Re: Questions About Possible 1984 380SL Purchase

Follow the numerical notations...

"Hal Vaughan" <hal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:aaudnWPByNIKcHfYnZ2dnUVZ_tSunZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tiger wrote:

The engine problem of running rich are usually of several problems... yes
on warm up regulator and fuel distributor... both high ticket item. No on
cold start valve but doesn't hurt to change them as it is nearly 23 years
old. If it were me, I'd do a compression and leak down test. This will
tell me if engine is still in good shape or not.

The mechanic said he's checked the warm up regulator and the injection
control unit. (What's the "official" name of the injection control unit?
I can't find it in parts listings and in the MB service manual.) Even if
it's the fuel distributor, I'm getting a low enough price I could deal
with
replacing it. (I found the part for about $1,100). If I knew that *was*
the actual problem, I'd be okay with it. I just don't want to deal with a
cascade of failures/replacements, like replacing the fuel distributor,
then
a sensor, then something else, and so on. Is there any way to easily
narrow down that problem quickly to a few parts or rule some out? If I
can
get parts eliminated during the pre-purchase inspection, it would help a
lot.

1111....No real answer as I can tell you... you also have to consider the
price of the cat converter too as it is probably way past its prime. The car
has electromechanical fuel injection... it is sort of like half fuel
injection and half carburator in layman's term... The actual control of fuel
is fuel distributor... electronic part controls the emission part but it is
mainly the fuel distributor that does the precise metering depending on the
accelerator. Tell them to lean them out as much as they can to see if it can
pass emission test. Any competent MB mechanice can do it... others will not
know about how to do it.



Any estimate on how much a compression and leak down test will cost? I
will
have someone else inspect it and go over everything with me so I could
probably have them do this when they inspect it.

Alot of rubber items on this engine needs to be replaced at this time of
drying out and leaky... which is part of vacuum system and that also
controls emission.

I didn't even think of mentioning this. Surprisingly, most of the rubber
tubing that I could see is in pretty good condition. I've been working on
a 1973 450SL and had to replace a lot of tubing. There are serious rust
issues, though, which is why I'm looking for another SL.

A/C can be recharged with R12 as the price of R134a and R12 is
practically
the same today... so why bother retrofitting. Just replace all the seals
and it should be trouble free.

I'm not clear on a lot of this, since I've never dealt with AC issues like
this before, but isn't R12 something they're moving away from? I thought
the intent was to move away from all freon. Am I wrong on this (good
chance on this topic)?


2222.....Well, US does not make R12 anymore... however, other country start
to produce it... which is why it is still available. Now, there is no need
to move away from R12... Heck, even if you can't get R12, you could have
someone put in R401... an R12 replacement used in refrigeration... Not
designed for car, but it works...


In light of all above problems, it will be a costly repair... so if I
were
you, I would bargain all the way down on the price range. It will cost
you
alot ot fix it. I am not sure on the convertible top condition now.. but
if it were original, yes, you will eventually need to replace them.

It's already bargained down fairly low -- I'm ahead of you on that! With
the price I'm looking at, if I have to, I could afford to replace
something
as expensive as the fuel distributor. I know the top is something like
$800 for a new one and is a full day job to install. That's one item I
want to be sure is included in the pre-purchase inspection.

I know there's work to do and that it needs fixing up. I don't mind that,
since I would be restoring it over the next several years. I just don't
want to run into a multiple part replacement problem this quickly -- a few
paychecks from now it would be easier to deal with! ;-)

Thanks for all the information and help!

Hal



.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT ~ Liberals, are you sure that this is what you want?
    ... and fuel use is punished, taxed, and otherwise discouraged. ... government will make a killing off the sale of fuel, ... There will be either hyper inflation, or wage and price ... If they control prices, that means that the free market can't ...
    (rec.outdoors.rv-travel)
  • crazy government lowering fuel price
    ... when fuel price increased, all other necessities items also increase in price ... this is because fuel is coupled to all others controlled items by the Malaysian government, ... SIMPLY SAID, YOU CANNOT LOWER THE PRICE OF FUEL A CONTROL ITEM AS AND WHEN YOU WISH, IT IS CAUSING HYPER INFLATION ...
    (soc.culture.malaysia)
  • Re: crazy government lowering fuel price
    ... When the BN government feel threaten the price of fuel goes down ... now for a control item like fuel to flex up and down, Malaysian economy is going into a tail spins as so much other items are pegged to the fuel price or controlled items. ...
    (soc.culture.malaysia)
  • Re: Questions About Possible 1984 380SL Purchase
    ... on warm up regulator and fuel distributor... ... The mechanic said he's checked the warm up regulator and the injection ...
    (alt.auto.mercedes)
  • Re: 92 Camry V6 3.0
    ... The engine runns OK at idle, when the engine warm up the RPM at idle ... Hmmm, I've never heard of a distributor being replaced as part of a tune up, ... unburnt fuel, either because the fuel is not burning completely or the ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)