Complain; complain; complain!!!!!
 

Hello Everyone
Venting some frustration....
I stopped for soda at the mall food court.
A young (sixteen) year old girl was crying and kicking dad’s MB E300D.
Question: (Good Sam), I asked what was wrong.
Answer: The %^!@(* car won’t start.
Question: (Good Sam), would you try one more time while I listen? (ASE mechanic patches on my jacket helped)
Answer: Anything to get this POS running.
She jumped in and cranked instantly, the cold engine tried to fire on two cylinders, at ten seconds I hollered for her to stop, as she seemed intent upon cranking it to death.
Question: (Good Sam), may I try to start the car once?
Answer: She climbed out cussing and kicking the car even harder.

(Good Sam), climbed in, keyed up the glow plugs, cranked when the light went out, lots of shaking and smoke, but it started this time.
(Good Sam), Climbed out of the car and explained how to start a MB diesel, while the engine cleaned up and stabilized idle.

The young girl explained that her cars starter toasted that morning, and her mother does not drive, so mom gave her dad’s car to drive for the night, (dad being out of town).

The young girl had never been in the car before even as a passenger.
I checked the fuel level and it was full, thank goodness, and then warned her NOT to put gasoline in the E300D.

She thinks MB diesels are all POS now, go figure.
She was very happy it was running, thanked me and drove away.
I hope she comes through New Years celebrations ok.
I suspect that her father may be angry when he sees the four or five dents in the lower driver door skin.

16 cutie ( assuming ) out on N. Years night, Dad's out of town, Mom dont drive.

hmmmmm Forumula for a bad scene. Glad she is driving an MB. (or is that one as solid as the older ones?)

Gawd I hope dad filled it and not her.

hmmmmm..... will be getting new plates for the 300D and Unimog soon... hmmmmmmmm LOL:cool:

Bout time Daddy took the T Bird away..........

William Rogers........

Some people are just idiots. OK, I could forgive a teenage girl for not knowing about glow plugs, but not a car delivery truck driver. I watched him trying to start my 87 300D while unloading the car without heating up the glow plugs. His excuse was that the glow light didn't come on. I told the idiot that he still needed to let the plugs do their job. I can't imagine how much abuse my cars suffered before they arrived in my loving hands.:eek:

Curious... was it a W124 or a 201? If it was a 124 E300D, I'd have started kicking her for kicking such a rare, beautiful car.

I had the same problem when I let my friend drive my 300D the day I got it. It'd been sitting for a couple of hours, but sure enough he went straight into cranking and 2 seconds later it fired right up. Tried to explain glowplugs and he said "uh huh ooh look a hood badge". At that point I made the decision not to let him cold-start the car. Ever.

Mike

Where were these girls when I was 16 ? (I'm 28 and married now...)

I didnt have any ASE patches on my jacket, but it wouldnt have stopped me from offering help =)

Actually its kinda funny, I'm looking for the 123 or 124 diesel of my dreams and realizing that my wife (of 3 months =) has never lived with a diesel before. Is there some kinda training class or catchy mnemonic to use.. ?

"unless you wanna go walkin', always wait for the plugs and put diesel in a diesel engin' "

-John

You don' have to be 16 to be ...umm..stupid about cars. But it helps.

Last summer I was mowing the lawn and a car coasts to a stop in the middle of the street in front of the house. Plenty of room to pull over..but it stops in the middle. I hear the starter crank..and crank..and crank. (Why do people think that if you just keep turning the key it will make the car start?)

Lady gets out and is fuming and swearing loud. Hesitant to approach her ..(new relaxed gun carry laws in MN)..but I was a bit concerned for the very young kids previously playing next door(now staring at the scene in the road) learning "new words" I know they never hear at home.

This lady was PISSED at her &^*(%^ car....and advertising it loudly. I recall it was a nice new car...but not a MBZ.

So before she had burst a vein I asked if I could give her a hand. That at least stopped the jumping and swearing.

She handed me the keys and said "if you can start this *(&*(^ car..you can HAVE it".

I thought of her generous offer..as I slipped the key into the ignition. Right away I suspected I knew the problem...the gas gauge needle was all the way to the left and sitting on the peg. When I asked her if she had the title with her...she began to calm down a bit more and asked why. I told her I did not actually want the car...but was willing to bet her $100 I could start the car in less than 10 minutes.

I did it in seven....since I had the gas can sitting on the front walk.

When she asked how much I wanted for helping...I said my stepdaughter would probably like the car...and I could use $100..but that I would settle for $5 for the gas I had poured in and an apology to the neighbor kids.

