I just purchased my first MB for a total of $500. It is a 1982 240D and runs really well for the price I paid. The interior is spotless, but the exterior needs a little tlc (okay maybe a lot). Anyways, I bought this car so I could do a veggie burner conversion on it and stop putting 20 gallons of gas a week into my lifted 97 dodge ram. Dont worry, after I ask my simple questions I will put some pictures up.

1. When accelerating from a stop or really low rpm's in 1st and somtimes 2nd it squeeks for the 1st half of whatever gear its in. Is this the belt or do I have something else causing this problem? What can I do to fix it?

2. Where is the best place to get cheap mercedes parts? (I realize that is probably an oxymoron)

3. Does anyone have a spare mercedes hood star that they want to sell? Its my first mercedes and that was stolen off it before I bought it.

 

Congratulation on your purchase. These were well made cars, and with proper maintenance, including synthetic oil, should last for a long time. Now to answer your questions:

1) To confirm, or eliminate the belts as the cause of the squeak, spray some water, or WD-40, on the belts. If the noise goes away, (temporarily) you discovered the culprit. If not, you need to look elsewhere.

2) Will let someone else answer this question. I am in Canada

3) Its not worth buying a used Mercedes Star. They cost around $20.00 US from the dealer. Most used ones are damaged. They have been designed self destroy when removed. The emblems are very easy to install. The last time I bought one the Mercedes dealer send out a helper to install it for me free of charge. I could have done it myself in less than 5-Min.

Enjoy the car.


Phil

 

Thanks for the response. I will try that wd40 trick out tomorrow. I know wanting a new star on a $400 car is probably dumb but ya know what its my first mercedes, gotta have a little fun with it. I am going to paint it myself and clean her up a little bit before she becomes a veggie burner (or after). I want it to look presentable because I dont want people to think the veggie conversion is just for beaters. I am trying to get some people in my area together so we can process fuel in bulk and maybe help get rid of this ridiculous dependence on foreign oil. I figure everyone that switches is helping a little bit.

 

I think the squeal is probably belts. If there's any play in them at all, they'll chirp. I buy almost all my parts online, from a variety of places. Google MB parts. I compare prices and look for free shipping. My most recent Mercedes 240D has had me shopping for parts for a year....I think I've bought parts form everybody on the first two pages of Google!!!!

What happened to WD-30? (I liked that...)

 

Canada's WD30 went up 10 points, it is now comparable trade value with the US's WD40?

Thanks for the parts places. I guess I will have a lot of shopping around to do. Can't wait to start driving this old beast around and give the truck a break. Hell in the next two weeks I am going to put about 5000 miles on my truck between driving to montana and driving to michigan. If I could get the mercedes running before then it would save me at least $300 in gas.

 

For parts try performanceproducts.com. They have exploded views of every system in the car and they tailor the catalog to your model. I have had great luck with them and the prices for the most part are a lot cheaper than the dealer. Adsit also is good, they sell rebuilt tranys and engines as well as new.

 

Good show on the grease conversion idea.
I'd love to know how your conversion turns out.
I just finished reworking a really getto job on a SVO conversion.
4 weeks of ownership on my 300SD and I love it.
The greaseconversion was way simpler than it looked.

Find a Pull-N-Save (junkyard type place.) near you.

-Ben

 

Congradulations on your first MB!

Concerning parts: If you join MBCA (Mecedes Benz Club of America) most dealers will give you a 15-20% discount. With that price the dealer is usually the best price. also try >www.benzbin.com> and <www.autohausaz.com> for pricing.

Concerning squeel: On a lot of the 240 and 300D the alternating belt adjustment screw (screw with 90° rod attached) is bent or broken. This is $5 part and 1 hour to install.