bryatl

I recently got a 1999 E300 Turbodiesel and was disappointed to find that the mileage on my first tank was about 24 mpg. This was mixed driving leaning more towards highway (and a bit of showing off in a new car, love that torque). I paid $2.54 for ULSD just outside of Atlanta. What kind of figures are other 98-99 Turbodiesel owners getting?

uberwgn

that's not atypical. I seem to do around 26 with my 1999 car. This is inline with EPA estimates. Highway mileage is projected at 36, IIRC. That's just silly. In the strictest sense, these aren't "economy" cars compared to modern DI diesels. The CDI cars appear to do better in the real world.

ldangelo

I have a 1999 E300D and typically get around 28/30 MPG. If i do a lot of city driving it will go down to 24/26. On the highway 35 is typical. My old 1987 W124 300 Turbo diesel used to get a more consistant 30/32 MPG. However, that car didn't have nearly the performance as does the 24 valve 606 engine.

If your mileage is consistantly low check the OBD codes to see if the MAP sensor is OK.

uberwgn

MAP sensor or MAF sensor

ldangelo

MAF Mass Air Flow Not MAP I get my volvo and mercedes lessons learned mixed up sometimes.

husk323

Oil and Air filter changes, on Diesels especially, have a huge effect on Gas Mileage and performance. Change the oil with Delvac and get a better air filter than the stock one and you should see a 2-3mpg increase.

sogashia

I have a 1998 E300 Turbo Diesel. Its superfast and usually gets about 28/30 mpg,, more on highway. I love to show it off too,,, but last week it started acting funny, stalling, half the mileage,,, taking it to my guy today,, we think the MAF needs to be replaced. I found the part for 148 at Autohauz and its very easy to install. If that isnt it,, might be the O2 sensor.. not sure. But this car is the fastest, quietest diesel around. Im selling too,,, anyone interested?

ldangelo

I don't think diesels have an O2 sensor. It wouldn't make sense since they always run air rich.

When my MAF went bad it threw an OBDII code which I was able to retrieve. I reset it two or three times and it came back after a couple of weeks and then after a week and then after a couple of days as the mileage got worse.
I got mine from www.buymbparts.com They are not always the best price but they go out of their way in the customer service area. If it's not in the online catalog Rusty can look it up for you. I just checked my old invoice online. List was $322. I paid $162. Install is simple. One connector and two or three screws. Took all of 10 minutes and your hands don't even get greasy. It's located on the hose from the aircleaner to the turbo inlet.
If your check engine light isn't on then I doubt it's the sensor.

cdiken

is responsibe for a lot of the difference in MPG between a properly running E300 and a newer CDI.

CDI does have a lockup converter.

Why MB decided in the W210 it was OK to drive around, even at highway speed, needlessly burning diesel to heat transmission fluid is beyond me.

Green E-300 DT

On my '99 E-300 DT, the dealership insisted that it had one!
In fact, the first one that I bought new back in the fall of '98 went back to the
dealer after 1100 miles and 2 1/2 weeks because of that same concern.
They too insisted that it had a locking T/C, but it definintely did not.

Any fool can plainly see that there is no lock-up just by simply watching the tachometer.

Running 3.08 gears with a loose T/C and simply warming up tranny fuild is not the way to go.
What were those engineers thinking?

I was glad to see that those same idiots finally got smart with the W-211.
For not only did they install a locking T/C, but they raised the rearend ratio to a better 2.65.
There is no need for such a powerful torquer to have to rev all the time.
Almost all the time, you are always right in that fat torque curve,
so that in most cases, no downshift is ever necessary.
Simply tickle the throttle just a little, and the diesels jumps!

Even my chipped W-210 which sadly I no longer have was a real terror out on the highway,
and pity the poor kid in a rice-burner at a traffic light if he was not ready,
thinking that this old duffers' diesel could not move.
It didn't have traction either.
I even tried some 235s on the rear only; Didn't help at all.
No cruise control with that set-up as the computer sensed
the differences between the front and rear diameters.
Stupid FJMB said that that was why the T/C would not lock-up!
So I paid them to re-install my original Michelin Energy 215s and guess what,
there still was no T/C.

I have gotten into some really good arguements with younger whipper snappers that
owned these cars that insisted that theirs' had a locking T/C, but no one ever brought
one around to show me, and for this purpose, I'm from Missouri!

Green E-300 DT

In an effort to discover IF my '99 E-300 DT (Chipped) was quicker than my 2002 VW TDI
Automatic Jetta Wagon (Chipped with bigger injectors,) I took it to the Irwindale CA
race track to their 1/8 mile drags to get a couple of time slips.

My best time was 10 seconds flat at exactly 70 miles per hour.

So 0 - 70 in 10 seconds. What would the 0 - 60 time be?

The VW Jetta Wagon was slower at 11 seconds and 68 mph. And it smoked more also.
It had traction problems even with the 215s in place of the original 195s.

uberwgn

Derryl, I cannot believe you're stilling living this cyber-myth.

uberwgn

Derryl, the factory quotes 0-60 for the turbo 606 cars at 8.5 seconds. If I add a chip (gain of 25hp/50ft*lbs), how fast will the car be in the 0-60 sprint?