She looked like I had slapped her...handed me a $20 and took off without another word. So I apologised to the kids for her..."sometimes adults get too excited to think clearly and say bad things" and finished mowing the lawn.

I used to be a lot quicker to offer my help. In fact I usually carry tools with me in the car (since I drive "experimental vehicles" a lot)....and would routinely pull over to help stranded motorists.

We live in a rural area so I was not too worried about having a gun pulled on me..until I had a gun pulled on me. :eek:

But that is another story. ;)

Nicely done Danalinscott. I pull over too... so far the most fun I've had was an elderly asian lady with a BEAUTIFUL Volvo 760 Turbo wagon. Nicest one I've ever seen. She's sitting in the middle of the road with her lights off right around a bend on a 70mph road... I almost hit her, pulled around and began helping another motorist who had pulled over to cuss her out. After assuaging her fears that we were there to hurt her (she locked her doors as soon as we approached) we decided to push her dead and bleeding-out car to safety ONLY if she steered (and braked). No sonner after we got her moving did a police officer show up to conduct the circus.

We get her going downhill on a sidestreet to the right, where we begin to get up to a fairly decent clip with me trying desperately to calmly get her to apply the brake. She claims she is, so I guess she is. Eventually I lose grip and she goes flyin down the hill... thankfully she turns right into the shopping center we wanted her to, which is up a hill... she coasts up half way and naturally begins to coast right back down into now moving traffic. The cop goes ape***** and starts to frantically try to stop traffic on the road she's flying back into and the lady goes frozen as stone... car flies back down the drive, she turns left (miracle), barrels back up the hill towards me and the other helper (omen), before it hits a curb (sign from above). I quickly make a move that I'd have been proud to use on a contemporary female and dive for the brake head-first. While under there, I notice she's still repeatedly pumping the accelerator... saying "NO NO THIS IS THE ONE THAT STOPS THE CAR!"

We decided to let the other helper steer (and brake) while I towed the car up the hill. Sonny dearest arrives in a nice Volvo 850 and they call Triple A... cop lets us both know if we ever stop to help someone again, that we're nuts.

So I'm nuts.

Mike

whunter, Dana, and Mike. Thanks for making my day. Those stories are a hoot.

Don't you just love those diesels? Don't have one at the moment, but between MB and VW, have had six of them. Current chariot is a gasser MB. Nobody, and I mean nobody drives my Mercedes. I hide the key if I take the truck for the day. My wife has learned to not even ask anymore.

I recently stopped to help a woman in her late model Mercedes. Seems the car just "shut down" at the read light right in the middle of the road. I got in her car and tried it and it would not start. The bad thing, thank goodness for W123's, is that I could not even put the car in neutral to push her out of the road. Wow! I figured that the alarm or high tech key had gone to heck.

The best instance of helping someone was a lady and her kid on their way (full size Surburban) from Hilton Head, SC to Chicago. I changed a tire for her and she gave me a $100 bill:). I'll change them all day long for that:).

Some people are just too stupid to own (or drive) a car.

"Y" me!
 

I have to say it! Females just do not make for good smudge-pot-pilots. Too much gendered enabled (or disabled) appreciation of "mechanical doohickey stuff", as my wife would say.

And why is that you ask? The reason IS "Y"! (Get it)?

There are exceptions of course, but those exceptions prove the rule.

(Good Sam), stopped after passing a MB diesel Truck
 

Hello Everyone
(Good Sam), stopped after passing a MB diesel box truck chugging along I75 south at 5 miles per hour while spewing the last dregs of coolant.
The truck staggered to a stop roughly 100 feet behind me.
I watched the driver reach for the key as the engine destroyed itself, the whole truck jumped, shook like a wet dog and something flew out the right front wheel well.
Shock and fear where obvious as I walked up to the truck.
There was a massive oil slick under the engine; stench cloud boiling from under the cab was unburnt diesel fuel, engine oil and coolant.
The driver climbed out shaking and ghost white.
I inquired about his health; he was OK, just badly shaken.
The engine has a hole roughly 5 inches, in the passenger side, with part of a piston rod sticking out, showed the driver, he promptly began cussing.
I drove him to the next exit, where his company yard was.
When asked why he continued to drive the truck; when he knew the cooling system was blown, he replied "well, I know that diesels do not get as hot as gas engines and with 18 degree temperature outside, I thought it would be OK".
I explained the error of his thinking and gave him the URL for this forum.
The driver is the company owner, 18 MB diesel bobtail trucks.
I hope he visits this forum before another MB truck is needlessly damaged.
He is about to get a sever case of sticker shock:
He thinks to get a factory new engine for a 5 year old MB diesel truck for $2500.00 USD, it took firm self control to not laugh out loud.
Have a great day.

totally off topic, but since engine prices were mentioned...

