As I was leaving work, I was stopped at a traffic light waiting for the light to change. Another motorist ran the red light across the intersection from me and was struck midway across by another car. It then 180'd and collided with the front of the wagon, smashing up that gorgeous w123 face.

I'm mostly okay, with a very stiff and sore neck, back, and right knee.

This is, unfortunately, the final saga for the wagon, and one which I will document here on this website as it plays out. Hopefully, the aftermath will progress smoothly. Stay tuned!

Hopefully this will make up for it a little bit - valve stem seal replacement on the 300TD!

Things have been real busy since the last update. In a brief run-down, I injured my back, seriously injured an eye, and went back to school. Then Donna and I got married, I got a part-time job to go along with school, and what little time I used to have evaporated.

I know many of you out there have been begging for more frequent updates, and I'll still be doing what I can, when I can. But unfortunately, the tone of most repairs these days is of the "Oh crap, get this fixed PRONTO!" variety instead of the "Oh, won't this be fun to take pictures of and post on the internet?" sort that I prefer. Quite obviously, cameras usually aren't around for the former as much as they are the latter.

Also, as of about a month ago, we said goodbye to our 1980 300SD. She's living out the remainder of her life with a friend of ours - may her miles continue to be reliable and long-lived!

Best to everyone out there, and enjoy the holidays!

For instance, I had to swap the transmission in the 300TD because the bearing noise in it was getting just a little scary, and it was crossing the threshold of "liability to drive". We need the car to be our reliable trip transportation, as well as schlepping me back and forth to work, so the excessive bearing noise from the transmission had to be addressed. I swapped in the low-mileage unit from the 280S, put a shop spare into that car, and continued along my merry way.

Just kidding. I tore into that old gearbox to find out what the trouble was - the noise was coming from the rear bearing on the countershaft - spalled bearings, missing material in the race, it was toast. So then I put it all back together. And then took it apart again a few more times. And put it back together. Rinse, lather, repeat. And now that I've purchased some additional tools, I'm strongly considering rebuilding that box.

But this doesn't begin to explain my dalliance with another motorized vehicle manufacturer. I've kept this secret for quite a while, but now it must come forth - I own two BMWs in addition to our collection of Mercedes.

Blasphemous, I know. And even worse, this update is to show a write-up of some maintenance work I performed today. Go here for the rest.

Today I checked the valves on the 300TD wagon - three exhaust and two intake valves needed adjusting. Only 1 exhaust and 1 intake were tight enough that the feeler gauge would not slip in, the other three valves were just a little too snug for my preferences. I'd rather a loose and slightly noisier valve in a daily driver, even though I tend to check valves on our cars twice a year (at most about every 6000 miles for the 240D, and closer to 4000 for the 300TD).

Tomorrow I hope to knock out the 240D. This is about the latest in the year that I've done valve adjustments on our cars, but we've had a lot going on the past few months and I haven't been as diligent as I like. Poor thing's gone almost 8000 miles without an adjustment!

In the last bit of car-related news, I recently resurrected Greta, our 300SD. A few years back, we had custom alternators wound for the 240D and the 300TD. It was a great idea at the time, but the company we used could learn a thing or two about quality. Shortly after the warranty period expired, the 240D's voltage regulator let go. That was right about the time the bearings in the 300TD's alternator started making loud noises, especially when the humidity was high - and let's face it, this is Georgia, so when ISN'T it high?

Also around that time, Donna and I were in the throes of purchasing a house and moving everything to it. In the interest of keeping the daily driver up and running reliably, the bad voltage reg went into Greta, and she donated her good reg to keep the 240D in tip-top shape. Then Greta was driven to our house and parked in the driveway. A few months later, the battery was dead. Fast forward 6 months after that, and I jump-started the car and drove her around the neighborhood a bit - scarcely any juice left for brake lamps.

Well, now the ol' girl has a new battery and a new voltage regulator.

And in some obvious site-related news, I've updated my blogging software from MySQL 4 to MySQL 5, and I'm still in the process of cleaning things up. Bear with me.

