got a problem with my '84 280E, euro m110 engine w123, auto tranny.

i'm having power loss while driving at normal speeds under normal conditions. pedal will just start acting like it no longer has an effect on the engine. no electrical issues or dimming but i will be driving along and all of a sudden the car will no longer respond to the pedal. it won't die out or stall, just no more power. take my foot off the gas and press it down again and i get a response, less than a second later. driving normally, something happens and i'm coasting for a second, put my foot back on the pedal, and i'm good to go again.

and, not sure if related, but i'm having serious stalling out issues while at stop lights or driving very slowly, like when i went to parallel park the other day. stalls out, put it in park, turn the key, and sometimes she'll start right back up again with no issues. the other day however, i sat in traffic for a full two minutes trying to crank her up to go and she wouldn't. a full two minutes later and she starts right back up and drives home like nothing happened. when restarting, she'll crank and try to get going, stumble a bit, then die. definitely not the starter or battery.

she's been in storage for a few months waiting for good weather. in that time i have replaced the plugs, wires, dist. cap, and rotor. valve adjust, new oil & filter, and air filter. re-did central locking system until working again, plus "new" vacuum brake booster and new vacuum line to the booster from the intake. all the fuses were replaced too, and she's got a fresh tank of premium gas.

yesterday i changed the fuel filter as i had one around. drove pretty well but still stalled when i pulled into a parking space. people have suggested a failing fuel pump and/or fuel pump relay. they have also suggested some kind of massive vacuum leak either involving the brake booster or a leak somewhere else. thing is, previous owner alluded to this issue when i bought it, though he said it happened much less often than this. either something is getting worse, or he stretched that info a little when selling. he thought it might be related to the brake booster, which was leaking and hissing when i bought it, hence the replacement.

anyone have any ideas? she's supposed to be my summer daily driver and i'm questioning her reliability at this point. need help quick! thanks!

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1985 300D - 1984 Euro 280E AMG Clone (SOLD) - 1978 280CE (SOLD) - 1983 300D (SOLD) - 1981 300D (SOLD)

Hey man! just came in see about check valve on fuel pump for my 280te 1985. I found a euro 280se with four speed and put it the whole drivetrain into my 280te wagon just want to say dont mess with the co screw there by the fuel distributor Until you have a cis fuel gauge set up to see your hot and cold fuel pressures vs your system pressure. When I passed emmission here the difference between pass and no pass was about turning that 3mm allen wrench co adjust about one Flat of the wrench.. if you are tempted just log your changes so you can get back to zero/start.. got lots of 280 w123 stuff.. good luck. till I saw you had changed it I would have said filter but back to check your pressures

oops! forgot i posted this here as i got my answer elsewhere.

replaced the fuel pump, fuel pump relay, and all the fuel hoses under the car. now she drives like a champ! no stalling or dying issues at all!

thanks for the tips though, excited to see someone who is into the m110s/280s. got any pics of that 280TE?

i'd like to start setting some cash aside and asking the forums to source a 4 or 5 speed manual set up for my 280E. probably the first project for next summer but i might get to it sooner...

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1985 300D - 1984 Euro 280E AMG Clone (SOLD) - 1978 280CE (SOLD) - 1983 300D (SOLD) - 1981 300D (SOLD)

If I'm not mistaken, you have bought the car that you had asked me about back when I was still living in Cincinnati. I'm afraid you overspent on valve adjustment and new ignition parts as I helped the former owner with that. However, fuel pump and relay were a good call. I would have guessed the same. You have a great car there. Enjoy!

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yes, that was me! no worries, i did the valve adjustment myself and got the ignition parts at a steal. valves barely needed adjusting but now i'm fretting over whether i did them correctly or not. iirc the rotor was pretty beat, or maybe it was the cap. i kept the wires around because they're oem but i got a set of karlyns from germany to replace them, same specs. i'm a paranoid car owner, not replacing the usual and cheap standard parts on a new to me car keeps me up at night....

the car is amazing and i'm loving every minute of it! i've got a pretty big task ahead of me taking care of the exhaust issues as well as a tiny bubble of rust coming through the sunroof. looks like someone tried to repair it once before with a bad spray job. other than that i'm just driving it and having a blast!

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1985 300D - 1984 Euro 280E AMG Clone (SOLD) - 1978 280CE (SOLD) - 1983 300D (SOLD) - 1981 300D (SOLD)

I never noticed the rust bubble on the sunroof - it must be new.

The exhaust definitely must be done and soon. When it was federalized by idiots, the support that connects to the transmission was never replaced, so the only thing supporting the exhaust system after the manifolds are the rubber dounuts at the rear muffler.

What ever became of the external oil leak at the left-front side of the head gasket?

I sure like that car! Itīs really tight.

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bickering with my indy about it. he says it looks like the front crank seal from his quick observations. it's at the point now where tomorrow night he's going to replace the crank seal and said that if it's not the solution, the work is free.

i have a feeling we'll both end up doing the head gasket on a car with a brand new crank seal...

and just a disclaimer, the guy is a friend of mine and does super cheap after hours work for me, so he's not just trying to get money out of me!

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1985 300D - 1984 Euro 280E AMG Clone (SOLD) - 1978 280CE (SOLD) - 1983 300D (SOLD) - 1981 300D (SOLD)

I fail to understand how oil from a front crank seal can end up on the outside head surface just below the front port of the intake manifold.

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Don't Chrome them; polish them