[joconab]

This is a fluke, but...Everyday I pick up my kid from school and everyday I glance at this particular house with 450sl parked in their drive way. Yesterday, I decided to stop to look at the car just for fun. The paint's clear coat has peeled away on the trunk lid and hood. The interior, to my surprise, is in better shape than what I had imagined. As a matter of fact, I think it is in better shape than my 82 380SL. The woods are still glossy with no cracks in the clear finish. Thanks to the big tree that it is parked under. It is going to require some time to clean up but the body is straight and rust free.

I decided to knock on the door and got to talk to the owners. It is a 1979 450SL. He owned it for 20 years and has not driven it very much and it has only 101,340 miles on it. He was the 2nd owner. I offered to buy it and he said to name a price. I looked at the badge and said $450.00. His wife jumped in and said "I don't care about the price, I just want it gone." Now, I am the owner of the car. The guy did not disclosed how much he spent in front of the wife but he told me that they had the car towed to a local MB trying to get it going about 5 months ago. At the dealer, the gave it a tune up with new fuel pump, fuel filter, plugs, wires, cap & rotor and cleaned out the fuel distributor and got the car running for about 20 seconds then died. He stated that the dealer could not truly found the root of the problem but it would cost a lot of money if they were to spend anymore time to diagnose the problem. He also said that the dealer thought it was a fuel injection problem and they don't have the right tools to work on older cars anymore. The car was at the dealer for about a month. In the mean time, he lost he job so the car got towed back to the drive way.

I installed a fresh battery in and tried to start the car and it seems like it wants to start on the very first try then quickly died out. The tank was empty. I think I am going to put some gas in the tank and some in the FD. I just had the same problem with my 380SL and after fiddling the the fuel pump, fuel filter and all of the plugs, wires, cap and roter, the EZL was the problem. Could this be it for the 450SL. I know the two engines are different and I hope that this is a common problem for them.

I want to know if any of you have had a chance to drive the 380 and the 450 and differentiate the difference between the 2 cars. I love my 380SL but always wish for more power. I spent quite a bit of time on the 380SL converting it to the Euro look with bumpers, head lights and even a new subframe but I am willing to start over for more power. I was just poking around and looking to get a few extra part but it turns out that the 450SL was worth reviving.

 

[3547fl]

heh, great buy. For that price keep them both and let us know which one you like best.

 

[joconab]

heh, great buy. For that price keep them both and let us know which one you like best.

I'd love to keep them both. I have a 3-car garage and no driveway in front of them. I already have a 78 VW Bus Westfalia, a 91 300SE (my daily driver) the 380SL, my wife Honda Element and I just bought a 67 250S (W108). If I add another, 6 cars will drain me dry in just oil change let alone the registrations and yearly smog checks. I think the my wife together with the neighbors will boycott me. I am thinking of getting the 450 going and sell the 380. I need help on getting the 450 started though.

 

[rowdie]

Fuel distributor is probably all gunked up and frozen. There is a thread here somewhere with pictures of the dis-assembly and cleaning.

 

[fochmann]

Fuel distributor is probably all gunked up and frozen. There is a thread here somewhere with pictures of the dis-assembly and cleaning.

That was one of the problems with my 560 and then the timing chain slipped...

 

[joconab]

Fuel distributor is probably all gunked up and frozen. There is a thread here somewhere with pictures of the dis-assembly and cleaning.

Are the FD from all 450 engine the same? The reason being that I am close to a few Pick-N-Pull and there are plenty of W116 450SEL's sitting there.

 

[rowdie]

Need to get the PN off yours. I think there is one year that is unique.

 

[alabbasi]

I've had good luck dumping the FD in carb cleaner and letting it sit for a week. Once the piston starts to move freely, it seems that much of the gum inside the FD is also gone (or at least enough to get it going).

 

[joconab]

I've had good luck dumping the FD in carb cleaner and letting it sit for a week. Once the piston starts to move freely, it seems that much of the gum inside the FD is also gone (or at least enough to get it going).

This is the case where I have the luxury of time. I can give this a try. Where can I buy carb cleaner? I only saw these came in spray can. That is a lot of cans...lol

 

[strife2]

I would NOT disassemble the fuel distributor - do what you can otherwise to flush and clean it. It will be worth 0 as a core if you take it apart. And keep in mind that what you flush may wind up in the injectors, which have fantastically small passages and are basically impossible to clean by reverse-flushing.

The plungers in FD's have unbelievably tight tolerances, so just a good cleaning and lubing with kerosene (which is a light oil, of course) might do the job.