I called my local MB dealer yesterday and for the giggles of it, asked how much a new motor would be for a 1985 300SD (OM617.952?)



$8700- new factory motor.


Funny when I heard it, but it does make sense. I wonder how many they sell...

Now back to the regularly scheduled topic of discussion =)

-John

Re: Complain; complain; complain!!!!!
 

OK. I haven't read the rest of the posts here yet, but I've got to sound off on this.

WHAT ARE HER PARENTS THINKING!!!????

Mom doesn't drive. Ok, fine. But most people I know who don't drive are a little cautious about anything having to do with the infernal combustion engine. Why did she so cavalierly hand over the keys to another car, and that of the only adult driver in the house, to a 16 year old who (obviously) has not been trained on that car??!??!:eek:

And, Dad, I suppose, didn't want to train the girl properly so as to be a useful emergency asset in case he wasn't around!!??:confused: I mean, his wife doesn't drive. His daughter does. Well, then, MAKE SURE SHE CAN DRIVE EVERYTHING THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO HER IN THEIR GARAGE SO SHE CAN RESPOND TO AN EMERGENCY.

And, aside from that, what sensible parent would send out an inexperienced driver in an unfamiliar car on New Year's Eve when there is an added liklihood of drunk drivers on the road. And I have YET to meet a 16 year old who is a really good defensive driver. And that included me at that age. :rolleyes:

SO, now that all that is off my chest...whaddaya wanna bet that she just took the keys and the car and wasn't "given" it for the evening?

Re: "Y" me!
 

In the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), you can read examples of the use of the word "prove" over the evolution of the English language.

The reason the military uses "proving grounds" is to TEST weaponry.

Prove means "test". It also means other things these days; however, when this saying was coined, it was being used as "test". So, for modern english, this saying should read: The observed exception tests a widely accepted belief.

As someone used to say, "You could look it up."

Reminds me of the time my sister wanted to drive my dad's car to a formal New Year's Eve party. My parents were in Florida. She didn't want to drive her beater, but wanted to drive the "good" car. I didn't want her to drive the car through the slush after I had just detailed the car before storing it for the winter. This caused me all kinds of grief from her friends at the party.

Later on, after talking with my dad he said, "Next time hide the keys!"

A funny thing happened on the way to
 

the doctor. RE: kidney stones.
Stopped for fuel:
A 240D was on the other side of the island, with a teen boy behind the wheel crying.

Daddy loaned him the car for the day.
While in the school parking lot; the front and rear star where broken off.
Someone poured bleach on the hood and roof.
He was crying because he put gasoline in the fuel tank and his dad was going to kill him for that mistake.
Two gallons of gas in 1/2 tank of diesel.
The boy was so shook up that he could not start the car.
I fixed a breather tube leak; it was spewing oil on the exhaust.
I had four gallons of filtered used hydraulic oil in my trunk; we filled his tank with this and took the 240D for a drive, to mix it up.
Gave him a business card and wished him well.

It's half a year later, but I want to tell you about an experience I had. I called to inquire about a 84 300D that was in supposedly immaculate condition for sale. So, I called the owner, and told him I would be there later that day. I called him later to ask for directions on how to get there. He told me he had just sold it to an ex-GM executive, but he was selling his mother's one owner 300SD that was in good condition, and needed a little work. I went to see it, and I was not impressed, it needed new paint, and new interior, and it was missing a door lock knob! I wanted to start it up anyway just to see how it ran. I got in and turned the key to the pre glow position. The man who was selling it told me, never mind that, it'll start right up anyway. I'm kinda glad that 300D was sold before I got there. He probably hurt that engine if he started the same way he started that 300SD!
-Joe

3 teenagers across the street. 1 honda accord fairly new. hood up and young man is staring at the dipstick. i saunter over ''need a jump''? young man says no but there doesn't seem to be any oil on the dipstick..
i get a few qts out of my trunk. put in one.. check it.. nothing.
put in another.. same result !!
put in another .. now it's at the very bottom of the stick.. ok we're getting somewhere:p put in another 1/2 qt - shows to the bottom hash mark. i say better get some more soon.. they take off:eek:

That engines shot, capactiy on my Camry was 3.8 quarts Honda's are about the same I think.

yeah i expect it had little or no oil at all in it:eek:
and it wasn't leaking out ...

" called my local MB dealer yesterday and for the giggles of it, asked how much a new motor would be for a 1985 300SD (OM617.952?)



