The saga of my injection pump has come to a happy conclusion. When I picked it up the first time it was smoking and still had a rattle [it was the rattle that had me take it in in the first place]. I took it back on Tuesday and they went into it once more, finally determining that the pump, while adjusted according to the directions they had, was not adjusted correctly. Mechanic took the pump back off and compared it to the pump that came out of the car, determining that the two were not set the same, nor were they the same pump. That covered Tuesday afternoon and part of Wed. Finally my nephew called the MB dealer and was assured that the new pump was the correct one for the engine, but that the one that came off was not. It seems that when Potomac German sent the engine [they never did tell me from what year 300SD, despite many promises to do so] the pretend mechanics who had my car in Vero Beach pulled everything off the old engine and installed it on the new. Somehow they almost got it to work [though my nephew had to do a few hundred $$ work rerouting and reinstalling items]. Thus it stayed with a worsening shifting problem. I later replaced the tranny and the vacuum pump, and finally the injection pump. After my nephew called a friend at another shop [very familiar with that injection process] they straightened out the calibration and the timing process got started all over again. I think the full job entailed three removals and installations of the injection pump, and I think possibly one of the vacuum pump, and several attempts to time and calibrate it. What had not been clear in the directions was that with a pump that had a lock installed at a rebuild you set the timing to 15 degrees, instead of the 34 degree setting without the lock [or the other way around]. Big difference. It turns out that the previous incorrect pump had been timed and calibrated close enough to almost stop the smoking, but it also threw off the vacuum to the transmission. Long story short [sort of], half of Tues, Wed, Thurs and half of Friday later it is running beautifully, shifting better than it has since I have had it], and no smoke. I am happy.
When I pulled out the checkbook for all the stuff done beyond the initial install I was told there was no charge, as it was under their [three month?] warranty. I tried to pay for some of the mechanic's time so he would not be out half a week's work, and was told that it was for situations like this that they kept the mechanic who worked on my car as a salaried employee [The other guy is hourly]. They wouldn't take any $ for the mechanic [who it turns out wasn't out anything] or for their extra work, and my car runs much better than it did before. I am confirmed in my belief that having a mechanic you can trust is a very nice thing. Now I await the first fill-up [hopefully at less than $100] to see if the mileage has improved also - though it got as high as 27 mpg before, so probably not. BillR Jacksonville FL 1981 300SD 301k miles _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
