... did these things ever officially make it to the US?
I'm kind of in the market for a minibus, and every time I look at this thread I want.
No, I don't think so... Although I could make you want even more by posting another video of it starting up, because right now it starts on the first crank
But I think if you really wanted one, there are probably enough in the US to find one for you, without the crazy interior
It always make me smile when I notice that there's lots of other crazy (in a good way) people here. This shall be cool partybus or something like that
If you don't get it running by the kill-switch fix, try to change the diesel filter. Also check those brake lines, wouldn't be too surprised if they have rotted away.
I think the Fuel system is pretty good, the tank isn't even considerably rusted from the outside, so hopefully the inside looks the same
Judging by the way it runs rock-solid right now, yes it does
Also, I have to admit I made a mistake about the Kill-Switch thing. That flap in the exhaust really only is for engine braking when going downhill, not for killing the engine. That's accomplished via pushing in the idle adjusting knob, which moves the whole gas linkage back 2 cm, shutting off fuel supply at the injection pump... Which is fortunate, because that explains why the gdpo's didn't notice tat the flap was permanently closed
:lol:
I may look like one, but that's way too hippie for me... Poor EyeMWing, if that's the best the US can do
IIRC mercs of this vintage have a small in-line filter on the hose before the big screw-on fuel filter. Unless a GDPO removed it.
Maybe they did in some regions, but here they usually didn't. Atleast not as standard, maybe an optional extra? And even if they did, removing it would just leave a missing link in the fuel line, which would be too short to connect to the main filter. Anyways, as I said, It's running like a charm, so I don't think it's a problem
Speaking of problems: Since the engine decided to be a sweetheart and just rumble into life, there just HAD to be something else, which I at first thought was a locked/rusted together clutch assembly, because how else would this come to be:
So I spent three hours jacking up the back of the Bus and securing it with the large lashing straps, because it's standing on an incline, in hopes that just starting it in gear and letting it run, playing with the brakes etc. would free up the clutch... Only to find out that the wheels didn't turn with the engine even when in gear:?
So after that I thought that maybe the linkage might be stuck, after all it's always exposed to the elements on these trucks:
I even removed the lower bellhousing cover and the transverse beam supporting the gearbox to get a better look and some leverage on everything:
All of this only to find out in the end that the slave cylinder somehow* froze solid, keeping the clutch barely open...
Not surprising, considering you can see the rubber O-ring already squeezing out the side there
(*Probably water and/or oil sinking to the very bottom of the system and standing in there for the last eleven or more years)
So right now I'm waiting for the rust solvent and wd-40 to sink into the thread of the piece brake line going to the slave, which has probably had time to solidly rust together for the last 40 years, and then I get to have the pleasure of trying to somehow get the piston out of there... I'll probably have to heat it up, or try to connect it to the brakes in the W124 and pump it out with force, otherwise I see no way of getting it out of there... Any ideas for an easier way are welcome
So, moral of the story: if you think you might have the wrong train of thought, think harder... If I had just put two and two together, I could've narrowed it down to it being either the linkage or the slave cylinder four days ago and already have the thing moving under its own power, which is itching me so goddamn hard right now
