Guido:

Thank you very much for your message; it is a relief to be back!

Having spoken, at length, with Bob Brady (at RENNTech) - the consensus reached was that an oversized radiator did not offer a justifiably large benefit; rather, simply incorporating the in-line transmission and engine oil coolers was an excellent, comprehensive solution. Of course, if you have money to burn and are the "man about town" (such as... Ricky Galang, AKA: rainmaker), GO FOR BROKE!

; )

The general ("working professional's") recommendation, though, would be that you buy an OEM (MBZ) radiator and replace all your cooling system hoses/clamps/hardware when you flush your cooling system (thoroughly) when you install it. In summary, it just makes good sense to "keep your cool," at all times (unless someone justifies your blowing off some steam!)... Water Wetter seems to be well received, on this forum; I run it, and I am 100% satisfied.

My (1993) 500E *rarely* (if ever) heats up beyond the 110(F) - 120(F) degree mark - and NEVER redlines. My fingers are crossed that things will stay that way. I am VERY happy with the RENNTech cooling mods I have purchased and have had installed - a reasonable investment, considering the (119 motor) Martian landscape under my hood!

With kind regards and best wishes,

Hahahaha! Actually, Scott, it's just that I'm what I'd like to refer to as U*N*K*O*R*U*P*T*E*D* (i.e. Unmarried, No Kids Or Rent, University loans, Palimony, Tuition, Etc., Dang!)

When I spoke with Bob at RENNTech, he did mention that their oil cooler kit is the same as the ones available as OEM in Europe, "but complete all necessary hoses and fittings." I am in fact in the process of compiling all the required P/Ns so I can put an order through the Parts Shop if they can manage it. I just recently purchased (off Ebay in Germany) a set of microfiche for the M119 engine variants including the 400E/E420(119.975), E500/500E (119.974), 500SL/SL500 (119.972), 400SE/S420/400SEL (119.971), 500SE/500SEL/500SEC/S500 (119.970), 500SL/500SL/6.0 AMG (119.960) which would hopefully yield these part numbers among others. Still waiting to receive the fiche though...

I also understand though that the RENNTech additional transmission cooler is a RENNTech design and is not as necessary ("the last thing you put in" or something to that effect). It is one of my last mods planned (yeah, right!)

I'm really interested in the upgraded differential with a 3.0x final drive and true LSD. Again, minor logistics problems though as I live in Asia...

Have you tried Jim's or Guido's piggyback harnesses? It should offer additional protection at a reasonable price...

Cheers!

__________________
Rainmaker
93 500E, 43k mi, Pics of upgrade parts
Evo II Wheels on Dunlop FM901 235/45x17s
94 Facelift
RennTech CF Airbox
RennTech ASR Defeat
RennTech Chip
1st Gear Start
97 Range Rover 4.6 HSE Vitesse, Yellow, "Tonka" (sold)

Ricky:

All kidding aside, that is one GORGEOUS home you have, there!
It reminds me of my childhood home in Hawaii (only MUCH bigger).

I, too, am "wetting my whistle" on the Limited Slip Differential temptation. I'm sure you'll beat me to it, though! I will wait to add that mod when I ship my car to RENNTech for the 6.0L job. I will probably have that done in the next 12 to 36 months (assuming it's still available, as time marches on). It may be a case of "misaligned priorities;" however, I would rather have a 6.0L MONSTER before I buy a loft/condo/home!!!

How is the (PI) job market looking for Cisco engineers?

; )

Keep up the good work; your car is a head-turner/tread burner!

* out *

Run,
I have read all of the posts, HAVE YOU REPLACED THE THROTTLE ACTUATOR?

This actuator is responsible for Electronic Acceleration, cruise and idle. I have seen MANY fail! If you slice open the shiny black wire harness, I'd bet you will find burned or cracked wires in there. I have seen this over and over because there is a slight fault in the feedback potentiometer.

E-mail if needed.

__________________
Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 11 YRS

Donnie:

I have, indeed replaced my throttle body actuator (twice, to be conslusive); moreover, both my wiring harnesses are brand new (less than 8 months old).

I appreciate your feedback, though - thank you.

