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Comments
1) The ignition cranks and turns the engine over;
2) The glow plug indicator light will not come on at all;
3) All other dash lights function;
4) Outside temperature is 60 degrees Fahrenheit;
5) No amount of cranking starts it.
Any guesswork would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Chintan Talati
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com
I hope this makes sense and helps.
I have read that the thought behind the vacuum locks was that they would function several times after the engine was off (vacuum is stored in the reservoir tank in the trunk) and they would work if the battery is dead. If the system is fully functional with little or no leaks then they will work 4 - 5 times. In actual practice though it can be a maintenance headache.
If it's a W124 it's a lot lighter than a 300SD W 126. The 126 is the old body style and is old-fashioned looking but the W124 is more modern in style.
If it's an old W123 300D I wouldn't even consider it.
well, in the meantime I took the air filter cover off and noticed oil all over inside--surprised it didnt run more rich with an oil-soaked paper filter. so i rechecked the oil and saw that it was more overfull than the first time i checked it before buying. i think its less than 1 qt too full. after putting the oil cap and air filter back on, i fired her up, to test if pulling the saturated filter off while its running would somehow make it run less rich. minor improvement if any though. but whats strange is that oil vapor--not blue smoke--but some kind of vapor is pouring out of the breather tube while it runs. I would assume that its cuz its overfull but Ive never seen this vapor in a gas engine--only oil drops. anyway im changing the oil & to the right level before any more driving to prevent blowing seals. (would u recommend 10w40 castrol or some synth oil for this?) So has anyone seen this b4? am i actually burning oil? do i have a bad pcv? does this engine have a pcv? And lastly, will MB ever bring back the awesome body style of the 82 300td?? :shades:
The oil vapor is probably blow-by from piston ring wear....but you have to remember, a diesel engine has something like 22:1 compression, so this is to be expected on an old car. Overfilling the oil didn't help this, but you'll see it time and again in your air filter. Good idea would be to rotate the air filter every few thousand miles.
And don't freak out if you put in new oil and it looks totally black in 15 minutes of running---that's normal for older diesels.
The climate control problem is probably that servo valve in the front of the engine (that plastic box with all of the vacuum lines and wiring connected to it), but it could be a problem with the A/C system also, or both. The fact that they said the fan speed doesn't work right leads to think that the servo valve is not working right, but it's hard to tell for sure. They said that the "heater fan doesn't work right", but does that mean the heater doesn't work at all? If not, then back to the servo valve. That's an expensive repair (about $400 if you do it yourself), and there could be other problems.
They didn't say how many miles were on the used engine installed, but since they said it's noisier than before it leads me to think that it has a lot more. That would be likely since a used engine put installed in 2003 would probably be quite old.
The body looks real good, interior also, but I think you'll find that the front seats, especially the drivers seat, has a worn out bottom seat pad under that upholstery. That can be repaired.
All I can say is good luck. You may want to invest in a set of factory manuals if you do your own repairs.
Electronic Gremlins
Host
Best case scenario you put in a new key and pulley. Worst case scenario you have an enlongated or damaged keyway groove in the crank---sometimes people buy cars where this has already happened before, and a quickie repair is done with a new pin and pulley and lots of torque on the crank bolt--then the car is offed to the unsuspecting new buyer-but with an elongated keyway the pulley will soon come loose again and break another pin, no matter how tight you make the bolt.
If the keyway is gouged out, or the crankshaft tip itself has been ground up, you may have serious problems here. Otherwise, putting on a new pulley and key isn't that big a deal.
I'd recommend a switch AND a red light.
You can get a pulley from a wrecking yard. There are lots of these cars sitting around.
How can I get that fan working and what else can I do to prevent overheating?
Glad to hear that the crankshaft is in one piece. That was a longshot anyway. Your not out of the woods yet though - if the slot in the crankshaft is worn bad then a new key may not help. Perhaps if that is the case you can have a machine shop make you a wider key and machine the groove in the pully to match. I'm not sure if that would work, just thinking out loud.
thank you in advance for advice passed.
mc
Once again, thank you Mr. Shiftright.
thanks.