unusual circumstances where your Pagoda had a break-down?

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Last Sunday I decided to take my car to the east end of town were every Sunday a gardening of old cars takes place. I knew that the week before I encountered issues with low idle and the car actually went to zero RPM when I shifted into gear and the car then stalled.

Anyway I had not driven the car for 8 days so I tarted to feel guilty ignoring her and so I chanced it by going out to this old car gathering anyway. Needless to say when I slowly pulled into the shopping centre at  the east end of town in the middle of  the chopping centre amounts all them old American cars my new found friend decided to stall. Repeated starts produced the same results. One fellow leaned over the car and in a comical way declared "I think my friend your nice car needs a bit of a tune up" .... I simply replayed "yes I know" ... Started the car again gently revved the throttle and shifted into gear and drove right back home again. ... Not such a happy moment ... I did not feel like sticking around

I'm happy to report Dan (Benz Dr) Took care of this minor issue today by correctly setting the linkage  Thanks Dan!

[Benz Dr.]

Last Sunday I decided to take my car to the east end of town were every Sunday a gardening of old cars takes place. I knew that the week before I encountered issues with low idle and the car actually went to zero RPM when I shifted into gear and the car then stalled.

Anyway I had not driven the car for 8 days so I tarted to feel guilty ignoring her and so I chanced it by going out to this old car gathering anyway. Needless to say when I slowly pulled into the shopping centre at  the east end of town in the middle of  the chopping centre amounts all them old American cars my new found friend decided to stall. Repeated starts produced the same results. One fellow leaned over the car and in a comical way declared "I think my friend your nice car needs a bit of a tune up" .... I simply replayed "yes I know" ... Started the car again gently revved the throttle and shifted into gear and drove right back home again. ... Not such a happy moment ... I did not feel like sticking around

I'm happy to report Dan (Benz Dr) Took care of this minor issue today by correctly setting the linkage  Thanks Dan!

Pretty easy fix. Someone opened the throttle valve too much and I had to turn the stop screw out about 3 full turns before I could feel the valve starting to grab. Since the engine was still warm, I left it open a bit more than what I would normally make this setting so that the throttle plate would still open when everything cooled down.
Once I made this adjustment, I  had to reset the lenght of the throttle rod going to the air valve. The injection pump lever was opening before the air valve so this adjustment made both levers open at the same time. When I checked the idle mixture by opening the idle air screw, I saw that the idle mixture was too lean. A couple of clicks to the idle mixture knob and it purred like a kitten. The reason the engine was stalling was due to a very lean condition at idle.

Now we need to fix the kick down and modulator control which should make it run much better. Very nice car!

[Flyair]

I had a dream... Dan - in his Benz Dr. Excellent Adventure - rather than just visiting certain places in the US, goes on a World tournée, visiting sites rich in Pagodas. At each site he cures all the needy cars and provides mental (or spiritual) rielief to their tourmented owners. No offence to other Pagoda's gurus, but we badly lack authorities in our dispersed herd

[Benz Dr.]

 ( not sure who this guy is but he really wants me to go to Poland ) 

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Stan, Great idea something similar to the idea I had ... see this thread Post #51 ----> http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=18300.msg130346#msg130346

Once route 66 is done he could head north along the coastal highway 1 (101 is some cases) then turn back east around Portland, Oregon .... Stops could be arranged at strategic locations where Pagoda members can meet and pick his brains ... kinda like "Have Gun will travel" only in Dan's case it be "Made Pagoda issues my life's challenge for over 30 years ~ ready to share the most inner secrets" .... that be a fun gathering  

Naturally we have to work out some sort of payback venture since we Canadians are not allowed to work or consult without the "Green Card"

yes ... yes I know it's only a dream ... still what a dream

[Bonnyboy]

What is meant by turn back east around Portland???  That would leave out the entire Vancouver,  British Columbia contingent.

We could have a BBQ in the good Doctor's honour and I'm sure we could scrounge up at least 10 Pagodas.   

[mdsalemi]

How about a twist on the subject?  How about an unusual circumstancs where my Padoda did NOT break down (but should have)?

September, 2006: ongoing runnability issues that just wouldn't go away.  I thought I solved one of them, when changeover to Pertronix from Crane eliminated the "dying" while driving.  Still had wildly unpredictable and erratic misfiring.  What do do?  Get in the car and drive on the highway to Chicago, of course, for the MBCA 50th Anniversary...240 miles.

It was stinking hot, and I was caught in stop and go traffic on I94 sandwiched in a rutty construction zone between gravel haulers and tractor trailers.  Miraculously, perhaps by divine intervention, no misfire, no overheating, and just as important, no stones kicked up.  I eventually get to the banquet hotel and in the parking lot, the misfiring returns big time.

