Parts Catalog Accessories Catalog How To Articles Tech Forums
Call Pelican Parts at 888-280-7799
Shopping Cart Cart | Project List | Order Status | Help



Go Back   PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum > Mercedes-Benz Tech Information and Support > Diesel Discussion

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 08-27-2013, 01:14 AM
Phil_F_NM's Avatar
Camera Hacker
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Mid-Atlantic region
Posts: 1,576
My "new" 220D and my Mercedes diesel love

This is quite long so I apologize in advance. Mods: If this belongs in another forum discussion area, please feel free to move it.

So I fell in love with diesel Mercedes-Benz autos when I saw my friend Mike's so-dark-green-it-looks-black 1973 220D in February or 2012. I was only near the car for a few days as I was out in the area for his wedding. I was also his photographer, so you can read a bit of the story and see some photos of the wedding and the car here.

August of that year I found myself out in New Mexico, needing a car for a job. I was looking for an old favorite of mine, a pre-1982 Toyota Corolla (I really wanted any car pre-1986 because of the complexity of emissions and computer codes after OBD1 Kenobe.) I had a 1978 Corolla liftback which I loved, back when I was in the Navy stationed at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington (where I met Mike about thirteen years ago.)

Scouring the craigslist ads and the autotrader I couldn't find a decent Corolla or old CVCC for less than $6000 for some reason. Mike told me to look for diesel Mercedes and I remembered how much I loved his car but thought I'd be in it for the same amount as a Corolla. Not to mention that I'd never worked on a diesel before in my life. I'd rebuilt VW, and Ford engines. Torn apart just about every domestic brand and a few Japanese but the high German marque of excellence was daunting.

I found my 1978 300D just 2 miles from where I grew up in Edgewood, New Mexico. It belonged to the guy who lived across the street from my old scoutmaster for years. I called him up, checked what I thought was everything over, drove it and fell a little bit in love. It had been a full six years since i'd owned a vehicle. Living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I just didn't need one.



So I bought the 300D and set to learning about these things.

I learned a ton.

I replaced every single suspension bushing in the rear of the car and a bunch in the front. New rear springs, shocks, fluids, everything I needed to make it reliable.

It's been a wonderful year and just over 13,000 miles. A trip from New Mexico to Washington.



Then to the east coast.

What I didn't pay attention to when I bought the car was the rust. The engine is strong like it's brand new but the body behind the wheel wells is lacking. Lacking anything. I used to be able to see through the floor at the corners of the footwells. The jackpoints are almost rusted out but from what I can gather, they still hold a load. I'm always leery about them so I take extra precautions when raising the car with the Bilstein jack. By the way, that Bilstein jack needs some praise. It is a serious tool and I lifted my 300D about 50 times those first few months when I was getting everything ready to go.

So the 300D has a tranny leak at the front pump seal and I have nowhere here in Jersey City to work on the car. Add to that, the evil servo is dead and the AC pump is seized. The pully just freewheels on the shaft. The interior is well worn and it's all atop the rust. If I had a garage to fix her up I would gut the car and get some patches welded in to take care of the rust but it's insidious and rather extensive.

These last few months I've been thinking of these repairs and how I was going to get them done and still get around. A few positive financial things changed that allowed me a bit of breathing room and I was about to just send her off for a full refreshing but having a shop do it would have cost me well over $6000, mostly labor. If I did the work myself, I'd have to move to a location pretty far away where I could afford to rent a place with a garage that I could work in. That was still looking to cost me over $3000 just to fix the tranny and the evil servo.

So I got a “wild hair” and started scouring the classifieds again for a car. This time for the car I wanted.
I called about six different people in five different states. I was about to take a detour on my upcoming roadtrip to the southwest, down to El Paso to buy a very nice 220D. Then Friday evening (the 23rd of August) I found a 220D in almost the exact same color as my 300D, just 8 miles west of where I live.

(This is the photo from the craigslist ad.)

I called the owner up, went over and checked the car over.

When I saw it, I was astounded. Jackpoints looked new. No rust under the pan. No rust behind the wheel wells like my 300D has. Just a small non-structural spot on the passenger side behind the rear wheel well which is going to be fixed ASAP. No rust under the battery. There was a tiny little 3 inch dent from what I think was an accidental backing into something and then where the bumper bolts on to the frame, there is rust visible in the trunk. The trunk itself has surface rust but not deep.

Wheels felt solid and didn't rock any way, fore-aft, side-side, up-down. Shocks need to be replaced but I figured as much.

Under the hood the powerplant looked so spartan compared to my 300D. Just an engine and an alternator. No power steering! (well, it's one less thing to leak!) Engine has a little blowby but not a ton. Just makes the cap dance a bit. It had a leaky injector which was a good bargaining chip too. No problem to change that out with a known good injector.

