Raptelan's 1980 300SD

[Casey]

Made another driving video - same road, maybe a little more "spirited" driving this time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZnVNaAo9XE

[Casey]

The windshield seal that I patched with silicon isn't holding up.  Although the patch looks intact, water is running around it somehow, because yesterday it rained and I had water running down my rearview mirror and dripping onto the center console.  Fortunately jbrasile has got me a new OEM windshield gasket shipping from the Classic Center in Germany.  Once I get that I'll take the car somewhere and have both windscreen gaskets replaced.  The current rear one looks to be in pretty good shape but since I already have a new OEM one I'll probably go ahead and replace it - It's likely I'll have a good condition used rear windscreen gasket available for sale.

On the bright side, I now have garage space to park the vehicle in at home.  I'd also like to find a high-quality custom-fit car cover for when I'm at work or otherwise parked in the sun and elements.

The transmission is still leaking a little fluid since coming home from MB.  It seems to have stopped, but I need to check the level and see if it's low, etc. as well as clean up the floor and underneath of the car well and put down a cloth or something to catch any drips so that I can tell easier if it's still an issue.  I'm sort of putting off calling MB about it because I need to pay past due taxes (oops) before considering taking it back a third time.

The seller of the 300CD stopped responding, so I guess he probably found another buyer.  That's okay, because I really shouldn't spend the money on another Mercedes right now.  I totaled up the total investment in my car last night, and it's rather a lot.  Purchase price plus all parts ordered and service done add up to almost $11k, which is more than I think I've spent in total on all of my previous cars combined over the last 12 years.  And reality is it will still need a lot more to be what I want it to be.  Man...  Guess I'm feeling a little buyer's regret as I probably could have used that money a lot more wisely and driven some cheap junker.  But I do enjoy it.

I'm curious about the tie rods that I'm replacing - what effect do they have when they need replaced / what difference will I notice with new ones?

[Casey]

As for tires, I am an unconditional Michelin fan so I would suggest 205/70-14 Harmony's, actually this is the only tire Michelin makes in that size. You car originally came with 185HR14's but that is not readily available anymore and in my opinion it is too narrow of a tire for such a heavy car plus it just looks odd in the large 116 fender wells. The Harmony will give you outstanding comfort, traction and tread life.

So I noticed today that my current P215R14's are rubbing on the sides of the tires as there are wear marks all around the outsides of the tires.  I guess I should probably make getting rid of that problem a priority.  If one corners aggressively with Harmony's, is there any rubbing on the sides of the tires?  If so, what sort of size would be more appropriate for 14x6 rims?

(btw, what is the width of the original Bundth wheels on a 300SD?  6" or 6.5"?  I think they were only 6" on 300D's  but were they wider on S-class?)

[Squiggle Dog]

I think that the 280SE and 300SD came with 6" while the 450SEL came with 6.5" wide wheels.

Not to get too off topic, but I watched the video you just posted and saw some of the other videos you had on there. Congratulations with your diet! I've been vegan for 8 years and have dabbled lightly in raw foods. In the future I want to eat a lot more raw food. I've been happy with my diet. I have no regrets about it so far. Like you say, I feel a lot more motivated, have more energy, better skin, and MUCH stabler moods.

I lived almost entirely off of fast food and steaks when I was growing up. My family was a big fan of Coca-Cola as well. I stopped drinking sodas when I was about 10 because they made my teeth feel weird. I was the only one out of 3 siblings that escaped without ever having a cavity. I changed my diet much later on, despite the protests of others. A lot of the problems I was having like anemia went away. I've never had weight problems because I've been so active in my life, but I feel more energetic.

So, keep at it!

[jbrasile]

Casey,

The original bundts on the 300SD were 14x6, and you will not have any problems running 205/70-14 Harmony's, no rubbing should occur.

Don't feel bad about the money spent on the car, you are driving a piece of history the 300SD being the first automobile ever to use a Turbo-Diesel Engine, and one derived from the legendary C111-III!

If the current tie rods are in bad shape you should feel the steering a lot more crisp and tight.

Spread the expenses as much as you can so you don't feel you are spending too much at one time. And one last piece of advice: Do not add the totals!, Hehehehe.... keep track of everything but try to resist totaling the expenses on the car...We own these classic older MB's for the pleasure of driving a superbly engineered automobile that has style, performance, safety and durability that are second to none. If you try to justify the investment too much, might as well sell the car and move on. In almost 100% of cases, owning a Classic never makes sense financially... the best way to look at it is to think you paid a fraction of the cost of a new S-Class for a car that will have zero depreciation in the coming years and that the cost of ownership is still pretty reasonable if you compare it to the equivalent new MB. From that point of view it actually seems pretty logical.

Tks,

Joe

[1980sdga]

Don't feel bad about the money spent on the car, you are driving a piece of history the 300SD being the first automobile ever to use a Turbo-Diesel Engine, and one derived from the legendary C111-III!


