MBDiesel.net - An Owner's Journey

Word spread like wildfire across the MB online community today of the passing of it's beloved "Der Dieseling Doktor" on Monday. Many of us were deeply saddened to hear the news. Marshall was a fixture of Mercedes Benz mailing lists and online forums for many years, always willing to help others with the problems they were experiencing with their cars.

When Donna and I had only the 240D as our lone MB, I remember e-mailing him privately several times asking various questions. Marshall would respond to me quite promptly, and invariably CC our correspondence to the more general mailing lists. At the time, it bothered me slightly - I wasn't wanting to start up yet another oil-related question on the lists. But now I understand why he did it, and it fits into what Marshall did for all of us for so long, so well.

Marshall wanted to share the breadth and depth of knowledge that he had accumulated in his decades of Mercedes diesel ownership. He wanted the knowledge out and in the open, freely available for all to have - and more importantly, to discuss. Marshall tracked so many service and repair issues related to Mercedes diesels that I envision him having computers dedicated to nothing but spreadsheets for tracking the data he collected. He never tired of answering the same questions that every new owner has during their first years of ownership. His treatises on synthetic oil, fuses, and the like have burned themselves into many people's memory almost as indelibly as his unique and purpose-driven responses, with the emotion and mannerisms that mirrored his professorial vocation. Marshall was never one to mince words, and dutifully stressed his key points such that no one could misinterpret them.

I'm truly terrible with words in most any occasion, but felt obligated to mark Dr. Booth's passing. I cannot say that I was a friend of his; we exchanged only a few e-mails back and forth privately, and we only met once at a local Mercedes Benz gathering - we spoke only briefly. But Marshall leaves us for a better place, and leaves the community in a better place than we would ever be without him. He will be greatly missed.

Per the online obituary, memorial contributions may be sent to the Hillman Cancer Center. One mailing list is soliciting donations from it's members for a donation to be made in Marshall's name - contact Tom Scott at tscott at cavtel dot net for further information.

Yesterday, Donna and I drove to Douglasville for a work function for her. We took the wagon out, because the poor thing just doesn't see the usual long-distance leg-stretching that it used to - my old job was 25 miles from the house and usually took an hour-plus, while the shop is less than 8 miles and takes 15 minutes on a bad day. As such, the wagon never really comes up to full operating temperature. Sure, the coolant does, but engine oil typically takes three times longer.

We took a lot of backroads out there. We passed by another w123 in town - they didn't wave back. On the other side of town, I found the wagon's doppelganger behind us - same interior and exterior colors, the only difference being that it was a turbodiesel wagon. We stopped 1 and 2 at a traffic light, and the gentleman behind me waved, and I waved back. It was a good moment for both of us. Then the light turned green, and Donna and I shot off into the distance as our clone turned off onto a side street.

Coming back was just as fun - deserted country roads at night, low beams and fogs on illuminating the road ahead, driving fast enough for it to be exciting for me and slightly disconcerting for Donna. We both can scarcely tolerate the lack of control that the passenger seat so kindly offers.

Long after we had arrived home, Donna received a call from the security company monitoring her store - one of the sensors had triggered the alarm, and they had been unable to reach anyone on the call list except for her. Since Donna had gone to bed and I was still awake, I drove her down to the store in the 240D.

It was probably the first time in a long time where I had extended seat time in both cars on the same day, and probably the only time doing so at night. It really allowed me to compare and contrast the two cars and see their strengths and weaknesses.

The 300TD is certainly the highway car of choice - almost more refined, I'd say. The 240D, on the other hand, is just more fun to romp on. It's handling characteristics are so different from it's bigger brother. If the 300TD is more powerful, then the 240D is more fun getting there. If the wagon is more graceful and forgiving of driver input errors, the 240D is raw, visceral, and demands your attention. If the wagon is more surefooted in the curves, the 240D is so precise you could shave your face with it.

Same chassis, very similar suspension setups, two drastically different cars.

I've had a crazy idea recently that I'm certain would never see fruition, but it's fun to think about nonetheless - Spec 240D racing. What better way for drivers to learn how to pick and follow lines, maintain momentum, and patience? Sure, the races would take forever, but 67 horsepower is more than enough to have some fun.

It's been a busy past couple of weeks at the shop. Today was a little slow, so Mathieu and I got to wrench on our own cars for some much-needed massaging, love, and attention.

The 240D had been exhibiting some very weird noises from the front end recently. It sounded like a groaning noise from inside the cabin when the steering wheel was first turned - a quick check of the power steering fluid level revealed that the reservoir was a little low.

However, after resolving the fluid level, the noise was still present, though a little muted - I'd obviously addressed part of the issue, but had not completely resolved it.

