Its been a while since I've updated this because I have been unbelievably busy. School started up again and the 300E began to stall when up to temp. There are so many things that can cause the engine to stall out in this fashion, let me describe my circumstances:
First time it ever did this was in the parking lot of a local supermarket when I was out on a really quick grocery run. I parked the car (only had gone about a mile from my apartment), went inside, got what I needed and came back out in about 5 minutes. Starting up the car, it stumbled just a tad but seemed pretty normal idling. As soon as I put any load on the engine (so basically when I shifted into reverse) it immediately stalled. I was able to push it back into the space, start it up and idle it again. I popped the hood and didn't notice anything out of place...checked the OVP for any visible signs of fuse failure, and nothing out of the ordinary. I got back in and revved the engine a bit and noticed a misfire whenever I had my foot on the gas to rev it (would not misfire coming back down, only under a load). After about 5 minutes it fixed itself and I was able to drive home.
Second time was after I replaced a burst coolant hose. I was terrified that in the process I had blown the head gasket by localized overheating (though the car did not get above 110* on the gauge) and I was suffering from low compression. However I realized it was the same odd issue as I experienced above. I figured in the process of checking everything out under the hood I jostled some vacuum lines...I made sure they were all in their respective places, ordered a new valve cover-to-air cleaner tube and installed it. The problem went away after that so I thought I had fixed it
Now, I have parked my 300E at my parents' for the most part, until I can sort out DMV inspection stuff. I ended up buying a new car about a month ago since I needed something that would not break down at ALL, and would not cost me money to repair if it did (read: warantee). My dad calls me a couple weeks ago and told me how he went out to grab a sandwich from a local deli and the car died after he got back in. Oh great! The mystery lives on!
So far I have replaced the overvoltage protection relay (OVP) which is perhaps the most common failure in these cars at this age...did not fix the problem, but its good to have a spare OVP in the glove box for when it inevitably does fail so no harm no foul. I initially suspected the OVP because it intermittently fails (exhibiting the exact symptoms I had) before an ultimate failure. The signal and power for the engine computer goes through the OVP, which is the reason the car runs like crap upon its failure. My next culprit is the O2 sensor, which is a logical choice seeing as the car only behaves badly after it warms up, then the engine temp sensor. I'm going to have to spend quite a lot of time with my digital multimeter at some point, just have no idea when I am going to find that time, especially considering the fact that the car is a few hours away from me at this point and my semester is in full swing. Oh well, this is the reality of owning old MBs, its a labor of love. My 300SD is still inoperable due to a bad transmission too, so the only thing I have at the moment is my brand new car (which I do love).
Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Boxy Brown
Being an auto blog I obviously need to introduce my awesome rides. Boxy would be the first of the Mercedes that really got me into these old heaps of metal. It all began one day back in December 2008....
I was visiting my family in New England as I usually do for the holidays and was simply driving a nice scenic road in my Dodge Stealth (RIP!). At this point, I was putting on about 15,000 miles a year on my car and hauling lots of stuff back and forth being in school. The Stealth was just not a practical car though I loved it much and it was a lot of fun. On this cold winter day, parked outside of a very old (1700-1800s) antique and crafts store was a lonely looking turd of a 300SD. It had massively faded paint, a bit of rust behind one of the rear wheels, and used to be dark brown with palomino interior. The very next day I gave the guy a call and he met me outside the store, putting on the sales pitch. He started the car and as soon as I heard the diesel clacking away in 15 degrees, I knew this car was for me. I bought it the very next day for less than $1000.
Driving home was an extremely scary adventure. Since the DMV did not require inspections, I literally walked in the DMV with nothing and walked out with plates and an empty wallet. My father drove with me to pick up the car and unfortunately by the time I got the plates on, it was rush hour. It took me all of about 100 feet to realize only one front caliper was working. I DID make it home about an hour later and after numerous angry rush hour motorists expressed their distaste for my slow, smoking brown slug. The transmission flared VERY badly in the 1-2 shift and 3-4 shifts, and slipped pretty badly as well.
