1985 380sl a bit sluggish

[KERRYMARCY]

Hi, I have a 1985 380sl. It is in awesome shape with only 68,000 miles. I recently bought this car which was in storage for the last 4 years. The engine runs great but when the accelerator is pressed, it seems to lack power and takes a while to respond. It takes longer than normal to get into passing gear and sometimes it will not go into passing gear at all. I am going to replace the plugs, wires, cap and rotor this weekend. I've put Techron fuel system cleaner in my last two fill-ups thinking that the injectors and fuel system may be dirty or partially clogged. Is there possibly something else I should be looking for? I would appreciate any feedback on this issue.

Thanks, Kerry

[Walrus]

Originally Posted by KERRYMARCY

Hi, I have a 1985 380sl. It is in awesome shape with only 68,000 miles. I recently bought this car which was in storage for the last 4 years. The engine runs great but when the accelerator is pressed, it seems to lack power and takes a while to respond. It takes longer than normal to get into passing gear and sometimes it will not go into passing gear at all. I am going to replace the plugs, wires, cap and rotor this weekend. I've put Techron fuel system cleaner in my last two fill-ups thinking that the injectors and fuel system may be dirty or partially clogged. Is there possibly something else I should be looking for? I would appreciate any feedback on this issue.

Thanks, Kerry

4 years hmmmm....
I would suspect varnish on the air metering flap in the intake. Sounds like it may be sticking or slow to react (it is the flap in the intake venturi under the breather. I have read reports of fuel varnish playing havoc with this... Of course, this does not explain the slow kickdown. Wonder if you have some vacuum problems associated with this as well?
http://www.xs4all.nl/~master99/slc/ Check out this site... If you can decipher the language, you can discover quite a bit of info about the K-E fuel injection. Click on "onderhoud" and look for troubleshooting K injection.

One important thing to realize as you look at the system there (it is a 4 cyl). The airflow is counter to what you have in your V8. The flap moves down in the V8, and up in the 4cyl...

[KERRYMARCY]

Thanks for your input RM, I will investigate this issue with the flap

Kerry

[david s poole]

you will prob find that all injector seals and cups are leaking air and you are running lean hence the hesitation.can you find an indy with the ability to do a smoke test on the intake manifold?this will prob reveal the sources of your probs.