Do I keep the Merc?

[johnnycapone]

Hi everyone, Been reading about Toms misfortune and am truly sorry for him.
There were some interesting comments about how kids are brought up and I agree with most of them, (the occasional slipper to my behind from Pops never did me any harm). Anyway onto my problem, my good lady got a new car just before christmas, (citroen picasso), leaving us with a Nissan sunny which is surplus to requirements. A month previous to this I aquired a 1992 Merc 200te estate. My first ever merc. This car has been a lot of trouble to me, filled the petrol tank one day and the next morning it was empty, (leaking tank) Ordered a second hand one, (wrong one). There fault not mine. Managed to get another one and fitted successfully. Then car wouldnt start. Called auto electrician and he said the fuel pump wasnt working, so he put me a permanent feed to it, hey presto started ok. Took it for a spin, switched it off, got back in wouldnt start. It would only start when cold. Had it mot'd and it sailed through although I had to let it cool before it would start again. Took it to another auto electrician and they put it down to the fuel pump relay which they fixed but said it would require a new one soon. Apart from this the passengers side heater will only blow cold and the cd player will only play if it is in a good mood. Anyway i started the Nissan sunny up today so that I can put it on ebay, and everything about it works fine and as I only do about 30 miles per week I have a dilemma, should I sell the Nissan or the Merc. My heart says keep the merc but my head tells me to keep the nissan. Sorry for rambling but I do really love driving the MB when she is running well.
Thanks for reading this waffle
Best regards
John

 

[mercmonkey]

you'll get more for the merc than the sunny

Id keep the merc, but then i have a company car

 

[johnnycapone]

Thanks for that mercmonkey, I know I could break the Merc and still make a tidy sum, I have seen what the parts sell for but I still like driving her even with the little gliches. And she looks very pretty with her stainless spats.
regards John
P.S. when are you going on this night out?

 

[littlebrooklyn]

I would keep the Sunny. I can't see the point of keeping a car that is potentially just going to be a money pit

 

[johnnycapone]

But I like my merc and it only stands me at about £500 pounds at the moment, ebay special, and as I dont do so many miles I can scrap her at any time and buy something else (hopefully a merc)
regards
John
P.S. how is the model railway coming along? It looked very nice.

 

[littlebrooklyn]

How about you sell both and then buy a newer merc that will hopefully cost less to maintain

 

[shayes]

Some of your faults are I believe, legendary. Have a look at the thread "Coughs and Splutters" and "High Idle Club -new member" and you'll discover many have been ironing out these faults. I myself have done so AND NOT AT GREAT EXPENSE.
Most important question is what is the mileage and hows the transmission on the Merc? If mileage is high say above 190k (and i've had a 230TE with 212k and an SEC with 217k before getting rid of them), or Trany "chunks" the changes, then it has to go. Thing is, that the chain guides break up and the chains get stretched - and then .....ooops end of engine.

Lots of very helpful people on the site will save money on "iffy" diagnostics by people who earn their crust from the carriage industry. You mentioned Relay - well £7.00 buys you a s/hand one and new it should not cost more than £37. Ebay is great for parts.
Read the thread and others concerning poor running before you decide.
Other thing is of course, "status" of a Mercedes over a Sunny!!

 

[johnnycapone]

Thanks for that Stuart, very helpful.
As for the mileage, it has 186000 miles on the odeometer, which doesnt sound to bad, unfortunately it has had that same mileage for the last 4 mot's as the odeometer doesnt work.
But apart from that the engine works absolutely fine, the gearbox is smooth as silk and it drives beutifully. the only mechanical prob i can notice is that there is a noisy tappet which i want to get dto sorting out (if i keep it).
As for the relay, the cheapest i have found so far for a second hand one is 30 quid and 100 brand new.
As for the "status" the nissan will do everything that i need and know a lot of its history, it really is a nice and practicle car, it should be right up my street, but then i got the merc woooowwwwwwww please tell me to keep it.
As for trading the pair in to buy a newer merc Brooklyn, Idont usually pay more than 500 quid for a car. my wife has them luxuries.
best regards and thank you
John

 

[littlebrooklyn]

As for trading the pair in to buy a newer merc Brooklyn, Idont usually pay more than 500 quid for a car. my wife has them luxuries.
best regards and thank you
John

Wow lucky wife, we only have one car and my partner takes it to work so I am without one all the time

 

[johnnycapone]

But how is the railway set coming along?

