Some of Kent's pristine Mercedes Collection on sale now. CLICK HERE to view all.
You can not believe what I have been seeing lately. 9 out of 10, 617 Turbos I have been diligently tearing down and inspecting recently do not pass muster! In fact the findings have been shocking. I think this is largely due to the age of most of these engines coupled with the lack of preventative maintenance.
This is one problem that has plagued anyone who owns and loves old Mercedes Benz. Short of replacing the trim, the solution has been evasive for some and near impossible for others. Over the years I have tried every metal polish and rubbing compound I could get my hands on (I estimate over 30 different products) to try to remove the oxidation and bring back some shine in the trim.
What is wrong with my diesel engine? This technical question wins the grand prize! It is by far the most often asked question that we have received from our customers over the years. It can not be easily answered without some troubleshooting on your part.
High Mileage and age can raise havoc on the shifting patterns of an automatic transmission. Even if the fluid has been changed on a regular basis, they still wear out. Seals harden and leak both internally and externally. Vaccum and cable shift controls leak and fail. Rubber hose connections crack and work loose. And quite often some mechanic gets in there and messes things up.
On older Mercedes diesel engines models: 1975 to 1976 115 chassis 300D, all 123, 126, 201 and 124 chassis diesels from 1977 to 1993 the engine shutoff is controlled by vacuum (not electrical). An engine driven pump supplies vacuum to the system and a vacuum operated shutoff valve shuts fuel off inside the injection pump.
Let Kent explain how his solutions finder works: "Just select the location of the problem you are experiencing, the chassis designation of your car and a few key words and click Search. If I have written a description of the problem or one related to it, it will show up on the results page. The causes of the problem will be explained and all possible solutions we offer to diagnose and fix it will be listed.
You can learn a lot about your Mercedes by just browsing through all the problem descriptions I have written related to your model. My new solutions finder replaces our old benz aid forum and tech help page. Even if you have never work on your car before it is never too late to start. With the right knowledge, tools and parts you can do it.
If you can not find your problem listed for your chassis then it has not yet been written. I am working on and adding new problem descriptions weekly. I will be adding more content on the W140, W202, W210, and W220 chassis later this year. If you have a problem that has not been addressed, send it to me as a COMMENT through our contact page describing your particular problem. I will not be able to answer these requests directly, but I will add it to my list of problems to work on....the list is not getting smaller. :-)
There is nothing quite like the feeling you get when you can find and fix a mechanical problem yourself,
Kent Bergsma