The return home was not as eventful as getting there, but misfiring did happen with alarming regularity.

Several weeks later I change the fuel pump and come to find out that the power connectors that had been crimped on had failed.  How any current got through those cruddy connectors is beyond me.  By all rights the car should have died right in the middle of that construction zone.  But, it held up.

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Bonnyboy, we cannot expect him to cover the entire country can we now besides the brave Canadian fellows like yourself can venture a bit south and meet him when he turns back east around Portland ... this way he can take in Mount Rushmore  as well in fact we can make or organize it as one of the meeting places

[AGT]

I might be in the middle of one!

Picked the car up from its annual service late Friday afternoon. It drove perfectly all weekend. It was a fabulous day on Sunday and I left it late to get down to the airport. Road deserted, roof down, sun sparkling on the sea and Gendarmes still snoozing after lunch. As good as it gets (other than the 'plane to London to go to work bit). Arrived at the Click & Park car park and found a "safe" parking space. No reverse gear. Must be operator error - tried again and again and again. Still no reverse gear. Much tooting from the world's most impatient people group queued behind me. I decided that reverse gear was unlikely to re-boot in my absence and so reverse pushed the car into a parking space. More tooting but no-one helps me push. Ran to the terminal; now very hot and composing the "For Sale" advertisement in my head.

Pause for calm reflection overnight, a quick search in the Technical Manual and I ordered the gearshift bushings kit from SLS on Monday morning. I have decided that if it keeps the forward gears long enough to get me home on Friday afternoon then I won't sell it. But if not...

Regards
Andrew
1966 230SL 4sp(forward only)

[ja17]

Hello Andrew,

Yes could be shifter bushings, but is also likely to be the reverse band adjustment on the transmission. The lock nut comes loose and the reverse band adjustment works its way out and reverse goes away.

If you find that the adjustment is loose, turn the 10mm adjustment in until just  snug, then back it off 1 3/4 turns. Don,'t forget to tighten down the 22mm lock nut.

[ja17]

Hello Andrew,

If yours is a standard transmission, as I suspect now. Dis-reguard the previous post!  It is the shifter bushings.

[AGT]

Joe

Yes, it is a manual/stick shift.

I had just about worked out that you were referring to an auto 'box and almost had the confidence to ask.

I am trying to build up my mechanical knowledge from a base of zero. So far I am practising on my Citroen 2CV which only has 500 or so very slow moving parts. The pagoda is another world.

In two minds whether to try to do the shifter bushings myself or not. It is a balance between the satisfaction of fixing it yourself and the horror of having to get it taken away on the tow truck.

Regards
Andrew

[Benz Dr.]

Joe

Yes, it is a manual/stick shift.

I had just about worked out that you were referring to an auto 'box and almost had the confidence to ask.

I am trying to build up my mechanical knowledge from a base of zero. So far I am practising on my Citroen 2CV which only has 500 or so very slow moving parts. The pagoda is another world.

In two minds whether to try to do the shifter bushings myself or not. It is a balance between the satisfaction of fixing it yourself and the horror of having to get it taken away on the tow truck.

Regards
Andrew

You can imagine how it must feel when you have no one to ask and no place you can take it to get it fixed. Been there a few times - not fun........

[AGT]

Dr Benz

I could not agree more.

Although I have found a good local M-B specialist (on GGR's recommendation), the technical resources and help on this site are iinvaluable to prepare for very challenging discussions in French. French car parts and car repair vocabulary are much harder than "restaurant French" and I certainly find it useful to do some homework on what might be wrong with the car and then research the vocabulary in advance.

The first time I got my 2cv serviced the garagiste offered to change the "bougies". I knew that bougie meant candle; I did not know that it also means spark plug. I was standing there looking at my 2cv in disbelief thinking  I know this is a heap of automotive junk from the middle of the last century but what do the candles do and why does it need new ones!

Regards
Andrew

[GGR]

No reverse is quite obvious to explain. But for other stuff you can send me what you want to say to your mechanic via PM and I will translate it for you.

[Flyair]

Andrew,
you mentioned that your 2CV had only about 500 moving parts. While this seems true, you forgot to mention that this make about 100% of all 2CV's parts 

[GGR]

Andrew,
you mentioned that your 2CV had only about 500 moving parts. While this seems true, you forgot to mention that this make about 100% of all 2CV's parts 

Indeed, when you slam a door, the three other open!

[AGT]

GGR

Thank you. Much appreciated.

No problems with the forward gears and I have taken the car into Garage Simondi this morning.

Now reduced to driving the 2CV for a couple of days. Life at a different pace.

Regards
Andrew