Hi All

[rickmuzick]

New MB owner and 116 owner.

Have a 1980 California emissions 450SEL that has spent it's entire life in Arizona after it's purchase in Beverly Hills. The car is in very nice condition and NO RUST 

My problem is this: I have brought it home to Tennessee and it has failed emissions testing because it is putting out 8000 (thousand) parts per million in hydrocarbons and the max allowable is 300 (hundred).

Where should I start? I posted on another forum site that is not 116 specific and only one person responded and said a tune up. I'd like some expert 116 advise if possible.

I also have a vacuum issue as well. No brake booster or power door locks. Any advice on that problem would also be appreciated.


THANKS!!!!!

[Mforcer]

Hi Rick,

Sounds like you have a lovely car. We would love to see some photos in the gallery at gallery.w116.org of your rust free example.

Sorry I can't help you with specifics to your car troubles but I just want to welcome you to our lil' forum. I am sure someone will drop in soon who can point you in the right directions.

Cheers,
Michael

[John Hubertz]

I'm sorry to hear you're having emissions difficulty.  I wish I could remember the various "cheats" ....but at 8000ppm your car is running quite rich.  Possible your cold start circuit is stuck open - but that is rare.

1.  Fully warm it up - the cold start on these cars is very aggressive.  Be sure you've blown it out well, by accelerating as hard as possible from 35 to 75 MPH ten times, preferably up hill.  But first....

2.  Change the oil, because old, thin or off-grade oil will go through a Benz like grass through a Goose.  Use 50 weight for the test.  Oil in the combustion process means PPM in the tailpipe.

3.  Use top-quality premium fuel.  Predetonation is incomplete combustion....  Highest octane you can buy....  and retard the distributor if necessary.  Remove your air filter from the housing.  If it is clogged with California sunshine it will raise PPM.

4.  Test your air pump - and I'll wager a dollar to a doughnut it is disconnected or the belt is missing or it is inoperative.  I'm not sure how to do the test however....

5.  Apply rational thought to the miles you will drive vs the environmental impact of cars being driven constantly from the health food store to greenpeace meetings and back vs the 2,000 miles a year we drive old cars.  Think of how much energy it will consume to recycle a car this heavy.  Tape a $100 bill to the center of the steering wheel.  Pass the d*mn test.


Enjoy!

[oscar]

Hi rickmuzick

Re the vacuum problems check these links from MBSpares in Oz.

Central Locking pt1
Central Locking pt2
Heaters pt 1
Heaters pt2

Scroll down to the relevant articles, they'll give you a good idea on what to look for within the vacuum system.  Hopefully the main feed is disconnected from the rear of the motor.  It's obscured from view but follow the approx 1 inch diameter tube from the brake booster and check that its not loose.  Doubt if it'll be that simple but you never know.

It's possible that the booster's cactus but whatever the problem, its more likely to be a major leak or disconnection closer to the motor that's causing everything to fail.

[John Hubertz]

Rick!

A vacuum leak substantial enough to lose brakes might be your entire problem.  Your engine management system relies on air flowing past the big round metering plate to determine the fuel/air ratio.  Air sneaking around that system through a big vacuum leak is probably the core problem.  I don't know the system well enough to know what this will or won't do, but I do know you are in a vintage equivalent of "fail soft" and that car is barely running.

Block the large outlet that feeds vacuum to your brake booster - it is a likely culprit, and a cracked one-way valve or torn booster membrane will cause the conditions you describe.  Other Benz leaks tend to be minor because of the relatively small diameter and high pressure of the vacuum systems - those hard plastic hoses running here and there represent  a very tight system to route vacuum all over the car, especially for the five locking mechanisms.  There is an "egg crate" that looks like a giant black wasp's nest inside your right front fender that stores vacuum like an Indiana farmer hoarding next Summer's seed.

A leak that size should be audible.

John





John

[rickmuzick]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

As we say in Nashville... Y'all done good   

I appreciate all the great advice, and now know where to start. First with the air and brake booster issue and see hwta happens.

I have noticed that it idles very high when at a traffic light, so the step down may be a culprit.

Thanks again Guys!


