Titivating my Mercedes 124

Titivating my Mercedes 124

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r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
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I picked the car up yesterday but I haven't had a chance to inspect or photograph the work. The pick up was an example of the motor trade excelling itself again. As in, the car wasn't ready.

When I arrived a 1pm (having agreed only the previous evening that the car would be ready at noon), it was;t at the Man's premises. It was still being aligned. Or, waiting to be aligned. Back it came. Part-aligned. Which means unaligned. And unaligned to the wrong spec: for reasons unknown to me, the alignment shop decided to use a 4matic heavy duty spec. Presumably they just pick one at random.

It hadn't been cleaned so was covered inside and out with bodyshop dust.

And later I noticed the rear number plate lamps weren't screwed in. And the screws were lost. Nor had the bits of trim I'd ordered arrived, let alone been fitted.

Grrr.

Anyway, off we went to Cheshire. The alignment is pretty bad, I'll have to get it sorted ASAP. The steering wheel points left when going straight ahead and I can feel a tension coming and going through the front wheels. While at the in-laws I didn't have much chance to study the paint job but, I must say, it looks excellent. No colour mismatch, no texture mismatch, he has done a super job of blending it, losing new paint in the swage lines.

Home this evening (nearly got pinched by the law for the first time in aeons), I fitted my bitty parts. First up, the under-bonnet encapsulation which helps keep the diesel din down. I will be interested to see if this makes any difference whatsoever. There are three parts fitted to the inside leading edge of the bonnet. On each side is a stiffish rubber seal and in the middle is a soft foam seal. On my car, the outer pieces had gone brittle and were flaking apart; and they were covered in overspray. The middle foam part was missing altogether and had never been there. What is amazing is that all this stuff is available from MB over twenty years after these cars went out of production. And while it's not cheap (often screws are £1 or more each), nor is it cripplingly expensive.

(I know this is tedious but it's a record for myself.) New parts laid out in the boot, like some automotive Delia Smith prep exercise:


Old and new:


All fitted up:


The bonnet is now quite tight to close and the foam centre pad nicely damps the slam, so maybe it will cut a bit of engine noise when stationary.

The broken washer bottle top has been pissing me off, especially when it is time to top up the reservoir, not least because it has to be prised open with a screw driver.


Replacement:


Fitted:


I also have these new headlamp wiper blades and nozzles to fit once I have got the rats off to bed. I know how to live, oh yes.


If the rain keeps off, I will wash the exterior, get it in the garage and polish it up with a view to providing a fascinating report on the paintwork.


Edited by r129sl on Saturday 30th July 19:41

r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
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The paint job looks great.

Unfortunately, my SLS fluid seems low. I cannot see any leaks and it was the right level last time I looked (probably within a couple of weeks). So I am assuming one of the two spheres has failed and filled with fluid. Why don't I just get a new car? The plan is to buy some fluid tomorrow, fill it up, look for leaks. If the level stays up and there are no leaks, then my theory about a duff sphere is right.

The engine is much quieter from outside the car. The new encapsulation bits and bobs were a winner.

dbdb

4,311 posts

172 months

Sunday 31st July 2016
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I enjoy these updates. You haven't bought a new car since there is nothing out there at the moment which satisfies you! smile

r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Monday 1st August 2016
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I finally obtained some ZH-M fluid. £10 a litre from MB, only £5 from Euro but they don't stock it. I have ordered some for my stores.

I refilled the reservoir. I ran the engine. I sat in the boot. I bounced the suspension. No sign of any leaks anywhere under the car. The fluid is under very high pressure between the valve and the struts and the accumulators, so if there were a leak there, it would piss out everywhere, all over my nice garage floor. Between the pump and the valve it is also under quite high pressure and the pipework is largely exposed. Again, a leak would be obvious. Nothing. No misting on the struts. And the level seemed to remain constant.

So I looked and looked and looked. Uh oh, what's that? The hose between the reservoir and the pump appears to be weeping at the pump. Maybe this is it?




Close up:




Fortuitously, I ordered a new hose and clamps this morning at MB, as well as a filter, as part of the campaign of obsessive self-impoverishment. I can make a total pig's ear of fitting them next weekend. I will drain the system and refill with fresh oil.

In other news, I fitted a new (to me) rear screen wiper motor. Mine was starting to operate very slowly, possibly due to the revolting corrosion I found between the spindle and the plastic seal. I didn't manage to break too much while I was at it. For anyone else doing this, good advice is to remove the spindle trim before unbolting the motor.

Away for the night. Must tidy the garage.


r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Thursday 4th August 2016
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The parts for the SLS system arrived today. New hose, sheath and clamps, new filter. I fitted these tonight. It was necessary to remove the nearside head lamp to gain access to the pipework. Amazingly, nothing went wrong apart from a dropped washer. It was quite an easy meccano-esque job. Hopefully that is the leak cured. This morning fluid has made it's way onto the garage floor at the front of the car, so I am pretty confident the leak was where the feed pipe enters the pump housing. The old pipe end was all cracked and gnarly, too.

I also tidied up some of the boot trim with some new clips and fixings.