 

[johnnycapone]

p.s. I believe you are from Watford, my good lady wife is from Dunstable but has relations in Watford.

 

[shayes]

Whats the numbers on your Relay? (should say kickdown on it)
I brought a brand new one on e-bay for £26 bid. The guy had four to dispose of , and he sold the others at a fixed price (possibly?) as he had expected more. I saw one of them going for B-I-N- £38.00.

I found that it was not the problem to the car and also I have a s/hand Relay which I paid £7.50 for.

If numbers match you are welcome to the s/hand one as a back up.

You may also need the Over protection Voltage relay as this could be suspect. Check out if you have an inch square Aluminium relay in your Fuse box with a red 10amp fuse on top? some cars have them behind the engine.
Four pins, but I purchased an upgrade one with five pins. The fifth pin is for more recent cars abut hits a blank in my wiring

 

[littlebrooklyn]

But how is the railway set coming along?

The railway set is coming along nicely, least it sounds like it is. Most of the time I don't even bother looking at it to be honest, but as it's between our bedroom and the bathroom I do have to walk right past it lots of times every day

Yes I am in Watford, seems we have quite a few people who know this area

 

[johnnycapone]

Thanks for that Stuart. yes you are right it is a kickdown relay with a serial number of 0015457805. Someone else has also suggested that the OVP relay may be at fault so i will look into this as well.
Thanks for your time
John

 

[shayes]

The numbers on your Kickdown Relay differ from my own which is a 001 545 34 05. This said, the new Relay I purchased is a 003 545 34 05.
Here's the item number http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4603260274&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:UK:31

Now this is for a host of cars possibly later than the 85 SEL but I don't think it makes too much difference.
The pins on the bottom of the earlier being a three set and a four set match in the number sequence with the pins on the later Relay. OK The later Relay is a four and a six set. The extra pins go into blanks on my female connector and the sequence of numbers seen on the bottom of the unit by each pin, matches.

I think that there is a technical difference to the idle speed revs cut in or kickdown, and i don't know for certain if the difference is important. Fact is, that the car runs the same using either unit. It does not solve the problem you and I are expericiencing, which is difficult start up when hot.

Other advice from a knowledgeable member on this suggests to check for a worn out non return valve at the fuel pump. This is his advice "As for fixing the fuel pump end of things goes the main feed from the fuel tank simply has to be clamped off with a suitable pair of soft gripper "Mole" grips to avoid a shower in petrol. The valve screws into the output end of the pump and connects to the pipework to the filter and accumulator via copper washer seals. A new one costs about £4 from MB. "

Now I have yet to get this done, but it may be your problem also?

 

[panzermk6]

Keep the Merc,but

ONLY if you really want to.

I've had an on-going problem with a fuel pump which only worked when it wanted to,and blew fuses all the time...and that was on one of my Porsches which are rubbish in the way of electrics.

Get past this,and think about what you want.J

I should know,I've been fighting with crappy german fuse boxes for four years!!

 

[johnnycapone]

Thanks for that Stuart and panzer. I have spotted a relay on ebay for 30 euros +p&p so may invest in that. As for the fuel pump end, I dont think there is a prob there, as it can be wired permanently live and will run all day with no probs. But the auto electrician told me that the pump is "pulsed" by the relay so as not to over pressurise the system.
again many thanks
and I think the nissan is going on ebay today, or maybe tomorrow cos its chucking it down with rain outside.
cheers
John

 

[shayes]

Can you hear the fuel pump actually pumping when you turn on the ignition??

In my SEC I could, but not in this SEL - hence I believe the pump may be supect.

Of course being a pimpmobile pehaps my hearing cannot detect the sound three blocks away!!

 

[panzermk6]

The problem with 'live wiring' the fuel pump,is that it will cause fuses to blow.It's only a short-term fix.An ageing or intermitent fuel pump just zaps the electric power,even on start-up.

 

[amanda]

Keeping the merc

Hi there Johnny Capone - don't listen to Brooklyn wotsername, keep the merc, you know you want to:twisted: I'm keeping mine and mine is a much bigger money pit than yours. Just discovered it needs a new petrol tank (replaced the radiator just before Christmas, the coolant pump a few weeks ago) and am expecting something big is always going to be around the corner, but I really got an eye opener when the Cornerstone Garage lent me a courtesy car - Nissan manual - never nevernevernever again! I'm keeping my ancient merc till it drops into a pile of scrap on the way to work and then I'll get another ancient one and start all over again.

1988 230TE 173000 miles still costing heaps...