Mercedes 129 titivation
Discussion
Terry fixed the oil leak: I had managed to pinch one of the seals. He also replaced a rear ABS reluctor ring and procured another 12 months' MOT sans advice. At the weekend I thoroughly cleaned and polished the paint, removed the hardtop and proofed the soft top canvas with Fabsil Gold. I would like to get the wheels off to clean their insides and also to do under the wheel arches but I will never have the time.
The 129 is in daily use now because the weather is nice and the 124 is awaiting a head gasket. Why don't I just lease that Audi A3? Anyway, this evening I noticed a funny ticking noise from the nearside rear. Further investigation revealed the brake disc splash plate was falling to bits, just as MB Newcastle promised it would. This is quiet serious because the splash plate holds the parking brake gubbins in situ. Fortunately the central portion looks intact.
I have removed the offending iron oxide:
I was slightly concerned about this cable stay which is bolted to the splash guard but have pushed it well out of harm's way:
It is dirty and grotty under here, but fundamentally Ok. Apart from the splash guard, that is.
This did give me the opportunity to clean the inside of one rear wheel. Saddo.
New splash guard is £37. New wheel bearing kit is £85. Times two. That makes £246. Plus labour. Why oh why? Happily, the chassis looks pretty good and I think renewing the rear suspension links can be postponed for a further year. They were last done at about 150,000miles and the car sees much less winter use now than it did during the first ten years of its life. I can't really grumble. It has lasted this long and I was warned.
The 129 is in daily use now because the weather is nice and the 124 is awaiting a head gasket. Why don't I just lease that Audi A3? Anyway, this evening I noticed a funny ticking noise from the nearside rear. Further investigation revealed the brake disc splash plate was falling to bits, just as MB Newcastle promised it would. This is quiet serious because the splash plate holds the parking brake gubbins in situ. Fortunately the central portion looks intact.
I have removed the offending iron oxide:
I was slightly concerned about this cable stay which is bolted to the splash guard but have pushed it well out of harm's way:
It is dirty and grotty under here, but fundamentally Ok. Apart from the splash guard, that is.
This did give me the opportunity to clean the inside of one rear wheel. Saddo.
New splash guard is £37. New wheel bearing kit is £85. Times two. That makes £246. Plus labour. Why oh why? Happily, the chassis looks pretty good and I think renewing the rear suspension links can be postponed for a further year. They were last done at about 150,000miles and the car sees much less winter use now than it did during the first ten years of its life. I can't really grumble. It has lasted this long and I was warned.
Edited by r129sl on Wednesday 3rd May 21:33
0a said:
Looking good.
I dropped my Jaguar in to join the 190 and W124 300e II in the garage tonight. In fact I couldn't be bothered to make my own way back so I took the 190 with the blowing exhaust... why do I own so many cars none of which work entirely?!
What are you coming to the barge meet in on Sunday? The r129 please!
I know how you feel. There is always one car that needs something; never any end to the torrent of money flowing from the pockets.I dropped my Jaguar in to join the 190 and W124 300e II in the garage tonight. In fact I couldn't be bothered to make my own way back so I took the 190 with the blowing exhaust... why do I own so many cars none of which work entirely?!
What are you coming to the barge meet in on Sunday? The r129 please!
I'm bringing the Spartan. I will have the boys with me and we are coming via their Godparents' in Sheffield. The back of the 129 is not really up to long distance work, especially for the youngest. They can't comfortably fall asleep in there.
With a bit of P&Q this evening, I finally got round to straightening up my rev counter. Tachometer for those who must. This is quite a common thing on these cars it seems. It is really very irritating.
First I pulled the instrument cluster out. This is quite tricky. I have the special hooks but was very wary of breaking the screen, having done just that on the 140 I managed for a while. In the end I dropped the lower dash cover and pushed it out from behind but this isn't easy, either. Naturally, MB manufacture the back side of the dashboard out of razor blades so a little torn skin is inevitable. That way you can bleed all over the cluster, the dials, the seats, the carpets.
Anyway, cluster out, you can see the tach' has slipped anti-clockwise:
With the cluster out, it's easy enough to dismantle. Two Torx screws on the upper reverse and then five plastic clips along the bottom, Just be gentle with the clips, both when releasing them and when re-fixing them upon re-assembly. The plastic does feel dry and slightly brittle.
This is what you find. The gauges are stuck onto little up-turned perspex bowls, each one screwed in by two or three Torx screws.
The rev counter just pulls up and out:
The dial face can be moved by inserting a flat knife between it and the perspex bowl to which it is stuck, and gently working it round.
Line up the little hole in the dial face with the little hole in the perspex bowl:
Re-assembly is the reverse. And hopefully it is much better.
