I’ve been a member of Schuman Automotive for about 6 weeks. I first joined out of sheer curiosity about the performance potential of a Mercedes diesel. I now own one, a blue ’82 300CD. I’m sure lots of you already know, when you buy a used car you often have a lot of catching up to do in the maintenance department. Boy am I in that group. Well, I started asking questions online.

Henry Schuman replied, told me he knew a fair amount about them, having worked on them for over 30 years, and invited me down to his shop for a trouble shooting session. Knowing the price of Mercedes parts, and being new to both Mercedes and diesels I jumped on the chance to confer with someone who actually knew something about them.

I got to his shop Wednesday at about 11am. After a test drive and being put on the lift, Mr. Schuman found the right engine mount totally destroyed, the left mount partially collapsed, and the transmission mount totally destroyed. I was blown away. Henry decided he couldn’t let me leave without all three new mounts and a few other adjustments. I left his shop about midnight. Above and beyond the call does not begin to describe his effort on that day. He had a lot of other things he could have been doing, but he chose to take the time to help someone he’d never even met.

Not only is he hard working, but he’s a REAL MECHANIC and has an amazing depth of knowledge in Mercedes. My A/C fan was not working. I knew they cost about $200, but that’s not what Mr. Schuman said after checking that it was getting voltage…
Mr. S “Take it apart”
Me “They come apart?”
Mr. S “Sure, left hand thread on that nut in front. You’ll want to check the brushes. It’s a lot cheaper to fix stuck brushes than replace a good fan.”
When’s the last time you heard something like that from the parts swappers that call themselves “mechanics”? And I can’t begin to list the things I’ve learned. I know Henry listed the size of every bolt touched without a single error. I’ve got a page and a half of college rule notes on parts I need, how to check things, and products to use.

And the result of one trip? My noisy, rough running, vibrating, throttle insensitive Mercedes runs great. It’s like a completely different car. I can barely hear the engine if the A/C is on. I had to check the tach to see if it was still running for the first half dozen stops. And throttle response is smooth and linear. I can’t wait to get the rest of my projects started, like they sway bar end links I can now hear rattle, and see how my 300CD was meant to be.

I hope you’ve got some idea of the caliber of man Henry Schuman is. I can’t thank him enough for his help and expertise.

 

Gee Guy ! Like did you get on this web site by mistake. As it says up top,this is a ford truck website. Not mercedes. I am not knocking mercedes,I am sure they are nice cars. Althought I would never own one. Other then my reply,I don't think you will get any here. Mercedes has a website,try it. I see you have 2 Fords, hell post some interesting stuff about them here. Check it out. Its called the Ford Truck Enthusiast
web site. They enjoy hearing about all years of Ford trucks,and sometimes ford cars.

 

I'm on the right site. If you posted a little more often you'd have run into me before. A little more browsing and you'd see the articles I've written too.

There are quite a few people here that are not blindly brand loyal. Some of them are sure to have Mercedes, and my clear and representative title would be helpful for them.

Try it, you might like it. Don't get a cheap one however, the lower lines really are different vehicles. I personally dislike computers in cars, hence my early '80 diesel.

 

I don't have trouble with your post.....I have a 1981 300D

 

Thanx for the info on Schuman...great find! It's hard to find a "real" mechanic anymore...like so many other trades/professions that have become parts swappers.

Having owned 2 diesel and 1 gasser Mercedes and looking for another good diesel "S" to run along side my Powerstroke...it's alway's good to know where a good diesel mechanic can be found.

Thanx for sharing.

 

I also own two Mercedes turbodiesels.
1982 300D, 1983 300SD.
My wife hates the exhaust smell, but they , as well as my 94 IDI
Xlt 350 Turbodiesel will still be running long after the gassers are in the salvage yard.