On the road tomorrow - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

MikeTangas · #1 12-24-2003, 08:05 PM

Tomorrow at approximately 11 am PST I'm lighting out for the Great White North. Should be on the road for three days while in transit to Port Huron, Michigan. I've been watching the weather and even though the forcast looks good for the middle route of I-40 most of the way I have decided to take the southern route of I-10 to I-20, then I'll start angling north sharper making my way in Indianapolis before turning hard north. Yea it's 250 miles longer this way but I have piece of mind and a couple three more hours to listen to the 5.6 purr.

The car is loaded with everything but my suitcase, basically ready to roll. I've always said I had no qualms about jumping into either of the MB's and driving cross country at a moments notice and I'll be doing just that. I have 188,100 showing on the odometer this evening, oil is changed and the tires are rotated.

I will try to log on from the motels at night on the drive up just to let y'all know I'm doing OK.

BenzOnline · #2 12-24-2003, 08:16 PM

sounds exciting. You wont be that far from me (Toronto, Ont). Wish the best for you on the trip and the 126 should do ok. It is an amazing winter car. The only problem I had with the 126 in the winter was travelling in -20C and below conditions on the highway....throttle body freezes and car dies when exiting.....the trick is to remove the half piece of the air intake tube so it can suck in warmer air from the engine compartment but you shoudnt have that problem because its not that cold here now.

MikeTangas · #3 12-24-2003, 08:56 PM

Actually Mark, we'll be much closer come New Years. I'll be spending new Years at my kid sister's place in Toronto. Should be getting in the evening of New Years Eve and heading back Stateside on Saturday.

engatwork · #4 12-24-2003, 09:51 PM

Don't forget to check/set the tire pressures as the ambient conditions change.
Whatever you do drive careful

.

BenzOnline · #5 12-24-2003, 10:16 PM

Wow so you'll be driving into Toronto aswell eh? Would be nice to see the 126 all the way from Cali !

suginami · #6 12-25-2003, 02:14 AM

Drive safely, Mike.

Please continue to participate on the board so we can keep tabs on you.

Keep us up to speed whenever you come back so that we can arrange a GTG.

sfloriII · #7 12-25-2003, 02:48 AM

Nothin' like the open road in a great Mercedes! Also make sure to pack lots of your favorite tunes!!

Have a wonderful trip!

#8 12-25-2003, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BenzOnline
sounds exciting. You wont be that far from me (Toronto, Ont). Wish the best for you on the trip and the 126 should do ok. It is an amazing winter car. The only problem I had with the 126 in the winter was travelling in -20C and below conditions on the highway....throttle body freezes and car dies when exiting.....the trick is to remove the half piece of the air intake tube so it can suck in warmer air from the engine compartment but you shoudnt have that problem because its not that cold here now.

Glad to see that trick worked

Never if it did last winter or not

MikeTangas · #9 12-28-2003, 03:40 PM

I made it.

Covered 2700 miles in three driving days, even had enough time to take a two hour dinner break on day two to break bread with Larry Bible and his wife.

The trip started out in bad weather, heavy rain as we departed Temecula which turned to snow about 40 miles out. Once we got clear of the wet stuff and into the sunshine we hit one of those wonderful desert dust storms. Visibility dropped to nearly zero and I was getting worried the right side of the car was going to be sand blasted to bare metal. But we blew through the dust storm unscathed and just had wind to deal with for a couple hundred miles.

We drove to Las Cruces, NM the first day, kinda short of my 900 mile limit but we did get a late start. Second day was a little longer making Little Rock, AR for the night. I was making very good time until around Van Horn, TX when the nice State Trooper wanted to exchange Christmas cards. Seems he took exception to my doing about 90

. We chatted for about 20 minutes and since he was kind enough not to write me I was kind enough to knock it back to about 83. Made for a longer drive across the home State. After dinner with Larry we finished the day stopping in Little Rock. Decided to sleep in an extra hour (actually I slept through the alarm

) and made tracks to West Mephis where we turned north anglinf up through Mo and IL. The drive was a piece of cake until we crossed into Indiana. I don't know what was different, but soon as we cross the stateline, everyone became stupid. Seriously. It was a rough go between Terra Haute and Indianapolis due to all the lunatic drivers, then to make matters worse Interstate 69 had no signs anywhere along I-70. I knew I had to turn north on 69 somewhere in town so when I reached the east side I stopped and sought out directions. The three deputy sheriff's having dinner where I stopped politely informed me I missed my turn off. A few minutes later I was on my way and making tracks again. Rolled into Port Huron about 10:30 last night. All in all not a bad drive.

The 560 ran like a top. I averaged about 17.5 mpg for the 2700 miles with a couple tanks getting right at 20. Considering the load I was carrying I think that is excellent mileage. Besides all of my clothes, uniforms and a big tool box I also had all of my competition guns plus almost 10K rounds of ammo (not light).

