The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly- Report on our 'new' 300D
 

Introducing.... a Whole New Set of Problems! :p We managed to make it out of West Van despite the brakes (very hilly), but rather exciting!! She wouldn't shut off when we got home, which had my husband quite alarmed but I said that was also related to the vacuum problem (I love it when I actually KNOW something!).:p

She does kind of look like a Sylvia to be honest, but out of deference to the emotional trauma that would cause RLeo (not to mention the fact it's my sister in law's name), I think I've ruled that name out. The other names discussed really don't seem to suit her. Actually, given the vacuum problems, I'm leaning towards Sir Hiss (pronounced Sir Hith... he was the snake on Disney's Robin Hood (my favorite character too!)), but then I have to change the pronoun to a 'he'. What do you think?;)

The Good:
There were three Mercedes repair manuals that look as though they were never even cracked open. There is also something called an E manual, which is a collection of 'the knee bone is connected to the thigh bone' type of illustrations.

There was a glove box full of repair bills, almost all of it done at the Mercedes dealership. When I look at what he paid in labour, I think my husband deserves a raise! And the parts are obviously all new, nothing used or rebuilt. The previous owner was not a DIYer at all, even taking it there for oil changes. Here's a summary of the repairs:
Nov 2002-
-replaced the fuel pump
-replaced the air filter mounts
-checked for leaks, resealed the valve cover and 'modified' (?) the valve cover
-check for lack of vacuum boost and slow shut off/ replaced vacuum diaphram
-replaced motor mounts

Apr 2002
-replaced the Preglow Relay (but the glow plugs are MUCH slower to come on than Belinda... different type?)

Mar 2002
-towed in, won't start
-checked glow plugs (recommended ordering new), reamed holes
-installed new fuel lines
-replaced glow plug fuse and holder (this ONE item alone(the others were on a separate bill) cost him $259! But that did include $75 in towing)

Feb 2002
-replaced ALL belts

Oct 2001
-NEW Michelin Tires
-master brake cylinder replaced
-front and back brake pads replaced
-brake discs replaced
-brake hose replaced

Jan 2001
-towed in again
-replaced starter motor
-brake light on
-replaced the front brake pads (they only lasted 10months??? Sure he lived on the side of a mountain, but still!)
-replaced brakeline transmitter
-replaced antenna (yeah!)
-replaced battery with an MB battery ($161)

I won't go any further back, except to say the servo motor for the heathing system was replaced in 1990.

Apparently, the airconditioning WORKS! Or it would, except for the temp sensor needing replacing. The previous owner worked with AC (for a living), so it's all charged up. He was a very nice British guy, who even phoned to make sure we made it home okay. He told my husband not to spend too much time repairing cars, to spend it with his nice family instead. The things you get for free when you buy a car! Free advice!

The Bad

He had the car to the dealership again in August of this year for diagnostic work. They said, "The Booster needs to be replaced (leaks); vacuum pump leaks oil to booster, needs repair; master cylinder needs to be checked for leaks and replace if leaks; front brake pads need to be replaced"

Doesn't it seem odd that the vacuum pump was rebuilt less than a year ago? And the master cylinder was replaced in 2001, I can't believe it would need replacing again. Seems the front brake pads don't last long either. Don't these guys check the patient's chart before they do surgery to remove an appendix AGAIN??:p

The speedometer doesn't work, or the oil pressure guage (it's been plugged). The acceleration seems really slow, but I'm used to turbo so maybe it's normal. The steering is rather sloppy too.

Hubby installed the vacuum pump from teh parts car yesterday. It was the piston type, and this car had the diaphram type. It fit, but there is no line running to the air filter housing any more. It didn't have any effect, so he is going to replace the booster today to see if that does the trick. The brakes on the parts car worked great the last time we drove it, so hopefully the components are working. One interesting thing he discovered was that there was no gasket in between the vacuum pump and the engine (the dealership did this?). There should be a gasket, shouldn't there?