Rick

[michaeld]

rickmuzick,
For your brake booster problem, do your brakes work, but just w/o the power assist feature (car brakes ok, but have to push hard on pedel)?  If so, there are three possibilities, in order of cheapness: 1) the vacuum line from the brake booster to the engine needs to be replaced; 2) the master cylinder/brake booster gasket has failed; 3) you need a new brake booster.  As for possibility 2), go to www.mercedessource.com and look at their small article "Brake booster failure."  There are some pictures that might help you determine if that is your issue (it was mine; I went ahead and just replaced the master cylinder w/ a quality rebuild I got cheap on ebay).
As for your smog, O2 sensors are cheap parts that cause big problems when they fail.  I would go on google and type "smog" and "high hydrocarbon level" and see what you get.  Quite often when a particular measured item is high when other things are normal, a particular part is causing the problem.
Good luck,
mike

[John Hubertz]

Find a booster on http://www.car-part.com   Maybe about 100 times cheaper then a new one.

[rickmuzick]

Thanks Michael D.

Yes I have brakes, but the power assist (boost) is gone. It's like stopping a 1942 Dodge truck   

[michaeld]

rickmuick,
As I recall, you can check your booster by peforming the following sequence: 1) Prior to starting the car, apply and release the brake pedal several times to remove any residual vacuum; 2) apply and hold the brake with medium force; 3) start the engine.  The pedal should go down slightly & then stop, resisting any increase in pedal force.  This would indicate that the vacuum power head is doing its job.  Otherwise, I'd think about taking John up on the booster unit he found for you.
If your brake booster looks like the picture from the web site I gave you in my last post, you may simply be losing vacuum from a bad booster/master cylinder seal.  These rubber seals can obviously deteriorate over the years.
Again, wish you good luck.
Mike

[John Hubertz]

Rick

Here's a list of brake boosters that fit your car.  The cross references are already done through the Hollander manual system.  Every one of these boosters is a straight bolt up.

If you'd rather use 800 numbers there's a ton more from the next page of listings (all of them are $40 - $50 ) on my post titled "you won't believe this"

_________________________________________

Each listing is in this order:
Year
Part
Model Description Part
Grade Stock# US
Price Dealer Info

____________________________________
1984
Power Brake Booster
Mercedes 380 Left 126 Type, (380SE, SEL)   1383 $30 D & S Used Auto Parts USA-IL(Chicago) E-mail 1-773-582-9311
1975
Power Brake Booster
Mercedes 450     A537 $30 Carz R Us USA-IL(Armington) E-mail 1-309-392-2000
1980
Power Brake Booster
Mercedes 300 SD OM617.950,RWD      M30080 $30 Auto Star Recycling Center, Inc. USA-TX(Bryan) E-mail 1-979-778-7500 Toll Free: 1-877-382-7500
1985
Power Brake Booster
Mercedes 380 good      A27 $29.99 Carz R Us USA-IL(Armington) E-mail 1-309-392-2000
1980
Power Brake Booster
Mercedes 280 GOOD      A776 $27 Carz R Us USA-IL(Armington) E-mail 1-309-392-2000
1985
Power Brake Booster
Mercedes 380 good      A5 $27 Carz R Us USA-IL(Armington) E-mail 1-309-392-2000
1985
Power Brake Booster
Mercedes 500 GOOD      A644 $27 Carz R Us USA-IL(Armington) E-mail 1-309-392-2000
1969
Power Brake Booster
Mercedes 300 SEL     EE1172 $25 Budget Auto Parts Inc. USA-OH(Ashtabula) E-mail 1-440-992-1111

[michaeld]

John,
Boy, that Hollander thingy sure sounds spiffy.  I'll have to file it under "yet another thing I want that I don't got."
Mike

[John Hubertz]

John,
Boy, that Hollander thingy sure sounds spiffy.  I'll have to file it under "yet another thing I want that I don't got."
Mike

[/color]

Michael,

Hell, I've got a small semi-retiree type Business of auto parts and I can't afford a hollander manual.  I am a broker, not a recycler, and the subscription is hundreds of dollars per year. The neat thing is that car-part com does the cross reference on their parts - and once you buy one part from a guy you can ask him to look up whatever widget you need and tell you if it has any "crosses"....  also a hollander number will help you shop the part at junkyards - basically it is a parts manual for ALL cars of ALL makes and ALL years....all in one!

The beauty is that hollander doesn't worry about little smidge changes.  Their main question is "will the damn thing bolt up?"

Anyway - It's been years since I looked up a hollander price - I'll check and maybe this year I can afford one.

John

[michaeld]

John,
So what I need to do is buy something from car-part.com so I's can leach off their system for future references, eh?  It's worth a try.  My favorite kind of car parts people are the "will the damn thing bolt up" types.
Mike

[John Hubertz]

Nah, you don't even have to buy a part.  These are independent yards who lease car-part listing as an inventory service.....they'll just help.

Another great guy is Burgess at T-Wiley imports in Memphis.  He knows EVERYTHING but is grumpy.

John