Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
On 1/24/06, Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The local independent shop has the remains of an SD that caught fire while driving down the interstate. I would have believed that to be impossible until I saw it. The fire does not appear to have started at the alternator or battery. Not quite impossible. A friend had his 85 300D catch fire while he was on the highway. It was apparently caused by dragging brakes; either the flexible hose was clogged or the caliper was stuck. Another motorist put the fire out very quickly and there was not much damage. Richard Murdoch 82 240D 82 300TDt
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
Richard Murdoch wrote: Not quite impossible. A friend had his 85 300D catch fire while he was on the highway. My mail carrier stopped in my driveway and told me she was having brake trouble. I noticed that the trouble with her Taurus at that moment in time was the flames behind the right front wheel. I ran back in the house for an extinguisher, one quick blast put it out.
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
why I carry a fire extinguisher in the 300SD...prolly should throw one in the TD too. Chris Mitch Haley [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Richard Murdoch wrote: Not quite impossible. A friend had his 85 300D catch fire while he was on the highway. My mail carrier stopped in my driveway and told me she was having brake trouble. I noticed that the trouble with her Taurus at that moment in time was the flames behind the right front wheel. I ran back in the house for an extinguisher, one quick blast put it out. ___ http://www.striplin.net 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://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net Christopher McCann, Squier Park, Kansas City, Missouri -2005 Blue Point Siamese, Rose -1992 Volkswagen Golf, diesel, 185K km, Nanook -1987 300TD, 151K, Rotkäppchen -1985 300SD, 211K, Wulf -1976 240D, ?K, AKP-Wagen (Alternativen Kraftstoffs Prüfenlastwagen) -1972 Jacobsen 21 Turbo Vent -1971 Case 222 Hydrive, 12HP Kohler, 38 deck, Snowcaster, One Banger - Bring words and photos together (easily) with PhotoMail - it's free and works with Yahoo! Mail. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thu Jan 26 19:03:08 2006 Received: from wproxy.gmail.com ([64.233.184.194]) by server5.arterytc5.net with esmtp (Exim 4.52) id 1F2COi-0003d9-05 for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:03:08 + Received: by wproxy.gmail.com with SMTP id i6so461861wra for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Thu, 26 Jan 2006 11:03:05 -0800 (PST) DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws; s=beta; d=gmail.com; h=received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:mime-version:content-type; b=bex79kl5PepA6bBseXjealepYxVPjJmcoyLZOHR2bmW8E22/pXaMPYwrRVfHI/hT0NX3x118rDPTGieI+EoNSdeLgKIuGDo4FkfoDjwg4Osfufj9SUh7/LIJAMcsEeZwTbIoeUCapt9paisqjVNXoA0HiRrLojq8jMS2RJrw4YI= Received: by 10.65.160.6 with SMTP id m6mr1665810qbo; Thu, 26 Jan 2006 11:03:04 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.65.133.11 with HTTP; Thu, 26 Jan 2006 11:03:04 -0800 (PST) Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 14:03:04 -0500 From: ned kleinhenz [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Mercedes Diesel List [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Antivirus-Scanner: Clean mail though you should still use an Antivirus Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.6 Subject: Re: [MBZ] Headlight wiper question X-BeenThere: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.6 Precedence: list Reply-To: Mercedes Discussion List [EMAIL PROTECTED] List-Id: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes_striplin.net.striplin.net List-Unsubscribe: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net, mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] List-Archive: http://striplin.net/pipermail/mercedes_striplin.net List-Post: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] List-Help: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] List-Subscribe: http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net, mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:03:08 - Someone asked if the headlight wipers make any difference. I have one 124 with wipers and another 124 without. The wipers make a very noticable difference when they clean winter salt fro= m the headlights. Ned Kleinhenz
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
