Hello friends.

I just aquired my first Mercedes Benz. (4/6/07)

Its a 1984 190E that I got because the previous owner didnt want to go to the trouble of selling it himself.

It has been sitting for over a year. I got it started after I put some gas in the tank and jumped the battery. Aired up the tires, and drove it home!

So far, I have replaced the spark plugs, and thermostat. That right there helped alot!

The little car is in fairly good shape. 129K on the odometer.

The A/C is not working, and the electric radio antenna is broken off. Right rear door window motor does nothing, yet. All other doors are fine.

Car has a sunroof. It doesent open. Can anyone get me started on getting to the motor? It whirs when I press the switch oneway, and makes no noise pressing the other way. OR, should I just leave it alone? Its not leaking.

Sorry for all the questions, but, here goes. Its an automatic transmission, and today when I drove it up the street after the plug replacement, it was in 4th gear before I was up to 25 mph... 1-2-3-4 in less than 6 seconds.

Is there a vacuum connection for the shift pattern, or is it all done by the throttle cable?

One thing I DO like about this car is: The Quality. I drove it on a rough street this afternoon, and heard no rattles, squeaks of any kind. Pretty good for a 23 year old car, I think, that has had some rough treatment in the past.

I ordered an oil filter, and air filter from my parts guy today. On Tuesday, it gets its first oil change. Im glad I found this forum. Thank you for having me!

Bruce

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My first Mercedes Benz. 4/6/07.

1984 190E (201 024) 2.3L four.

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! You will love your Mercedes-Benz and can learn alot about it right here. There are DIY articles and links at the top of the page that will help you with the transmission adjustments. I bought a 1988 300E two months ago and am still working on mine (slowly). The main thing to look for first is any vaccum leak on the intake manifold and all the vaccum lines connected to it. Once you are not leaking there is a cable that adjusts shift timing. I put my sunroof issues off until last, because I opened it once and it took a 3 days to get it closed. As long as it isn't leaking, wait until you have the time and parts to do it right.
Which engine is in your car?
Chris

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1992 400E current
1988 300E sold
1973 280C totalled
1973 280SEL never got it running
1971 250C my first love but rusted out

Thanks for the welcome!

The car has the 2.3 8-valve 4 cylinder. Its running better everyday I run it. I need to find an original style oil filler cap for it. The one that someone put on it leaks oil and doesent tighten properly. The 'made in Taiwan' sticker on it doesent help at all, either.

I spent Easter cleaning the interior, replacing bolts that were missing in the seat mounting areas, and now all the motors in the seats have been greased up and are working really smoothly.

Found several blown fuses that didnt blow again when I replaced them. I now have instrument cluster lights, and a bunch of other lights, etc, that didnt work the other day.

Right now, its up on some ramps. I am going to look for vacuum leaks at the transmission today. I found lots of evidence of squirrel damage under the hood. I now get to check all the hoses, etc, for damage.

I hope that I will be able to help other guys here with problems.

I have a 1985 Oldsmobile Toronado, and a 1983 Ford F-150 truck. I'm on several owners forums for them, and have had the pleasure of helping guys troubleshoot their car/truck.

Ok, now its time to get under the car. More later.

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My first Mercedes Benz. 4/6/07.

1984 190E (201 024) 2.3L four.

Congrats,on your first MB.one of the first order of business is to smoke test the vacuum system.lots of post on how to do it,this will tell you the most about your vacuum system.Not knowing how it has bean cared for in its life you are in the best direction with plugs,rotor,wires,distributor cap,check the wires for rat infestation,they often chew insulation off the wires and then the shorts start.Good luck, JNT.

congratulations... you are definetly on the right track..

replace any fluid that is replaceable....

i wouldn't worry too much about the sunroof now... it could wind up being an expensive fix...

you may want to get a spare ovp when you get the money.... good run insurance.

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1989 300ce 129k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines). (Gone)

1997 s320 154k (what a ride). Sold with 179k miles. Replaced with Hyundai Equus

1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


[/SIGPIC]

Can you tell me what an ovp is? I'm definitely a newbie here!

I replaced the brushes in the alternator yesterday, and installed a new fan belt. Sure quieted down after the replacement! The brushes were only 1/8" long, so it wouldn't have charged much longer!

Bruce

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My first Mercedes Benz. 4/6/07.

1984 190E (201 024) 2.3L four.

Great move checking the brushes. Mine failed on me last month while driving Downtown at night in the rain.
The OVP ( Over Voltage Protection ) Relay is designed to protect components from spikes in voltage that could result in damage. It also supplies power to the cold start circuit. That's as far as I have gotten with this, maybe someone else can tell you much more about it.

