1963 Mercedes Benz 190DC Fintail. Bad fuel tank and leaks.

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, dome said:

Well, going by the fact this w123 is still working the streets of Funchal today I'd guess it had a long life. 

 

Do they still push the cabs along the rank when No.1 gets a fare?

[dome]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

Do they still push the cabs along the rank when No.1 gets a fare?

Yep, this boy did exactly that after I took the pic 

[Dyslexic Viking]

It's been a bit of a crappy week but a good drive on a Saturday night on empty roads helps make it better.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Haven't had it out in low light before so some pictures.

[Rustybullethole]

Such a fine looking automobile. 

[ETCHY]

31 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Haven't had it out in low light before so some pictures.

God that car is cool in a way (to my eyes) that only old Mercs can be.

Lovely motor.

[Dyslexic Viking]

First problem of the season. I noticed yesterday that the engine was down on power so checked today and as suspected there is air in the fuel system. Don't know where it comes from but checked all hose clamps and was able to tighten some except one on the return which was replaced. But then an even bigger problem came, the bleed screw on the diesel filter snapped off but luckily I got the rest of it out.

I replaced it with a regular bolt, which doesn't work properly, but there is still air in the system and I don't understand where it is coming from, I hope it's not at the hoses at the tank, because then the tank has to be emptied and there are about 50 liters in it now.

New bleed screw is ordered and will hopefully arrive within a week as there is a maximum of 4 to 5 weeks left in the season. And when it comes, I have to try to find out where the air is coming from.

So this is down until this is fixed.

[comfortablynumb]

I think , so long as you're not seriously down on power, I'd just use the car, and the diesel, unless there's something obvious you can see. Kills two birds with one stone, you get the use for the rest of the season, and drain down the diesel into the bargain.

Best of luck with it 👍

[Dyslexic Viking]

I got the new bleed screw and had the fuel system looked over yesterday. One hose clamp had loosened again which is strange, took and tightened it and put another hose clamp on and bled the system and left the engine on idle for a while and it was fine now.

Took this for a drive today and it seems that full engine power is back so the air problems seems  to be just the one hose clamp. I need to get better at checking the hose clamps more often.

And there are only 2 to 4 weeks left in the season now before winter storage so have to try and enjoy it while I can.

[hairnet]

 

ROFL at 3:25

[Dyslexic Viking]

The weather will soon get worse and winter looks to come early this year and I have a lot going on so the choice was made today to put this in to winter storage.

1420km driven this year, I had set a goal of 2000km but I didn't reach that. This has been incredibly reliable and problem free this year, which is  nice.

The last drive for the year was nothing special, just a trip to Åmli village center to fill up with diesel.

[captain_70s]

Not a bad mileage for a "fair weather" car!

[danthecapriman]

Your annual mileage has put me to shame this year!

It’s a depressing thought that it’s time to start the winter lay-up. Only six months to go…😄
 

[Dyslexic Viking]

2 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

It’s a depressing thought that it’s time to start the winter lay-up.

It is,I will miss driving this for the next 6 months. I wish the season could have lasted a little longer but it is what it is.

A quick calculation and in 2023 and 2024 I have driven this a total of 2698km which it has done totally reliable, this is such a good car.

[auntiemaryscanary]

2 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

It is,I will miss driving this for the next 6 months. I wish the season could have lasted a little longer but it is what it is.

A quick calculation and in 2023 and 2024 I have driven this a total of 2698km which it has done totally reliable, this is such a good car.

You've done really well with this. How much crap did you have last year? Loads. Great to see it running about this year with very few issues. Going to be a long winter for you (they always will be where you are) but next spring you know it's good to get out and drive drive drive.

[chaseracer]

On 31/08/2024 at 20:25, Dyslexic Viking said:

Haven't had it out in low light before so some pictures.

I do like me a Fintail.  

One day, one day... maybe.

[chaseracer]

1 hour ago, chaseracer said:

I do like me a Fintail.  

One day, one day... maybe.

Meanwhile...

😁

(Not quite* the same level of COOL...)

[Dyslexic Viking]

1 hour ago, chaseracer said:

I do like me a Fintail.  

One day, one day... maybe.

They are really great cars and I can really recommend one.

[Six-cylinder]

2 hours ago, chaseracer said:

I do like me a Fintail.  

One day, one day... maybe.

Meanwhile...

[Dyslexic Viking]

There is a very nice petrol one for sale on cars an classics now but it is expensive.

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1772467

[Six-cylinder]

2 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

There is a very nice petrol one for sale on cars an classics now but it is expensive.

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1772467

For me it needs to be a stack headlight car because that is what my dad had around 1969ish.

[Dyslexic Viking]

3 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

For me it needs to be a stack headlight car because that is what my dad had around 1969ish.

It will then be a 6syl one  like this?

https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1605131

[Six-cylinder]

1 minute ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

It will then be a 6syl one  like this?

https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1605131

It was not that posh, six cylinder yes, but just a 1965 220Sb.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Looks like I was lucky this one went into early winter storage this year. 

When I came into the garage last week it smelled of diesel and there was a big wet stain under this and after putting a container under the tank it has been confirmed now that the fuel tank is now leaking diesel. There are about 60 liters of diesel in that tank now, so the plan is to buy hoses and a 12v pump and pump the tank empty and then see what happens next but I may need a new fuel tank now.

And the drain screw is fully screwed in but I'm not sure that's where the leak is, as it could just run down and collect there.

[junkyarddog]

Most tractor spares shop should carry a tank sealer?

Unless is different in Norway?

[Dyslexic Viking]

8 minutes ago, junkyarddog said:

Most tractor spares shop should carry a tank sealer?

Unless is different in Norway?

They probably do, but I feel this is a bit of a bodge on this so if necessary, I would rather save up and buy a new tank.

[Sham]

1 minute ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

They probably do, but I feel this is a bit of a bodge on this so if necessary, I would rather save up and buy a new tank.

If you can buy a new tank, I'd agree, but tank sealer isn't a bodge if the tank is structurally sound and just weeping at a seam or something.

[Dyslexic Viking]

5 minutes ago, Sham said:

If you can buy a new tank, I'd agree, but tank sealer isn't a bodge if the tank is structurally sound and just weeping at a seam or something.

That's good to know. I'm considering if I can take the coolant system pressure tester kit I have and use it to pressure test the tank to find leaks as this would be an easy way to do this.

[Dyslexic Viking]

I've done some research and Mercedes has done some weird things with the fuel tank on these.

What I think is a drain plug is not that it is a filter/screen thing for the fuel inlet. And the only form of gasket this has is an o-ring. So it could just be the o-ring has failed. Picture of this below.

 

And where this goes into the tank is even weirder. Yellow arrow is where this is screwed into the tank on the underside. The hole where the red arrow points to is where it enters the tank and is on the inside and the blue arrow looks like the pipes to the fuel outlet.

 

So the fuel tank on these is a lot more complicated than I thought. And I'm wondering how bad this is on the inside and especially the filter as I guess it has never been changed or cleaned. So the first thing after the tank has been emptied is to try to get it out.

[artdjones]

In the UK car radiator repairers used to also repair tanks.