Amen, Dr. L Bob Rentfro '77 300D 148K '01 VW Beetle TDI 61K Litchfield Park, AZ - Original Message - From: Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Mercedes Discussion List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 4:09 PM Subject: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars Today we learned that a HS friend of my daughter was burned beyond any recognition after her 2005 Toyota hit a rock pillar at the entrance to a park and then burned. It took them almost a week to find out who it was. There was not enough of the vehicle left to get a VIN from, and the aluminum license plates melted away. The fire was fueled not only by gasoline, but by all the plastic inside and outside the vehicle. This is a sickening event, and one that is unlikely in our well designed solid old cars. Many of us have been involved in accidents in our Mercedes and walked away. My daughter was T boned in her SL 2 years ago, and walked away. It was the kind of accident that had reportedly caused many lesser vehicles to burn. Each member of my family has been hit in their Mercedes in the past 4 years. Each has walked or driven away. Fortunately, my last run-in was 23 years ago when the Pinto pulled out into my ol rusty trusty winter 190Dc and was wiped out. I believe my SDL may be the safest car on the road, if there is such a thing with all the idiots they let drive now. Drive safe. Friends don't let friends drive Toyotas, , _, Or __! You fill in the blanks. ___ http://www.striplin.net 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://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
Surely a big part of why the Toyota fire happened is just that it was a gas car? That's one big safety advantage of diesel that many people don't think about---it's combustible, but not inflammable, much less volatile. Not saying that MB's aren't safer than other cars, rather that there's a big fire-safety bonus to driving an oilburner on top of the inherent crash safety engineered into the car. (And not to mention the fact that a 240D is incapable of acquiring enough kinetic energy to damage itself or anything else in a collision!) Alex Chamberlain '87 300D Turbo On 1/24/06, Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Today we learned that a HS friend of my daughter was burned beyond any recognition after her 2005 Toyota hit a rock pillar at the entrance to a park and then burned. It took them almost a week to find out who it was. There was not enough of the vehicle left to get a VIN from, and the aluminum license plates melted away. The fire was fueled not only by gasoline, but by all the plastic inside and outside the vehicle. This is a sickening event, and one that is unlikely in our well designed solid old cars. Many of us have been involved in accidents in our Mercedes and walked away. My daughter was T boned in her SL 2 years ago, and walked away. It was the kind of accident that had reportedly caused many lesser vehicles to burn. Each member of my family has been hit in their Mercedes in the past 4 years. Each has walked or driven away. Fortunately, my last run-in was 23 years ago when the Pinto pulled out into my ol rusty trusty winter 190Dc and was wiped out. I believe my SDL may be the safest car on the road, if there is such a thing with all the idiots they let drive now. Drive safe. Friends don't let friends drive Toyotas, , _, Or __! You fill in the blanks. ___ http://www.striplin.net 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://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
I always thought that gasoline caused most vehicle fires, but I have seen a lot of semi tractors that burned. The only difference is that diesel needs a wick or it needs to be heated enough to vaporize. Gasoline evaporates easily at air temps. Since diesel has more BTUs per gallon, it will burn longer or hotter once lit. Metal scraping on pavement provides enough heat and sparks to light even diesel in some conditions. Even a 240D (or 190Dc auto) can create a pool of fuel and a stream of sparks. The local independent shop has the remains of an SD that caught fire while driving down the interstate. I would have believed that to be impossible until I saw it. The fire does not appear to have started at the alternator or battery. It appears to have burned longer/hotter on the left side (where the fuel is) of the engine compartment. It got hot enough that the valve cover melted. I can't find an explanation of the cause of the fire. I can only surmise a combination of oil leaks, fuel leaks and a seriously overheated/sparking electrical component (CC fuse maybe) One thing that I have noticed is that on the old cars with the tank under the trunk (107-115 inclusive) if a fuel line is cut or broken, the fuel stays in the tank. In the interest of safety after the Pinto debacle, the feds made the tanks move to behind the passenger seat. On these later cars, the fuel will run out to the ground if you cut or break a fuel line in the engine compartment. If a fire did start, these tanks will feed the fire. This is independent of manufacturer. Loren At 07:08 PM 1/24/2006, you wrote: Surely a big part of why the Toyota fire happened is just that it was a gas car? That's one big safety advantage of diesel that many people don't think about---it's combustible, but not inflammable, much less volatile. Not saying that MB's aren't safer than other cars, rather that there's a big fire-safety bonus to driving an oilburner on top of the inherent crash safety engineered into the car. (And not to mention the fact that a 240D is incapable of acquiring enough kinetic energy to damage itself or anything else in a collision!) Alex Chamberlain '87 300D Turbo