Tks,

Joe

It really is a unique machine 

If your car drives OK now (And it looks like it does  ) you may not notice a change but if you don't fix the problem you'll eventually feel it.  Do you just have torn boots?

[Casey]

If your car drives OK now (And it looks like it does  ) you may not notice a change but if you don't fix the problem you'll eventually feel it.  Do you just have torn boots?

It does, though the steering does seem loose if I think abut it - it has good alignment and holds direction well but sometimes the wheel isn't level when I'm going in a straight line, etc.  Honestly I'm used to driving old neglected Mercedes (the last one was misaligned so the steering was always a little more to one side than center) so I've probably had a lot of bad tie rods and never even known it.  No idea if anything is torn - I don't even know what the parts look like.  MB just advised me that they were bad and they aren't much to replace.

[Casey]

I think that the 280SE and 300SD came with 6" while the 450SEL came with 6.5" wide wheels.

Okay, cool, so I won't be losing any width when putting on my aluminum steel-look wheels.  For the record, the 6" versions that I got are 10 times as rare as the 5.5" ones, and several times the cost as well if you can find them.  I'm wondering if it wouldn't be feasible to just buy cheaper 5.5" ones and have them custom-widened to something like 7" or more.  I was reading that MB also did make some rare 15" color-coded hubcaps at some point, but no idea if aluminum versions of wheels that could fit those hubcaps ever existed.

Not to get too off topic, but I watched the video you just posted and saw some of the other videos you had on there. Congratulations with your diet! I've been vegan for 8 years and have dabbled lightly in raw foods. In the future I want to eat a lot more raw food. I've been happy with my diet. I have no regrets about it so far. Like you say, I feel a lot more motivated, have more energy, better skin, and MUCH stabler moods.

Hah!  Didn't mean for you to stumble across my other stuff, but thanks.  I really need to split up my YouTube account.  I had an unhealthy childhood and early adulthood - really crappy diet as well as a lot of smoking and general neglect of the body.  I got to a point where I decided I was tired of getting sick all the time and didn't want to spend years of later life in misery and pain.  So I've been trying to make up for my mistakes for a few years in search of the most ideal diet, and tried a few different things on the way.  But raw foods is really working great for me, and it makes so much sense even just comparing to all the things I learned from other nutritional texts.  I do spend a lot more on food now, but at some point I'm hoping to start growing more myself.  Anyways... back to W116's...

Do you know the weight of the 14x6 Bundts?  The new wheels I got are surprisingly light - I think 13lbs each.  But I haven't ever handled a Bundt without a tire on it so they may be pretty darn light too.

[Casey]

Don't feel bad about the money spent on the car, you are driving a piece of history the 300SD being the first automobile ever to use a Turbo-Diesel Engine, and one derived from the legendary C111-III!

So the C111-III managed to get 230hp (and would go 200mph), but my car only gets 120hp.  Both are 5-cylinder diesels.  So what was the magic they did?

[Squiggle Dog]

So the C111-III managed to get 230hp (and would go 200mph), but my car only gets 120hp.  Both are 5-cylinder diesels.  So what was the magic they did?

It could be that the C111 injection pump delivered more fuel through larger elements and that the turbo boost was cranked up.

[jbrasile]

The C111-II and III engines were basically  an OM617 from the regular 240D 3.0 and 300D non turbo, equipped with a Garrett turbo-charger and an intercooler. I believe the bottom ends were identical to the ones on production 3.0 Turbo's, the pistons had oil cooling spray nozzles just like the regular street  legal 300D Turbo and SD's , the head might have been different. The turbo-charger was larger and the waste gate adjusted for more boost.

It is interesting that no one ever talks about adding an intercooler to a 300DT or 300SD.... I imagine this would have a tremendous effect on performance.

Tks,

Joe

[koan]

I believe the bottom ends were identical to the ones on production 3.0 Turbo's, the pistons had oil cooling spray nozzles just like the regular street  legal 300D Turbo and SD's

Can you explain what "pistons had oil cooling spray nozzles" is all about for a non diesel bloke please Joe?

koan

[jbrasile]

koan,

Turbocharged engines generate a lot more heat than non turbo motors. In the case of turbo-diesels this problem is compounded by the principle of ignition through compression where even though turbo-diesels have a much lower compression ratio than non turbo-diesels they still run on 17.0:0 or so. In order to cool the head of the crown of the pistons MB installed oil nozzles that spray oil underneath the crowns thus cooling them down and avoiding a meltdown...

Other manufacturers have also adopted this technique, I believe Audi did it on their 5 cyl turbo-charged gas power plant and so did Porsche on the first turbocharged car for the street the 911 Turbo (930) in 75.

Tks,

Joe

[koan]

So does oil go up a passage in the con rod ?

koan

[jbrasile]

No, the nozzles are located on the block at the base of the cylinders facing up. They spray directly on the crown from underneath. There is a ring under the crown that receives the spray and circulates the oil cooling the crown.

Here is a good illustration of how it works.



Tks,

Joe