A 300 GES on E bay - help required
Hi Guys,
I am new to this G Wagon lark, and need some advice on a G I have seen in Nottingham found through E bay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MERCEDES-G-WAGON-G-WAGEN-300-GES-PETROL-1990-ONLY-...
Firstly, does anyone know it?
I have been to see it and it was running lumpily when I got there (it had been warmed up prior to my arrival), engine sounded sweet as in no knocks or noises, but missing. We then stopped it and tried to restart and nothing. Wasn't even trying to start. There was a spark, and petrol present but no go. I left and I have spoken to the seller since who has got it going. He says it was lead from the coil to the distributor, but I saw a plug spark when we took it out to look in bright sunlight, so you'd have to assume the spark was strong!
It has had injectors replaced, plus meters put on the wires to MAF and so on, so it has had a problem for some time I would say. I am told that if the ECU has been bypassed then this will give rich running (which it was when it was running) and then hard to restart.
It might well be that the seller is as honest as the day is long as he has an excellent e bay feedback and seemed like a nice bloke.
The rest of the car is ok as far as i could tell without driving it, I am in Exeter, would you recommend it worth going back for a second look, or have any of you seen it and know any good reasons why not to bother going back.
Your advice would be very much appreciated, don't want to buy a lemon as its been for sale for ages.
Hi and welcome to the club. While I am no mechanic and have no relation with the seller of the above car, what I do have is a 300GES auto that I have had the pleasure (rarely:anguish!) of working on for the past 3 years or so.
The engine is as you say, sweet, and by today's standards, fairly simple. I think if taken to a "specialist" who knows these engines or the Bosch K Jetronic electromechanical injection system (as used on many many vehicles of the 80s and 90s) it shouldn't take him long to sort it out.
I don't have the luxury of leaving it with a specialist and an open cheque book so I've had the occasional hesitation/misfire, but I like changing things pro-actively, so most of the fuel delivery side/ignition has been renewed (plugs,cables,rotor/cap,coil,filter,pumps,etc) and still I feel a very slight misfire. Used to have an occasional hot-start problem that was impossible to replicate, just showed up randomly every few days. This was cured by replacing the fuel pump relay (made the mistake of replacing it last as I thought it was expensive at about £140 if I remember right, but it was well worth it).
The problem isn't uncommon on 300 petrols and has been discussed before, to better acquaint yourself with the issue(s):
http://gwoa.co.uk/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=44992#44992
http://www.gwoa.co.uk/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=4766&postda...
Hi The engine is the same as in the W124...from your description the Jetronic fuel system requires some servicing.engine should start at cold and rev to 11/1200rpm... slowly reducing to 700/800rpm as the engine warms..when doing a hot start engine should rev to 11/1200rpm for 5 /10 seconds and drop to 700/800rpm....when correctly tuned you can stand a glass of water on the airfilter casing and no ripples...faults causing rough running are-: perforated vacuum pipes...faulty cold start regulator....wrong fuel /air adjustment...system related electrical problems or more serious a warped inlet manifold from overheating the engine and loss of vacuum causing the fuel/air mixture to fluctuate......this G' was sold last year and was back on the market within six weeks of purchase..read into that as you will...the "chillipepper" 463 on E bay has had money spent on it..still has small snags ..not a bad buy at around GBP3750/4000..worth watching.....
Hi, thanks very much for that, what are the costs involved in the loss of vaccum or warped inlet manifold?
How can I check for these specific problems?
I remember the guy was asking for a much higher price a few months earlier... 8k or even 8.5k...
I think the vacuum seal costs about £30... and the pipes cost next to nothing. I think one can use that special guage thing to check if there is a leak in the vacuum system.
Yes, he was, but it is rougher than it looks in the pictures, and I am always wary of cars that look attractive at first glance but have been for sale for a long time, I always think if it was a good one someone would have bought it, he is a dealer I think, nice bloke mind.
Am I right in assuming the engine is the same as found in the w124 300E?
Strictly speaking they're not identical, but a lot of the components are shared. They have different engine numbers (I think M103.980 in the saloons and 103.987 in the G) with the G engine essentially being tuned to the vehicle it was designed for. I may be wrong however, but I haven't heard of the 103.987 on anything but a G. Minor point really, unless you are looking at an engine swap from a non-G donor :)
Yes, he was, but it is rougher than it looks in the pictures, and I am always wary of cars that look attractive at first glance but have been for sale for a long time, I always think if it was a good one someone would have bought it, he is a dealer I think, nice bloke mind.
The thing is, if it was completely pucker, it would have sold, and probably for much nearer the original asking price. You pay your money and take your choice as they say. Sounds to me like you could spend a bit getting the injection system sorted and end up with a decent, low milage G for reasonable money :?:
Please read your PM (private Mail)
Just a follow up to this post, should the ABS light on the dash extinguish after a couple of seconds following the engine starting, or does it stay on until the vehicle reaches 5mph as the seller says? Also, on each front axle, near the brake disc, there was a small (30 - 40mm long) plastic piece dangling on the end of a cable, presumably a disconnected ABS sensor???
My abs light extinguishes immediately the engine fires. Can't help with the plastic bit you mention.
could be brake pad wear connectors..abs light goes out with all the other warning lights as the engine starts it is only a circuit test light if no circuit it stays illuminated.......
ABS is knackered too then, the search continues.......
the search continues.......
I guess it takes quite a while to find the right G... I was lucky, there were quite a few good ones around last summer.
When I bought my first G last August i didn't even know there are 2 main versions of Gs (460/1 and 463) I know, I know... it's disgraceful!
the search continues.......
I guess it takes quite a while to find the right G... I was lucky, there were quite a few good ones around last summer.
When I bought my first G last August i didn't even know there are 2 main versions of Gs (460/1 and 463) I know, I know... it's disgraceful!
ccaallvviinn wrote:
Am I right in assuming the engine is the same as found in the w124 300E?
Strictly speaking they're not identical, but a lot of the components are shared. They have different engine numbers (I think M103.980 in the saloons and 103.987 in the G) with the G engine essentially being tuned to the vehicle it was designed for. I may be wrong however, but I haven't heard of the 103.987 on anything but a G. Minor point really, unless you are looking at an engine swap from a non-G donor :)
This is correct: engines are code-specific of each Mercedes model. But in the case of the M103, differences are minimal: just the oil sump and pump.
Thanks for the clarification, and welcome back. I guess they do have internet where you are after all :lol:
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Thanks very much for that information, it is very useful, I had a 500SL for 4 years and that one used to misfire like a bugger for no apparent reason, and like you say, you start by replacing the cheapest compoent and leave the most expensive to last, and it cost me a bob or two until changing the HT leads did the trick.
Am I right in assuming the engine is the same as found in the w124 300E?