The Ugly

There is some nasty rust on the body panels over the rear tires. Nicely blossoming out like a rose. Strangely (and luckily) enough it seems to be fairly localized there. Nothing to report underneath the car at all. It might just be worth getting it welded out, if the rest of the car seems 'worth it'.

The paint looks like ti has been polished to the point of being removed! It's not flaking at all, just worn completely thin.

There is only one crack in the seat, but the blue dye has been rubbed off in many spots so it looks pretty beat up.

The driver's seat is broken and leans towards the door quite sharply.

There is water leaking in to the passenger rear foot well. From the door?

I think that's about it. All in all, a good deal for $450C! Tires and the battery alone are probably worth that. What do you think?

Sir Hiss..... hmmmmmm....

Holy cow , Jassz. What a deal !!! What year is it ? The vacuum pump should have a gasket and clean air being sucked into it .Where is the intake for it ?Sounds like the dealership was taking the PO for a ride.

Newer vac pumps vent into the crankcase instead of into the intake, so just plug the line at the intake.

Broken seat should be an easy fix, just pull the one from the parts car. You can change the covers fairly easily if you want, also.

Rust needs to be taken care of pronto, at least scrape all the paint and rust off, patch with fiberglass if necessary, and use some etch or conversion primer, then touchup paint. Probably look sloppy, but better than letting the rust eat the car!

Water on the front floor is from a leak, windshield or plugged/rusted out drain at the hood hinge area. Pop the hood, open it all the way, and check the drain. You may also need to crawl under the dash and check for rustout there. If rusted, patch with fiberglass, etc to keep the water out, or the floorpan will be next....

Peter

Sorry, it's a 1979 300D. 'Around' 220,000 miles, but the odometer stopped at 185,000. The previous owner paid $14,000 for the car in 1989. The car's whole life was in the glove box!

Re: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly- Report on our 'new' 300D
 

Check those drains underneath the hood hinge/springs. If they're plugged (and I'd bet they are!) you'll definitely get water in the floor.

re Name...
Howzabout just "Hith"

Fiberglass
 

If you are interested in a simple discussion on fiberglass please email me...Their are 3 types you need to know about, their uses etc.. and no reason why you can't do a professional job including painting...Jim

An update...
 

So, today my husband removed the booster and the master cylinder and the brake pedal from the parts car and reinstalled it on the new car, then bled the brakes... and all is well! We have brakes, we have door locks, it shuts off! Hurray!:D :D

I will check the drains....
Sounds like one of those names you'd always have to explain. :p How about Lady Hiss? Though if the vacuum problems are fixed it may not fit any more.. .. :rolleyes: Might have to get one of those "Name the Car" books. :p

Tell me more, tell me more! I'll email you if you'd rather not share it with the class. :)

So, when my four year old woke up from her nap today, she looked at the car informed me, "The name is Sammy." I tried to convince her otherwise, but to no avail. Then we all took it out for a long test drive, and I decided... it fits.:D :D

Sammy it is. :cool:

Sammy is good!

I misread your post about the leak. If it is collecting water in the rear footwells, your rear window gasket probably needs to be replaced.

You should have just asked her in the first place.... you can claim it is short for Samantha... just to keep it female....

Well, I DID of course. But her only suggestion at first was Blue and Grey, which sounded too Civil War-ish. But she wasn't really applying herself. Once she did... well, I don't know why I even thought I had a say. :p
I checked again and there is no water in the front. So I was thinking probably door seal, or maybe rear window.

Since the rear seat foot-well is the lowest point inside the car any up hill driving can cause water that comes in from the front (windshield, hood hinge pockets, sun roof drains) to run to the back of the car. All water entry points should be suspect.

Make it Sami.

Sorry for the delayed response - I was away for a long weekend. :D

Mmmm, I don't know Rick, this is a GERMAN Mercedes, not one of those Japanese Mercedes.:p

Welcome back!:)