Titivating my Mercedes 124
Discussion
I agree with that. Also any car you buy is an unknown quantity.
I don't follow Mercedes, but there are some lovely looking Jags coming out of Japan. Some of them are doubtless as good as they look - but of course some won't be. At least with your own car, you know what you have; time spent with them tells you that. Suddenly using a low mileage car heavily and doing r129's kind of miles can also shock an old low mileage car that has seen little use for many years. Leaks spring up all over the place and newly woken up parts can end up failing and needing to be replaced. Some of the Japanese cars do look good though and would be an excellent choice of weekend-use minter. Certainly a lot cheaper than repairing/restoring a rusty UK car. This was one of the things I didn't like to remind myself of when I repaired my Jaguar. That has sentimental value to me of course and a history which cannot be bought.
Horses for courses, I guess, but for heavy use, r129's approach is the one which works to my mind. For a hobby car, some of the Japanese imports look very tempting.
I don't follow Mercedes, but there are some lovely looking Jags coming out of Japan. Some of them are doubtless as good as they look - but of course some won't be. At least with your own car, you know what you have; time spent with them tells you that. Suddenly using a low mileage car heavily and doing r129's kind of miles can also shock an old low mileage car that has seen little use for many years. Leaks spring up all over the place and newly woken up parts can end up failing and needing to be replaced. Some of the Japanese cars do look good though and would be an excellent choice of weekend-use minter. Certainly a lot cheaper than repairing/restoring a rusty UK car. This was one of the things I didn't like to remind myself of when I repaired my Jaguar. That has sentimental value to me of course and a history which cannot be bought.
Horses for courses, I guess, but for heavy use, r129's approach is the one which works to my mind. For a hobby car, some of the Japanese imports look very tempting.
very true mate, to be honest i hadn't read all of your thread just the first few pages and thought OMG
if i was in your position i'd have probably done the same, also most of the imported ones are petrol as previous member mentioned. i've always liked the estate version and the practicality of the 7 seats
Great cars tho I have to say the build is second to none, fuel consumption isn't that bad even on the 300 petrol i have worth every penny for that wafting feeling
if i was in your position i'd have probably done the same, also most of the imported ones are petrol as previous member mentioned. i've always liked the estate version and the practicality of the 7 seats
Great cars tho I have to say the build is second to none, fuel consumption isn't that bad even on the 300 petrol i have worth every penny for that wafting feeling
ian316 said:
r129sl said:
Luther Blisset said:
Swapping in modern multihole injectors works well too. Densos especially.
Tell me more. (Please.)Cleared up the lumpy idle and jerky throttle too.
P/N 2W93AA
Ah.
My car is a pre-chamber diesel. It has a pretty unsophisticated (if not uncomplicated) mechanical fuel injection system. It appears that nozzles are made by Bosch, Delphi and Beru. They are not cheap at over £200 each on the aftermarket. I cannot find anything meaningful about replacing them and, as you know, this engine is very popular with tuners.
What would significantly increase fuel economy—and performance—would be to swap in an om606 turbodiesel from a later w210. But we've rejected that idea already.
My car is a pre-chamber diesel. It has a pretty unsophisticated (if not uncomplicated) mechanical fuel injection system. It appears that nozzles are made by Bosch, Delphi and Beru. They are not cheap at over £200 each on the aftermarket. I cannot find anything meaningful about replacing them and, as you know, this engine is very popular with tuners.
What would significantly increase fuel economy—and performance—would be to swap in an om606 turbodiesel from a later w210. But we've rejected that idea already.
Edited by r129sl on Wednesday 12th October 20:22
r129sl said:
the cheapest big win is a new thermostat. They are rarely more than £15 and almost always produce big improvements in economy.
Interesting... were these issues that you diagnosed via the temp gauge or from other symptoms? I've had both done on the Porsche (yes, it has two...), didn't see any difference in fuel economy or needle positions, but then but while you're doing an anticipatory head gasket on a 944 Turbo prior to turning up the power it only makes sense to renew as many wear-and-tear cooling system components as you can. That's a car which seems is inherently slower to warm up than my other two, which is probably due to the slightly complex cooling system and its apparent ability to cope with up to 400 hp in track use without substantial modification.
On the 500SL I haven't done it yet, the car warms up quickly and then sits at 80 degrees pretty solidly unless I cane it up a long hill in summer whereupon it might go up to 85 or 90 and then within a minute or two fall back again to 80 at the top of the hill. It doesn't go below the normal running level decending a long hill on idle power.
On the BMW I am away from the paperwork but *think* I had a new one as part of the monster stem-to-stern mechanical refresh when I bought the car a couple of years ago. That car warms up the coolant super-quick and then never moves the needle (but unlike the Mercedes one, I gather it is heavily damped).
Edited by Lowtimer on Thursday 13th October 11:15
I just changed it for the sake of it: given everything else in the cooling system had been or was being done, it deemed daft not to. On the om606, the thermostat is at the bottom of the engine, so access is quite difficult and changing it will usually require replacement coolant.