My advice to doing this job is to be very careful to clean the cluster screen out. It appears that I have dislodged some dust which has come to rest at the bottom of the warning light apertures where it will irritate me almost as much as the wonky rev counter did.
First I pulled the instrument cluster out. This is quite tricky. I have the special hooks but was very wary of breaking the screen, having done just that on the 140 I managed for a while. In the end I dropped the lower dash cover and pushed it out from behind but this isn't easy, either. Naturally, MB manufacture the back side of the dashboard out of razor blades so a little torn skin is inevitable. That way you can bleed all over the cluster, the dials, the seats, the carpets.
Anyway, cluster out, you can see the tach' has slipped anti-clockwise:
With the cluster out, it's easy enough to dismantle. Two Torx screws on the upper reverse and then five plastic clips along the bottom, Just be gentle with the clips, both when releasing them and when re-fixing them upon re-assembly. The plastic does feel dry and slightly brittle.
This is what you find. The gauges are stuck onto little up-turned perspex bowls, each one screwed in by two or three Torx screws.
The rev counter just pulls up and out:
The dial face can be moved by inserting a flat knife between it and the perspex bowl to which it is stuck, and gently working it round.
Line up the little hole in the dial face with the little hole in the perspex bowl:
Re-assembly is the reverse. And hopefully it is much better.
My advice to doing this job is to be very careful to clean the cluster screen out. It appears that I have dislodged some dust which has come to rest at the bottom of the warning light apertures where it will irritate me almost as much as the wonky rev counter did.
It's all working, nothing's broken and I can't see the dust. Result.
The children lost some Lego bits down the little gap between the seat belt buckles and the seat squab. I whipped out the squab (the two red clips, dead easy) and took the opportunity to clear out the model sheep, the polystyrene spitfire wing, the random Haribos, a used elast-o-plast, something with a big and sharp but invisible spike on it, half a wobbly bug and a lot of crumbs and pine needles. This being the child seat, there was not the consolation prize of £2.32 in small change to be had. Here's a picture out of interest. There's quite a lot going on under there. The big silver box is the roof control unit.
The children lost some Lego bits down the little gap between the seat belt buckles and the seat squab. I whipped out the squab (the two red clips, dead easy) and took the opportunity to clear out the model sheep, the polystyrene spitfire wing, the random Haribos, a used elast-o-plast, something with a big and sharp but invisible spike on it, half a wobbly bug and a lot of crumbs and pine needles. This being the child seat, there was not the consolation prize of £2.32 in small change to be had. Here's a picture out of interest. There's quite a lot going on under there. The big silver box is the roof control unit.
I have enjoyed using the car is the sunshine the last couple of days. I had one of those dream drives on Wednesday evening: glorious weather, empty roads and a place to be 120 miles away. 1hr 29minutes door to door. The journey was marred only by a bad moment on my private test track: taking the car hard up to maximum speed in second, third and fourth gears, I backed off a bit suddenly and it blew a fair bit of smoke out the back. Answers on the back of a postcard.
This poor picture was taken yesterday at the new services by Leeming Bar. It was amazingly sunny for the north east of England.
This poor picture was taken yesterday at the new services by Leeming Bar. It was amazingly sunny for the north east of England.
Lowtimer said:
irish boy said:
Only thing is the dealer has never tried the soft top.
http://www.cameroncarsni.co.uk/Cars.html?car=18591...
Sorry, but if they told you that I would be forced to assume the mechanism is not working, and that is probably the #1 walk-away point on an R129.http://www.cameroncarsni.co.uk/Cars.html?car=18591...
I mean, WHY have they not popped off the hard top and cycled the soft top? Apart from anything else it guarantees they haven't even cleaned the car properly for sale.
Also, that car does not (as claimed) have an air scarf system. That was not invented until the 2004 R171 SLK.
Edited by Lowtimer on Thursday 1st June 18:56
It may be that the dealer is just being lazy. But if there are two of you, it's no trouble to whip the hardtop off, carefully rest it on some timber battens, an test the soft top. You're not being unreasonable to insist on it and you're taking a gamble without testing it prior to purchase. That said, the roof mechanisms are pretty reliable, so long as they are used. This car has low miles and there are a few cars out there (I know of one personally) where the hard roof has never been removed.
It's my birthday tomorrow. Do I take my SL500 or my new-to-me-this-week E430? Decisions, decisions.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Zonergem said:
Last Friday was indeed a beautiful day. I watched the sun come up from the passenger seat of pick-up heading down the A1 and came back with this on the trailer for not really very much money.