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
I vaguely recall a scandal around a TV documentary where they were demonstrating the difference in flamability of Diesle and gas cars by firing a rifle at the fuel tanks. Neither one exploded onr burned. They decided to light the gas tank with a model rocket engine to demonstrate their point! I still beleive that a Diesel car is less likely to burn than a gas car though -- On 1/24/06, Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I always thought that gasoline caused most vehicle fires, but I have seen a lot of semi tractors that burned. The only difference is that diesel needs a wick or it needs to be heated enough to vaporize. Gasoline evaporates easily at air temps. Since diesel has more BTUs per gallon, it will burn longer or hotter once lit. Metal scraping on pavement provides enough heat and sparks to light even diesel in some conditions. Even a 240D (or 190Dc auto) can create a pool of fuel and a stream of sparks. The local independent shop has the remains of an SD that caught fire while driving down the interstate. I would have believed that to be impossible until I saw it. The fire does not appear to have started at the alternator or battery. It appears to have burned longer/hotter on the left side (where the fuel is) of the engine compartment. It got hot enough that the valve cover melted. I can't find an explanation of the cause of the fire. I can only surmise a combination of oil leaks, fuel leaks and a seriously overheated/sparking electrical component (CC fuse maybe) One thing that I have noticed is that on the old cars with the tank under the trunk (107-115 inclusive) if a fuel line is cut or broken, the fuel stays in the tank. In the interest of safety after the Pinto debacle, the feds made the tanks move to behind the passenger seat. On these later cars, the fuel will run out to the ground if you cut or break a fuel line in the engine compartment. If a fire did start, these tanks will feed the fire. This is independent of manufacturer. Loren -- OK Don, KD5NRO Norman, OK '90 300D 243K, Rattled '87 300SDL 290K, Limo Lite, or blue car '81 240D 173K, Gramps, or yellow car '78 450SLC 67K, brown car '97 Ply Grand Voyager 78K Van Go
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
One thing that I have noticed is that on the old cars with the tank under the trunk (107-115 inclusive) if a fuel line is cut or broken, the fuel stays in the tank. In the R107, at least, the tank is behind the rear seating area. That is, above the floor of the trunk and forward of the bulkhead. I can't speak for the coupe. Regardless, I still feel safer in a diesel vehicle. -- Jim
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
That was the chevy pickup truck attack. they were trying to prove that side mounted tanks in pickups were dangerous. They could not get the trucks to burn in the staged crashes, so the helped them with Estes model rocket engines. At 09:36 PM 1/24/2006, you wrote: I vaguely recall a scandal around a TV documentary where they were demonstrating the difference in flamability of Diesle and gas cars by firing a rifle at the fuel tanks. Neither one exploded onr burned. They decided to light the gas tank with a model rocket engine to demonstrate their point! I still beleive that a Diesel car is less likely to burn than a gas car though -- On 1/24/06, Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I always thought that gasoline caused most vehicle fires, but I have seen a lot of semi tractors that burned. The only difference is that diesel needs a wick or it needs to be heated enough to vaporize. Gasoline evaporates easily at air temps. Since diesel has more BTUs per gallon, it will burn longer or hotter once lit. Metal scraping on pavement provides enough heat and sparks to light even diesel in some conditions. Even a 240D (or 190Dc auto) can create a pool of fuel and a stream of sparks. The local independent shop has the remains of an SD that caught fire while driving down the interstate. I would have believed that to be impossible until I saw it. The fire does not appear to have started at the