The car drives great. In spite of no power steering, it handles well and it has a ton of pickup. That first gear is so low that the car gets up and scoots pretty quickly. Much better than my 300D. I can't imagine hanging an OM617 off that tranny. That would be a lot of torque. The test drive went great but the car has a few hiccups:

Heater/fresh air blower doesn't work.
Windshield wipers don't work.
Reverse lights don't work (shifter linkage is a bit loose so this may be the issue which I'll correct with new bushings.)
Glow plug switch / Pull starter knob broken off
Clock doesn't work
There is a single very small crack in the dash. It actually looks like a factory cut right in the center.
The driver seat upper corners have small tears that can easily be repaired.
Headliner needs a bit of repair on the passenger side rear pillar.









But those are all little things. Considering the stars in my eyes for this rust-free beauty, I didn't see any of her little imperfections.

So I made him an offer a couple hundred lower than what he was asking and here she is. Today, all mine.

Me and my "new" 220D and my "old" 300D.

This is the car I wanted (and I don't mind the color, even) a year and a half ago but had to learn to respect and even adore these old beautiful workhorses before I could find it.

Phil Forrest

__________________
1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson

Last edited by Phil_F_NM; 09-16-2013 at 01:02 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 08-27-2013, 01:53 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Vancouver, WA
Posts: 21
Nice car Phil! I'm glad you got what you wanted. You deserve it.

It's amazing how different our cars are for being only one year apart. Your fuel filter assy has a canned filter...mine is a cartridge style. Your emergency flasher switch is completely different...I have a big red button. Your rear defrost switch is in a different place. Seat belts are different too...I have full shoulder belts anchored on the bottom half in the front and retractable lap belts in the rear. Where is your cigarette lighter?

Yours also probably has the original engine and transmission ;-)

You're definitely encouraging me to post more here...I too have the 220D love affair going full strength. I could almost write a book about it, and it's only been 7 years. Purchased in a sad state then brought back to life. Sold and then re-acquired. Road trips galore. Wedding pictures. Repairs performed that make me wonder how I was even still going down the road. It's absolutely a fantastic car. Nearly indestructible. Quite possibly the most reliable car ever built.

Here's to the next 7 years and beyond.
__________________
1973 MB 220D 4 spd
1998 MB E300
2003 Jetta TDI
1979 Monte Carlo 350 gasser
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 08-27-2013, 02:17 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 3,740
Nice new car, but looks like I see rot in the quarter panel.....

Looks like you have a nice project on your hands!

Are you going to junk the 300d or continue working on that too?
__________________
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 08-27-2013, 02:53 AM
Phil_F_NM's Avatar
Camera Hacker
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Mid-Atlantic region
Posts: 1,576
Yeah, that one quarter panel is where its rusty. That's it though.
The 300D is going to get cleaned up and hopefully sold before I head out west. If not sold by then, I need to store it and then see about selling it later in the year. I'm already committed to this big photo trip out west so one car has to stay and one car has to drive to New Mexico.

Phil Forrest
__________________
1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 08-27-2013, 03:06 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 3,740
Ah well if you take the new 220....some advice would be to check the air filter, its an oil bath type filter....no one ever cleans them or adds oil....the injection pump requires oil be added to it....change out the loop style plugs....check the vacuum diaphragm on the pump....do an oil change and confirm both pieces of the filter is there....valve adjustment and remember there is a leather diaghram on the injection pump that governs it....if it tears you'll experience a run away engine....and also do the fuel filters....not sure if you took your 300d to altitude yet, but if you did....you know these things are hell at altitude....you'll see grandma in her power scooter going faster....so make sure its all tuned up.....I believe the engine in the 220 is relatively the same as the 240...this advice pertains to a w115 240 I had..
__________________
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 08-27-2013, 10:31 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Canada
Posts: 14
The body looks really nice. The heater blower is buried real deep in the dash. Expect that to take a while to change. I thought I'd have to change mine but a drive into a strong wind got it moving again ...
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 08-27-2013, 10:50 AM
Phil_F_NM's Avatar
Camera Hacker
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Mid-Atlantic region
Posts: 1,576
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave7 View Post
The body looks really nice. The heater blower is buried real deep in the dash. Expect that to take a while to change. I thought I'd have to change mine but a drive into a strong wind got it moving again ...
This car has sat in a garage for years, supposedly. I was thinking that a good stiff breeze might be able to free up the brushes if they've gotten sticky on the motor. If I could at least get to the blades and turn them as well as drop a bit of lube on there, I think I could get it going. Then again, it might be a dead resistor pack or even the switch. Either way, I'll get them fixed but that isn't priority right this instant.

