On Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:56:46 +0700, Bruce
wrote:
On Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:54:10 -0400, wrote:
The time we had trouble when we were in Memphis (it was the vacuum
system or something - the car just had no power) we did drive it over.
That Mercedes place wasn't as good. They took the doors apart and
said they couldn't get the parts and finally Bob told them to put it
together and give it back. He then went to an Autozone and got the
part for about 85 cents, and took the door back apart and fixed it
himself in the parking lot of the motel.
Vacuum system? Doors? Was the center lock operated by a vacuum system?
And where did they get it? most diesels don't have much vacuum, or
actually don't have a throttle valve to restrict air flow.
Cheers,
When the vacuum system on those cars was screwed up, the door locks
and trunk lock didn't work - windows - nothing on the car would work.
The vacuum system ran a lot of things on the car. On my car, if it
sits for very long, I can only open the door with a key and none of
the other doors or the trunk unlock like they are supposed to until
after the engine is turned on and running.
Out of curiosity what kind of car do you have?
Bob has a 1985 Mercedes 300D
I have a 1982 Mercedes 300D
At least that is the cars that we are talking about. In addition to a
boat with a Perkins 4-156 engine, we also have two mid 60s Ford
Escorts with diesel (Mazda) engines which were made that way by Ford,
a Mercury Lynx diesel (ditto), a Ford Escort which was a diesel but
which Bob converted to electric (not hybrid - all electric), two 1932
Plymouths, a pick up truck (one of the Japanese makes from the 90s), a
1964 Ford station wagon, a 1965 Galaxy convertible, a gas powered
Mercury Cougar, and a couple of others.
Not completely sure what is left as he's sold one or more Ford
pickups, all the 1960s Ford Mustangs and a rowboat and trailer fairly
recently. And I gave away a Plymouth Valiant and a 1962 Lincoln Town
Car about 10 years ago.
The original problem was a fuel restriction which kept the engine from
developing any power. We dropped the car off and told them that.
A very common reason for a diesel to not develop full power.
When we called the Mercedes place later, they said that the two left
door locks were leaking (which we kind of knew) and they would have to
replace them. By the next day they fixed the two window actuators
which were leaking vacuum and had tested it and found more leaks and
couldn't get the parts in less than 2 days, which would be Friday. Bob
was annoyed because he didn't think that the vacuum system was the
problem, he thought it was a fuel delivery problem. The next day the
advisor called about 10. Bob asked if they had changed the fuel
filter, and they had not. So he told them to do that.
To be honest I have never worked on a Mercedes car, but does it have a
"throttle valve"? The truck engines certainly don't. If a diesel
doesn't have a throttle valve, or other restriction in the intake
manifold the pressure in the manifold is only slightly below
atmospheric unlike a gasoline engine. In fact diesel powered vehicles
that use a vacuum booster on the brakes have a vacuum pump, usually on
the rear of the alternator, to power the brakes
When we got to the dealership, he took it on a test drive, and we
decided just to take it as it was - they had changed one fuel filter,
but said they didn't have the other one - citing the fact that the car
was 20 years old. The car door locks no longer worked, and it was
shifting hard, and the engine wouldn't turn off. After we put gas in
the rental and turned in it, Bob drove back to the Lodge - the
acceleration is fine now. He bought the filter that the advisor said
they didn't have at AutoZone for $3.00
I can understand a dealer not having a filter for a 20 year old
engine, as the dealer is normally committed to using only factory
recommended parts while the "parts dealer" is obviously not restricted
to any such agreement.
After he ate lunch, and read his repair manual, he went out and looked
at the car and figured out that the connector between the car door
lock buttons and the actuator that they had fixed was missing. So he
connected the two with a wire tie and voila, the engine now shuts off
without having to turn it off from under the hood.
You seem to be talking abut four separate problems. Engine starting,
engine power, door locks and engine stopping. None of which has
anything to do with the other, except that the shutdown system might
have been actuated by vacuum.
The engine starting problem apparently caused by the faulty glow
plugs.
The engine low power by dirty fuel filters.
Vacuum system by something but not the engine..
Note:As I said I have never worked on a Mercedes Diesel car and so
googled it. According to what I read the diesel source, since the
1960's, is a mechanical vacuum pump driven from the Injection pump and
therefore vacuum, or lack there of, really has no relationship to the
engine, except that the engine drives the pump.
Engine stopping - diesel engines are shut off by closing a fuel valve.
This shutoff may well have been operated by vacuum.
Yes - there were separate problems. We have driven the wheels off of
these cars. I once logged over 100 work miles a day for a month, not
counting driving to the office or the fact that it was July and so had
a holiday in there. And we have taken them south in the winter to
tour around where it is warmer. Mostly we just put up with the
problems. My car the ventilation system won't work after the engine
starts unless I fiddle with the key, the pax window doesn't work, the
rear defroster wires have been polished off, it leaks in a hard rain,
and the cruise control doesn't work.
We had two separate problems with Bob's car that we couldn't overlook
and it was in two separate places. Once in Charleston when it was the
glow plugs and once in Memphis when it was the fuel filters. We
wouldn't have gone to a repair place otherwise. Oh - we did have
brake problems in Titusville and the Mercedes place couldn't take us
until Friday (this was Sunday), so we rented a car and in the meantime
Bob figured out what the problem was and fixed it.
So now when we want to go out of the county, we rent a car for that.
It's cheaper and less hassle in the long run.