A little more troubleshooting pin-pointed the noise to the left front corner of the car - and it almost sounded like the spring itself was resonating. That's bad news, because broken springs on these cars are very dangerous.

I drove the car to the shop one day, and talked over the issue and symptoms with Mathieu. We pulled the car in and cautiously checked the spring - everything seemed fine there. Mathieu then used a mechanic's stethoscope and accurately diagnosed the noisemaker - the ball joint in the upper control arm.

The control arms were manufactured by TRW, and have approximately 5 years and 50k miles on them. Today, we replaced them with Febi/Bilstein arms, as well as installed Bilstein Heavy Duty shocks in the rear of the car. The ball joints in the old upper control arms were immovable by hand - placing the joint in the bench vise and moving the arm around, we were able to feel that the joints were all but seized.

Also visible on the UCAs in the area where the torsion arm bushings seat was a lot of wear in the metal - very bright, very shiny, very smooth. Mathieu said he normally sees this in cars with 150k on the UCAs, not 50k.

I guess Donna will need a little talking-to about her driving habits again.

We also observed that the outer boot on the right rear halfshaft is torn, so it looks like I'll be hunting for halfshafts again soon.

Apologies to those who may have visited the site a week and a half ago and found it replaced with an ASCII middle finger accompanied by a soundtrack of someone belching to music. Apparently, MBDiesel.net found itself the target of a Turkish script kiddie group. These things happen from time to time, but I had it resolved within an hour of noticing it. Kudos to ICDSoft's technical support teams for assisting me with restoring the site! It wouldn't have happened easily without them.

Today, I took the 280S out for a spin. I cranked her over last week, and she fired right up! Yesterday, she was evicted from the garage so a guest car could take up residence for the weekend, so today I decided to take her out and about and see what she had decided to break in the past few months of sitting.

There I was, minding my own business (and the idiot lights and gauges in the dash for signs of impending trouble), rocketing down I-285 in the middle of a pack of traffic. Next thing I knew, I had to jam the brakes, and the pedal went straight to the floor without affecting the car's speed at all. Since I've become a little more adept at handling the idiosyncrasies of the average Mercedes Benz jalopy - thanks in part to cars as bad off or worse than the 280S - I downshifted (thank goodnees for Euro cars with manual transmissions) to engage a little more engine braking, and then hovered over the emergency brake pedal in case the car needed additional help. Fortunately, a second attempt at depressing the brake pedal resulted in some brake force being applied to the wheels.

My original plan was to circle I-285 at least twice to burn off a good bit of the old gas in the fuel tank, then refill on the way home with fresh. The brake issue put a sizable dent in those plans, and I headed for home. Continued testing of the brakes along the way yielded similar results - nothing happening on the first push, but relatively full braking on the second and subsequent attempts.

When I pulled off at the gas station to top off (any fresh fuel is a good thing), I felt the temps at the hubcaps. The passenger side wheels were about what I would have expected for a 45 minute joyride in the super-hot temps Atlanta has been experiencing as of late, but the driver's side wheels were rocket-hot. Sticking calipers. So, it looks like I'll need to do a brake bleed at a minimum, and possibly pull the calipers to see what's up.

But - she runs, and runs well!

I hinted earlier at some big news coming to the MBDiesel.net microcosm, and the day has come:

MBDiesel is pleased to announce that we are now partnered with Old World Automotive! If you are in the Atlanta area and in need of repair to your diesel Mercedes-Benz or other vintage European car, we offer only the highest quality and caliber of repair work for your car. Mathieu Cama and I have a true passion for these cars, and we want to keep you on the road for thousands of miles to come. We also want you in the finest example that suits your budget, and will perform a thorough pre-purchase inspection for your next potential vehicle.

Mathieu Cama has over 20 years of experience with these cars, and was apprenticed to a 1950's era factory trained technician. I have spent many of the past few years apprenticing under Mathieu, and we are both excited about the opportunities that lay ahead.

I plan to continue MBDiesel.net as a compendium of Mercedes diesel repair and maintenance, so expect more frequent updates detailing work not only on my personal cars, but also those of Old World Auto's client?le.

And in stable-related news, stay tuned for the imminent return of the 280S from drydock!

I also have the automatic transmission from the 300TD for sale for $300. It was serviced 10kmi prior to being pulled during the manual transmission conversion. The speedometer cable clamp piece will need to be transferred from your 722.1 series transmission, but the unit is in otherwise good shape. Please feel free to e-mail me with any further questions.

Sorry for the lack of updates, I haven't abandoned the site - just been really busy!

To sum everything up, I updated the blog software and installed a few plug-ins that I hope will make my life a little easier.

