I was browsing e-bay for "1985 Mercedes" since I have an 85' and just wanted to see what was there.

I then saw this "once nice" 85' 500SEL (that appears to be a EURO model) and wondering why it was so cheap. Come to find out this car on E-bay has had an engine fire. It states that the cause was from "dry fuel lines". As the owner of an 80s Mercedes- I am concerned. Just how common is this and I wonder what hoses busted open to cause this? Are the fuel lines under the hood easily accessible?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1985-MERCEDES-BENZ-500-SEL-097500-ORIGINAL-MILES_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6763QQitemZ8044327966QQrdZ1

Does anyone else here with an 80s (or older) Mercedes take this precaution (checked / replaced their hoses). If so, how difficult is it?

Thanks.

BTW- strange - it says this car is a 1985, but it is my understanding that the 500SEL's for 1985 had a STANDARD aribag - this one lacks it.

Maybe it was a leaky fuel distributor.

Is that a common problem area? Where is it located? Thanks

I wouldn't call it common, but I've heard of it happening. The fuel distributor is the central distribution point to send fuel to your eight injectors. A faulty unit can leak fuel onto a hot engine and ignite

Is the EHA ELECTRO HYDRAULIC ACTUATOR. With the air filter housing off. Look at the fuel disb. IT was on right side of it. IF you SMELL GAS and the EHA is wet with gas. Replace it. Or you will have FIRE.

A fuel leak would light any car on fire! Old cars + old fuel hoses and gaskets=leaks.

Looks like a nice car, CA always has the best examples. Hmm for $1,500 I bet for another $3k it could be back on the road. I'd just drop in a used engine. I'm more worried about the paint, thats what costs money.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

So I take it that this is something that gradually starts leaking, rather than being fine one minute and pouring fuel the next?

I currently have no fuel smells from my car, but as the main topic was referring to was the hoses- which I know can be OK (or not leaking) one minute and leaking the next. So, that is where I was wondering where all of the underhood fuel lines are so I can check mine to prevent a potential future problem.

Thanks.

Thats true, but it does not even have to be an old car to have a fuel leak. I have saw very late model cars with fuel leaks (on the internet for sale, etc), causing fires. One car that seems to have a lot of this is Porsche, and Jaguar- even very late models. I also have seen more than necessary Range Rovers with scorched engine bays. I have no idea what their problem is, but it is a major one. I am not sure, but it may even be an electrical issue on some of the Jaguars and Porsches, but from what I have heard, it is mostly fuel issues. Even in a lot of the local salvage lots from time to time you see late model cars with engine fires - more than likely a fuel issue, but I am sure some can be electrical. I remember a while back, there was a mid 80s Porsche in the parking lot at work that had a engine blaze.

It reminds me- my grandpa has a 90' Mazda 929 that still had the original fuel lines. One had busted and was leaking. Luckily we smelled it and replaced it before it caught fire. Really seems to depend on an individual car on how long a fuel hose lasts, it can vary from climate, how the car was stored, etc. Speaking of OLD cars, I have a couple of old cars- one being a 1973 Pontiac. When I bought it from the original owners 2 years ago, it still had the ORIGINAL FUEL HOSES. I was amazed. They still said "GM" on them. One toward the bottom was leaking, but luckily, it was one at the bottom front of the engine where it runs into the fuel pump, so really not a threat, but this is something you want to replace ASAP anyway. Just for updates, we went ahead and replaced all of the fuel hoses on the engine, which were only two. My other old car (1969 model) had already had them replaced before.

About this Mercedes on e-bay that was scorched- it does not appear that the engine itself sustained damage. Looks like the wiring is the problem now and I am sure that would be a big headache to replace - not to mention lack of reliability. And why does this car have wipers on these lights? Its not the Euro lights. . Also, this car only supposedly has 97K miles- makes you wonder how many with more miles are ticking bombs out there.

I think this is something you'd catch if you were under your hood at least weekly to inspect fluids.

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

A few weeks ago I was in a Mercedes only wrecking yard here
in California. A few cars had holes in the hoods, the hoods had melted.

I asked what had happened, it was shocking to see, I was told engine fire.

No more was said, I have no idea the cause.

But I am under my hood often enough that if something is not right
it will typically be caught early on.

The others here commenting on the specifics of fuel distribution seem to
have hit on something of major importance.

__________________
80 300D 340K Owned 30 yrs
83 300SD 440K Owned 9 yrs - Daily Driver 150mi/day
02 Z71 Suburban 117,000
15 Toyota Prius 2600 miles
00 Harley Sportster 24k
09 Yamaha R6
03 Ninja 250

I wish I lived closer. That car isn't as bad as it appears. It would not need a new engine, just someone who could do the repairs themselves.

That damaged Mercedes on E-Bay is a nice looking car, but it looks like a money pit. All of the wiring looks to be destroyed.

On to other things, I checked under my hood very well. No fuel leakage, but I still have a fuel smell coming from the top hose at the box thing beside of my radiator - on the driverside - after I shut off the engine. I have no idea what it is, but here is a photo of it (part in question is circled). The hose where the smell is coming from is circled in blue.

Hey what do you use to keep your engine looking so clean and detailed? I used a engine wash once and it ended up stinking like something is burning and the buring smell entering my car through the vents for weeks.
Here in BC the moist weather causes summer dirt dust to hug to my engine...

Hello all,
I purchased a clean '79 450SL on Ebay around the first of the year, flew to Florida to pick it up, and drove it home. One of the first things I ordered out for the car were new fuel lines to and from the fuel distributer (the ones from the fuel pump and the return to tank.) The old ones were original to the car, and were very cracked. After those hoses crack the outer rubber the first layer of braid isn't long for this world, and then they can just pop one day, since the line from the fuel pump can have as much as 100 psi or so in it! I had one go on a 280Z one time, and although I caught it (I had the hood up at the time, checking things) it was a very scary scenario. Fuel all over the place in seconds! Those lines are exposed to very high underhood temps, they run right over the top of the exhaust manifold on my '79 450, and if they did break it would be an instant fire. At least on the 280Z the line was on the opposite side of the engine from the exhaust manifold...
Oh, another thing I did was get all new rubber for everything on top of the engine, the intake and breather pipes were extremely hard and semi-crystalized. They were cheap to replace, unlike the fuel lines.

__________________
Richard Wooldridge
'01 ML320
'82 300D 4.3L V6/T700R4 conversion
'82 380SL, '86 560SL engine/trans. installed
'79 450SL, digital servo update
'75 280C

Looks like that is the charcoal cannister for the fuel evaporation as part of the emission system.

__________________
95 E420 ( 76K) SOLD
85 380SE(125k)
95 SL500(72k)