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Sick 1988 300e

1K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  montaukbeachboy 
#1 ·
I was about to replace the rusty muffler when I discovered the interior lights had been left on for 5 days. I removed the battery, had it charged, and put it back in. I then removed the the muffler & started it up, and what had been a smooth running 300e (with a slight hesitation), now runs like a pig. Stalling, chugging, shuddering...a real bomb.
The car needs an exorcism...any exorcists out there?
 
#3 ·
Correct. I removed the final section at the rear of the resonator. The hesitation and stalling is really bad. The chug,chug,chug, during idle doesn't seem like the same kind of engine performance we were getting prior to the muffler/battery changes. The sound isn't the issue with no muffler obviously. The engine just doesn't seem to be performing as before.
* Always great talking to someone in the neighborhood.
 
#4 ·
I would first check the fuse on the OVP relay sometimes it blows during a battery change.

I wonder if you can test your O2 sensor. You need a multimeter. Sears sells a good one for like $40 it has 'duty cycle' which you can use to test the mixture also. But the connector for the O2 sensor is under the front passenger seat. You need to probe the wire and see if you get any fluctuation when the engine is warm.
 
#5 ·
I think you're on the money there.
I went ahead and changed the OVP fuse and the O2 sensor has probably died. I found out the car recently sat in water that had risen to the bottom of the doors for about 12 hours.
The engine surges up and down during idle, and I suspect the car needs new injectors and fuel filter too. I'm going ahead with a new muffler and some spark plugs. Otherwise, buying a case of fuel injector cleaner is as far as I'm willing to go.
My wife has murdered a '91 Saab 9000CD, '93 Buick Regal, and now the 300E by letting the cars sit there with an empty gas tank. She has plans to do the same to a new ML350.
After the Regal, I opted for buying the used 300E.
She'll just have to dream about murdering an ML350. I'm going to buy her a houseboat instead...yo-ho-ho.
 
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