
Odometer doesn't work - it is down the road repair - but any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you for your help!

Scott
If there's a 1/4" of play in the rear spindles, then he's correct, the bearings are long overdue for a change.

Since the vehicle is new to you, the first step is to check each glow plug for resistance to determine how many are NG. There is a plug on the side of the glow plug relay. Inside the plug are six sockets. Using an ohmmeter, check each socket to ground. You're looking for about 1 ohm. Anything more than 2.........or any infinite resistance.........means that it's got to be changed.

Also, verify that there is 12V at the plugs during the glow cycle.
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Old 05-13-2009, 06:55 PM
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Update to the story

Well took the car to an indy that speciality is benz. About 1100 dollar estimate for the following
1.Replace all 4 axle boots
2.replace inner and outer rear wheel bearings both sides.
3.replace rotors and pads on rear
4.Flush brake fluid and bleed all brakes.

I checked with another source about the labor of 9.5 hours and was told that was about right. After thar I will tackle the glow plug issue. 2show open and 1 show 2.5 ohms.

If you were me would I be better off to replace all 6 at once?
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Old 05-13-2009, 06:58 PM
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Originally Posted by buffa98 View Post

If you were me would I be better off to replace all 6 at once?
Since you'll probably take the manifold off anyway, six now saves three more later.............
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  #8  
Old 05-13-2009, 08:59 PM
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the other nice thing about this guy is that he has no problem talking to me on phone with questions on the car. He has 4 of his own and it seems like he is the type that "if you love what you do you will never work a day in your life" He said that he will look every thing else over and give me a list of needs soon and needs later,
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  #9  
Old 05-13-2009, 09:15 PM
Inna-propriate-da-vida
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buffa98 View Post
Well took the car to an indy that speciality is benz. About 1100 dollar estimate for the following
1.Replace all 4 axle boots
2.replace inner and outer rear wheel bearings both sides.
3.replace rotors and pads on rear
4.Flush brake fluid and bleed all brakes.

I checked with another source about the labor of 9.5 hours and was told that was about right. After thar I will tackle the glow plug issue. 2show open and 1 show 2.5 ohms.
Estimate doesn't seem out of line, but I'd plan a couple hundred more for replacing brake lines if you live in rust country. Have the shop check under the rubber brake and fuel line line holders for rotted lines.
__________________
On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif
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  #10  
Old 05-13-2009, 09:17 PM
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The while-you're-in-there list includes trailing arm bushings.

Sixto
87 300D
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  #11  
Old 05-19-2009, 04:27 PM
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Lightbulb Update

Well when it rains it pours........ The back end is coming along right with the estimate, how ever the issue with the starting other than the glow plug issue is a streched timing chain. So i will add that to the repair mix along with the idler pulley and shock for the belt. By the time i am done getting this on the road i am hoping to not have any more issues out of it for a long while...........

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