It's a near-twin to my other car - one of the last 066 chassis cars - factory build April 1992, UK reg Feb 1993. 113k miles, no service history but an MoT history that didn't show anything intimidating beyond under-use.
Congrats. Looks a decent start point, and there's always a perverse sort of appeal to having two cars the same!It's a near-twin to my other car - one of the last 066 chassis cars - factory build April 1992, UK reg Feb 1993. 113k miles, no service history but an MoT history that didn't show anything intimidating beyond under-use.
Hope all is well CdeG and Zonergem (and everyone else, of course).
A bit of an update. Nice new rear tyres were installed today. I went for same-old-same-old Continental Sport Contact 5s, because that is what is on the front and only the rears need doing. £250 at Kwik Fit.
Meanwhile, the idler pulley on the serpentine belt has failed. This is a £11 part held on with a single T50 torx bolt. Unfortunately, the bolt fouls the fan and you have to remove the viscous fan assembly in order to remove it from the timing case. I have ordered a fan clutch removal tool (see link below) having failed with water pump pliers and a 36mm wrench. I foresee the bolt being mighty tight so I have ordered two 1000mm lengths of steel tube to slip over the wrenches. It is a standard right hand thread.
I will fit a new fan clutch while I am at it.
I have to say I have very little enthusiasm for car fettling at the moment.
Removal tools: http://wondermantools.co.uk/8pc-mercedes-benz-bmw-...
Link to instructions: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/attachments/w163-m...
Picture of defunct idler pulley. My engine is minging.
Meanwhile, the idler pulley on the serpentine belt has failed. This is a £11 part held on with a single T50 torx bolt. Unfortunately, the bolt fouls the fan and you have to remove the viscous fan assembly in order to remove it from the timing case. I have ordered a fan clutch removal tool (see link below) having failed with water pump pliers and a 36mm wrench. I foresee the bolt being mighty tight so I have ordered two 1000mm lengths of steel tube to slip over the wrenches. It is a standard right hand thread.
I will fit a new fan clutch while I am at it.
I have to say I have very little enthusiasm for car fettling at the moment.
Removal tools: http://wondermantools.co.uk/8pc-mercedes-benz-bmw-...
Link to instructions: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/attachments/w163-m...
Picture of defunct idler pulley. My engine is minging.
My fantastic new fan clutch tools arrived today. Will I use them more than once? Who cares?
I set about the job this evening. Here you can see the water pump pulley holder and the 36mm fan clutch spanner in situ.
I was not strong enough to loosen the fan clutch bolt. So I slipped the 1meter long steel tubes over the end of the tools. No problem.
You can see how long the bolt holding the idler pulley is. Two minutes to swap over; bit of loctite on the threads before nipping up to 10nm with me new baby torque wrench.
The fan clutch was filthy. I was unable to remove it from the fan. I rounded one of the bolt heads trying. I have ordered a new fan (£30) and I will order new bolts and a pukka clutch (if not Merc then at least Sachs) and do it that way. I suppose I will then use my new tools at least twice. Removing the fan and fan shroud—which with the right tools is very easy—affords hugely increased access up front.
I reassembled and tightened the fan as tight as I could using the tools. The specified torque is 45nm but I do not have an open torque wrench so I just tightened it as hard as I could. I ran the engine a while then checked it and it remained tight.
There still appears to be an oil leak from the oil filter housing. I'll have to get Baister to tackle that in due course. If I have any money over the winter, I am going to have the entire front and rear suspension rebuilt. I don't use this car enough but I am determined to change that next year.
I set about the job this evening. Here you can see the water pump pulley holder and the 36mm fan clutch spanner in situ.
I was not strong enough to loosen the fan clutch bolt. So I slipped the 1meter long steel tubes over the end of the tools. No problem.
You can see how long the bolt holding the idler pulley is. Two minutes to swap over; bit of loctite on the threads before nipping up to 10nm with me new baby torque wrench.
The fan clutch was filthy. I was unable to remove it from the fan. I rounded one of the bolt heads trying. I have ordered a new fan (£30) and I will order new bolts and a pukka clutch (if not Merc then at least Sachs) and do it that way. I suppose I will then use my new tools at least twice. Removing the fan and fan shroud—which with the right tools is very easy—affords hugely increased access up front.
I reassembled and tightened the fan as tight as I could using the tools. The specified torque is 45nm but I do not have an open torque wrench so I just tightened it as hard as I could. I ran the engine a while then checked it and it remained tight.
There still appears to be an oil leak from the oil filter housing. I'll have to get Baister to tackle that in due course. If I have any money over the winter, I am going to have the entire front and rear suspension rebuilt. I don't use this car enough but I am determined to change that next year.
