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crankwalk
crankwalk SuperDork
10/7/18 11:24 p.m.

Do you have other ways of warming the fuel? Just curious for cold weather. Is there a return on the fuel line for some heated fuel to make it back to the tank?

Run_Away
Run_Away Dork
10/7/18 11:37 p.m.

I highly enjoy your build threads ans methodical methods of servicing and breaking down oem engineering. Thank you for the entertainment and knowledge!

Doc Brown
Doc Brown Dork
10/9/18 4:50 a.m.

In reply to crankwalk :

Since the car was from Florida, it isn't equipped with a block heater, so basically the car is unsuitable for extreme cold weather use.  If I can find a usable fuel warmer, I'll certainly replace the defective one.  

 

Doc Brown
Doc Brown Dork
10/9/18 4:51 a.m.

In reply to Run_Away :

Thanks!

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson MegaDork
10/9/18 9:54 a.m.

Damn I love the education in this thread.  I know nothing about oilburners and am learning a lot from this.  Any plans for more BBbbooooossssttttTTTTT down the road?

buzzboy
buzzboy Reader
10/9/18 2:54 p.m.

A 6mm pump with an aftercooled k14 would be fun but still economical and streetable!

crankwalk
crankwalk SuperDork
10/9/18 3:09 p.m.
Doc Brown said:

In reply to crankwalk :

Since the car was from Florida, it isn't equipped with a block heater, so basically the car is unsuitable for extreme cold weather use.  If I can find a usable fuel warmer, I'll certainly replace the defective one.  

 

 

 

I wouldn't be worried as much about a block heater (as long as you have a good battery and glow plugs) as I would some mechanism to help prevent against fuel gelling. For prolonged extreme cold, I love my block heater for a little extra protection but even in the low 20s if you catch yourself with untreated fuel it can cause issues pretty quickly. I thought I saw on your profile you were in Michigan and that's where I've actually experienced gelling driving through early in the season in an older diesel.

Doc Brown
Doc Brown Dork
10/9/18 3:41 p.m.

In reply to crankwalk :

Since the car has very little rust, I plan on putting it in storage after the first snow of the season.  Hopefully I can find the time to repaint the car next spring.  Anyway the cold weather should have very little impact.   

Doc Brown
Doc Brown Dork
10/9/18 3:48 p.m.

In reply to Adrian_Thompson :

Until I bought this Mercedes, I had no clue what was involved in living with a diesel.  I'm glad you and others are enjoying the story so far.  There is a lot more I still need to publish.  At some point I'll get into some engine mods and other fixes. wink

crankwalk
crankwalk SuperDork
10/9/18 5:18 p.m.
Doc Brown said:

In reply to crankwalk :

Since the car has very little rust, I plan on putting it in storage after the first snow of the season.  Hopefully I can find the time to repaint the car next spring.  Anyway the cold weather should have very little impact.   

Oh yeah if you aren't driving it in the winter then no worries at all. Enjoy it!

Doc Brown
Doc Brown Dork
11/4/18 10:50 a.m.

DAY 110........THE PARTS CAR

 

On Day 110 of  my adventure,  the parts car arrived.    This little gem was gleaned from one of the Mercedes forums for a reasonable $500.00.  The PO even delivered the car !

At first glance she seems too nice to be a parts car, but unfortunately it has a bad case of tin worm.  Sadly, it is not worth restoring, however it is an excellent running and driving automobile.  This car was originally fitted with a 2.3 gasoline engine but for reasons unknown the gas engine was replaced with a 2.2  NA diesel engine (OM601).  The engine sounds and runs excellent and the transmission has recently been rebuilt.  My only complaint is the vacuum signal and bowden cable used for setting shift points and shift firmness are not properly adjusted.  Not a big deal because this car may never see the street again.sad 

Lets look at some more pictures...

 

 

  The headlights are aftermarket glass units and will replace the crappy lamps on my turbo car.    For some reason the lamps on the turbo car suck really bad and are impossible to aim.  These new lights are just the ticket.

 

 

 

  The dashboard and all the little plastic bits are pristine.  It will be a huge job, but all of this stuff will get transferred to the turbo car.   The radio sounds great and will also get transferred to the turbo car.   At some point I will try and get a head unit that isn't so obnoxious looking but its fine for now.

 

While fooling with the buttons on the radio, the face plate tilted up.  The tilt up face plate confused me for a long time as I tried to figure out its purpose.   I guess its a mini cup holder or something. 

The NA OM601 is  a good runner, but needs turbo.  As far as power and drivability goes, there is a HUGE difference between the Turbo OM602 and the NA OM601.  Anyway, at some point in the near future I need to find a new home for this drivetrain. 

 

 

Stay tuned!

 

 

Run_Away
Run_Away Dork
11/4/18 11:34 a.m.

Nice score!

 

Pics of the rust?

 

The faceplate on that stereo tilts to give access to the CD slot.

What are the 6 slots above the radio?