$8700- new factory motor"

PO of my 85 300SD had the engine overhauled by an indy shop. The bill came to nearly $6000. This was in january of this year. At that rate $8700 for a brand new engine from MB sounds like a good deal.

..............and if you are a member of MBCA, you might get that engine for $7800. A downright bargain when compared to $6K at an indy. ;)

Considering the crate engine comes with a warrenty and is new, the po would have been better off paying the extra $2k. :D

funny story
 

My MB is not great, but its a damn good car. I have these teenage neighbors, and they sit in their lawn and laugh at me when i tinker with my car. So the other day, Im out there washing her, and drying her, and they are carrying on about how its not even worth washing a 20 year old car (stupid teenagers). Meanwhile they are jumping their newest vehicle... try to start, nothing, try to start, nothing. I said when you get that car STARTED you laugh at me for washing my car. try to start... vroom vroom (smoke EVERYWHERE). they start driving... and they BREAK DOWN 25 feet from the driveway... and IM LAUGHING AT THEM push their truck BACK into the driveway...

Comedy right there :D

I know a lot of people around here drive their cars and never realize that they have to change the oil regularly and ADD oil as it dissapears....

*sigh*

The only time I ever saw a broken down MB was a 300D down in Beliz where I had no tools to help the guy out.
I asked him if I could take a picture of his car becuase I "have one at home". He agreed.

They were towing it with a diesel volvo...go figure :D
Sad thing was it was probably a 2 dollar filter change that is gonna cost him a great deal more...:(

You can lose your oil even if you know how vital it is...
 

Once I had a great idea to solve that breather hose problem that goes to your air cleaner since it leaks a lot. I went and got some aluminum tubing and fittings and hard tubed it. Except I forgot about that and 5 months later when i was doing some unrelated work, I crimped it unknowingly. I lost 6 quarts of 8 because I was driving at night and ruined an engine.
Every bad event has an upside. That mistake really shook me and put my head back in the game.I realized i was getting cocky and I learned a lot more about diesels and cars after that. I improved a lot more in my troubleshooting and learned to be patient.

Mine leaked where the thing hooked to the air cleaner spout up on top (617 turbo with the oil collecter)

The Solution? I replaced the rubber part and the tube and sealed all the joints with a little forma-gasket (brown goo) and hasn't leaked a single drop yet. Just replace the parts...they are nice and cheap :)

for
 

new members education.

Please be sure all your kids know how to start a diesel.

Damn this thread is old.

I wouldn't let let ANY stranger that randomly walks up get in my car with the keys! If I were her dad she would still be grounded, not for the dents, but for handing the keys over to some old guy (no offense :D) off the street she had never met before. whunter, I know you wouldn't do it, but anyone in that situation could have easily closed the door and driven away with her car.

Oh, I seriously doubt she had any clue what ASE is or means.

My thoughts exactly.

the thing that struck me funny was worrying about a 16 year old putting gas in the diesel car. what 16 year old puts gas in ANYTHING?

My sister didn't know how to put gas into her car until she was 17 or so.:D Luckly a full service station was down the street.

My mom learned in her late 30's.

Both my older kids have for years. I don't really understand that statement????
Now they don't necessarily pay for it.....;);)
:(:(

Coming back from 2009 tech session
 

I stopped for food/nap in Ohio.
Mc Donald's, wearing my work jacket (ASE patch).
Elderly woman 560SEL hood 1/2 up, young employee poking under hood.
I asked what the issue was, woman near tears.
The young employee says the A/C locked up, and his buddy is coming to fix it (remove belt) for $200.00, and what the "Freak" do I know about cars...........

I am instantly ticked at his attitude and price gouging... :mad:
I turned, showing the woman my ASE patch, and mention my qualifications for MB.
The kid wilted, slinking away.
The woman asked if I could get them back on the road, and how long/much it would take..
I slipped my leatherman out, reached in, cut the A/C belt, stuffed it in the trash, and said it is done, have a merry Christmas.
She jumped in the car, started it, came into Mc Donald's trying to stuff money in my hand.
I asked her to spend it on the grandkids or donate it to toys for tots.. :D

Feels great to rescue people during the holidays.. :D

Walking out, I heard the kid on his cell to the buddy, (incredulous voice) "the car is fixed and the old man wouldn't take her money"... :eek:
Some people never will understand....... :D

Happy Holidays to all my friends out there.. :D
whunter

^ Good for you wh, good for you.

Bet that Micky D's didn't have Vernors....That's the only thing I miss about Michigan...Vernors on tap at the fast food places.