Finally, I have ordered some power steering fluid and filters. I don't suppose that filter has ever been changed. Mann H85, about £5; the fluid is £5 a litre, too. A job for the weekend. The only ancillaries I can think of that haven't been replaced on this car are the power steering/SLS tandem pump, the starter motor and the air con compressor.

irish boy

3,523 posts

235 months

Thursday 4th August 2016
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Great job. It has had some work now!

Did you see the 17k mile one for sale?

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C773923

r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Thursday 4th August 2016
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Funnily enough I was just looking at that. Nice car. I wonder what it's been doing these last 25 years?

spreadsheet monkey

4,544 posts

226 months

Friday 5th August 2016
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r129sl said:
Funnily enough I was just looking at that. Nice car. I wonder what it's been doing these last 25 years?
MOT history shows it was on 4000 miles in Feb 2011. So it's been pretty much mothballed for the first 20 years of its life, and used a bit more regularly in the last 5 years.

r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Friday 5th August 2016
quotequote all
My five year old helped me change the power steering fluid and filter. Another cheap, easy and uneventful job which even I could not mess up and which I would recommend to owners of old Mercs. The filter is a Mann H85, £5 from Euro; I used two litres of Febi 08972 power steering fluid, a total of £9.50 also from Euro. Basically, with the engine off you remove the return hose from the pump, stick it in a bottle, and use the steering to draw new fluid in while expelling old. It took me about 15 minutes with the boy keeping an eye on the level as I turned the steering wheel. It's important that the pump does not ingest air.

The old filter was minging and must have been there for 23 years. The old fluid was pretty grim, too. The hoses looked OK. The return hose I think is relatively new.

The suspension fluid remains intact, so hopefully last night's repair did the job.

I know it probably seems mad, but I find it to be extremely satisfying getting the car in the best possible fettle.

Edit: I took it for a drive to the local Co-op for some milk and I am sure the steering is slightly lighter, smoother and quieter. All in the head (with a lot of other nonsense), no doubt.

Edited by r129sl on Saturday 6th August 07:44

crosseyedlion

2,170 posts

197 months

Friday 5th August 2016
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crosseyedlion said:
This thread is getting more and more inspiring.
2 years later and I've just purchased a W124 320TE needing a little tlc cosmetically, but not outwardly rusty. A little too much inspiration...

r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Friday 19th August 2016
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I have a nice itinerary for this car starting tomorrow including Dijon, Geneva and La Chartre sur Le Loir.

It carried me to Leeds yesterday and then back to Barnsley today, running really very well on new front suspension. I called at the Man's home to deliver the final instalment of problem solver and as I pulled up... what's that noise? has he got some new machine in his shed? hang on, it's coming from my car; it gets louder with the engine revs; it's the bloody exhaust!

Up on blocks in the garage twenty minutes later and this:



Fiddle sticks. Or some rather more colourful expletive. No chance of getting a new front pipe on a Saturday morning. And so this: this is why Baister of Staithes is unquestionably the best Mercedes fettler known to man and why I will continue to forgive him pretty much anything. What other garagiste can one text at 7.42pm on a Friday evening and evoke such a positive response.



And then there is the back up plan:

https://www.holtsauto.com/holts/products/flexiwrap...

This is all going to be OK, right? And if it's not, we'll brave the continental heat in the 190.

Edited by r129sl on Friday 19th August 21:41

alec.e

2,149 posts

123 months

Friday 19th August 2016
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Great to have contacts as helpful as that. Best of luck with the repair.

TR4man

5,208 posts

173 months

Friday 19th August 2016
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Exhaust apart, that underside looks remarkably solid.

Lowtimer

4,286 posts

167 months

Friday 19th August 2016
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It does indeed.

I reckon you'd get away with the wrap kit for the next week or so until you get back from your travels.

Parisien

622 posts

161 months

Friday 19th August 2016
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Great stuff, hope it all works out! Aiming to do the same, going to Nice from Ireland end of September, need to collect car next in London though then allow for a some fettling over the next few weeks


P

r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Saturday 20th August 2016
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Fixed. Baister is unbeatable.


tobinen

9,184 posts

144 months

Saturday 20th August 2016
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Excellent news. Happy travels!

ClaphamGT3

11,269 posts

242 months

Saturday 20th August 2016
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Good for you OP - you will have a stunning car for years to come when you're finished. As you said, you could have bought a new Audi etc, but you'd be chucking it in the bin within 10 years; keep on top of it and this beauty will see you out.

r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Sunday 21st August 2016
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Edited by r129sl on Sunday 21st August 18:35

Jag_NE

2,949 posts

99 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2016
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Great thread OP, outstanding perseverance!

Slightly off topic question but I wanted to ask it given your exceptional awareness on these matters.....I have a 4 year old c-class (owned from new-ish), low miler and likely to stay that way for a while, its a keeper. On top of the obvious i.e. servicing, tyres, wipers etc, are there any specific areas of maintenance that I should keep a close eye on, even changing specific items as a matter of course should I intend to keep this car "as new" for as long as possible? As you have done everything in reverse I presume there are a bunch of areas that if kept on top of systemically should avoid the car ever slipping into a well worn look/feel.....I am less mechanically minded than yourself however if there was a hit list of 20/30/40 things that I should be regularly looking at, that would be a brilliant aid!

Tell me to p1ss off if you wish!