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1992 400E current
1988 300E sold
1973 280C totalled
1973 280SEL never got it running
1971 250C my first love but rusted out

ovp also controls idling to a certain extent.

you were smart to replace the regulator brushes... i should have added that to your list. i always keep a spare ovp and a spare voltage regulator in addition to a fuel pump relay and a/c relay.

just part of my go package.

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1989 300ce 129k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines). (Gone)

1997 s320 154k (what a ride). Sold with 179k miles. Replaced with Hyundai Equus

1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


[/SIGPIC]

I have decided to consolidate all my posts on my car into one long dreary thread.

In addition to the things mentioned above that I have replaced, I have now replaced the ignition switch and lock assembly, repaired the wiring so that NOW the car can start with the key switch. Before, I had to turn on the switch, and press a button to start it... Kinda like my Grandads 1940 Ford when I was a kid... a long time ago...

Replaced the vacuum modulator on the transmission. Also, found a vacuum line diagram in the shop manual and found several things disconnected or plugged.

Repaired the belt tensioner. At the same time, I found that someone had decided that their way of stringing the belt around all the pulleys was better than what M-B did, so I bought a new drive belt for a non-A/C car, and left the compressor pulley out of the mix for now. It is not installed under the power steering pump like it is supposed to be. Now, the tensioner works properly. The A/C rebuilding will come at a later time.

All of the electric windows are repaired. Someone had removed the plastic moisture barriers from 3 of the doors. I cut out some new barrier material and installed them. Also, repaired and hot-glued some trim pieces that have gotten broken over the years.

There are some terrible squeaks that I hear as I rev the engine. I have replaced the bearings in the alternator, and cleaned it thoroughly while I had it apart. I thought the tensioner pulley bearing was causing the squeak, until I replaced it. Now, it is either the water pump, or the PS pump. I'm leaning toward the PS pump, as I have listened to the water pump with a length of pipe and heard nothing extraordinary as I touched the pump body and listened.

I am not worrying about the sunroof for now. I have 4 working windows.

Back to the PS pump: It may not be the original for this car. It has 3 odd spacers between the pulley and the bolt flange. The pulley wobbles as it turns. Is there a special way to install the 3 spacers? AND, and this makes this all the more suspect to me: One of the PS pump pulley bolts is 14mm while the other 2 are 13mm.

This squeaking is the BIG problem right now. Other than this, the car is running very well for me.

Since I repaired the odometer today, I can now track my gas mileage now that locally, we have hit $3.10 a gallon for regular.

I DO appreciate all of your replies, both on this thread, and private.

Bruce

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My first Mercedes Benz. 4/6/07.

1984 190E (201 024) 2.3L four.

Here is a link that may help:
http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb1.asp?TP=1&F=201034&M=102%2E983&GA=722%2E410&GM=717%2E404&L=765%2E902&CT=M&Cat=488&SID=13

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1992 400E current
1988 300E sold
1973 280C totalled
1973 280SEL never got it running
1971 250C my first love but rusted out

Just a heads up for a new MBZ owner, whatever you do, and to avoid a pinging engine, DO NOT USE REGULAR GAS.

Premium 91-92 octane or greater.

These engines get tempermental with low octane gas, my 85 190E 2.3 8V gave me a bad idle and a sluggish take off with low octane fuel.

-J

Thank You so much Bruce. I'll try replacing mine this weekend. Also, if i may ask you for one more favor, is it possible for you to post the vacuum diagram ?? Thanks again for your help.

smk_texas

Other than having the information on my computer via the CD-ROM, I couldn't begin to figure out how to post any of the stuff here. Sorry.

Computer Newbie, too!

I'm stuck in the 1980's with my cars. The Mercedes is a totally new breed to me. Its a learning experience, and my used parts supplier is very happy to show me repair schemes.

Bruce

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My first Mercedes Benz. 4/6/07.

1984 190E (201 024) 2.3L four.

Not a problem. I'll find one on ebay or something. Thanks for your help.

smk_texas

I've replaced the fuel distributor now. I'm slowly dialing it in, and the car has never run better.

I'm planning to replace the hydraulic lifters, as one is noisy at high speeds.

Since my last post on this topic, I've replaced the brakes, one brake caliper, emergency brake shoes, driveshaft flex couplings, fuel filter, pump, acumulator, regulator, gas cap, OVP relay, power steering pump, and fan clutch. Many of the parts came from the parts car at my friends place. A few came from M-B, like the new radio antenna. I also had the rear lower strut support bushings done after several months of driving the car and being embarrassed by all the squeaking that was happening all the time. It's all quiet now.

Everything totaled, I feel like I am still paying LESS than I would if I was making car payments. The car is running better and better, and I couldn't be happier.

Today, I am tweeking the fuel settings for the distributor... tiny adjustments.

Thanks for all the encouragement and kind words.

Bruce

__________________
My first Mercedes Benz. 4/6/07.

1984 190E (201 024) 2.3L four.