It sat in the driveway for a couple months while I was in school, since I didn't have a chance to work on it while living 250 miles away. I saved up and bought all the parts I needed, most notably an entire braking system from the booster to the tires. Early in the summer I put it all together, cleaned out the ALDA line, replaced the B2 piston/bushing in the trans, cleaned the valvebody, cleaned the fuel tank, replaced normal stuff like glow plugs, filters, etc. By July I had a daily driver! Not too bad for a diesel noob like me, I learned a LOT from Boxy.
Boxy had some other "mods" too, obviously the EGR valve was immediately blocked off, I switched to LED lighting on the inside, and put in a kickin' stereo system. To accomodate 6x9's in the back, I fabricated a new rear deck and upholstered it in matching vinyl (well, the best I could to a fading pinkamino interior).
I should explain the name...Boxy brown is a character from Aqua Teen Hunger Force (yeah yeah, I know...)
I see the resemblance quite clearly myself.....
Anyways, Boxy served me well for over a year and only failed to start once outside the office in -6*F because the battery couldn't put out enough juice to crank it. I put on about 15,000 boomin' miles until rust got the best of him. When I bought the car I didn't realize the rust was that bad....turns out there was a ton of hidden rot at all of the jack points and the salt ate away at the trunk floor to the point where you could see straight through it! Despite having a healthy engine and transmission, Boxy was dying quickly and succumbing to the rust.
So come almost exactly a year later, a fellow on one of the forums I frequent offers a Texas 300SD shell (no trans/engine, no interior) for next to nothing. The saga continues....
I was visiting my family in New England as I usually do for the holidays and was simply driving a nice scenic road in my Dodge Stealth (RIP!). At this point, I was putting on about 15,000 miles a year on my car and hauling lots of stuff back and forth being in school. The Stealth was just not a practical car though I loved it much and it was a lot of fun. On this cold winter day, parked outside of a very old (1700-1800s) antique and crafts store was a lonely looking turd of a 300SD. It had massively faded paint, a bit of rust behind one of the rear wheels, and used to be dark brown with palomino interior. The very next day I gave the guy a call and he met me outside the store, putting on the sales pitch. He started the car and as soon as I heard the diesel clacking away in 15 degrees, I knew this car was for me. I bought it the very next day for less than $1000.
Driving home was an extremely scary adventure. Since the DMV did not require inspections, I literally walked in the DMV with nothing and walked out with plates and an empty wallet. My father drove with me to pick up the car and unfortunately by the time I got the plates on, it was rush hour. It took me all of about 100 feet to realize only one front caliper was working. I DID make it home about an hour later and after numerous angry rush hour motorists expressed their distaste for my slow, smoking brown slug. The transmission flared VERY badly in the 1-2 shift and 3-4 shifts, and slipped pretty badly as well.
It sat in the driveway for a couple months while I was in school, since I didn't have a chance to work on it while living 250 miles away. I saved up and bought all the parts I needed, most notably an entire braking system from the booster to the tires. Early in the summer I put it all together, cleaned out the ALDA line, replaced the B2 piston/bushing in the trans, cleaned the valvebody, cleaned the fuel tank, replaced normal stuff like glow plugs, filters, etc. By July I had a daily driver! Not too bad for a diesel noob like me, I learned a LOT from Boxy.
Boxy had some other "mods" too, obviously the EGR valve was immediately blocked off, I switched to LED lighting on the inside, and put in a kickin' stereo system. To accomodate 6x9's in the back, I fabricated a new rear deck and upholstered it in matching vinyl (well, the best I could to a fading pinkamino interior).
I should explain the name...Boxy brown is a character from Aqua Teen Hunger Force (yeah yeah, I know...)
Anyways, Boxy served me well for over a year and only failed to start once outside the office in -6*F because the battery couldn't put out enough juice to crank it. I put on about 15,000 boomin' miles until rust got the best of him. When I bought the car I didn't realize the rust was that bad....turns out there was a ton of hidden rot at all of the jack points and the salt ate away at the trunk floor to the point where you could see straight through it! Despite having a healthy engine and transmission, Boxy was dying quickly and succumbing to the rust.
So come almost exactly a year later, a fellow on one of the forums I frequent offers a Texas 300SD shell (no trans/engine, no interior) for next to nothing. The saga continues....
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