alternator or battery. It appears to have burned longer/hotter on the left side (where the fuel is) of the engine compartment. It got hot enough that the valve cover melted. I can't find an explanation of the cause of the fire. I can only surmise a combination of oil leaks, fuel leaks and a seriously overheated/sparking electrical component (CC fuse maybe) One thing that I have noticed is that on the old cars with the tank under the trunk (107-115 inclusive) if a fuel line is cut or broken, the fuel stays in the tank. In the interest of safety after the Pinto debacle, the feds made the tanks move to behind the passenger seat. On these later cars, the fuel will run out to the ground if you cut or break a fuel line in the engine compartment. If a fire did start, these tanks will feed the fire. This is independent of manufacturer. Loren -- OK Don, KD5NRO Norman, OK '90 300D 243K, Rattled '87 300SDL 290K, Limo Lite, or blue car '81 240D 173K, Gramps, or yellow car '78 450SLC 67K, brown car '97 Ply Grand Voyager 78K Van Go ___ http://www.striplin.net 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://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
I have not found out what model toyota it was. I tend to believe it was one with the tank mounted behind the seat. (vertical) Those will gravity feed the fire, as I mentioned previously. In a frontal collision, it is unlikely that a rear mounted tank would have spewed enough fuel to cause this carnage, because they will not drain by gravity under most circumstances. Loren At 09:58 PM 1/24/2006, you wrote: Alex Chamberlain wrote: Surely a big part of why the Toyota fire happened is just that it was a gas car? I think in this case it was caused by having an exposed fuel tank under the car. It should not, however, be the lowest part of the car. Makes me wonder what else got clobbered before the tank, assuming she was going forward at the time. I would think the front subframe, engine oil pan, passenger compartment floor pan, etc, would have hit, and hit hard, before the stone pillar got to the tank.
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
The attack was against Chevrolet, but it was really against ALL side mounted pickup tanks. This includes every manufacturer of pickups. Some used the tanks behind the seat in some models. IH and Ford come to mind, but both IH and Ford also used side mounted tanks. So did the datsun I had. I am sure Dodge, Toyota and Mazda all did at some time or another. At 10:09 PM 1/24/2006, you wrote: OK Don wrote: I vaguely recall a scandal around a TV documentary where they were demonstrating the difference in flamability of Diesle and gas cars by firing a rifle at the fuel tanks. Neither one exploded onr burned. They decided to light the gas tank with a model rocket engine to demonstrate their point! I thought that was a chevy pickup they rigged to blow up in a broadside crash, to prove it was more dangerous than a ford. ___ http://www.striplin.net 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://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
That sounds like something that clown, who was smashing the 911 into stuff...and diss-ing the diesel Jag, would do. Bob Rentfro '77 300D 148K '01 VW Beetle TDI 61K Litchfield Park, AZ - Original Message - From: OK Don [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Mercedes Discussion List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 8:36 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars I vaguely recall a scandal around a TV documentary where they were demonstrating the difference in flamability of Diesle and gas cars by firing a rifle at the fuel tanks. Neither one exploded onr burned. They decided to light the gas tank with a model rocket engine to demonstrate their point! I still beleive that a Diesel car is less likely to burn than a gas car though -- On 1/24/06, Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I always thought that gasoline caused most vehicle fires, but I have seen a lot of semi tractors that burned. The only difference is that diesel needs a wick or it needs to be heated enough to vaporize. Gasoline evaporates easily at air temps. Since diesel has more BTUs per gallon, it will burn longer or hotter once lit. Metal scraping on pavement provides enough heat and sparks to light even diesel in some conditions. Even a 240D (or 190Dc auto) can create a pool of fuel and a stream of sparks. The local independent shop has the remains of an SD that caught fire while driving down the interstate. I would have believed that to be impossible until I saw it. The fire does not appear to have started at the alternator or battery. It appears to have burned longer/hotter on the left side (where the fuel is) of the engine compartment. It got hot enough that the valve cover