Several minor questions...

Hi,

  1. Do glow-plugs get "weak"? I have a 1984 300TD, 105,000 miles. It has begun to not fire on one cylinder when starting cold. It goes like this for
10-15 seconds and then starts firing just fine. Once the engine is warm there is no mis-fire. Ths seems like the classic symptom of a failed glow-plug. I have checked the continuity according to the procedure in the manual and they all check good. Do glow-plugs wear out gradually? It would seem they are either on or off with no in-between. Is there something else to consider?

  1. How often should valves be adjusted? I have heard every 5,000 miles. That seems like overkill for a vehicle like this. But I have not been able to verify this anywhere.

  2. I have heard of these manuals on CD that Merc (MB-USA) is offering. I recently borrowed a Mercedes-Published hard copy shop manual from a repair shop ("Service Manual Chassis and Body Series 123, Volume 2" with a blue or turquoise soft cover, a very shop-like color). I am trying to find out if all the info in this book is contained on the CD. I have called MBUSA twice with this question. The first Product Advisor told me the CD is strictly for the do-it-yourself'er who will do only the most superficial work on the car. Another advisor said that, with the exception of the automatic transmission, _all_ of the info in the hard copy manuals (Which is more than enough for my purposes) is on the CD. The confusion is made very poignant by the fact that Merc will NOT accept returns of the CD and it costs about 0.

The agent told me that the CDs have been reworked recently so the documents are NOT in Adobe Acrobat format anymore. All you need is a web browser. If the info is complete, these CDs are a dream come true.

Has anyone out there seen one of these CDs?

  1. The vinyl trim of the interior has dried out and wrinkled. I have been able to smooth it back out using a heat gun. What is the best glue to use to re-attached the vinyl?

This is a great car. I inherited it from my mother's estate. We were conside ring a mini-van or station wagon for our family and fortunately realized that keeping this car would be enormously cheaper to maintain and it would probably be as reliable (or more so) than a new car. It's a grand automobile. But, hey, who am I talking to...?

Happy Holidays and thanks very much in advance,

Ken

Reply to
Kenneth Fanyo
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It would seem that a device with a resistance coil would be either GOOD or BAD; I thought so but empirically found otherwise. When in doubt, buy new Beru or Bosch glow plugs. At 105K your engine is about due. If you change them ream the carbon from the GP's prechamber's entry hole with a 1/4 inch high speed drill - just twist the drill with your fingers and it will remove any carbon that will prevent your insertion of a new GP.

Adjust the engine's valves every 15K miles, preferably before winter. The engine should be cold - not run before the adjustment. The adjustment is in the cap nut, the lower nut is a lock nut. Need two 14 mm open end wrenches - straight ones work if thin and light (and you have patience) otherwise buy the special curved ones.

Try to buy a paper manual on e-bay etc. (old) CD-ROM is not indexed but is a sometimes poor scan of the paper manual. There are engine manuals, maintenance manuals and chassis manuals. Don't know about the "new" CD (but am not in the market for one).

At 105K many comfortable miles remain in this car - take good care of it and it will take good care of you.

Reply to
T.G. Lambach

TG is right about the CD. I have the old one and it is a pain to get used to using. Not a good interface. Buy the books if you can. The CD is just a scan of the books. Most of the wiring diagrams are not usable on the CD. Bad scans. HOWEVER, be very cautious about the books on ebay. The seller told me "sure they cover your model 123." The books were printed in early '82 and my

123 is an '82, but the books don't cover my wiring. The books cover up to '81. Anybody need my books?

Larry In the back yard, under the oak.

Reply to
Pandacat206

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