freeloader
1C3AN65L65X051677 followed me home yesterday and slept downstairs. My "butt-o-meter" went off after 3 hours in the saddle. Will have to buy one of those wedge cushions a member once spoke of for when I take long trips. There's a used crankshaft position sensor in the glove box which the 2nd owner knew nothing about. Should I assume the first owner did the deed and I no longer need to worry about it... that he was carrying this used one as his spare having followed forum advice? The only problem encountered in my 4-hour drive was getting back on the road after a rest-stop. The dual-zone A/C went FULL HOT on my side while still cold on the passenger side. Moving the temp-roller made no impact. Pressing the compressor button on/off made no impact. Turning everything off made no impact until I left the whole thing off for a couple minutes. It NEVER DID IT AGAIN after that. So what happened? Do I need to worry about it?

 

You most likely had a stuck heater valve, or a loose connection to it.
Those 2 valves are the round things in front of the battery, one for each side.
To close the valve ( turn off the hot water ) you energize the valve.

 

Thanks so much! I'll check the connection to them tonight. I had also planned to change both the oil & the coolant as the current owner has never done the coolant and only remembers having the oil changed once (he bought the car in 2016 and only put 6K miles on it). I had planned to change these IMMEDIATELY but both the oil & coolant on visual inspection look to be of excellent color. Usually by the time I do an oil change on my cars the oil has turned dark/dirty. Should I change the oil anyway simply due to time? As for the coolant it still has the "blue goo" in it. I took a little out and inspected it in a clear jar. It looks new but knowing human nature it may very well be the original stuff. Is it simply time to do the coolant as well? Thoughts?

 

I checked and there is no corrosion at all in the 3 prongs, either the male or female side in the heater-valve electrical connection. Looks like the day it left the factory. It must be infrequent use that caused it. Of course the prior owner was neither mechanically inclined nor the type to polish his heater valves. Who would do such a thing? https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cro...e7e1e73325.jpg
For cleaning off old gasket residue on engine sealing surfaces (water pumps, etc.) I use a 3M Roloc bristle disc in 120 grade. It makes quick work of it. However they also make them in polishing grades. Since you're using a machine to do all the work and there's no cleanup afterward to remove polishing compound (neither is it slung around) the "show offs" on YouTube make it seem like the way to go when polishing metal... SO I MAY HAVE TO GIVE IT A GO.

 

If you are talking about polishing the solenoids, good luck.
I don't know what they are made of, but they don't take kindly to polishing.
I found you can paint them with Kilz, then any color of your choice.
Mine have lasted 3 years that way so far.

 

If the coolant is original, no wonder the duovalves are acting up.
But then, the duovalves are notorious for sticking, in our cars as well as most every Mercedes model built with them.
Go ahead, do a 'google' of "Mercedes Duovalve" and see what you get.

And if you intend to drive around WITHOUT a known-good, new-in-box crank sensor, then I will wait till the day you have your "Dr. Phil" moment.

 

O, by the way, the above link is a picture of MY duo-valve before I painted them red, and they are not polished, thats stainless steel tape.
So now you know who would do that, your fellow Alabamian.

 

Is it time for me to change the fuel filter yet? I say time because of the fact it's 14 years old.

 

The dark blue anti freeze is original from the factory. Yes, you should change it.
Is the CPS a Bosch? If not throw it away and purchase a Bosch, as a spare.
What part of the Great State of Alabama are you?

 

Hey WD40 . . . Looks like you found a beautiful Crossfire roadster! CONGRATULATIONS! I'm coming late to your party but as others have diagnosed . . .

Your issue with the driver's side blowing hot while the passenger side was blowing cold was definitely a stuck valve in the heater control valve. You can usually "fix" the problem by lightly tapping the top of the offending valve with a rubber mallot. You can also take the valve assembly apart and clean up the internal working parts but you risk damaging the delicate little coil wire connections in there.

Personally, I would change ALL the fluids in your "new" Crossfire. It's cheap insurance and you'll also KNOW everything is fresh and correct.

Enjoy your Crossfire!

 

Alabama Crossfire... that was good-natured teasing. It was supposed to be an inside joke that only the two of us were in on. I'd looked at a couple (literally, two!) pages of your album pictures and I believe that duo-valve pic was on page one. I am gonna try and polish those valves though! It's part of my OCD nature and dog-gone it, it just makes me happy. It's not like you can PROVE that in the past I've thrown away thousands of dollars on hand-polished stainless fasteners, can you?

 

Yes, it is a Bosch. I forget who chided me yesterday, oh yeah, pizzaguy. Anyway I ordered a new one as well as a camshaft sensor. I picked up a gallon of Zerex G-05 concentrate yesterday and also ordered a new thermostat assembly online from a MB dealer.

 

Hi Red Dog. As I just responded to a couple folks in this thread I appreciate the advice and am in the process of parts acquisition. The next 4 days show the same 80% chance of rain but nature allowing my first major step is a thorough inspection & cleaning of the engine compartment. I can't stand a dirty car and the one place even fastidious people avoid touching is that black-magic-voodoo-lump beneath the hood. I'm talking a remove the battery & displace components type of cleaning and oh yes, pictures will follow.

I'm a native Floridian who's only been in Alabama for two and a half years. For sentimental reasons I have not yet surrendered my Florida license... can't give up that Disney discount, yo? In my younger days I'd dive the Keys twice a year but it's still my favorite vacation spot. I'm really a pro on the area South of the Seven Mile Bridge but I wouldn't get lost where you live either.

 

Pinson, AL

 

Not far from George, but I'm a good distance farther south.

 

Welcome to the forum enjoy the new ride. We are recent new owners as well. I don't know about your 4 hour drive, I drove ours home from Sun City AZ = 32 hours. Like yourself I am a little ADD so am always busy with stuff. Been so busy with odds and ends haven't posted any pics yet but took a lot.Two prior owners that mostly just drove it. You would be wise to change all your fluids for sure. So here is my list of odds and ends done since purchase on a car that didn't need much. Replace light assembly in luggage compartment, replace wire loom bracket on trunk lid, rebuilt sub woofers one worked one didn't after repair so will replace in fall, Unplugged and rerouted blocked fuel filler overflow, removed all 4 wheels and did first detail under the wheel wells, looks like new, cleaned all areas of the wheels too, painted calipers and rotor edges. Fixing the cup holder today. Sounds like another make work project, wait till you retire.

 

1) installed new wipers
2) installed new cabin filter
3) polished headlights
4) turned off seat-belt chime

I would add one thing to the sticky about changing the cabin filter. I struggled with getting the slides to go back on but rubbing some silicone paste on them made them slide on simple as can be. It turned the whole job around. If you have the spray silicone instead, spray some into the cap and apply it using a Q tip. Polished the headlights using Meguiers PlastX. Made some improvement but I've had better results in the past using a dedicated headlight "kit".
The 3 wipers in the middle are for a Lexus.

Notice all the leaf debris in between the pleats?

Before Polishing

After polishing

other side