Ask curt- some of this sounds like the clutch issues on the 78 240D he bought
from me. My 79 240D had wonky blower motor but easy R & R. Never had heat
control issues except for cable from knob to control box. Simple mechanical
fix. YMMV
Dwight- missing the 240D simplicity but enjoying the OM 617 & 602 turbos. (One
with flaky ACC).
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Chamberlain <apchamberl...@gmail.com>
Sender: mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com
Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 08:22:39
To: Mercedes Discussion List<mercedes@okiebenz.com>
Reply-To: Mercedes Discussion List <mercedes@okiebenz.com>
Subject: [MBZ] Stick 240D adventures
Went to see a '78 240D 4-speed (W123) advertised on CL. Pretty good
cosmetic shape but some weird things compared to other 123s I've
driven. Steering was extremely loose, is this the infamous
left-hand-threaded steering box bolt that needs to be tightened? The
seats were an odd vinyl-cloth mix, sides Tex as usual, but the fabric
in the center was not the usual Euro scratchy tweed but a smooth
satiny material with a sort of herringbone pattern.
The clutch and master cylinder were new, according to the seller, and
the clutch seemed to have about half an inch of engagement range,
right at the top of the pedal travel. The shifter had none of that
notchy feel that I associate with German cars, but was really loose
and sloppy---the proverbial broomstick in a barrel of rocks. Combined
with the feeling of barely adequate torque and no power, it was more
than a little like driving a VW microbus.
Seller had some weird ideas he'd picked up "from the 240D nuts
online." For example, the car was riding on 205/70R14s on the stock
wheels ("for better ground clearance---it's two inches higher this
way!"), and he said that although he was afraid to try it "everyone
says you should burn the clutch when starting out" on a 240D... by
which he meant that on every takeoff you should floor the accelerator,
then at redline gradually let out the clutch to accelerate, slipping
it all the way like a motorcycle.
Climate control was wonky, too, despite being the famously reliable
manual 240D system! The blower fan barely worked, A/C didn't (later
found out the belt was gone), there was a strong smell of coolant at
all times, and the temperature sliders didn't do anything---there was
full heat all the time. Seller thought that was normal. "You control
the heat with these!" (indicating the twist open/shut feature of the
side dash vents). (Never mind that there was hot air coming out the
foot vents regardless.)
All in all rather disappointing.
Alex
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