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Nov 30, 2010 18:22:01 GMT
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Hi Peter! Thanks! And - Wow! I adore your 123! That's a car that's on my "Cars I must own" list, and not at the bopttom By the way: my mates 260 is allready history... ;D He's just bought a 230TE... White, auto, fully equiped, rust free, 330kkm - at 750 the total über-bargain! Made me think... Hmm... An auto transmission would be quit nice.... Whilst he was getting the car registered, I got me a new Emissions Badge; the old one went away with the old screen. I just got a brand new windscreen, insurance payed for it. Stone chip damage, unrepairable ;D Cheers, Jan
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Hi! I started to use veggy oil yesterday. The engine has not been altered in any way, that's why I'm not going to run it on 100% SVO. I'm progressively adding a higher oil content untill I run into starting problems... IMO runing on 100% SVO would work best with a auxilliary park heater; I.e. with the engine on temperature before you start it. I.e. everything warmed up and no cold oil going through the injection pump (my engine's got a fuel/water heat exchanger allready which would be ableto immidiately heat the SVO). Maybe a larger/better heat exchanger could help too. Without those gizmos; a dino/SVO mixture works best. I started with a 30% SVO content, next step will be a 50:50 mix. If that doesn't pose any issues, I'm going towards a 70-80% SVO content. Next problem: SVO got expensive. Rape oil (err - that sounds wrong... Canola oil is what I mean) is at 0,99€/l. But: diesel prices are on the up too! It's almost 1,30€/l now With SVO from the super market and a 50:50 miox I'm at 1,14€/l going from that diesel price. That's a 0,16€/l decrease in price. Not that much, but hey! On sunday evening many stations sell diesel at 1,20 to 1,25 (50:50 then drops to ~1,10€/l). Four thing I've noticed: - Even with 30% SVO content exhaust fumes smell like a chip shop ;D - The engine seems to run smoother and less sootier. - Everyone keeps theyr distance now ;D - Cold starting is bit more lumpyer. The lumpy start might be a glow plug that's down, though... I'm cheking them before I add a higher SVO content - starting might be a real PITA with a faulty glow plug & more SVO... Cheers, Jan LN7 in the Canola by quanticchaos1000, on Flickr
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Hi! After the first positive results I added a higher SVO content of about 55%. So far starting didn't get worse (one plug is still down, though). But the engine seems to be a bit down on power after 3000 revs. And to my surprise it runs a lot smoother and quieter with the high SVO content! A bit of research revealed that this is due to the high SVO content, thickening the mixture a bit; which means less fuel. Or in other words: it sounds nice, but isn't. To overcome this problem, three things have to be done: the injector opening pressure needs to be higher (from ~115-125 to ~170-180 Bar). This delays the injection timing (it takes a longer time to open the injector nozzle with higher pressure). -> Injection timing needs to be advanced and injection quantitie raised. I'm not sure yet if I want to do this, as runing on pure diesel will be affected (hotter and harsher runing)... For not that much benefit... It's smelly and saves me about 12-18€ on a full tank, depending on SVO content. And - which is most annoying - filling up takes a lot of time... I need to check prices and package sizes in the gastronomy supply stores - but I guess even with 10l canisters it'll be a PITA. I keep an eye on diesel prices, check for cheaper SVO and then decide if it is worth it. The way I'm doing it at the moment and with 1l bottles it's too much hazzle and produces a lot of waste... If I can improve on the penny saving & liters per bottle & long-term availability - I continue the experiment. To make it worth I think I need to be able to save at least 30 cent/l fuel. At the moment I'm saving 14 Cent/l fuel with lots of waste & time consumption. Thanks for reading! Cheers, Jan
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Colonelk
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,740
Club RR Member Number: 83
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They sell metal 25litre containers over here (I think its 25... or is it 20) but that makes more sense as far as filling is concerned! and yeah the price is crazy now. I'm waiting until summer to experiment with my cavalier diesel will be watching this
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I hope they sell equally large containers here. A though I recently had, was a park heater and auxilliary fuel pump & large fuel/coolant heat exchanger and some valves - or/and a fuel tank heater... With gizzmos like that one could run 100% SVO all year & weather. But that's possibly troublesome if you suddenly need the car, with no time to pre-heat everything... Another option would be to leave the thoughts at home and just fill the curse word up and see how it goes. Try and error & a spare fuel filter in the glove box ;D Went to collect a hatch today... 300km through the black forrest. a rust free hatch was one thing, the other was a true 1960's fuel station, even with all the old signs on - lovely. I didn't have a cam with me, unfortunately. As a bonus they sold they'r diesel for 1,26€ The hatch has a long wanted third high level brake light attached, that's why I bought it. Pics tomorrow. It rains cats & dogs ATM... Cheers, Jan
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L33 RWW
Part of things
Kettle on?