Phil Forrest
__________________
1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 08-27-2013, 11:23 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Leiden, Netherlands
Posts: 614
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil_F_NM View Post
The test drive went great but the car has a few hiccups:

Heater/fresh air blower doesn't work.
The blower motor is in an awkward position. The lower part of the dashboard has to be removed, including the heater box to replace it. It is not difficult, but a lot of stuff has to be removed. Sometimes it works to get a bit of oil by means of a tube on the blower motor axle.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil_F_NM View Post
Clock doesn't work
Replacing the elcos in the clock usually repairs the clock.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 08-27-2013, 06:44 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Fredericksburg, VA
Posts: 444
Nice car Phil, my first 300td was the same color. So, you're moving out west? I moved here from Tucson (a good place to find older rust free Mercedes).
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 08-28-2013, 10:24 AM
Phil_F_NM's Avatar
Camera Hacker
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Mid-Atlantic region
Posts: 1,576
I'm heading west in search of a cheaper place to live and somewhere I can work on my car/s without threat of being fined by the city. It's awful up here but I understand why. It's just too crowded. Add to that, out west (midwest, to be specific) there are still a lot of little towns with small newspapers that still hire reporters and pay them decent salaries. In the big cities, photographers such as myself are working for peanuts and hoping for some scraps from the big papers until we get on staff, marry rich or die of starvation.
I'm opting out of the big city journalism for now and feel like paying some more dues in a small town.
I digress.

I'm really going to miss the sunroof in my 300D. The 220D doesn't have one. Granted, that's probably why the floorpans aren't rusted out but it's so nice driving on warm summer nights with that thing open. Heck, last winter when I was driving across the country, I had the sunroof open driving through Utah and Wyoming, and it was incredibly cold outside. Heater on full, sunroof open and a beautiful day out, the temperature in the car was perfect.

Ok, out to troubleshoot my windwhield wipers and reverse lights.

Phil Forrest
__________________
1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 08-28-2013, 03:28 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 3,740
Careful of those small town living dreams....here it cost just as much to live as a major metropolitan city....and 99% of the jobs are seasonal and pay under 7$ an hour....we are the most remote town in the States too....I never thought rent here would be as much as it is when I lived in the bay area of California....though working on cars isn't a huge issue here, though everyone looks at me as though I am mentally insane because I mess with my car at least once a week....I am in a duplex, and the neighbor next door won't allow us to park in the carport....she uses it to dry her underwear in and when ever we park back there she calls and reports us....and yeh, law enforcement here is worse then living on the grounds of a prison....so chose your small town carefully
__________________
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 09-04-2013, 06:47 PM
Phil_F_NM's Avatar
Camera Hacker
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Mid-Atlantic region
Posts: 1,576
Update

So, back when I had stars in my eyes I knew that the honeymoon would be short lived, because they always are when I set my mind to getting everything in a car up to snuff and working well.

The night of my last post I got the reverse lights working, signals, fixed the weird headlamp issue, replaced the turn switch with one that locks where it should.

I got the blower motor working and was very happy about that...
for a few minutes.
Back when I test drove the car, I thought I smelled something that wasn't coolant but definitely wasn't from combustion either. When I "fixed" the blower, I found out what that smell was. It was burning lacquer on the windings. The blower ran for a good five minutes then quit. No mas. So, I need to get that fixed too, but I was already looking forward to that.

The day after that I adjusted my valves and then found that my idle was way too high. By about 1000rpm. So I got to testing things one at a time and found out that I had both a leaking governor diaphragm AND the poppet cam shaft.
My questions and findings are here in the IP maintenance thread.

I found a new Mercedes diaphragm on the web and it arrived last night (September 3rd.)
By the way, the MB part number for that diaphragm is:
000 075 06 07
They do have them in stock but they are all in Germany and it takes a few days to get them. Price from Mercedes as of this morning is $102.nn.

I had to wait on a package with other parts for my 220D and after it arrived, I got to working.

Getting the diaphragm out is no big deal. BUT...
Take the oil filler cap off so you can see what is going on in there. Have a good magnet on a stick handy.

Be gentle and with a good pair of needlenose pliers, pull out the cotter pin. Don't drop it.
Also don't drop the washer that the cotter pin presses against to center the diaphragm.
Then gently pull the diaphragm center shaft inboard towards the motor and apply a bit of upward tilt to the shaft which is pointing into the IP. This will help prevent you from nearly getting sick when you think you've dropped the spring, compensation washer/s and the shaft which inputs the diaphragm position to the IP.

In my case, I thought they fell into my IP oil sump when they actually fell on the ground. Everything was there though. The inside shaft, 2 spacers and the spring.

This was a good time to suck out all the oil in the IP again since the first time I did it a week ago, what came out was closer to diesel fuel or paint thinner than oil. I found this time that my IP was full of garbage. It looks like a hundred years of scale wandering around in there. Refilled it and moved on.