I did notice that she was starting to use oil and it is most likely valve stem seals. Now I have to make a choice whether to let them ride until I have a garage to work in or to farm the job out to an independent shop. Driving around town today I only saw four MBs, and there isn't any MB specific shop in the phone book. I might just have to stop at one of the houses where I spotted a Benz and inquire who they use.

I know I promised to check in from the road but none of the places had a business center or internet availble to the residents. I thought all of the Hilton family hotels had the internet access but they don't. In fact here in Port Huron the hotel doesn't have a business center but for the long term residents (like myself) they will allow me to use the manager's desk to access on occassion. Soon I will have to do some laptop shopping.

suginami · #10 12-28-2003, 04:05 PM

Thanks for the update.

I've been wondering how the drive was going the last couple days. 20 mpg on those few tanks is very impressive for the big benz with the big block.

With my frequent business travel, I stay mainly at Marriott / Courtyard's and Sheraton / Four Point Sheraton's, and you'd be surprised at the number of locations that don't have high speed internet connections.

Sooooo, you've decided to stay long-term at a Hilton. How long-term? That seems kinda pricey.

Are you still thinking of buying an inexpensive house?

Regarding the valve stem seals, you can't be too far from a fellow member with a garage, can you?

MedMech / W126 / Gilly live in the area don't they?

jpb5151 · #11 12-28-2003, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MikeTangas

Interesting to read about your travels. That's quite a long journey.

Best of luck with the oil situation.

Say, are there any copy centers, libraries, etc, near you? Maybe that'd be a relatively cheap and handy way to get to the 'net. Once my wife and I were in a similar situation (but down in Orlando, Florida). It was a niiice hotel near the monstrous convention center, but no Internet. After blowing several dollars on those standalone Internet things, we started going to the Kinko's in the convention center; cheap and easy.

MikeTangas · #12 12-28-2003, 09:29 PM

Paul,

Ted (W126) and Gilly are in Wisconsin - just a little too far to drive for a little garage time, plus if I recall correctly Ted has no garage. There is however a contingent of shop regulars in Michigan, but they are on the far side of the state. Not sure who is closer then they or some of the Canadian crowd in Toronto.

Long term stay in the hotel is 60 days with the possibility of a 30 day extension. That oughta rack up a boat load of Hilton points. Can't say as it is pricey though, gov't rate and all it works out to about 1/2 the regular rate which is saving you money.

I still plan on picking up an inexpensive house and was just now doing soem more searching on the net. I did get the opportunity to do a drive by on one house I had given consideration to based on price and immediately discounted it soon as I saw it. The price would have bought a lot with a structure whose only goal in this world is to be torn down. That one was listed as a "fixer upper". My ideal of a fixer upper is something one can live in while fixing it up. I found a couple that I will discuss with the realtor. This is much easier now that I am on hand to view personally. I did up the value of what I'm looking for to about a $300 payment (still less than rent).

I just filled up this evening after dinner. I last filled up in Indiana and I drove almost 100 miles around town today. Still returned a combined tank at 19.4 mpg. This car does love the highway.

I need to get back to house hunting so the night manager can have her desk/computer back.

MikeTangas · #13 12-31-2003, 09:20 AM

Well, things are starting to settle down. I'm at work and have access the the net without having to bother the hotel manager. Kind of nice to have more of an office job after 18 years being mostly out on the highway. My desk has a window which looks out at the Saint Clair river, not more than 50 feet away, and across the water to Canada. In fact just a few minutes ago the John G. Munson passed inbound to Lake Huron and I couldn't help but notice that the JGM looks just like the Edmund Fitzgerald (possibly sister ships??).

I'll be heading out for Toronto this afternoon soon as I get off. I will be keeping a close eye on the oil usage. I ended up using almost 5 quarts on the drive up. Prior to leaving I was using only about 1.5 quarts during a 3K change cycle. Most of that was in town driving though, with occassional runs of up to 500 miles. This was the first true "long" drive I've made with the 560 and the oil usage kinda took me by surprise. I don't find any evidence of oil leaks and believe the usage to be from valve stem seals.

I have to find a "clean" spot to park the car so I can try to track any oil drips. Everyplace around is thouroughly spotted with oil and I couldn't tell you if any drips are mine but I do not see or smell any noticeable leaks when checking under the hood. I'm thinking that the combination of valve stem seal wear and longer run times, plus the heavy load had much to do with the oil usage. My jaunt to Toronto will obviously be much shorter and I will be running light. We'll see how much oil is used on this leg.

PS: Ted, I had forgotten about your buying a house WITH a garage.

engatwork · #14 12-31-2003, 09:29 AM

Quote:

the heavy load

90+ mph or loaded with weight

?

MikeTangas · #15 12-31-2003, 09:37 AM

Uhmm.....

both