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Well That's just special.

4K views 58 replies 18 participants last post by  GlueckAuf 
#1 · (Edited)
I took Friday off and in the morning finally got around to putting in the new fuel accumulator. Silly me I forgot to clamp off the small hose at the back end of the FA and took a nice gasoline bath. Well that's just special.

Got it all back together and took it for a test drive. To my surprise the car seemed to have more get up and go when you punched the pedal.
I guess the fuel flow was improves by the new FA.

That afternoon I took my DD and met my wife at the school where she worked. (about 15 miles)
Left my car there and hopped into hers and drove out to Delhi to pick my son up at the university. Knowing the route up is one speed trap after another I neurotically watched the speed signs. The last little town the speed dropped to 30. Got to an intersection made a right turn and the first sign I saw said 30 within sight of the intersection up the road ahead.
The guy driving in front of me pulled away pretty quickly and sure enough a state trooper flies by me and a few seconds later I see the guy pulled over. As I approach, the trooper jumps in the middle of the road and motions for me to pull over. I missed the 20 MPH sign right at the corner of the intersection as you round the corner. Watching traffic going into the intersection I missed the sign. He wrote me a ticket for going 32 MPH in a 20 zone.
Well that's just special.

Got sonny boy loaded up and It was too late and I was too tired to stop and pick up my car when we got home.

This morning I had a Tech session with the MBCA at the local MB dealer about 20 minutes from home. It was a great deal, I paid $27 for a 62 point inspection (show or no show). On the way to the dealer, I made a little detour and took the SL out to where the wife worked so that she can take my DD home. Leaving the lot at the intersection she makes a left and I make a right onto a fairly rural road. As soon as I made the turn the SL just dies and in the rear view mirror I watch the wife drive off. Well that's just special.

As I coast to a stop between two driveways, to my surprise a 107 pulls out of the driveway behind me turns right and just drives right by me and off he goes. Well that's just special.

I check the fuses and all are good. I pull out my spare FPR, I pull the glove box and change the FPR and no change.
I try to start many times but the pump is barely audible if at all. I pull the tools and check the power connections to the fuel pump. No good, just not working. I figure either the pump died or some crud in the line broke loose and clogged somewhere. Well that's just special.

So I lean into the car to get my cellphone from the console and it isn't there.
I left it on the kitchen table. Well that's just special.

I saw some cars in the driveway where the 107 pulled out of so I walked up to the house. The lady of the house brought out her phone and let me call home. Thank goodness the wife was home. (she lost her cell phone a couple days earlier).

After 20 minutes my wife pulls up and hands me my cell phone. I see that my daughter who's still at college for a few more days, tried to reach me twice that morning. But first things first, I called and arranged to be towed to an Indi which I new was only a few miles away. Always said I'll have to try them some day.

After arranging the towing I called my daughter back who says, dad I can't get my car started. Well princess, that's just special.:surrender:
 

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#5 ·
After the SL got dropped at the indi, the wife and I drove out to the MB dealer to see if anyone from the club was still there. I did get to see the new SLS and got to hear it run. That just plain is an awesome car. Sticker price $220K including the $1,700 gas guzzler tax. A little embarrassing though, showing up 2 hours late in a beat up 05 Nissan Sentra with two dented doors and 225K on the OD and the only thing I had to show was a picture of my SL on a flat bed.
Oh well. The SL did look sparkly and shiny up on that flat bed.
 
#12 ·
One day on LI when I was in wholesale I was driving a 928s on Robert Moses pkwy doing an easy 100+ when I heard a trooper behind me on the bull-horn. Not only was I speeding, the damn bumper was rubber so I had my magnet dealer plate on the dash and I didn't scratch off the registration/inspection stickers (major no-no's). I pull onto the shoulder and start to get out of the car and the guy says over the intercom; "I was just trying to tell you that's a Nice Car !!".
 
#18 ·
I once got pulled over in Waldo, Florida in a similar circumstance. I was carefully watching all the speed limits coming into town doing 30 mph (I was paying very close attention) and pulled into a local gas station for a fill-up. When I pulled out, I again was careful not to exceed the limit, but was immediately pulled over by a cop, with a two day stubble and a dented police car, who cited me for speeding. Apparently, the gas station was in a school zone (this was on a Sunday and the school was a full block away), and an overhead head sign, about 10" square, posted a 20 mph limit. He gave me a ticket for $230. Lucky for me I had Canadian plates on at that time and I hope that the Waldo police are still hoping to get paid.
Some time ago, a TV program had an "exposure" of great American speed traps, and Waldo was one of them mentioned. To this day, as you drive into this town, someone has a great big "Speed Trap Ahead" sign erected on their property.
 
#21 ·
Here's one about not paying a ticket. Back in 1971 I was thumbing a ride to a college in VT to see friends and got a ticket which I promply tossed. Six years ago I got a letter from Mass Motor vehicles informing me my license is being suspended for failure to pay that fine. I had to pay the fine to the local township where I had recieved the ticket. Needless to say the clerk there had no idea what I was talking about, but we were both laughing about it because if intrest was accrued I'd probably have to sell the house to pay the fine. Seems little by little the state was computerizing all old files and they finally got me, the master criminal.
 
#26 ·
And the beat goes on.

The SL is stuck outside in the shop lot and it's been raining pretty heavily for the past 18 hours and the weather prediction is for more rain. Anxiety for me.