I've helped bicyclists before, but have yet to find motorists in trouble. I guess all these rich snobs are just driving new cars.:rolleyes:

...........see.........I was right..........you are getting too old for this crap.;)

good job whunter:cool:

good for you
 

Thanks for keeping some good neighbor / Samaritan feelings in this crazy world. We need more of that.

I was near Times Square last week and rushing across a street when a light changed. I saw someone's glasses fall on the street. I picked them up and walked back to the other corner and asked if anyone had dropped their glasses. Was ignored, until a lady looked at them and said... "they are mine" and snatched them up. I started walking away, and finally heard a "thanks" from the distance.

I think you have to be self rewarded knowing you made the world a better place these days.

Chuck

Same thing. I have a 32 mile drive to and from work every day.( Part of the reason I got the benz.) On a sunday morning on my way home at 715. Saw a car pulled over 4-ways on with flat. Not a whole lot of traffic so WTH she will be sitting here for a couple of hours so I stop. Ask the women 2 age mid 60's can i help? Well driver on phone with aaa. Talking to passenger who happen to be owner i would really appreciate it etc etc.
She opens trunk i pull out her spare lay it by flat Get my bottle jack start jacking car up. I have the other lugs broken lose a cop comes screaminh up behind us light and all tells me that I can not change tire because I am not an authorized Turnpike repairer.:mad: After a few choice words from the owner(remember now mid 60's woman) followed by the best tongue lashing I have heard since I got out of boot camp the PA state trooper told me it ok to finish the job. :D It was all i could do to keep from peeing myself laughing as i finished up.
She tryed to pay me but i told her no the as reaming you gave that trooper was payment enough....;);)

I have a couple stories to share... Two are car related and one was very rewarding :D

I was driving my Subaru wagon from NYC to NJ on the lower level of the George Washington Bridge when I noticed a car stuck in the right lane. Other cars were trying to get past it and I thought this is NOT GOOD. I pulled ahead into a turn off and walked back to the stuck car. The woman inside was near tears. She had been trying to get back to NJ before running out of gas and well she did cross the state line, but that did not count for much. I told her to put the car in "N" and then I pushed her from the traffic lane about 500 feet to the turn off. I grabbed a gas can from my car and went to the nearest station and got her 2 gallons -- and her phone number! We dated for almost a year and are still friends.

Here is another...

I was driving up I-81 two years ago out near Wilkes Barre in the mountains in a rainstorm when I saw a car stuck on the side of the road. I pulled over in front of the car in the 300 SD and went to see what was wrong.

The guy told me that the car had died and hew could not get it started again. I looked at it and one of the battery connections was loose. It was a newer Toyota or something like that and I guess the computers needed the battery to operate the car. I reconnected it and he tried to start te car but the battery was pretty dead. There was no room for me to get the 300SD close enough to jump him with the short jumper cables I had I then had a great idea. I took my tools and opened my hood. In two minutes I had my battery out and on the ground by his car. I connected the cabled and his car started right up.I bet the MB battery laughed at the load the little gasser put on it to spin the starter! It did take some doing to make him understand that I was not GIVING him my battery, that I needed it back!:D he did thank me at least...

Last story...


I was at Cabelas (big sporting goods store) in Hamburg, Pa. I was walking in when I saw a teenage boy pushing a shopping car full of stuff across the driveway in front of the store. The store has a lawn and plaza directly in front of the store with a loading zone driveway running past the doors. Anyway, this kid's mother calls him to go a different way and he jerks the cart around loosing a box with a pair of boots in it. He did not stop to pick up the box, but took off. I picked it up and chased him across the plaza, finally catching him at the other end. I said you dropped this and handed it to him. His mother yelled at him and he looked at me with a sullen expression. Neither of then bothered to thank me...
At least I felt good about saving that kid's hide...

Driving to Florence Italy in a friend's 190D he stops on the autostrada because he needs a new diesel filter- he explained to me that in Italy the fuel needed an extra fuel filter. Three mechanics come out, take a look, come back with a variety of tools and with lots of hand gestures and arm waving try to remove said filter. This goes on for about 15 minutes.

I'm watching this Three Stooges/Marx Brothers moment and when they start taking random bits out to get to the filter I start laughing. An old guy strolls out of the garage with a filter wrench and the new filter, cuffs them all out of the way with a few curses and applies the filter wrench.

A minute later, he's got all the bits back in place with the new filter. Massimo takes him around to the trunk while they discuss the bill, and a couple bottles of wine from the trunk vanish into the guy's overalls. The lire that changed hands covered the cost of the filter.

As we all piled back into the car he tells me he never travels by car without a case of wine in the trunk, because it solves so many little problems.

This is so true... good work.

She was 4 at that time.....:eek: