B Class Common Problems and Their Solutions

[Mike Tee]

But J-turns are so fun!

[Derek Lecours]

Mike,
You're far too old for those games, and then you probably know where that puts me.

[Mike Tee]

The last time I did one was in my Peugeot 404 back in 1990....they are damned fun!

[jomoto]

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MODERATOR.....NICE....NICE

[Mike Tee]

I don't know if this is a common problem or not, but last week a couple of pieces of black plastic debris appeared inside my instrument cluster and nested themselves to the lower right of the fuel gauge. A photo of the instrument panel when the car was new does not show them!

So I have some work for the boys at TPM to attend to when I eventually go in for Service 1: RE & RE instrument cluster, clean out plastic detritus and determine where the heck it came from!

Bizarre.

[Mike Tee]

The debris is still there in the lower right corner of the instrument binnacle....

I washed and waxed both the B 200 and the smart today. Then I took the B 200 to the hill I use to clean off the rear brake discs. I went down that hill in reverse 8 times and they're reasonably clean, but the LR still has a couple of slightly rusty bands over it. The smell of rust and brake linings was pretty impressive!

[kdbcom]

I'de buy harder pads

[Mike Tee]

The problem is the car's cheapo sliding calipers. I remember when disc calipers had piston(s) on BOTH side of the caliper.

The outer side is just along for the ride, which explains why that part of the disc is more prone to rusting than the inside.

[kdbcom]

Harder pads would remove the rust though

[Mike Tee]

Assuming the pads actually press against the disc hard enough, which they don't!