Hi folks. HELP! Need repair shop referrals! My son is broken down near Chicago O'Hare Airport. Can't get the starter to catch. It's a starter and/or solenoid and/or flywheel teeth problem. We live in Maryland. I own three Mercedes 300D W123 turbo diesel sedans. He decided to try to make the round trip drive from Maryland to Illinois in one of them and now he can't get home. I am trying to find a repair shop in that area that y'all can recommend as a good place to take a look at it. My cell is 202 445 4487. Please help. It is Monday April 2 at 2:30 Eastern Time right now. Rosemont. Des Plaines. Franklin Park. Mt. Prospect. Shiller Park. Anything in that general area.
Thanks.
Doug

Can he hit or bang the starter solonoid ?

You may want to give Axtmann Automotive on the Northwest side of Chicago a try.

The long time owners recently retired, but the mechanic who worked on the German cars was still there.

Two suggestions:
Hessen Auto

Hessen is really close to O'Hare and I have taken my E300 there. They replaced my entire ECU when it failed. Dieter is the owner.

Another shop that I know is good, but never have had personal experience, is in Forest Park, IL. They always have old Benzes out front.

Forest Park Foreign Car Repair
Address: 2019, 7400 Harrison St, Forest Park, IL 60130
Hours: Open ⋅ Closes 5:30PM
Phone: (708) 366-3616

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Ed
-1984 Mercedes 190D 2.2 5-speed gray market(bought@30,000 miles) (Sold back to original owner@170,000 miles)
-1999 Mercedes E300DT (245,000 miles)
-1999 Mercedes S500 Grand Edition (80,000 miles)

How much did they charge u to replace your entire ecu...?

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It was replaced back in 09' and I don't remember exactly. Probably $800-$1,200 roughly.

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Ed
-1984 Mercedes 190D 2.2 5-speed gray market(bought@30,000 miles) (Sold back to original owner@170,000 miles)
-1999 Mercedes E300DT (245,000 miles)
-1999 Mercedes S500 Grand Edition (80,000 miles)

a member on here has a shop. Tuman motors.

The local MB dealer is an option. The big city MB dealers often have a "vintage" MB guy on staff who specializes in these older models.

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1998 E300 turbodiesel

America's Rights and Freedoms Are Not The Enemy!

Don't forget tow starting is doable in these

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1978 300D, 373,000km 617.912, 711.113 5 speed, 7.5mm superpump, HX30W turbo...many, many years in the making....
1977 280> 300D - 500,000km+ (to be sold...)
1984 240TD>300TD 121,000 miles, *gone*
1977 250 parts car
1988 Toyota Corona 2.0D *gone*
1975 FJ45>HJ45
1981 200>240D (to be sold...)
1999 Hyundai Lantra 1.6 *gone*
1980s Lansing Bagnall FOER 5.2 Forklift (the Mk2 engine hoist)
2001 Holden Rodeo 4JB1T 2WD

Ditto. If there is a hill he can get it to the top of, w/ key in "run", roll down in N at 20 mph, then shift to D. Actuate the glow plugs first, several times and while starting. I have never tried in my 300D's, but "should work". Like many, I did that in a manual shift truck when the battery was low and I had to get to work. Just keep parking on a hill until you can fix it. But, an auto tranny doesn't give as direct a drive, so might need more speed. I could roll start that 4 cyl truck at 3 mph.

My 1965 Mopar auto-tranny's can also be push started. That was about the last year for that, since they removed the "rear pump" to save cost and weight, plus men had become wimpier by then and most are pathetic today. Germans continued the driver-mechanic image into the 1980's, even including a factory tool kit. In the 1910's, drivers carried a mechanic's suit, tools, and spare parts for the constant roadside repairs. Many new cars today don't even come with a spare tire.

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

A loose chassis-engine ground strap can give the same symptoms. I believe on the W123 it's located on the LH side of the engine.

After two "parking-lot" changes of starters, tightening the ground strap and no more starter problems. Give it a shot.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Same in my 1985 300D. I had the cluster pulled out. When I cranked the engine, I noticed smoke coming from the speedometer cable. Knowing that meant the large starter current was using that as a ground return path, I searched out the "engine to body" cable, which is from transmission-engine bolt on driver's side. Unbolted, sanded, and coated w/ silicone grease. It didn't even look corroded, but that fixed it. Aluminum quickly oxidizes to white powder. That caused many house fires when they tried it as cheaper wiring in the 1960's.

My U.S. cars run BAT- to the engine block, whereas M-B ran it to the body. Thus, need a thick cable from engine to body. Similarly, I once had an alternator that wasn't charging, which turned out to be from a little oxidation of the aluminum case, which is the return path to the engine block (both my U.S. and M-B cars).

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

Thank you to all of you for all your suggestions and your quick responses. We got the car fixed and he made it home safe and sound. It required a new starter motor. Thanks again. All of you helped tremendously! - Doug

Good to hear!

Years ago when I had intermittent problems with 300D not starting, I tried various "solutions" such as neutral switch, ignition switch, ground straps, battery connections etc, but in end, it was bad commutator contact in the starter itself. Had starter rebuilt and never another problem (been about 20 years now!)

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

I had the same intermittent problem.... I got to see the Starter repair place take apart my starter.... the three small screws in the end .. which hold the ' cage' for the brushes... had vibrated loose... after only 30 years of use...
so the brushes were sometimes in contact and sometimes not....
The actual brushes ( pieces of carbon ) on these starters are very Robust... huge...

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1980 240d ,

chain elongation, cam marks reference:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=10414

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html

evap fin cleaning:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=156207&highlight=evaporator

A/C thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html