LMC's quality on parts of this kind is generally questionable. Was it Gary? who suggested using garage door bottom seal as a cowl seal replacement? I just did that on my '85, haven't even done the RTV bead yet, and it's already sealing WAAAY better than the crumbling piece that it replaced. Something like $15, for enough to do at least three trucks.

What gauge is that BMW cable?

 

Awesome tech guys, i may try the garage door seal out soo.

Did injectors this weekend, appears it still had the original BB injectors in it from the looks of it and from talking to the PO, who had only done an injector pump not long before i bought it.

Truck only has 97k miles but lots of low speed idling in a farm operation in north Georgia.

I reluctantly went with the cheap Rock auto ULTRA-POWER MFI258 injectors for $187.11 shipped overnight.

Runs a good bit better, less smoke once warmed up, noticeably more torque in part throttle acceleration, dropped about 50-100* WOT EGT pulling hills at 70-75. Idle is noticeably smoother as well. Did a return kit while i was in there

I would say the toughest part of the install was cleaning the bores of rust/soot/gunk to a level of my satisfaction.

 

anyone know how to reduce image size on the forum, or do i have to go back and re-size my pictures?

 

Resize, edit, lighten, darken, tweak, whatever, THEN upload.

 

done, maybe yall's eyes wont hurt now


video of the new smooth idle, she has never idled this smooth before

timing it bumped about dime width pass. side. I think i need to rent a meter

 

Hood to Cowl Seal
The worst case is water collecting on top of the air cleaner cover and then draining through the cover bolt hole directly down the intake and into cylinders which can very easily result in hydro-lock. If the piston is in the intake or compression stroke of the cycle with water in the cylinder and you try to start it, the water in the cylinder won't compress and as the piston moves to the top of the stroke the water (as if it was a solid block of wood or concrete) stops the piston from reaching the top resulting in a bent piston rod or broken rod and piston, possibly in more than one cylinder.

This has been discussed in past topics here going way back and just recently (past 4-6 months) one of the members mentioned in an unrelated topic when this happened to him. (Jayro88?) He was very unhappy about it.

Also it's a very good idea to
make sure you have a good seal washer under the bolt head or wing nut that holds the air cleaner cover on. That may be the only thing that saved your truck (and others) from a hydro-lock catastrophe.

Something to add: your headlight lenses are very fogged. The only fix that really works long term: These plastic lenses need to be sanded down to remove the deteriorated surface layer(s) which might include an original clear coat (that doesn't matter. Wet sanding using 2 or 3 grits getting to at least as fine as 800 for the final sanding. You'll hardly be able to see through them when finished sanding. THEN mask them off and spray a couple of coatings of clear coat which must be also for use on plastics! INSTANTLY CRYSTAL CLEAR!!

NOTE: For clear coat I used
Rust Oleum 280702 American Accents Ultra Cover 2X Spray Paint, Gloss Clear, 12-Ounce

"Also bonds to plastics"<- in a yellow band on the label. I found it at Walmart.
Looks like this:

Amazon

Amazon

*CAUTION WARNING (from me): "2X ULTRA COVER" means that twice the volume of paint comes out of that spray nozzle! YOU MUST move the spray pattern across the surface you are painting at least twice the speed of a normal spray pattern from a regular spray paint can or you WILL get runs! USE LIGHT COATS <---- You will be very tempted to paint heavier to see the crystal clear result BUT DON'T. Follow the directions on the can for wait time between coats and by the second or third coat you will have crystal clear lenses with no runs!

 

thanks for the tips! I am aware of the hydro lock issue and luckily my seal is good, i plan to do something very soon with the cowl seal. I hate to waste any time on my headlights,it wont be long before i smash one into a rock or tree and have to find a replacement

 

I don`t know the size, but as big as Ford put in my 86 F-250. I know it isn`t any smaller.


Iwas doing a Google search trying to find the size of the cable, and ran across a thread I did on a Mercedes forum Iam on back in 09. There is 3 pictures posted and one showing the cable laid along side my MB.
Forgot I even posted this. One guy thinks it`s a 1/0 gauge.


BMW Battery Cable for Battery relocation - PeachParts Mercedes ShopForum


There is some on E-bay, but in the $70 - $100 range. A little time and what ever they charge now ain`t too bad for about 20 lbs of copper.




Charlie

 

I must say i am still very happy with these. Turns her over ice cold in 10* weather like the glow plugs are out

 

If everything is right you really do not need them but how often is everything right on these old trucks ? Mine has a few bad glow plugs and the 31's get it going with no problem in cold weather.

 

the selling point for me on them was mostly the cost, cheaper than the smaller batts that are supposed to go in it, $120ish each, These group 31's I payed right at $85 a piece for them. only two months old

 

sounds like a heck of a deal to me, and way cheaper then them gel ones everyones goinng to paying 250$ a battery

 

I can get stock size Group 65s, 875 CCA, made by East Penn / Deka, 84-month pro-rated warranty, 36-month FREE replacement, for aprx. $100 any day of the week at Farm & Fleet. I haven't seen a group 31 with more than a 24- or 36-month pro-rated warranty. Wouldn't be worth saving only $15 apiece.

 

It'll be worth the $30 if your 65's die just before your engine catches on a cold WI morning

 

Yes do the cowl seal. A bad on cost me a 7.3 engine. Ran on to the air cleaner down the bolt and hydro locked a cylinder.