Mercedes W140 titivation
Discussion
Changed the cluster bulbs just now.
The car looks pretty mega all cleaned up (automatic car wash: which tells you all you need to know) and it has been super-satisfying remedying some of the more irritating issues, to the extent that I feel a fool for not tackling them earlier, especially when it was so easy. If the weather is nice in the morning I'll take some pictures before it goes.
The car looks pretty mega all cleaned up (automatic car wash: which tells you all you need to know) and it has been super-satisfying remedying some of the more irritating issues, to the extent that I feel a fool for not tackling them earlier, especially when it was so easy. If the weather is nice in the morning I'll take some pictures before it goes.
r129sl said:
I changed the blower motor regulator this evening. The job was very easy. One of the consequences of their scale is the ease of working on these cars. The quality is also there still: they were assembled with a view to being disassembled and then re-assembled twenty years down the line. If your fan blows weak, this is the easy fix.
I also changed the engine air filters and the cabin recycled air filter. This latter had never been changed by the looks of it. If you have a 140, change it. Ten pound part from the dealer (outrageous for what it is) and one minute upside down in the passenger footwell. The main cabin air filter is a pretty easy change too but I did that a while back now. The engine air filters again are a very easy swap, just a load of easily accessible spring clips: the car is designed to be maintained.
It goes at noon tomorrow. I feel sad and also a traitor to the cause, a coward in the face of duty. It is a fine car to drive. A bit of effort on the niggling defects, a lot of expenditure on the bodywork and it would become the consummate long distance car. But the fact is my other three cars swallow all the available effort and money (and plenty of the unavailable money, too). I just haven't got the capacity for the 140. And yet it was so easy to fix the blower motor regulator: why wouldn't it be just as easy and satisfying to fix all the other bits and bob? Hopefully the next man will take over the campaign.
Edit: thankfully the smell has gone.
Don't feel like you've given in, you've made fantastic progress with the car and taken many steps to resurrect the beast. It makes the next chap's life much easier!I also changed the engine air filters and the cabin recycled air filter. This latter had never been changed by the looks of it. If you have a 140, change it. Ten pound part from the dealer (outrageous for what it is) and one minute upside down in the passenger footwell. The main cabin air filter is a pretty easy change too but I did that a while back now. The engine air filters again are a very easy swap, just a load of easily accessible spring clips: the car is designed to be maintained.
It goes at noon tomorrow. I feel sad and also a traitor to the cause, a coward in the face of duty. It is a fine car to drive. A bit of effort on the niggling defects, a lot of expenditure on the bodywork and it would become the consummate long distance car. But the fact is my other three cars swallow all the available effort and money (and plenty of the unavailable money, too). I just haven't got the capacity for the 140. And yet it was so easy to fix the blower motor regulator: why wouldn't it be just as easy and satisfying to fix all the other bits and bob? Hopefully the next man will take over the campaign.
Edit: thankfully the smell has gone.
Concentrate on your other three
I am the buyer (I use the term loosely due to the very small amount of money that I paid for it) and would like to continue the thread.
The car drives very well. Quiet, refined, comfortable; a welcome change from my old Yaris diesel! The drive from Newcastle back to Northumberland reminded me what driving for pleasure was like. First stop was Kwik Fit of Hexham who gassed the air con. I drove out of there with the chilly blast of cold air filling the cabin. I must admit, I did not expect it to last, however the next day it still worked. A quick check of the on-board diagnostic readout (thanks to r129sl) reveals that the pressure in the system fluctuates between 6 and 10 bar. A quick run out to a local eatery last week (pic attached) showed that the air con is still blowing cold.
And oh that radio!
KF did surprise me in that they could not sort the tracking as they "did not have the settings." I will get that done next as I will be heading to Scotland in it soon. Then on to the remainder of the list - most likely wiper cogs next. Bodywork in the winter months.
The car drives very well. Quiet, refined, comfortable; a welcome change from my old Yaris diesel! The drive from Newcastle back to Northumberland reminded me what driving for pleasure was like. First stop was Kwik Fit of Hexham who gassed the air con. I drove out of there with the chilly blast of cold air filling the cabin. I must admit, I did not expect it to last, however the next day it still worked. A quick check of the on-board diagnostic readout (thanks to r129sl) reveals that the pressure in the system fluctuates between 6 and 10 bar. A quick run out to a local eatery last week (pic attached) showed that the air con is still blowing cold.
And oh that radio!
KF did surprise me in that they could not sort the tracking as they "did not have the settings." I will get that done next as I will be heading to Scotland in it soon. Then on to the remainder of the list - most likely wiper cogs next. Bodywork in the winter months.
Holy thread revival!
I didn't know of this thread's existence until your recent link on the 190 thread.
You're bonkers, r129sl, though the image of you and the mrs holding hands at 100mph+ whilst listening to power ballads (one presumes) on the bose is ever-so-slightly wunderbar.
Chris must use this as a summer car and protect it from Scottish salted roads.
I didn't know of this thread's existence until your recent link on the 190 thread.
You're bonkers, r129sl, though the image of you and the mrs holding hands at 100mph+ whilst listening to power ballads (one presumes) on the bose is ever-so-slightly wunderbar.
Chris must use this as a summer car and protect it from Scottish salted roads.
Hey BM!
The w140 came to an ugly end. Parked outside Chris's house in the middle of nowhere, some over-enthusiastic Fiesta driver barrel rolled into it. All caught on CCTV. All very spectacular. He replaced it with my E430!
The vid is in the barge thread somewhere.
The car could demolish distance on big trunk roads. Less convincing off the beaten track by reason of bulk (the E430 was rather good at that sort of thing).
The w140 came to an ugly end. Parked outside Chris's house in the middle of nowhere, some over-enthusiastic Fiesta driver barrel rolled into it. All caught on CCTV. All very spectacular. He replaced it with my E430!
The vid is in the barge thread somewhere.
bolidemichael said:
...though the image of you and the mrs holding hands at 100mph+ whilst listening to power ballads (one presumes) on the bose is ever-so-slightly wunderbar...[/url]
From memory it was the Scissor Sisters' cover of "Comfortably Numb" playing very loud. Did I mention the stereo in that car was really rather good?The car could demolish distance on big trunk roads. Less convincing off the beaten track by reason of bulk (the E430 was rather good at that sort of thing).
Edited by r129sl on Monday 8th June 23:56
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