Posts: 135
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I ran my 1.9TD transporter on anywhere between 50-80% veg oil through most of last winter and while it took a little more starting on cold mornings I didn't notice any loss in power and the thing seemed to sound quieter. How about running the feed to the fuel pump through a heat exchanger piped up to the heater matrix (not affected by the thermostat) to make the fuel more viscous? It wont help at all for the initial start but should help when the engine starts to get up to temperature and maybe overcome the difference in fuel thickness? Catering suppliers for 20l drums were my thing, they used to cost me around £15 but they may be available a lot cheaper, I didn't do it for long enough to think about shopping around. The smell is properly rancid after a while though! Good luck and keep updating
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I ran my 1.9TD transporter on anywhere between 50-80% veg oil through most of last winter and while it took a little more starting on cold mornings I didn't notice any loss in power and the thing seemed to sound quieter. How about running the feed to the fuel pump through a heat exchanger piped up to the heater matrix (not affected by the thermostat) to make the fuel more viscous? It wont help at all for the initial start but should help when the engine starts to get up to temperature and maybe overcome the difference in fuel thickness? The Merc allready got a fuel heater, but it's a bit on the smal side. I too noticed that it runs quiter - apparently this is due to the injector opening pressure being a bit too low for SVO. Std. opening pressure is about 115 to 125 bar (85-92lb/ft). Recommended for runing SVO is - on my engine - 150 to 160 bar (110-117lb/ft). I'm not sure yet if I'm going to alter it (std. injector springs can be shimmed), or not. A mate of me runs the same engine on anything, from pure SVO to 50% mix - he's done over 100.000km like that so far without any issues... He uses a smal 1000W electric park-heater in winter, to help starting. I'm inclined to the same. Cheers, Jan
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Dec 11, 2010 14:08:22 GMT
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Hi! The hatch on the Merc was badly corroded and the window frame was leaking... So - I got me a replacement hatch ;D Off with the old.... Hmm - what does it say? Lorinser... Oh - wrong color and oh - an awefull roof/hatch spoiler? Oh well... Too late to take it off ;D ;D Looks totaly out of place but I like it just for that ;D Cheers, Jan
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p1RATE
Part of things
Posts: 355
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this is how a w124 should be!! i love what you have done with the hub caps, look very smart. cant say I'm a fan of the new hatch though.
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• 13 BMW 320d
• 92 Pink/Purple Mercedes 190e (Project)
• 97 Rover VI 1.8 (track car)
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I like the slight weirdness of the spoiler, not a fan of the rubber duckie though... But overall the car is very win. A proper drop in the front, keepin the rear up would make it tough as nails
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Dec 20, 2010 12:04:16 GMT
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Is yours a 5 or a 6 pot diesel? How have you found spares costs and availability so far? I just love these shaped Mercs. Not too rounded, nice and square. Being an estate, double points! Bookmarked. Favourite build on the entire forum
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Dec 20, 2010 16:27:36 GMT
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Cheers guys! I'm no fan of the spoiler either, I just love it's out-of-place-ness ;D Is yours a 5 or a 6 pot diesel? How have you found spares costs and availability so far? It's a 5 pot. 50cc increase per pot; 200D = 4 pot, 250D = 5 pot, 300D = 6 pot The prices of spares are OK. Most parts are not as expensive as I expected them to be (being Mercedes and that). Though there are the random exceptions. Wearing parts are reasonably priced. I order most of those parts from a Taxi-co which sells various qualities. What's expensive are the rear hydraulic lift shockers... They are 260€ each... Fortunately they rarely break. A balljoint for 16€, pair of rear discs & pads 60€. Overhauling the rear suspension can add up, as there's a lot links & bushes to replace. I don't think availability is a problem at all, maybe for some electronics and rare stuff. And there's lots of 2nd hand parts around All in all it's not as cheap as a Mini to run, but reasonabe dude: I'm not going to drop it yet, we plan on having a trip to spain next year which includes some rather rough terrain. On the other hand... The AWD W124s have a steel sump guard which costs the same as the plastic guard *starts to think* Speaking as of which; I recently wrecked my sump guard... Some idiotic road workers left some stacked(!) pylons in the middle of the road, in a sharp corner... Of course I hit them. Took me ages to remove tem from under the car... In the pouring rain... B@st@&§$! Cheers, Jan
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Dec 20, 2010 23:19:06 GMT
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I love it. Once the race car work is done I'm indulging in a W124 to tow it. And also because, as you've illustrated so nicely, they rock
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Dec 24, 2010 17:50:47 GMT
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Gonna be fun with noone on the road tonight ;D
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Gonna be fun with noone on the road tonight ;D And what jolly good fun it was! Noones been out to clear the roads, not many cars on the roads - pure and unspoilt sideways fun! And very controllable easy fun. I think the 250D got just the right amount of power for snow drifting... Very forgiving and still easy to kick the tail out. Yet doesn't get totaly mad when you touch the throttle, like my mates 230 auto... That's undrivable on snow... RWD + snow + uncleared roads = epic fun And here's the proof that the hatch spoiler actually does work: It blows all the snow on the back ;D Maybe I should care a little more about repairing the rear wiper... Have fun and drive safe, Jan PS: all on private raods of course!
