1984 190E... Just Got It! Now, what? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Holmesuser01 · #1 04-07-2007, 11:19 PM

Hello friends.

I just aquired my first Mercedes Benz. (4/6/07)

Its a 1984 190E that I got because the previous owner didnt want to go to the trouble of selling it himself.

It has been sitting for over a year. I got it started after I put some gas in the tank and jumped the battery. Aired up the tires, and drove it home!

So far, I have replaced the spark plugs, and thermostat. That right there helped alot!

The little car is in fairly good shape. 129K on the odometer.

The A/C is not working, and the electric radio antenna is broken off. Right rear door window motor does nothing, yet. All other doors are fine.

Car has a sunroof. It doesent open. Can anyone get me started on getting to the motor? It whirs when I press the switch oneway, and makes no noise pressing the other way. OR, should I just leave it alone? Its not leaking.

Sorry for all the questions, but, here goes. Its an automatic transmission, and today when I drove it up the street after the plug replacement, it was in 4th gear before I was up to 25 mph... 1-2-3-4 in less than 6 seconds.

Is there a vacuum connection for the shift pattern, or is it all done by the throttle cable?

One thing I DO like about this car is: The Quality. I drove it on a rough street this afternoon, and heard no rattles, squeaks of any kind. Pretty good for a 23 year old car, I think, that has had some rough treatment in the past.

I ordered an oil filter, and air filter from my parts guy today. On Tuesday, it gets its first oil change. Im glad I found this forum. Thank you for having me!

Bruce

cmcdonnell · #2 04-08-2007, 01:09 AM

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! You will love your Mercedes-Benz and can learn alot about it right here. There are DIY articles and links at the top of the page that will help you with the transmission adjustments. I bought a 1988 300E two months ago and am still working on mine (slowly). The main thing to look for first is any vaccum leak on the intake manifold and all the vaccum lines connected to it. Once you are not leaking there is a cable that adjusts shift timing. I put my sunroof issues off until last, because I opened it once and it took a 3 days to get it closed. As long as it isn't leaking, wait until you have the time and parts to do it right.
Which engine is in your car?
Chris

Holmesuser01 · #3 04-09-2007, 01:44 PM

Thanks for the welcome!

The car has the 2.3 8-valve 4 cylinder. Its running better everyday I run it. I need to find an original style oil filler cap for it. The one that someone put on it leaks oil and doesent tighten properly. The 'made in Taiwan' sticker on it doesent help at all, either.

I spent Easter cleaning the interior, replacing bolts that were missing in the seat mounting areas, and now all the motors in the seats have been greased up and are working really smoothly.

Found several blown fuses that didnt blow again when I replaced them. I now have instrument cluster lights, and a bunch of other lights, etc, that didnt work the other day.

Right now, its up on some ramps. I am going to look for vacuum leaks at the transmission today. I found lots of evidence of squirrel damage under the hood. I now get to check all the hoses, etc, for damage.

I hope that I will be able to help other guys here with problems.

I have a 1985 Oldsmobile Toronado, and a 1983 Ford F-150 truck. I'm on several owners forums for them, and have had the pleasure of helping guys troubleshoot their car/truck.

Ok, now its time to get under the car. More later.

just-n-time · #4 04-09-2007, 02:06 PM

Congrats,on your first MB.one of the first order of business is to smoke test the vacuum system.lots of post on how to do it,this will tell you the most about your vacuum system.Not knowing how it has bean cared for in its life you are in the best direction with plugs,rotor,wires,distributor cap,check the wires for rat infestation,they often chew insulation off the wires and then the shorts start.Good luck, JNT.

lee polowczuk · #5 04-09-2007, 03:48 PM

congratulations... you are definetly on the right track..

replace any fluid that is replaceable....

i wouldn't worry too much about the sunroof now... it could wind up being an expensive fix...

you may want to get a spare ovp when you get the money.... good run insurance.

Holmesuser01 · #6 04-10-2007, 10:50 AM

Can you tell me what an ovp is? I'm definitely a newbie here!

I replaced the brushes in the alternator yesterday, and installed a new fan belt. Sure quieted down after the replacement! The brushes were only 1/8" long, so it wouldn't have charged much longer!

Bruce

cmcdonnell · #7 04-10-2007, 11:13 AM

Great move checking the brushes. Mine failed on me last month while driving Downtown at night in the rain.
The OVP ( Over Voltage Protection ) Relay is designed to protect components from spikes in voltage that could result in damage. It also supplies power to the cold start circuit. That's as far as I have gotten with this, maybe someone else can tell you much more about it.

lee polowczuk · #8 04-10-2007, 03:22 PM

ovp also controls idling to a certain extent.

you were smart to replace the regulator brushes... i should have added that to your list. i always keep a spare ovp and a spare voltage regulator in addition to a fuel pump relay and a/c relay.

just part of my go package.

Holmesuser01 · #9 05-15-2007, 12:12 AM

I have decided to consolidate all my posts on my car into one long dreary thread.

In addition to the things mentioned above that I have replaced, I have now replaced the ignition switch and lock assembly, repaired the wiring so that NOW the car can start with the key switch. Before, I had to turn on the switch, and press a button to start it... Kinda like my Grandads 1940 Ford when I was a kid... a long time ago...