I got everything cleaned up, put the old compensation hardware into the hollow shaft of the diaphragm and then put it back into the car. Writing this description probably took longer than the actual operation.

After that I adjusted the control rods of the throttle linkage to factory spec. I backed out the idle screw at the throttle body enough to let the butterfly completely close (as much as it can) then started the engine.

Actually, I attempted to start the engine but with the new diaphragm and no linkage hooked up yet, I had to give it some help. I opened the throttle just a tiny bit and hooked up the kicker rod to the pivot arm and the puller rod which crosses the valve cover.

Once I got it started, I was just making small adjustments here and there and watching the exhaust as well as listening to the engine idle. I don't have a fully calibrated ear anymore but I can tell when the engine is running about 10-12 revolutions per second. (I used to do some acoustic work in the Navy so listening to rotating masses of metal and fan blades is still a skill I have.)

I tweaked the rod adjustments against the idle screw at the throttle body and then hooked up the throttle control rod which goes to the pedal linkage.

She got all warmed up and then I heard a low pitched single pop. Like a burp.
I didn't know what that was then I saw a puddle of oil under the car. I got very anxious again and stuck my finger in the oil. It was fresh. Not sooty engine oil.
What I surmise happened is that when I refilled the IP, I didn't let the oil migrate down to the full-level hollow bolt enough and so I overfilled it. The burp I heard I think was the overflow letting the excess oil out of the IP.

After buttoning everything up, I took a drive and the car works fantastic. She smoked for about 30 seconds then, no more. Barely any smoke under acceleration, none at idle. No more white smoke of the starvation that the leaking diaphragm causes.

Picked up some stuff for a fuel purge I'm going to do tomorrow then went to get a car wash.

Let's just say that most of the seals in the car need to be replaced. Door seals, windshield and rear window, definitely need to get replaced. Trunk seal as well but I just have to set that one in and glue it down as I have the seal already.

So, is there any way of flushing the IP out to get rid of that scale that builds up or should I stick with "if it aint broke, don't fix it" way of thinking. The car works great now but that junk in the IP concerns m a bit.

Thanks all for the help and advice.

Phil Forrest
__________________
1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 09-05-2013, 02:24 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Leiden, Netherlands
Posts: 614
When you pull the lever of the IP into the start position, the IP will inject a very large amount of fuel into the engine (even more than the full-load position), so the throttle positionn doesn't matter during starting.

You can remove the bottom plate of the IP, so you can clean it, but you probably need a new (rubber?) gasket when you replace the plate.

On the other hand, there are no oil channels which can get blocked, so some dirt in the IP is not that bad.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 09-05-2013, 02:44 AM
davidlee's Avatar
davidlee
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Portland OR
Posts: 606
Unplug the blower motor from its power source and hot wire it with a 18V power tool batt. for just a second, if its gonna break free, that will do the trick, made many a pwr window motors work with that trick. 18V's knocks the dust off. Cheers.
__________________
Live simply so others can simply live



07 E350 sport Wife's Daily
01 E320 sport My Daily
00 C230 Kompressor Our back up (new Arrival)

87 300D Turbo my Daily for 8 yrs. Selling to neighbor

82 GMC Jimmy (K5) 6.2 Diesel (my Wheeler)
73 Roadrunner 340ci My very first car, still own it
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 09-05-2013, 03:19 AM
Phil_F_NM's Avatar
Camera Hacker
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Mid-Atlantic region
Posts: 1,576
Quote:
Originally Posted by Govert View Post
When you pull the lever of the IP into the start position, the IP will inject a very large amount of fuel into the engine (even more than the full-load position), so the throttle position doesn't matter during starting.

You can remove the bottom plate of the IP, so you can clean it, but you probably need a new (rubber?) gasket when you replace the plate.

On the other hand, there are no oil channels which can get blocked, so some dirt in the IP is not that bad.
The engine would start but with the improperly set up rods, it wouldn't stay running.

If there aren't any oil channels to be blocked, I'm not as worried. I'll get more of that junk out with the next oil change.

You've been a big help during this last week, thank you so much!

Quote:
Originally Posted by davidlee View Post
Unplug the blower motor from its power source and hot wire it with a 18V power tool batt. for just a second, if its gonna break free, that will do the trick, made many a pwr window motors work with that trick. 18V's knocks the dust off. Cheers.
Now I'm trying to figure out how to non-destructively jumper a battery with that amount of juice to see if the motor will kick free. I had lubed it up with a tiny bit of ATF on the shaft and bearing. In fact, the blades turn fine but there is no spinning happening. Perhaps the burning smell was the resistor pack of coils?

Many thanks to all.

Phil Forrest

__________________
1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:29 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Peach Parts or Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page