melted. I can't find an explanation of the cause of the fire. I can only surmise a combination of oil leaks, fuel leaks and a seriously overheated/sparking electrical component (CC fuse maybe) One thing that I have noticed is that on the old cars with the tank under the trunk (107-115 inclusive) if a fuel line is cut or broken, the fuel stays in the tank. In the interest of safety after the Pinto debacle, the feds made the tanks move to behind the passenger seat. On these later cars, the fuel will run out to the ground if you cut or break a fuel line in the engine compartment. If a fire did start, these tanks will feed the fire. This is independent of manufacturer. Loren -- OK Don, KD5NRO Norman, OK '90 300D 243K, Rattled '87 300SDL 290K, Limo Lite, or blue car '81 240D 173K, Gramps, or yellow car '78 450SLC 67K, brown car '97 Ply Grand Voyager 78K Van Go ___ http://www.striplin.net 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://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
Yes, your are right. I didn't think that one through. I don't mess with 107s as much as you do. I too, feel safer with dissel fool. (but it does burn) At 10:25 PM 1/24/2006, you wrote: One thing that I have noticed is that on the old cars with the tank under the trunk (107-115 inclusive) if a fuel line is cut or broken, the fuel stays in the tank. In the R107, at least, the tank is behind the rear seating area. That is, above the floor of the trunk and forward of the bulkhead. I can't speak for the coupe. Regardless, I still feel safer in a diesel vehicle. -- Jim ___ http://www.striplin.net 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://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
Well said Loren,
If you ever have time and want to confirm your comments, take a walk thru a
auto recycler that has lots of MBs in his yard and check out the damaged
MBs. By its nature all the MBs will have been totalled but take a look at
the passenger compartments and you'll be amazed at how the vast majority
have virtually undamaged passenger compartments! Most have door which open
and close easily. In the times I've done this I have only seen *one* MB
where the drivers/passengers may have been killed. Looked like another can
hit the MB's roof while airborne.
Kaleb probably has some experience seeing this kind of thing --
As you know, they're incredibly safe cars and MB probably sells more than a
few cars to people who have recently been in an accident and want their next
car to be safer.
Sincerely,
Larry T ('74 911, '67 MGB, 78 240D)
A Blood Test for your oil - www.youroil.net
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- Original Message -
From: Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Mercedes Discussion List [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 6:09 PM
Subject: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
Today we learned that a HS friend of my daughter was burned beyond any
recognition after her 2005 Toyota hit a rock pillar at the entrance to a
park and then burned. It took them almost a week to find out who it
was. There was not enough of the vehicle left to get a VIN from, and the
aluminum license plates melted away. The fire was fueled not only by
gasoline, but by all the plastic inside and outside the vehicle.
This is a sickening event, and one that is unlikely in our well designed
solid old cars. Many of us have been involved in accidents in our
Mercedes
and walked away. My daughter was T boned in her SL 2 years ago, and
walked
away. It was the kind of accident that had reportedly caused many lesser
vehicles to burn.
Each member of my family has been hit in their Mercedes in the past 4
years. Each has walked or driven away. Fortunately, my last run-in was
23
years ago when the Pinto pulled out into my ol rusty trusty winter 190Dc
and was wiped out.
I believe my SDL may be the safest car on the road, if there is such a
thing with all the idiots they let drive now.
Drive safe. Friends don't let friends drive Toyotas, , _,
Or __! You fill in the blanks.
___
http://www.striplin.net
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://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
Re: [MBZ] Why we drive old Mercedes Benz Cars
I asked Jeff about that car just a few days ago. He thought that maybe it was brake fluid rather than #2 that got the fire going initially. On 1/24/06, Loren Faeth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: IThe local independent shop has the remains of an SD that caught fire while driving down the interstate. I would have believed that to be impossible until I saw it. The fire does not appear to have started at the alternator or battery. -- 1977 240D 1983 VW Quantum turbo diesel 5-speed 1972 Honda CB-500K motorcycle http://www.airamericaradio.com/listen