In stable-related news, we replaced the tires on the 240D after 40,000 miles on the previous set. A better rotation schedule and with Donna keeping a better eye on her tire pressures, we probably could have squeaked out even more. The 300TD also got some new shoes in the front - my fault for not getting an alignment redone after the manual transmission conversion. Still, nearly 30k on those isn't bad, you just hate yourself for wasting money. I'm pretty sure we did an oil change and a valve adjustment on each, too.

In May, Mathieu Cama of OWA fame and I traveled to Arkansas to bring back a 1983 Mercedes-Benz 409D van that had been converted into a flatbed car hauler. The trip was so mentally and physically exhausting that it wiped me out for two weeks - even thinking back on that weekend causes my brain to shutdown. Let's put it this way: we're pretty confident with tearing into a Bosch diesel injection pump on the side of the road now.

I'm expecting some big changes in the next few months - nothing concrete yet, so stay tuned for more updates!

Donna and I had a blast at the Georgia Tech Auto Show this past weekend. We accompanied Mat and OWA as Mat showed off the Unimog and a few customer cars. Our friend Thomas was there with his waste vegetable oil-powered 240D, and spent the day giving a stellar presentation. Also part of the OWA flock was a delightfully green Euro-spec w116 450SEL and a w111 220SEb coupe. It was a good time for all, and Donna took these pictures of the event.

I've been using Shell Rotella for all the cars in the fleet for about 3 years now, if not more. A few years ago, I flirted with synthetics, and liked them, but the price was just a bit much. With cars that occasionally like to burn a little motor oil with their diesel oil, it's an expensive proposition. Rotella is a great oil, and I've recommended it to many people who have asked.

I don't know if I can do that anymore, though.

With the new CJ-4 specs from the API for 2007 model year engines, Shell reformulated Rotella into a new version advertising itself as "Rotella with Triple Protection". The regular Rotella multigrade is still available (according to Shell's website), with it's CI-4 rating intact, but is increasingly harder to find in retail stores - it may soon be available only in large shop quantity barrels.

After speaking with Mathieu Cama at Old World Automotive, he and I have noticed several vehicles that are now reporting noticeably lower oil pressure when hot - in some cases, almost a half bar indicated - using the reformulated Rotella.

In the interest of science, I located some old stock of Rotella multigrade and we did a quick change on one of our cars that had maybe 400 miles on the new Rotella with Triple Protection. The oil pressure went up to between the old and new oil pressures.

Is Rotella still a good oil? I'm sure it is. But if it ain't broke, don't fix it and hide the old stuff that worked just fine.

I doubt the readership-at-large for my humble little website is waiting with bated breath for the next update, or has been wondering what's been going on since early January, but here's an update that will explain it all.

In mid-January, the 240D was once again struck by thieves - this time, the only thing they took were the worn out aftermarket rear speakers and the insurance card from the glovebox. The 300SD was similarly struck, with the insurance card stolen and a half-quart of ATF poured on the driver's seat.

In other news, Donna and I have purchased a house, and we're moving out of this godforsaken hellhole apartment complex and into a house of our own some 25 miles to the south in southern Gwinnett county. This week, we've moved the 300SD, the 280S, and the 220 to their new homes, without much of an issue. This weekend should be the final trip for moving the rest of our things to our new house, and I'll continue to update the website from our new location in Snellville, GA!

Things aren't looking too well for those custom alternators we installed in the 240D and 300TD last summer. The voltage regulator in the 240D's alt bought the farm this week - 12.3 volts output at any RPM range. When Donna drives from here to Conyers and back with the headlights on, she would end up with a dead battery greeting her the next day. I've swapped in the voltage regulator from the 300SD's alternator after shuffling Donna off to work in the wagon, and voltages are back to ~13.8 at fast idle, ~13.4 at normal idle, and seeing low 14s with off-idle speeds. Much better.

On the wagon, it sounds like the bearings themselves are wearing out. We'll be getting a call this week into Sleepy Hollow, the rebuilder who provided the units, and we'll see where to go from there. I don't expect there to be any problems per se, I just hate duplicating work. I hate it almost as much as borrowing parts from cars, thereby making them inoperative, just to keep the daily drivers running.

Speaking of the wagon, it had it's first 2 road trips since the manual transmission conversion - we've been seeing fuel economy ranging from 25-27mpg, versus the 21-22 we'd normally see with the automatic. We hit 27 and 29 once with the auto - the 27 required driving the Natchez trace at 55mph (my mind can't handle doing that very well), and the 29 was when the wagon was loaded to the gills with about 1100 pounds of tools, engines, and various other things on a trip back from Florida with no power steering. Weird car, that one - I have no idea why it always gets better fuel economy loaded up with 4 people and their stuff for a weekend road trip than it did with just one or two people doing the same thing.

Carb kits for the 220 should arrive this week! There will be pictures!!