 

[alabbasi]

This is the case where I have the luxury of time. I can give this a try. Where can I buy carb cleaner? I only saw these came in spray can. That is a lot of cans...lol

You can buy this stuff from napa or O'Reilly's. The FD fits perfectly .

 

[joconab]

I got a used FD and voila it was the problem. The car started right up and kept on running. However, it sounded really loud as though there were no muffler. I looked under the car and all the plumbing is present. I followed the exhaust manifold and found that the flanges connecting the exhaust manifold to the pipe was left open. Anyway, it has been a couple of weeks since I drove five blocks home with the open exhaust...not fun, but still a head turner..LOL. I got the flanges bolted up today. After they were bolted. I started the engine and indeed the engine ran really quietly, but only for a few seconds. The engine slowly dieing out as though it was suffocating. I thought it was the air cleaner so I took it off. The engine seemed like it wanted to start but for maybe a half of a second then died again. I am thinking that the exhaust must be plugged or clogged. Perhaps the Cat is gone. I am hesitating about undoing the flanges to troubleshoot. It took me a while to get the bolts and nuts together as it was really tight especially the driver's side pipe. I don't want to undo and redo the exhaust. Please give me your feedback to my prognosis. How much is a new cat or used cat? There is a 79 450SL on CL for $600 here in the Bay Area. I am tempting to pick it up swap the cat plus some spare parts. The only problem is the car is about 50 miles away and towing it would be expensive. I am just thinking out loud and hopefully get some feedback. If a new cat is too expensive, perhaps buying the $600 car plus towing would be feasible.

 

[joconab]

The world is at our finger tips; I found a Magnaflow CA legal catalytic converter for $175 on eBay. Here is a link Magnaflow CA Catalytic Converter Mercedes 450SEL 36008 : eBay Motors (item 370317948827 end time Feb-07-10 19:23:20 PST). Is this good? Adsit Company wants almost $500 for theirs. What is the difference? Any suggestion?

 

[isthisdave]

.


This is a universal fit, and will have to be installed by someone with welding equipment and skills.

I would assume the Adsit piece to be bolt in.

You should be able to find that Magnaflow piece locally, and save the freight.

 

[joconab]

.


This is a universal fit, and will have to be installed by someone with welding equipment and skills.

I would assume the Adsit piece to be bolt in.

You should be able to find that Magnaflow piece locally, and save the freight.

Dave,
Do you think that the cat is the problem? I am assuming that it is my problem since the car was running ok prior to the sealing up the pipes. When the exhaust was opened, I start the car in the morning to warm up the engine to burn off oil residue on the engine and other exterior parts. I noticed smoke came out of the tail pipe. I am confused now. I don't want to replace the cat needlessly. could a muffler be clogged? Please share your wisdom.
Thanks.

 

[cctoronto]

Could it be the vacuum system? Dunno... anybody know?

 

[alabbasi]

if the car runs bad and has no power, blocked cats can be the problem. Take it to a muffler store, they should be able to fit you up for not a lot of money.

 

[rowdie]

I have not heard anything good about Adsit and they are sometimes more than the dealers on line.

 

[isthisdave]

Dave,
Do you think that the cat is the problem? I am assuming that it is my problem since the car was running ok prior to the sealing up the pipes. When the exhaust was opened, I start the car in the morning to warm up the engine to burn off oil residue on the engine and other exterior parts. I noticed smoke came out of the tail pipe. I am confused now. I don't want to replace the cat needlessly. could a muffler be clogged? Please share your wisdom.
Thanks.

It's a lot more common to plug a converter than anything else in the exhaust system. I understand your not wanting to disconnect at the manifold connections again. Is there a connection aft of that but forward of the converter you can access? Given what you've found so far that would be my next step.

 

[joconab]

It's a lot more common to plug a converter than anything else in the exhaust system. I understand your not wanting to disconnect at the manifold connections again. Is there a connection aft of that but forward of the converter you can access? Given what you've found so far that would be my next step.

The loose flanges are the only connection in the whole exhaust plumbing that can be separated. Everything else was welded. The flanges are forward of the cats. Perhaps you are correct about the cats are more common and most of the times are the only thing that is plugged/clogged. I guess I am going to have to register the car, undo the flanges so I can drive it to a muffler shop. The exhaust gas without the cat's filtering give a burning sensation to the eyes. Will driving the car with no cat or muffler do any other damages to the engine other that polluting the air that we breathe?