'78 240D Problems
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2
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From: Boise, ID
1978 240D
'78 240D Problems
Hello everyone! I'm hoping someone on here can help me out. Here's my story:
I bought a '78 240D about three years ago. It ran great for about a year, and then it had a small electrical fire under the dash somewhere. We had to have the instrument cluster replaced, and the mechanic said the cause was related to a faulty fuel cutoff switch or something, which also got replaced. Sometime shortly thereafter, the car decided it wouldn't start. I replaced the starter myself, and it ran great again for about seven months, at which point it wouldn't start again.
Well, the symptoms were exactly the same as before, so I got a replacement starter for free since the other was under its one year warranty, and replaced it again. This time it only ran for about three days before the engine completely seized up and the battery exploded. *sigh*
I got it towed to a shop, where they removed the starter, and instead of simply having worn down teeth, like the other times, this time the teeth were all mangled and twisted. Not good. The mechanic also said that the flywheel was messed up and needed to be replaced.
I want to fix this poor old thing, but would like to know what the root cause of all of this is. Is it electrical and somehow related to the fire way back when? I think it might be since the battery got fried. Is the flywheel the problem? Personally, I don't see anything wrong with the flywheel, but I have attached a photo of it so that maybe somebody here can tell me what they think of it.
Anyhow, I'll elaborate more if you all have questions, which I assume there will be many.
Thanks!
Flywheel
Poor li'l green 240D
I bought a '78 240D about three years ago. It ran great for about a year, and then it had a small electrical fire under the dash somewhere. We had to have the instrument cluster replaced, and the mechanic said the cause was related to a faulty fuel cutoff switch or something, which also got replaced. Sometime shortly thereafter, the car decided it wouldn't start. I replaced the starter myself, and it ran great again for about seven months, at which point it wouldn't start again.
Well, the symptoms were exactly the same as before, so I got a replacement starter for free since the other was under its one year warranty, and replaced it again. This time it only ran for about three days before the engine completely seized up and the battery exploded. *sigh*
I got it towed to a shop, where they removed the starter, and instead of simply having worn down teeth, like the other times, this time the teeth were all mangled and twisted. Not good. The mechanic also said that the flywheel was messed up and needed to be replaced.
I want to fix this poor old thing, but would like to know what the root cause of all of this is. Is it electrical and somehow related to the fire way back when? I think it might be since the battery got fried. Is the flywheel the problem? Personally, I don't see anything wrong with the flywheel, but I have attached a photo of it so that maybe somebody here can tell me what they think of it.
Anyhow, I'll elaborate more if you all have questions, which I assume there will be many.
Thanks!
Flywheel
Poor li'l green 240D
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Boise, ID
1978 240D
I have, thanks Mark! I actually have posted this on both boards, and got lots of responses on mercedesshop.com. People over here seem to not think too highly of the old diesels. Thanks anyway!
