Hard starting when hot. 230 sl

[patm]

I have been helping a relative work on his 64 230 SL. Prior to this I had only worked on a 220b. His 230 starts good and runs well till it gets warmed up then seems to loose power and when he shuts it off, it is difficult to restart. Any Ideas? Thanks, Pat .

Pat McCusker

[iceberg]

Pat I had the exact problem a while back.  In my case the symptoms were similar and these were created by a clogged fuel line or a bad fuel pump.  Let me explain!  See what happens is that in our injected cars the fuel flows from the fuel pump through the fuel line to the engine. Any excess fuel is returned back through the return line.  Now if the supply is scanty because of, either a blocked line (in or return) or a faulty pump, what begins to happen is that since there is little or no flow the fuel in the the lines begins to evaporate due to engine heat, thus choking the engine till it dies.  This is what was explained to me.  Now to this end, I took off the fuel pump and looked into where the fuel enters the pump from the gas tank.  There was a lot of gunk there pressed up against the mesh.  I took a marrow spoon and cleaned it out, put the pump back on and it worked like a charm.  Then I got adventurous and took the fuel pump apart.  Bad mistake.  I managed to put it back together very easily but it just would not stop leaking.  This led me to buy a new pump and that was expensive, but never had a problem since.  So this is how it was explained to me and I am forwarding it to you.  Maybe in your case this is not it at all, but a little trial n error never hurt anyone.  Happy Holidays.
Regards,
H

[patm]

Thank You Iceburg, this makes alot of sense and is the first thing I will try. Thanks Again, Pat.

Pat McCusker

[ja17]

Hello Pat,
It could be a fuel starvation problem. Try the fuel filter first and we will go from there!



Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[patm]

Thanks Joe, I will be working on it wedensday or thursday and then get back to you. we have the rear end torn apart now replacing bearings and bushings and hope to have it back together by tuesday so we can move on to the fuel problem. Pat.

Pat McCusker

[patm]

You guys nailed it. The filter was so plugged with crud that no fuel could get through.
This car had been off the road for five years and I cant tell you how happy we were to get it fixed up and running again.
we took the gas tank out and thoroughly cleaned inside and wire brushed it and painted it outside and painted up under where it goes and put it back in. we put new gas lines and cleaned the fuel pump and filter. The filter was unbelivably packed.We did a bunch of other work on the car too while we were at it.
Thank you again to everybody that offered advice. you were right on. PAT.

Download Attachment: 230SL1.jpg
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Pat McCusker

[ja17]

Hello Pat,
Great to see another W113 back on the road! Looks like a european delivery car with the euro headlights and no front bumper  overiders.

You may want to change the filter again soon just to make sure that the crud doesn't make it to the fuel injection system.



Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[enochbell]

Pat,

Nice to see you on the road.  I assume the heat is working!

Sounds like you have the driveability solved, but you may still run into difficulty starting after shutting off a hot car.  I have the same car as you, and I (and many others) have found it useful to arrange a manual start valve actuator.  There is a valve on the outboard side of the intake manifold that squirts a bit of fuel directly into the manifold when starting.  You can search these threads for the theory of the operation of the valve to make sure yours is operating properly, but even though my works per spec. I have still found it useful to be able to operate the valve manually through a momentary switch mounted in the cabin. Any simple arrangement will do, you just need to supply power to the switch while cranking and maybe for a brief moment as the engine catches.  With a bit of practice and "feel" my car now starts easily under any condition (I never need it on a cold start).

Now, if you want to get fancy, you may also want to up the amps in the start-circuit.  Search the threads for Dalton's method to accomplish this.

Safe driving,

g

'64 230sl, fully sorted out...ooops, spoke too soon

[patm]

Thanks everyone for the additional great info. the heat works plus we put a new water pump on this week. The car is in Texas so heat not really needed. it was in the seventies all this week. Pat.

Pat McCusker

[patm]

One more thing , It is my son in law's car and I helped him get it going but yesterday I had to come back to New Hampshire and he is on his own. He needs to replace the directional switch and is having difficulty , He says quote "the steering column has to come out.  my biggest hang up is getting the ignition switch out (its connected to the column).  For some reason it does not want to come apart...any suggestions. " I will start a new thread for this but if any body has done it and knows any tips we would appreciate it. Pat.

Pat McCusker

[ja17]

Hello Pat,
The turn signal stalk and switch assembly removes easily. The wiring unplugs under the dash, just to the left of the steering column. The large plug looks like it will not fit through the small hole in the steering column, but it does! Remove the rubber grommet first. Two screws hold the switch to the column. The two horn wires can be unhooked as you are removing the unit. Then the entire switch with wiring and plug will remove. These switches are expensive. Make sure your son in law has another one lined up before removal.

The steering wheel comes off easily and makes these kind of jobs much easier. Pop the padded center off the wheel and unfasten the 22mm nut holding the wheel to the steering column. The steering wheel may need to be held by a second person while your loosening the 22mm nut. The wheel will pull straight off since the steering shaft is  splined and straight (no puller required). Notice the factory "slash mark" on the shaft for centering the steering wheel during re-assembly! re-starting the nut and washer back on the threaded shaft is done easily by letting the washer slide down a screwdriver  and over the threaded shaft. Use some masking tape to hold the nut on a 22mm socket with extension to re-start the 22mm nut.

Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[patm]

Thanks alot Joe. He got the switch replaced but I think he did it the hard way. He didn't think the plug would fit through. he probably didnt remove the gromet and he took the plug apart and replaced switch and then reassembled the plug. He bought the switch about five years ago just before he took the car off the road. He was going to fix everything up back then but time passed and he just now got it done. He still has more to do but at least it runs well and drives good, knock on wood. Pat

Pat McCusker