The temperature gauge needle sits higher and the temperature varies slightly more than before, although the car takes no longer to warm up. I wasn't previously aware of any problem but the car is definitely running hotter—90 deg C, not 85—and is markedly more economical. Of course, there may be other reasons why it is more economical, such as the more efficient radiator and condenser.
I changed the thermostat on the 190 a while ago. I had noticed the engine was slow to warm up, never really getting up to temperature, and fuel consumption had been steadily increasing. It was also an opportunity to change the plastic housing for a metal one. There as an immediate improvement in economy (and the temperature came up quicker). Now I think of it, I changed the 'stat on a friend's w210 E320 CDI—usual symptoms of engine not getting past 70 deg C and poor economy—and the effect was the same, with a really big improvement in economy.
The temperature gauge needle sits higher and the temperature varies slightly more than before, although the car takes no longer to warm up. I wasn't previously aware of any problem but the car is definitely running hotter—90 deg C, not 85—and is markedly more economical. Of course, there may be other reasons why it is more economical, such as the more efficient radiator and condenser.
I changed the thermostat on the 190 a while ago. I had noticed the engine was slow to warm up, never really getting up to temperature, and fuel consumption had been steadily increasing. It was also an opportunity to change the plastic housing for a metal one. There as an immediate improvement in economy (and the temperature came up quicker). Now I think of it, I changed the 'stat on a friend's w210 E320 CDI—usual symptoms of engine not getting past 70 deg C and poor economy—and the effect was the same, with a really big improvement in economy.
r129sl said:
I love these chancers:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MERCEDES-W124-E-CLASS-bu...
http://www.mercedes-benz-parts.co.uk/index.php?opt...
Unbelievable......the neck on them, just shows you gotta be sooooooooo careful, bandits everywhere!http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MERCEDES-W124-E-CLASS-bu...
http://www.mercedes-benz-parts.co.uk/index.php?opt...
P
It lives! I admit I've formed a sort of remote emotional attachment to this car myself... so glad to see it's survived and continues to be well-used. I'd do the same to my E39 Touring if I had the cash, but I don't and health issues mean I can no longer drive a manual, so it's not getting used except once a week at most by my wife, the 535i is getting much more use... if anyone wants a scabby but solid Touring with a sound (though not original) M54B22 engine as a restoration project...
I used Silent Coat 2mm on the bonnet, together with a regular bonnet liner made by Febi Bilstein. I also put the silent coat under the rear seat and in part of the boot floor where the existing factory sound deadening had failed.
It has made a marginal positive difference. Not a transformation by any stretch of the imagination but worth £50.
The mpg is holding up. It is consistently giving about 32mpg against 30mpg before the cooling system overhaul. Marginal, again!
It has made a marginal positive difference. Not a transformation by any stretch of the imagination but worth £50.
The mpg is holding up. It is consistently giving about 32mpg against 30mpg before the cooling system overhaul. Marginal, again!
Something for any W124 fans, I've organised a meet with the Facebook group.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Another 124 trip, this time to Provence for dinner. It certainly is running well, giving 29mpg at an average cruise of 95mph.
The familiar pitstop. Somewhere in this picture is a 124 and some revolting, half-eaten petrol-station sandwiches. The usual route is Zeebrugge to Reims-Gueux to Dijon and so it was this time. They have re-roofed the pit building since we were last here.
At Montélimar-Ouest, a picture taken for its Sedgwick-look. We left Dijon just before 11, stopped here, south of Lyon, at 1.15 for fuel both human and mechanical (surprisingly decent). Back on the road at 2.35, we arrived in Lorgues before 5pm. Total distance was 390miles.
Today we had a run to the Gorges du Verdon. I would love to have spent more time here but it just isn't on the cards. The boys wanted to go back to the hotel, we have the dinner this evening and then tomorrow we have to go to a lunch at somebody's house and then on Monday it is back on the road. Lots of road closures, anyway, including the southern route along the gorge. Oh for a seriously-engined car.
Edit: total mileage is now 345,400 with quite a lot more to come over the next two weeks.
The familiar pitstop. Somewhere in this picture is a 124 and some revolting, half-eaten petrol-station sandwiches. The usual route is Zeebrugge to Reims-Gueux to Dijon and so it was this time. They have re-roofed the pit building since we were last here.
At Montélimar-Ouest, a picture taken for its Sedgwick-look. We left Dijon just before 11, stopped here, south of Lyon, at 1.15 for fuel both human and mechanical (surprisingly decent). Back on the road at 2.35, we arrived in Lorgues before 5pm. Total distance was 390miles.
Today we had a run to the Gorges du Verdon. I would love to have spent more time here but it just isn't on the cards. The boys wanted to go back to the hotel, we have the dinner this evening and then tomorrow we have to go to a lunch at somebody's house and then on Monday it is back on the road. Lots of road closures, anyway, including the southern route along the gorge. Oh for a seriously-engined car.
Edit: total mileage is now 345,400 with quite a lot more to come over the next two weeks.
Edited by r129sl on Saturday 17th December 16:25
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