Kind regards,

Have we found anyone who has hacked or cracked the codes to the e-proms specific to Mercedes? I have a reader.writer for proms and have loaded a few. If I could get the software that would crack the codes into readable tables, I would purchase it or we could do a group purchase. I would gladly do a custom chip for you to help cure this problem.

__________________
Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 11 YRS

Benzmac:

I have an EEPROM reader/writer that I have used to archive my stock chip. I can read in any image and save the resultant binary (*.bin).

There already exists a product to do what you have mentioned; Eric Hiss introduced me to it.

Here is the link:

http://www.bonnevillemotorwerks.com/products.html

...but here it is again for good measure:

__________________
Rainmaker
93 500E, 43k mi, Pics of upgrade parts
Evo II Wheels on Dunlop FM901 235/45x17s
94 Facelift
RennTech CF Airbox
RennTech ASR Defeat
RennTech Chip
1st Gear Start
97 Range Rover 4.6 HSE Vitesse, Yellow, "Tonka" (sold)

I'm curious if you resolved the problem...had the same problem with my 400E and read a couple of threads that had curious, but successful, results.

Regards

Brian

I just went out and checked my 92 500E. Idles at 750rpm in park and 600rpm in drive.

Hope this helps.

__________________
dwight

Happy New Year, my friends!

I am sorry to say that my stalling issues *still* exist.

I have replaced my alternator with a new Bosch one; however, I am still (as ever) "batting zero" on my stalling issues.

Hopefully, I will nail this [problem] in 2002!

Kind regards,

Damn Scott, that's to bad! There are only so many pieces to the puzzle or ASR system he-he, lets see.....

What's left? As with any electronic or mechanical troubleshooting, start moving your system to "stock" with known "good" components until the problem is uncovered. I know this is common sense but I hate to see problems go on so long without any success. Especially with a date in the car or more importantly, a dangerous situation.

I think your right around the corner on this one. I know..., ask yourself what is the bad component before going to sleep tonight and note what you think it is upon waking in the morning!

Fastest way I know of to get the right answer 95% of the time!

Use the Force Luke, uh-um ... Scott.

Hi Scott-...just realized that your car is Starmark-

Have you considered taking it to another MB Fact Auth Serv Center to have this issue addressed? ie Smythe in San Jose or European Motors in San Francsico or Oakland

...Seems like- if you can duplicate the low speed stalling condition for the local tech, and they collectively are unable to solve it (in house-locally), it can be taken up as a discussion topic at the shop foreman meeting/roundtable and/or ask for additional tech support from MBUSA corporate (again)...

On another note, how have your mods affected/ not-affected the Starmark warranty? Has Fact Auth Service hinted that the mods are causing or contributing to this unsolvable condition?

When is your Starmark expiring?

Good luck and we're rooting for ya!
-fad

Unfortunately, my Starmark warranty has recently expired (even though this problem first surfaced while said warranty was still in effect).

Also very disappointing is the fact that this issue was escalated by Autobahn Motors to ("Lou," at) MBUSA (New Jersey offices)... supposedly... still yielding zero results. They even flew someone (Lou) out to get involved... without any success.

I will take my car to Group Specialist, in Redwood City; I trust those (ex-Autobahn) guys far more than any dealership, at this point. Collectively, they are the best/most knowledgeable group of MBZ experts with whom I have had the pleasure of working in Northern California. I hope they will succeed where all others have failed!

Kind regards,

Ok I've been reading these posts for a while and had commented a while ago and although I don't know if my solution is correct this is what I did. I have a 400 E that did the same damn thing . To overcome the symptom I adjusted the throttle cable (I think the plastic adjuster does not hold it's setting over time) and I adjusted the bowden cable in an attempt to get the transmission to ease it's hold on the drive train. The linkage assembly seems to bind a very slight bit which changes the relationship of the tranny drive train so the addition of a small amount of lubricant effected the operation noticably. Just adjusting the accelerator cable 1/8 turn was enough to require a corresponding adjustment to the bowden to keep everything going smoothly. My car idles at about 700 rpm neutral..550 in gear. Haven't had a single problem since.
For what ever it's worth that is what I did 7 months ago.
Good luck.
Brian