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Dec 29, 2010 18:00:07 GMT
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I love the last two photos, although I am not sure about the rear spoiler. We've had a fair amount of snow during the last couple of weeks. We = south east of England. My automatic W124 with (relatively) wide rear tyres is useless in the snow. I've been making use of the W123, which copes very well with its skinny tyres and lethargic dynamics. You can just about make out my W124 in the first photo, covered under a foot of snow! Great log mate, keep up the good work.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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Such a nice pair! The last two "real" Mercedes. And I agree; having a slightly underpowered car does certainly help on snow. Unfortunately all snow's gone now and we have 10-12°+ (WTF!?)... Now I'm back again amongst the slowest on the roads... ;D We had a bit of free time on the lift. My mate changes the hydraulic pressure reservoir for the rear suspension (bit messy) and I did some damage assesment and rust protection/inspection for the rear suspension & overall checkup. The hydraulic gizmos on the rear are badly corroded, as are the brake lines and it's overall a bit rustyer than I thought... But nothing too worse yet. I applied a thick coating of Nato spec anti-rust grease (Nato spec petrol jelly [S-743] & 10% bees wax). The car smells like a tank now - but oh well, if it stops rust...? ;D It's dead cheap too. And most amazingly it crawls into every little corner when it gets warm. It's not as long lasting as wax, but stays flexible and reaches every little corner. And I'm rather having a few drops of grease on the drive way than rusty debriss... Not much pictures, as my camera decided to not like the cold wheather and packed up... In fact - only two pictures. What pylons & black ice left of the sump guard: And a stil live with my mates Merc: POh - and christmas brought me a voucher for a welder! Which means I can finaly start doing stuff I've been dreaming about for a while now... ;D Just need to wait for a good offer for a 2nd hand professional welder... Cheers, Jan
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Lovely, I have a bit of a thing for the W124 (or S124) estate, and recently parted with a 1991 300TE. There is something about them, the shape, the comfort and the exceptional build!!!. I currently have a hankering for a 300TE-24.......oh dear.
The diesels are excellent, slow, pedestrian, but, solid. As you have probably discovered, run very well on Vegetable oil!!.
Saw your bit on the 260E, I managed to improve my 300TE's running with new leads, rotor arm and a distributor cap. MPG went up a good 2-3 miles per gallon too, plus, it was a lot easier to start on a morning.
Love the MB Tex interior on the estate, it's not leather, but, does make a good stab at looking like leather!!.
james
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Jan 19, 2011 15:11:02 GMT
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The diesels are excellent, slow, pedestrian, but, solid. As you have probably discovered, run very well on Vegetable oil!!. Yes. But in the end, I decided against it.... Here's why: I t decided it's not worth it for the few pennys saved. As a minimum conversion I drove a SVO/diesel mix. This winter cold starts were OK with ~50% diesel. It may pay out if you can get SVO for free. But: if you get SVO for free, it's mostly unfiltered or not ultra fine filtered, = needs time & appartures to filter. The stuff from the discounter is expensive (0,99€). Long story short: I saved about 6-7€ per fill, but it cost me a lot more time to fill, get the stuff - and then the smell... So after all I decided - for myself - it's not worth the hassle. Especially since it's not exactely legal over here... And finding a place that still gives away free SVO is... Hard. It's a smal industry by now and lot's of people want that stuff. The large oil mills even need to 'save' batches for the gastronomy from drivers of old Mercs ;D In my opinion, cheap motoring means buy a allready high MPG petrol car and convert it to run on gas (LPG). Considering a similar milage I would save considerably more if the car ran on LPG. My calculations: - diesel: 1,33€/l - super market SVO: 0,99€/l = 1,16€/l @ 50:50. = 1,05€/l @ 80:20 (recommended without other mods) - Full tank of diesel @ 1,33: 93,10€. - 50:50 mix: 81,20€ - 80:20 mix: 73,5€ So between 11,90 and 19,60€, depending on the weather and availability. I calculated 0,99€ per liter SVO, as that's the easyest to get (Supermarket, no contamination). Bottles from 1l to 10l are available, which means a lot of waste is produced. The cheapest 10l container ended up with 1,07€/l. The cheapest being 1l bottles at 0,99€/bottle. And now: a similar sized tank (70l) of LPG (propane) would save me 47,60€ @ 0,68€/l per fill. And is a lot easyer to fill up, 100% legal and more and more LPG stations are being build. As amazing "up to almost 20€ saving" may sound - it's a lot of hassle and time involved. And a lot of plastic waste too... That's why I decided against it in the end. Cheers, Jan
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