Replaced the vacuum modulator on the transmission. Also, found a vacuum line diagram in the shop manual and found several things disconnected or plugged.

Repaired the belt tensioner. At the same time, I found that someone had decided that their way of stringing the belt around all the pulleys was better than what M-B did, so I bought a new drive belt for a non-A/C car, and left the compressor pulley out of the mix for now. It is not installed under the power steering pump like it is supposed to be. Now, the tensioner works properly. The A/C rebuilding will come at a later time.

All of the electric windows are repaired. Someone had removed the plastic moisture barriers from 3 of the doors. I cut out some new barrier material and installed them. Also, repaired and hot-glued some trim pieces that have gotten broken over the years.

There are some terrible squeaks that I hear as I rev the engine. I have replaced the bearings in the alternator, and cleaned it thoroughly while I had it apart. I thought the tensioner pulley bearing was causing the squeak, until I replaced it. Now, it is either the water pump, or the PS pump. I'm leaning toward the PS pump, as I have listened to the water pump with a length of pipe and heard nothing extraordinary as I touched the pump body and listened.

I am not worrying about the sunroof for now. I have 4 working windows.

Back to the PS pump: It may not be the original for this car. It has 3 odd spacers between the pulley and the bolt flange. The pulley wobbles as it turns. Is there a special way to install the 3 spacers? AND, and this makes this all the more suspect to me: One of the PS pump pulley bolts is 14mm while the other 2 are 13mm.

This squeaking is the BIG problem right now. Other than this, the car is running very well for me.

Since I repaired the odometer today, I can now track my gas mileage now that locally, we have hit $3.10 a gallon for regular.

I DO appreciate all of your replies, both on this thread, and private.

Bruce

cmcdonnell · #10 05-15-2007, 12:38 AM

Here is a link that may help:
http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb1.asp?TP=1&F=201034&M=102%2E983&GA=722%2E410&GM=717%2E404&L=765%2E902&CT=M&Cat=488&SID=13

jgajito · #11 05-15-2007, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holmesuser01

...Since I repaired the odometer today, I can now track my gas mileage now that locally, we have hit $3.10 a gallon for regular.Bruce

Just a heads up for a new MBZ owner, whatever you do, and to avoid a pinging engine, DO NOT USE REGULAR GAS.

Premium 91-92 octane or greater.

These engines get tempermental with low octane gas, my 85 190E 2.3 8V gave me a bad idle and a sluggish take off with low octane fuel.

-J

Holmesuser01 · #12 05-15-2007, 09:40 AM

Thank you for the links, friends.

I had never thought about using anything besides Regular in this car. Things will change on the next fill-up. I've heard no pinging, but I cant hear much over the squeaking.

My used parts supplier is stripping a 1985 190E that was hit in the back end. HE was the first one to notice the strange placement of the GM air cond. compressor.

One good thing about this weird compressor is that I also have a 1985 Oldsmobile Toronado that has a very noisy original compressor on it. The one on the Mercedes is an exact fit if I change the drive belt pulley back to a V belt! I own a pair of clutch removal, and installation tools, so, YAY!

Bruce

Holmesuser01 · #13 05-21-2007, 10:39 PM

Today, I replaced the flat belt tensioner and installed a new belt that would bypass the GM compressor. I used the non-A/C belt placement arrangement from the manual CD that I bought thru this site.

It all tightened up really nicely. All of the bolts are in place and correctly torqued. The only noise now is because one of the power steering pump pulley bolts is stripped and it wants to wobble a bit. THAT will be another project that will happen when the A/C compressor gets moved again. Wont happen this summer!

Bruce

smk_texas · #14 05-22-2007, 01:26 PM

Hi Bruce,

I noticed you changed the vacuum modulator in your transmission. Can you please tell me how you changed it ??? I have some vacuum issues on my 93 190e and would like to replace the modulator. Thanks for your help.

smk_texas

Holmesuser01 · #15 05-22-2007, 01:51 PM

There is very little room to work on the side of the transmission, so I put a jack unter the tranny pan with a block of wood between them and removed the rear tranny mount, and losened the U clamp on the exhaust pipe. Then, I was able to lower the tranny enough to get at the modulator. After I lowered it, I was able to push it over towards the passenger side to make a bit more room. The modulator is held in with a clamp and 2 allen screws. It was tough going, as the wrench is short, and the bolts had never been removed before.

In my case, the modulator was not leaking vacuum. If I connected my little vacuum pump to it and drove it, it made no difference in tranny operation with or without vacuum. When I pulled it off the tranny, the O rings were rotton and hard as a rock. This was my fluid leak, as it is now staying full of fluid. The old modulator was stuck in one position. I pressed the piston with my thumb and it ticked and started moving.

The new modulator (green style--like the old one) came with new O rings installed. It cost $38 at my local M-B dealer, and was in stock!

The shift quality is totally different now. Before, it had a very harsh shift. Now, it is smoother.

A few days ago, when I found the vacuum line routing on the engine, I found that PO had connected the tranny vacuum line to the wrong tap. I changed it, and didnt notice a difference in the shift, but do notice that it will downshift at lower speeds with throttle pressure easier than before.

Almost ALL of the repairs I am doing, with the exception of the modulator replacement, has been done before... badly.. by previous owners.

Bruce