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Comments
one friend mecanik will do it without taking the whole transmission down or out completely is that ok do you think it can be done caus it sometimes makes a knoc when moving at some some speed alainrouthier108@hotmail.com
waiting for answer
http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?sid=44ltka45jb4qee45dc0hh0vr&makei- d=800016@Mercedes&modelid=1194038@300SD&year=1984&cid=24@AC%20%26%20Heat%20-%20C- limate%20Control&gid=6860@AC%20%26%20Heater%20Control%20Valve
This happens very infrequently so most of the time its no problem, but not knowing when it might happen makes it russian roulette when I pull into or accross oncoming traffic. Any ideas? Thanks
If none of that works, a valve adjustment and injection pump timing are probably a good next step.
Many of these old diesels are severely neglected with regards to valve adjustment, dirty fuel, worn out injectors (they wear just like any other part) and weak glow plugs (also a replacement item that is overlooked).
when I bought my pristine 300D, it took about 3 months and $1,500 to clear up all the mistakes, neglect and omissions. Hopefully you'll have a smoother road. But if this is a high miler, certainly there are wear items.
Thanks,
Peter
So if I were you I'd get a repair manual for sure, study it and then decide. With luck, looks like a one day job for you. I've never done that particular job so I'm not sure about how to skirt the special tool stuff, but generally you can figure something out. The special tool is like a little vise that neatly presses the new ball joint into the steering knuckle--and no, you don't want to have to buy one. Maybe you could rent something suitable I don't know or borrow it.
1. Jack up vehicle at the front, place supporting jacks outside against lower control arms. Remove front wheel.
2.Unscrew steering knuckle arm from Steering knuckle.
3. Unscrew brake caliper from steering knuckle and attach to torsion bar by means of a suitable hook. Do not expose brake hose to tensile stress. Note: On vehicles with ABS. additionally remove rpm sensor from steering knuckle.
4. Remove front wheel hub.
5. Loosen hex. nut on guide joint (8 ) and remove joint from steering knuckle by means of tool.
6. Loosen hex. nut on supporting joint
7. Swing steering knuckle at top slightly outwards and force supporting joint from lower control arm by means of tool
8. Remove steering knuckle.
9. It required, unscrew cover plate from steering knuckle.
Installation
10. Check supporting joint in steering knuckle.
11. Check cover plate and screw to steering knuckle.
12. Attach steering, knuckle to lower and upper control arm. Attention! Keep cone of ball pins and seats in steering knuckle or lower control arm free of grease. Use new self locking hex. nuts.
13. If the ball pin on guide or supporting joint is turning when the hex. nut is tightened insert spacing disc and pull cone of ball pin into steering knuckle or lower control arm by tightening hex nut. Then loosen hex nut remove spacing plate and tighten hex. nut to specified torque.
he spacing plate can be self-made.
14. Install front wheel hub.
15. On vehicles with ABS. fasten rpm sensor in steering knuckle by means of hex. socket screw.
16. Adjust wheel bearing end play.
17. Install brake caliper. Attention! Do not twist brake hose and do not subject to tensile stresses.
18. Mount steering knuckle arm to steering knuckle with new self-locking bolts.
19. Mount front wheel, lower vehicle.
20. Check wheel adjustment at front axle.
21. Check adjustment of head lights.
If the bolt comes off easy, it's not bad, but if it is stubborn- watch out!
I'd be very careful if someone wants to handle this kinda job themselves without all the "accessories"; especially if it's the original and never been replaced. Luckily, I have a good mechanic I trust for these things, and it was worth it for me to pay the $365- parts and labor and all for the 2 upper ball joints. He charged me only $100 extra from what he had quoted me ($265)- I thought that was fair enough.
Peter
Peter
Are you using a genuine Mann filter? If you buy aftermarket drop-ins for this car, they sometimes DO NOT FIT!
my mechanic suggested that i replace the front two tires because the traction is gone. but when i go onto costco.com to find a set of tires, i can't find one that matches my model type. are there any other model's tires that are equivalent to my model's tires?
that's all you need to worry about...and of course, buying a tire that isn't crap made you-know-where.
Something like a Kumho Ecsta tire would work fine I think.
see at: www.tirerack.com
One trick if you are careful is to hook up a battery cable to one glow plug. It's often enough to get the thing to start or almost start---if you do that and it wants to kick over, then you have no current to the glow plugs.
I have no idea what a diesel might sound like with a sport muffler but yeah, you could make it pretty loud if you wanted to. Keep in mind that what sounds good at 30 mph might drive you nuts after an hour on the freeway.
Model: 300D Turbo
Year: 1987
Current Mileage: 105,000
Purchased Mileage: 97,000
Purchased: August 2007
I purchased my 300D a little over a year ago from it's second owner. I was very excited to find this model with so few miles on it. Mechanics ask me if it was handed down through the family because it's in such good shape. Car cleaned up great and aesthetically it looks amazing for a 21 yr old car. The build quality is fantastic. The doors "clunk" closed still after all this time, very little rattles in the car and a good bit of the gizmo's that made this thing a "luxury" car back in the day still work. However, looks aren't everything....
I've had it in the shop 4 times ( :sick: :sick: :sick: :sick: ) so far and I've owned it for little over 1 year. The majority of the time in the shop has been related to electronic issues (windows no longer working (Check your fuses first!), climate control fans stuck on, A/C not working, etc.) However just recently there have been some mechanical issues. I have it in the shop now as I'm typing this review. This most recent problem began on the highway. As I was cruising for a few minutes at 65 suddenly the engine began to rattle and go up in RPM's and thick greyish-white smoke poured out the back, accompanied by a burning smell. Immediately I pulled off the road and turned the car off. Upon restart it seemed to idle a little rougher but the loud rattle and grey smoke had stopped. I continued to drive the car since I'm on a budget and it was still driving ok, but I kept it off the highway as much as possible. Slowly, the issue became more present at lower speeds. The drivability of the car was hindered even in town, so into the shop it went. Additionally, when I park the car with the nose elevated even just a few inches above the tail, it won't start without cranking forever and flooring the accelerator. Apparently a fuel leak of some kind.
