Hi Don, WOW - congrats on the car! It sounds like you scored a great deal. That's exactly the kind of car I like to get - one that the PO had dumped many thousands of $$$'s into. Amazing - you have a near-rebuilt W126 now.
The 2nd gear start was for a few reasons. One, emissions & fuel economy (EPA numbers). Two, it makes the car take off more smoothly - less touchy throttle - especially on slippery surfaces. Three, it has less tendency to 'creep' when at a stoplight. From a stop, if you give it more than about 3/4 throttle, it will downshift to 1st gear. Or, while stopped, put the lever in "L" for a couple seconds, then back in "D". For that next start, it will take off in 1st gear. To make it stay in 1st until *you* want it to upshift, leave it in "L"... manually move the lever to "S" and it will upshift, but it will then go to 3rd pretty quick unless you pull the lever *back* to "L" after you hit 2nd gear... then when you want the 2-3 upshift, move the lever to "S". I do this all the time on all my MB's, it becomes second nature after a while. The diesel is really bad about part-throttle upshifts too soon, the 300E is much better - different valve body programming. :-) -DM > ------------------------------ > Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 08:24:28 -0600 > From: "Donald Snook" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [MBZ] The Car has arrived > > Well, I made it back from Florida in my (new to me) 1990 300SEL. I love > it!! The 126 is an amazing car. I drove two 13 hour days putting 1600 > miles on the new car. IT ran perfectly. I was a little worse for > wear. I went to the doctor yesterday and apparently, I picked up every > bug Florida has to offer. I have strep throat, pink eye and an ear > infection. > > > I did find out some very interesting information about the car. In 1994, > with 47,000 miles the valve guides/seals were replaced under warranty. > Did MB redesign the valve guides/seals so that they last longer or do I > just wait until it starts burning oil and get them replaced again? I > also noticed that at the same time, the warranty description said "valve > guides - intake wear - worn out." How would the intake be involved in > this? > > I found out more history of the car. The previous owner bought it on > November 23, 2003 for $10,500 with 77,XXX miles. Over the next two > years he spent ---BRACE YOURSELF---- over $20,000 fixing this car. He > only went to Mercedes Benz of Tampa and he replaced just about > everything that could go wrong or did. > > I am still going through all the records to determine just what he did, > it is amazing that someone would spend that kind of money. I have to say > I am glad I am the one that bought it AFTER the work was done. > > Donald H. Snook > > 1990 300SEL 123K
