Spring! And finally some road time.. a few 280SL issues

[johnshenry]

Well I bought a '69 280SL for my wife  last November, but we only really got to take a few drives before winter hit and we had to put it away.  But I've had it out a bit the last couple weeks and and mulling over some issues I would like to address.

First off, I am a hard core vintage VW enthusiast (30 yrs now!) and have a fully equipped shop.  I basically do all work on my cars.  I also order the 113 "Blue Book", but 113s are new to me.  The second week in May my wife an I will take the 280 up to VT for a weekend away (few hundred miles total) to celebrate our 20th anniversary.  I will set aside some shop time between now and then to go over the car thoroughly.

Its an automatic, with 110k on the clock.  Supposedly was restored in the 80s, but I don't the extent of any work.  The previous owner had the car 10 years and seemed to maintain it pretty well.  It start and drives nicely, cruises great on the highway (of course my reference point is 50-60 year old VWs).  Anyway, I thought I would mention these things and see if anyone could point me where to start:

Oil leak:  Front of the engine, and drips when parked long term, so it tells me it is probably a "low" leak point.  I realize this could be many number of things but I was wondering what the most common were.  Seems to be at the front of the block, most of the front suspension in the center is "wet".

Stutters and hesitates a bit at low RPM, when warm: Taking of some a tart it seems to stutter a bit until the revs get up.  Feels to me like an ignition misfire, but again, I don't know these cars well.  It seems to hit an RPM point around 2k and then it goes fine, pulls hard.

Buzz/rattle at mid/high RPM from under the car:  Likely a heat shield of some sort I'd suspect.  Anything common?  Fixes?

I realize without more detail it is hard to pinpoint, but I figured maybe there were some common items.  I'll have it u p on stands next few weeks and be able to go all over it.  Thanks for any tips...


JH

[Richard Madison]

Some possible rattlers:

The heat shield over the exhaust pipes is a thin metal plate that sits over the pipes under the passenger compartment to keep the interior a little cooler, The plate is held to the floorpan by several self tapping screws.
If the screws come loose, the plate can move and shake.

There is also (or should be)  another heat shield upright between the exhaust pipes and the idler arm to keep the arm cool. This can also come loose.

Near the rear of the exhaust pipes where they exit the car, there is flat metal plate welded to the top of the pipes to hold the two pipes together. The flat plate has a hole in it. There should be a rubber bumper between the flat plate and the car body above to prevent rattles when the car bounces.

Some of these parts are discussed in the posting "Are You Missing a Few Parts"    http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=12065.msg83620#msg83620


Richard M, NYC

[jeffc280sl]

Have a look (search) at the linkage tour.  Its an inexpensive way to establish a good baseline.  Make sure of the linkage lengths and that there is no play across the linkage.

Another inexpensive thing to check is the wrd (ward running device).  Its basically a choke to help with cold starts.  You want to make sure the air valve is closing as the car warms to 130 - 140 degrees.  While your at it check your csv (cold start valve) to make sure its not leaking fuel into the intake.

With your experience these should be easy for you to check.

[ja17]

Hello,

Make sure the main fuel filter is clear. If it is dirty or plugged, then check the intake of the electric fuel pump and the filter screen in the fuel tank drain.

[johnshenry]

Thanks for the tips, I'll check that stuff out.

I guess I should proof read my posts, let me fix these typos:

"Stutters and hesitates a bit at low RPM, when warm: Taking off from a start it seems to stutter a bit until the revs get up.  Feels to me like an ignition misfire, but again, I don't know these cars well.  It seems to hit an RPM point around 2k and then it goes fine, pulls hard."

[Peter van Es]

You can edit and correct your own posts! Just choose Modify!

Peter