So, at this point I've spent almost as much on repairs as I did to buy the car.
Just know this: buying one is inexpensive. It's maintaining them that costs so much. They must be taken to a Bosch certified mechanic and most of those start around $90 an hour (and that's cheap compared to taking it into the MB dealer). Oil changes run about $90 as well. So, before you buy one, understand that you get the deal up front. It's after the fact and actually owning the car that becomes so expensive (like a Porsche). Plus it's just annoying to be without your set of wheels for days and days at a time.
To sum up, I'd give my 300D Turbo about 3 stars out of 10. One star for how swell it looks for an all original 21 year old car, one star for the inexpensive purchase price, and one star for getting to drive around in a Mercedes-Benz. There is something undeniable about seeing that 3-pointed star glitter on the hood when you cruise around town.
Fintail, do you think the ''07, '08 and '09 E-Series is more reliable?
In newer cars, my C43 had no issues at all, and my E55 had a couple small electrical hiccups (sunshade and instrument cluster pixels - both under warranty) and nothing else - the old school AMG powetrains are considered bulletproof if maintained.
I have little doubt a modern E-class should be fine. It might have an electrical glitch here and there, but I think for the most part, MB's bad days are over. It's the early 2000s S-class I would avoid most, and I have read some C and SLK cars from that era can be iffy too, along with early W211 E-class. I would avoid non-AMG cars from 1996-2004 or so. Maintenance is still pricey and that irks some people, but that's what you pay to play, I guess.
I wouldn't be interested in an AMG because I'd be very happy with the performance and appearance of the regular models.
For cars to avoid if you want less hassle, I would keep away from W140 cars, earlier W210 cars especially from the east coast, earlier W203 cars, most W220 cars, along with some SLKs and MLs. Those years aren't set in stone, but they kind of go along with the passing of the W124, to the birth of the current models. If I was to get a W211 E-class like you mentioned, I would get a facelift model, or 2005+ AMG. Lots of them were dumped into leases, so they depreciate swiftly.
I'd also have some interest in an SLK, as a replacement for my 300ZX.
I maintain my cars very well, and we average ~19,000 per year for the three of them combined, so I don't need to make any changes. Still, you never know, especially with older cars, when you might have to replace one quickly. For example, a relatively minor accident could total an older car. You usually have advance notice regarding the failure of a major component (engine or transmission), but not always. Also, sometimes several small things fail or don't work right, and together they might equal the cost of repairing a major component, so you decide that its time to trade that car. This is a wordy way of saying that it's good to be prepared. That means having an idea of which car(s) would be suitable replacements for the one(s) you currently drive.
I know a couple people with later (04-05) W203 C230 kompressor cars, and they haven't had any real problems, those cars seem to be well sorted. But the earlier ones can be glitchy. I think the current (05+) SLK has been decent too...but if you are tall, you won't like it...I didn't like the one I sat in anyway.
I don't know if any of these cars will have Japanese reliability when it comes to electronics, and servicing has to be more as well. I think that shocks some people.
Shifty the Host
I was thinking of getting the EGR removal kit, but noticed that my EGR was already disabled (good!). The vacuum line going into the EGR was removed and the EGR opening was closed up by a screw. However, the end of the vacuum line (that originally went into the EGR) was open, so I thought it would be better to plug that up too, so I put in a screw to close it. I also put a couple of golf T's in the black control box since I noticed there were a couple of open ports.
I take it for a drive, and everything is A-ok (I thought shifting was better- but maybe just an illusion).
Anyway- I come back, turn off the key and voila! engine does not shut off. Had to shut it off manually. I must have affected something; so of course I remove the screw and the 2 golf T's that I had put in, and the engine still refuses to shut off.
What could have happened? any ideas? All I did was try to plug up some open vac. lines!! Even after restoring them to the previous status, why does the engine still not shut off?
There are these tiny tiny vacuum lines over the valve cover, on the driver's side. If you are working on the engine, these always seem to come loose from their fragile plastic connectors.
You know where the manual shut off is for the engine, right?
What do you think about removing the EGR valve and blocking off the exhaust and intake using one of those kits?
Along those lines, any comment on removing the air filter box and replacing it with the direct air intake kit?
I also now plugged up the open EGR line with a screw; and shifting- though very good before- is even better now; real smooth and not hard. I can barely feel the shift into 3 and 4.
Anybody have comments on replacing the standard air box with the "high performance" direct air kit with the K&N filter?
No, I think K&N is a complete waste of money on a diesel--there is no air throttle regulation on a diesel--all you are doing is adding fuel.
And yes, I tried it on mine and it makes no difference whatsoever.
I have another question though: Even though the vacuum line to the EGR valve is no longer connected, is the exhaust still going into the engine intake thru' the EGR? My thinking here is if any soot/ crud is going into the intake, will it be helpful to remove the EGR and block off both ends- the exhaust as well as the intake where the EGR connected, in order to prevent carbon deposits from going back in? There's a kit on ebay for $30 that does this, and seems simple enough.
If it's running okay, I wouldn't mess with it. Your car is emissions-exempt anyway.
I tried to get to the voltage regulator behind the alternator; but just couldn't get to 1 screw to remove it- gave up.