Drive it or pull it? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

zhandax · #1 12-21-2009, 02:02 AM

Someone call a shrink, or at least warn the neighbors I'm dangerous. I decided to give Mom my 300E and then I got on fleabay and bought me a 93 300SL. Of course, two days after the auction ended, Baltimore got two feet of snow and the car is 40 miles north of there. I talked to the seller by phone the next day and the first thing he said is "you don't want to come get it this weekend". This guy has a death grip on the obvious. The listing said the car "ran rich and needed a MAP sensor". I find out when I talked to him that the car had sat for 2 years before he bought it. He bought it 6 months ago, found out that it stalled on deceleration, and decided to cut his losses.

He also said he had changed the cluster because the odometer had died on the old one. He wanted to know if I wanted the original or the replacement with 30k less miles than the car has. I told him the original, but now I wonder. It is the old roller type...needs two plastic gears? Just as he started to describe the CIS (I assume) issue and he got to the part about it dying on deceleration if you didn't put it in neutral and give it some gas on the exit ramp, my cell phone battery died. We had already agreed to talk Monday after I call the DMV here and in MD to find out who has the best deal on a temp tag and I will certainly get a better description of the stalling before I fly up there.

Today, I drove out to the scrapyard and picked up an $8 EHA just in case he is correct. If it fixes the problem, it should last until I get home. The donor had already been almost stripped or I would have gotten a few other things. I picked up a couple of packs of copper fuses, and when I got home, I ordered an OVP and a fuel relay just because they are not exactly famous for solder-joint longevity. I will change the OVP, EHA, and fuel relay in Baltimore in two feet of snow, but that is about the extent of my tolerance for cold weather. I figure the best thing for this car is an 800-mile drive whether these solve the problem or not.

But realistically, it is time to ask the smart people in the room...should I drive it or rent a U-haul with trailer and drag it back home?

lsmalley · #2 12-21-2009, 02:54 AM

Rent the u-haul. the last thing you want is for the car to not even work and then you'd have to have it towed anyways. rent the u-haul, get it to your house and then try diagnosing and fixing the problems that you found, not what someone is telling you. then take it for a drive. at least that way, if anything happens, you'll be in the comfort of familiar turf and can easily have someone give you a jump or tow it x amount of miles instead of 2x amount of miles :-)

Ferdman · #3 12-21-2009, 06:29 AM

I agree. Haul the 300SL home. It will be no fun being stranded on a snow-covered roadside trying to troubleshoot an unfamiliar car.

TimFreeh · #4 12-21-2009, 08:16 AM

I agree with the prior two posters, I'd never consider driving something like that 800 miles back home. Way too many things that could go wrong and when you have problems with a Benz in unfamiliar territory its much harder to find someone for repairs than if you were driving a Ford or a Chevy.