Yesterday, after completing my first oil change with my new MityVac topsider, we started the car up to check for leaks, etc. I kept hearing a faint sound coming from the front of the motor towards the driver's side - kind of like tink ta-tink tank. Very random and staccato, no real rhythm to it.

I really wish I had a true mechanic's stethoscope, but in a pinch, an 18" quarter-inch drive extension will do the job adequately.

I first checked out the power steering pump. Nope, not it. I was still hearing the noise in one ear, but not the ear close to the improvised stethoscope. Then, I checked the vacuum pump.

Bingo. Noise in both ears.

Then I checked around that area of the block, and was back to nothing. Nothing on the injection pump side, either. Back to the vacuum pump, and there it was. Tink ta-tink tank. Subtle, yet easily heard with the hood up over the noise of the motor. Then again, our 240D is considerably more quiet than your typical 300kmi clatterbox - she should be, as the motor only has 34k on it!

So, we parked the car and this morning I ordered a replacement vacuum pump. We put it in this afternoon, and everything is back to normal.

Upon removal, the bearings on the rocker arm showed signs of excessive wear, and the roller between them had severe lateral play. She wasn't long for this world.

When I have some free time this weekend, I intend to disassemble the old pump and take some pictures. Been a while since we've had a photo update of some kind around here!

Let's see, what's happened recently...

• Oil changes
• Front pads and rotors on the 240D (complete with two broken tools)
• Fixed some other minor - but long-standing - issues
• The Mitty!

Donna and I went to this year's Mitty races at Road Atlanta, and it was a great time. We hung out with some old friends and made new ones, and generally had a great time.

Yup, that's Donna and her 240D running a couple parade laps around Road Atlanta. Thing is, with all the hills on that track, a parade lap in a 240D isn't much of a parade, but an all-out race to stay in position and not drag behind the car in front of you, or ruin the fun for the guy behind you!

Donna lucked out and was able to take laps on Saturday and Sunday. All the pictures I shot are from Saturday's laps and can be seen here. Our good friend Thomas also got some great shots from that run. They are uploaded here.

Moving backwards on the list, the 240D shed it's A/C belt a few months ago, and I resolved that when I replaced all the v-belts at it's last oil change. Donna is finally driving her car with a lighter foot, and has even managed to eke out a solid 27 miles per gallon. That's much better than her usual 22! She rolled over 300,000 miles a couple weeks ago.

On the wagon, I sorted out a few niggling electrical issues - backwards console window switch operation for left rear window was the big one. It's been that way since I've owned the car! And I can't believe that I didn't bother to fix it when I had the entire console apart for the manual transmission conversion...

Speaking of, I finally adjusted the shift rods to put the shifter in proper position. I had the lengths lined up perfectly so the gates were smooth, but the shifter throw was simply too far forward. An energetic shift into 1st gear often meant knuckles interfering with the ACC2 panel. I can't believe I waited that long to fix that, either.

I fired up the 280S at the shop this past Thursday and took her for a few runs up and down the street. As soon as she had fuel in the carb, she fired right up. No severe grumpiness from sitting was evident, but she does have a fuel line or two that needs to be cinched up a little tighter.

That's pretty much all the news that's fit to print around here!

Secondly, when you are merging into traffic with an average speed of 70 miles per hour, you want to make sure you are using the pedal on the far right. This is important, so make sure you're using the correct pedal. Also, merely resting your foot on it doesn't cut it. The pedal moves up and down, toward and away from you. Press it down to speed up, lift up to hold and maintain speed, release to coast (automatic transmissions in the D or OD position) or engine brake (manual transmission).

If you are attempting to merge into traffic, and that traffic is moving slower than you, you are pressing too hard. If the traffic is moving faster than you, you aren't pressing hard enough.

Or, you're driving a 240D with an automatic transmission. If that's the case, well, best of luck.

In other news, I replaced rotors, pads, sensors, and repacked front wheel bearings on the 240D today. The car's raggedy sensor wires finally gave up the ghost on the left front, so I'll need to get a sensor cable this upcoming week and get that installed before the final nail is hammered home on this job.