Green E-300 DT

You have made several mistakes in your posts:

My name is spelled Derrel. You've added a mis-spelling that I've never seen
before, and I've been watching how to spell my name for almost 70 years.

Try proof-reading your sentence before sending!
It's impossible to not get the copying of the WRONG C/D correctly,
but just because you have copied that DOES NOT MAKE IT FACT!

MBZ has made plenty of mistakes before in their literature. Don't
you think that it is possible that they have made one here?

Cyber-myth you say?

I've owned two '99 E-300 DTs, and driven a third, and NONE of them had locking T/Cs.
Now here comes at least one other knowledgeable owner (Cdiken) who states the very same thing.
I think that you are outnumbered.
Too bad you are not here locally; I would show you on your own vehicle how wrong you are.
BTW, why not post your location in your profile?
Perhaps you reside in the real world and live near the other posting member, and he can show you the errors in your thinking, or lack thereof.

It does not take a rocket scientist to observe a tachometer and determine whether or not it is steady.

Carry on, and believe whatever you like even though you be wrong.

uberwgn

Derrel, I wasn't that far off. One letter? Sheesh.

Green E-300 DT

Just because the factory says something in print, does not make it fact.
The same literature that you quote also states that these cars have 3.46 rear-end ratios.
NOT SO McGee! Should you doubt me here also, crawl under and check your ratio for yourself.

IF their test vehicle indeed had 3.46 gears (?,) it might
do said 0 - 60 in 8.5 seconds, but I doubt it!

My '99 E-300 DT supposedly had 310 ft/lb torque after it was chipped.
That was too much for the transmission BTW. It went South before
long because it was not factory set-up for that much torque.
I've already stated what it was clocked at electronically at the drag strip.

BTW, have you tried to clock your car from 0 - 60 ?

Green E-300 DT

Remember, the Devil is in the details!

uberwgn

Derrel, apart from your anecdotal seat-of-the-pants evaluation, do you have any documentation to support your position? I'd be pleased to review it. We're all here to learn.

OTOH, Derrel, if the trans is operating at ~98% efficiency prior to converter lock-up, how much of a “bump” do you think you're going to feel when the lock-up occurs? Would you be able to resolve a 2% drop on the tachometer? Would you be able to feel it?

Remember, the 722.6 is a bit more sophisticated than a GM transmission from the early '80's.

uberwgn

No, not officially, but it's bloody quick off the line for a diesel with the chip tuning combinations I have.

I don't think the factory's quoted times are that far off. I'm sure one of the auto rags would have road tested one of these cars. I have not seen such review, I'm sure it would contain 0-60 times.

Green E-300 DT

I'm not talking seat or the pants!

I am referring to the fact that the tachometer never is steady at any speed no matter what the throttle postion is.
One cannot feel or hear the lockup on my daughters' 6.0L Escalade either
which I had the displeasure of driving for 5K miles this summer.
But, you sure can tell when it locks up by watching the tachometer.
And it will remain steady when climbing a slight incline until the speed starts to slow, then
it unlocks from overdrive, and if that still is not enough power to
maintain the set speed, it will downshift to maintain the speed.
BTW, the Caddy has a tranny temperature qauge. On a long uphill 17 mile stretch (The infamous Baker grade) in the California desert, you can see the temperature rise when you let the tranny do this. It stays much cooler when you manually make the tranny downshift to third where it will stay locked up. There is no slippage when it stays locked up, and the onboard computer shows the fuel economy to be higher also.
Why? Because that big motor is not working as hard because it is under less load.

As an experiment on your car, try setting the cruise control at 65 miles per hour or so on a level stretch of highway. Notice as you come to a slight incline what the tachometer does. With both of my E-300 DT cars, the tachometer would slowly rise by as much as 200 rpm even though the road speed would stay exactly the same.

My son-in laws '97 E-420 does have a locking T/C. Is does lockup as you can see by the tachometer, but you cannot feel it engage. But you can see it, and it says locked up when you press ever so easily on the accelerator.
Even the expert mechanics at FJMB, argueably the largest MBZ dealer in these parts, finally said that there was no locking T/C in my car. They spent considerable time working on it including pulling the tranny and going through it completely. They even installed a new tranny computer, but nothing changed. It did shift better (tighter) after their work, but there was no torque -convertor lock-up.

Green E-300 DT

When I chipped mine, the tuner said that his program was the most powerful upgrade available.

Since mine was officially clocked at 10 seconds flat and turned 70 mph
in 1/8 of a mile, what would have been the 0 - 60 mph time?

How long do you think it would take the factory stocker to reach
70 mph even if it did have the officially stated 3.46 gears?

uberwgn

Derrel, I can't comment on the gear ratio discussion. Sorry.

My wife has an '02 wagon. Does that have a lock-up converter?

Green E-300 DT

Simply crawl under your MBZ(s) and read the ratio right off of the differential case.

Don't know about your wifes' car. It very well may have a locking T/C as it is a gasser, right?

uberwgn

Yes, V6.

michakaveli

Durell, shut your pie hole.