They haven't looked at the car yet and it's iffy if they'll get to it Today.

My Town Clerk is having anxiety since she is expecting my car to lead off the Memorial Day parade on Monday carrying the parade Grand Marshal.
This years Grand Marshal is a very active in our town, dynamo of a little old lady in her late 80s. For a couple of weeks now (since my wife offered it to her) all she talks about is riding in the SL in the parade.

I sure hope I don't have to let her down.:(:eek:
 
#30 ·
Thanks for the offer Pete. I hope it doesn't come to that, but you never no the way my luck has been going.
I can hear the phone conversation now. Well it's all set the car is fixed,.. Uh but we lost the keys. That's great, only set I had.:eek:
 
#29 ·
Sorry about the string of bad luck, Werner! Been there - had our last car, a Packard, not MB, on the flatbed twice. Once, failed headgasket. Dispatcher argued with us that a Packard was not any car she ever heard of, then the driver could not find us 5 miles from home. Second time, a $5 condensor. I had my tools but it was getting dark, and hey, that's what AAA is for, right? AAA card and cellphone, best two tools you can carry... (I tend to misplace my phone all the time...)

Been on the side of the road a few times but able to get home - invariably, that is when someone comes along and wants to talk about the car, oblivious to the fact you are trying to figure a problem out... ;)
 
#33 ·
Well they finally got it in the shop Today, and sure enough as I thought, the fuel pump is NG. The new pump will be in Tomorrow and the car should be done by noon. Everyone is happy but my wallet. New pump, labor and towing will be close to $500 in total. At least it's not the fuel distributor.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Went out to Binghamton to check on the 92 525i my daughter is using. I think she got some bad gas and trying to start it she ran the battery down.
I hooked up the charger set to start amps. It took several attempts and lots of pumping of the pedal but little by little each start attempt got closer to a start until it finally did. I let it run for a while and then filled it with sum Sunoco 94 and she ran fine for the 170 mile trip home.

On the way home I got a call from the Indi. The SL was ready and the bill wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. New pump installed $290. Plus the tow was $80.

When I got home with the SL I looked at the pump. The pump body seems thinner than the original and it has a rubber boot around it which looked to be around 3/16 thick.
I guess the boot is for noise or vibration reduction. I don't know what brand the pump is though. The car seems to be more aggressive, even sounds that way.
The car just wanted to take off, and there I was holding back, gun shy from getting a ticket.:surrender:
 
#40 ·
The SL was quite filthy when I picked it up. Four days outside in pouring rain. Today was warm and sunny so the drops dried up laden with pollen so the whole car looks speckled. It was under a tree and birds crapped all over it.
So much for washing and waxing it before I took it out last week.
When I got home I pulled all the mats and rugs out. The interior was dry, the boot compartment was dry, under the rear platform was dry and the blower compartment is dry. The trunk on the other hand was soaked. I think the water might be getting in through the mounting holes for the rubber trunk lid spoiler.
On the bright side, pulling everything out of the trunk, I'm partially prepped for replacing the two trunk lid torque springs. which I guess now I'll attempt this weekend.
 
#41 ·
The Yn / Yan were back in balance for the Memorial Day parade. I spent Sunday detailing the SL so it could shine it's best for the parade debut. I strapped a milk carton down (upside down) to the platform and made a nice cushion for our Grand Marshal to be comfortable. All went well. Se the vid below 2min 45 seconds in from the start of the vid. 35 seconds of fame.

Beekman Memorial Day Parade & Ceremony 5-28-12 on Vimeo
 
#44 ·
The yn / yan are definitely not in balance. It's bin a few crazy weeks.
Week before last we had a squirrel in the house for a few days. At night it hid in the chimney. During the day it would come down and wreak havoc when no one was home. Pulling curtains down. Eating a bunch of bananas and chewed up a closet door. We put out a have a heart trap but it was too smart to go in and found other sources of food. It pulled the lid off a tin full of flower, turned itself into a big white powder puff and ran around the house. All the time avoiding the trap. I finally figured I'd put a dish of beer out in front of the trap and make him stupid enough to go into the trap. Sun of a gun it worked, he drank the beer. I drove him outside of town and let him go. Hope I never see that SOB again.

Last week I get a call from Mom (in Ocala Fla). Dad's been in the hospital a couple of days. He had severe pain in all his limbs and went to the clinic who thought he was having a stroke and sent him to the VA hospital. He was there for a week of tests which concluded nothing. He recently had a change in his gout medicine which he did not receive while in the hospital and by the time he left he was feeling good again. They sent him home and gave him a free walker. He didn't need it but he figured he'd bring it home for Mom. I find out she has on and off been having back trouble which made it difficult for her to walk when it flared up.

Mom was ticked off that my dad brought the walker home and didn't want it in the house. Today she decided to put it up in the attic space above the garage. I get home from church to a voice message that Mom had an accident and they were on their way to the hospital. I called four hospitals before I found the right one. Mom while shuffling things around in the attic lost her footing and stepped off the small area of flooring in the attic. She fell through the garage ceiling onto the concrete floor below. She broke her left shoulder, pelvic bone and right foot.

:surrender: .:surrender:.:surrender:.
 
#49 ·
Ouch.

I'm sorry about your troubles Werner.

I hope your Mom comes out of it OK. Our parents can be a lot tougher than we are.

This thread is very depressing....but it makes my life look better.

Thanks, Buddy.
 
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