I have to say I love our little 1970 220D but man has this car been a non stop royal PITA for the past few months, you know when you hear the phrase; "fix one thing and another goes out"? That's this cars mantra... I know it's old, and it had been sitting for a long time but man o man it's just getting annoying now, it's just been recently that it's literally been one thing RIGHT after another.

First it was the injection pump which is was initial problem, fixed it back in 08, then a bolt was missing from the injection pump so large amounts of oil was leaking out, fixed that... Then the car wouldn't shut off, but we ended up getting that fixed quick. Then oil started leaking from the oil filler cap and the bolts to hold down the valve cover gasket which then eventually caused a valve gasket leak, fixed it. Then the radiator went out and had to be sprayed/cleaned which caused a leak from the heater valves, then the speedo cable went out which was fixed BUT went out again and at the moment still needs replacing. Then the alternator light came on, swapped out the alternator which temporarily relieved the problem meanwhile diesel started leaking from the tank in the back which was just recently fixed.

The alternator light came on yet again and the battery would not charge, was working on the then newly acquired 300E so the charging issue wasn't resolved for awhile, had to be put on a battery charger after every drive. Then the vacuum or air pump went out and needed to be fixed.... And mind you this entire time the brake pedal slowly sinks to the floor at a stop. The car started blowing about HUGE amounts of white smoke and running horribly which I wasn't there for but I believe it was due to the air or vacuum pump, that was then fixed. Not to mention when the shifter lever broke in half while driving! So we fixed that... Then we took care of the alternator and it finally charged again! All was well right? When then the alternator bracket broke and had to be welded back on!! which caused squealing and for some reason one of the rubber hangers holding the muffler went out causing it to rub and make a loud chattering noise... So we fixed all of that except the brakes which still sink in... It was running pretty well after that until the glowplugs wouldn't light suddenly so the car was nearly impossible to start, when we finally got the glow plugs in, it glowed but now was still hard to start whereas before the gp's went, just a quick glowing and she'd start right up... So we've been dealing with that until we cant have it looked at so yesterday I had to take it to work because my mom was using my 300E, and I was leary because even with the glow plugs she's hard to start now when it's cold.. Was running just find when I drove and parked it... Got off my shift took about 5-6 attempts to start then it started squealing horribly which I figured was due to the cold about 34 degrees outside... So I drive with it sounding like im skinning a cat or something the entire drive back, check it out this morning and the bolt broke holding the alternator in place.... I was just like "really?" The mechanic we take it too is literally less than a block away so I was just going to drive it there seeing how I drove it on the freeway like that yesterday... I try to start it today(in the daytime, with about 6 full glow cycles) and it won't start for anything, I tried it all the way until the battery just couldn't provide the power anymore... It was so frustrating........ and still is....

I love to think about just dropping a 300D Turbo Diesel motor in it... something that isn't as needy as this engine is.... ugh

I have to say, it's such an amazing feeling going from that to jumping in my trustworthy 300E turning the key and boom, she starts and I have a comfortable, smooth, almost worry free ride! (I say almost because my srs light keeps kicking on for some reason)

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78 Datsun 280Z
86 Peugeot 505
14 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

“Owning a car is like owning a dog. Every now and then, it craps on the carpet — but it’s still your dog.” - Jeremy Clarkson