Doc Brown
Doc Brown Dork
11/4/18 12:04 p.m.

In reply to Run_Away :

My best guess is the six slots above the radio are storage locations for jewelry and folding money.

The rust is subjective, I reckon in twenty years or so the car may be valuable enough to warrant a restoration but in todays market the car is just good for parts.  Both front fenders are beyond repair, the rust also has attacked both rear wheel arches and of course the rocker panels are a bit crusty.

 

 

I'm not sure why but this photo wants to load sideways.  Anyway this is one of the front fenders.

 

 

Campbelljj
Campbelljj New Reader
11/4/18 1:34 p.m.

The donor cars wheels should clean up well and personally they're my favorite on the w201 chassis.  That's the wheel designed for the car and you can't go wrong running them. 

Doc Brown
Doc Brown Dork
11/4/18 1:57 p.m.

In reply to Campbelljj :

I like the wheels on the donor car as well.  As a bonus, the tires also have plenty of miles left on them.

 

RossD
RossD MegaDork
11/4/18 8:58 p.m.

Love your threads!

Those trays are for cassette tapes. The white spot turns red when the tray is holding a tape. At least that was the case in my '91 Jetta. Probably a German car thing.

Doc Brown
Doc Brown Dork
11/11/18 9:38 a.m.
RossD said:

Love your threads!

 

Thanks Ross!  

Slippery
Slippery SuperDork
11/11/18 9:50 a.m.

The 6 slots are to store cassette tapes. 

Doc Brown
Doc Brown Dork
11/11/18 10:35 a.m.

Today's episode ...............DIE HYDROPUSHERS.

 

If you are like me, then  possibly your first thought is WTF is a hydropusher.   Whelp, I ain't going to tell 'ya.  I think I'll let the pictures will do all the talking.

 

 

in order to  gain access to the hydropushers, the camshaft needs to be removed.   Pulling the camshaft is a delicate procedure because the cam is under stress at all times because of the valve springs.  According to sources on the internet, the engine needs to be rotated clockwise until these two timing marks line up.  At this point the cam can be removed with extreme caution.

 

Before removing the Ramstein sprocket, folks on the internet recommend securing the chain to the sprocket with no less than six zip ties.  I used seven zip ties because I'm a nonconformist. 

 

The camshaft bolt is removed with an electric farfegnugen.

 

 

 

 

A few taps with an MC hammer ......

 

 

The first  and last two cam towers can be removed  in any sequence.  The second, third and fourth cam towers need to be loosened one turn at a time until the bolts are completely removed.  The camshaft will snap in two if loosened unevenly....sad

 

 

Once the cam is out, the hydropushers can be removed.   Mercedes OEM hydropushers can be reconditioned by disassembling the units and cleaning the varnish off on the inside.  This technique is somewhat debatable so I went ahead and purchased new units .   New hydeopushers run about $10.00 each.

 

 

 

Liberal amounts of assembly shmoo is applied.   Over at the Mercedes camp, they recommend not pre oiling the hydropushers.  The thought is you can actually put too much oil in them and it takes months for them to bleed down.  It is better to have them noisy on start up and let the  engine supply the oil to fill them.

 

Reassembly of the engine is more or less in reverse order.    Refitting the cam sprocket to the cam requires releasing the timing chain tensioner.  This bolt  needs to be undone and the hydraulic tensioner  can be temporally  removed.    Now it is important it tighten this bolt back up when the job is finished.... if you forget to tighten this bolt then MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF OIL  will be dumped on your garage floor.  

 

 

Failure to tighten the timing chain tension  bolt makes a HUGE mess.   It took 75 lbs of kitty litter to contain this spill.  Fortunately the engine was not damaged.laugh

 

Stay tuned!

 

Doc Brown
Doc Brown Dork
11/11/18 10:38 a.m.

In reply to Slippery :

What is a cassette tape?

Slippery
Slippery SuperDork
11/11/18 10:40 a.m.

Lol

Knurled.
Knurled. MegaDork
11/11/18 10:42 a.m.
RossD said:Those trays are for cassette tapes. The white spot turns red when the tray is holding a tape. At least that was the case in my '91 Jetta. Probably a German car thing.

 

My mom's '85 Buick (Skyhawk) had something similar, although they did not have the nice round-in-chamber indicator, so you had to remember which slot was empty when you wanted to find a home for the tape you just removed.

Doc Brown
Doc Brown Dork
11/11/18 11:13 a.m.

The only cassette I have looks like something like this...

Rocambolesque
Rocambolesque New Reader
11/11/18 10:16 p.m.

Now you can have six of those cassettes because we all know how reliable they are.

meareweird
meareweird New Reader
11/12/18 5:05 p.m.

Glad to see one of these being properly loved as my eighteen year self was not able to do ten years ago. I still have the parts pile that seems to accompany old benzes. Waiting to be able to get another and do the five speed swap and big brakes. Check out super turbo diesel for good info on power mods.

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