Too kind, Michael.
Mileage is 267,000-odd presently. I'm doing less than 10k a year these days.
The springs and shocks are relatively fresh on mine. The rear axle was done at about 150,000miles. The front control arms were done before that. And I've had the steering gear changed relatively recently. I recall that the rear suspension rebuild made a huge difference last time, it was no less comfortable but felt much more agile.
The forecast is a bit grim for the next few days but I might get a blast at the weekend.
Mileage is 267,000-odd presently. I'm doing less than 10k a year these days.
The springs and shocks are relatively fresh on mine. The rear axle was done at about 150,000miles. The front control arms were done before that. And I've had the steering gear changed relatively recently. I recall that the rear suspension rebuild made a huge difference last time, it was no less comfortable but felt much more agile.
The forecast is a bit grim for the next few days but I might get a blast at the weekend.
A bit of serious work on the 129 this week: all new front and rear chassis components. New rear axle (all links, drop links, bushes, bars, everything but the sub-frame), new front arms, new fuel pump package, new lines, new heat shields. Loads of other stuff, too, wheel bearings all round, brake disc backing plates, various clips and channels and brackets.
Happy sight:
Not too much rot:
Rear axle in progress:
Rusty stuff awaiting replacement:
Nice new parts:
It would have been nice to have the subframe shot-blasted and powder coated but Baister seems to have ignored that instruction. It will be cleaned up, however.
Happy sight:
Not too much rot:
Rear axle in progress:
Rusty stuff awaiting replacement:
Nice new parts:
It would have been nice to have the subframe shot-blasted and powder coated but Baister seems to have ignored that instruction. It will be cleaned up, however.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Looks good; what promoted that level of replacement? Or is 'titivation' simply an all-encompassing term?
It needed doing. It is eight years and 120k miles since the rear suspension was overhauled, more since the front was done; all the rubber has gone hard and some of the bushes are knackered. I haven't really been happy with the drive for a while; there is quite a bit of driveline vibration, straight line stability is not as good as it should be and the turn in is hideously inconsistent (it comes in two movements). Stuff like the fuel pump and lines is just preventative maintenance. I want to use this car more than 10,000miles a year; I quite like driving it very fast; and I rely on it. So it's no good if it is not tip top.The back axle is in and it's looking good. Terry has put a lot of effort into cleaning up the underside. I love all the new fixings, clips, covers, brackets, all of that stuff. I suspect the job will cost more than the car is worth, however...
New shields throughout; and the underside has been cleaned back and re-sealed.
Nice shiny new fuel pump package, various other new bits and bobs:
The near side corner is almost fully built up. New discs and pads and brake accessories including the flexis, obviously (the callipers were new a couple of years back). All new arms and bushes throughout. New wheel bearings. New brake disc splash plates. New shocks (the springs are relatively new, too). All clips and guides and covers and brackets renewed, too. The underside of the subframe will be cleaned off and treated in due course. New anti-roll bar and associated components. Plus the level sensor and its bits and bobs for the xenon lights.
Offside is a work in progress:
Some not very good pictures of the whole. The fuel and brake lines are new.
There is still a fair bit to go. The front axle (only the arms and bushes) and brakes (discs and pads). And then the oil leak from the timing case. Then Phil is going to get it aligned properly. I think I will ask him to road test it for 100 miles or so, too. I am beginning to dread the bill but the car should drive like new.
New shields throughout; and the underside has been cleaned back and re-sealed.
Nice shiny new fuel pump package, various other new bits and bobs:
The near side corner is almost fully built up. New discs and pads and brake accessories including the flexis, obviously (the callipers were new a couple of years back). All new arms and bushes throughout. New wheel bearings. New brake disc splash plates. New shocks (the springs are relatively new, too). All clips and guides and covers and brackets renewed, too. The underside of the subframe will be cleaned off and treated in due course. New anti-roll bar and associated components. Plus the level sensor and its bits and bobs for the xenon lights.
Offside is a work in progress:
Some not very good pictures of the whole. The fuel and brake lines are new.
There is still a fair bit to go. The front axle (only the arms and bushes) and brakes (discs and pads). And then the oil leak from the timing case. Then Phil is going to get it aligned properly. I think I will ask him to road test it for 100 miles or so, too. I am beginning to dread the bill but the car should drive like new.
I can't remember what it is on at the moment. 267,000 I think.
Some more pictures. We are waiting on new tie rods: you can see on each side there is one rusty old arm still in situ.
Driver's side (the fastenings are not tight because they have to be undone to re-install the spring in due course):
Passenger side:
I have also decided to go with TRW control arms at the front. These are £127 delivered against the £356 Merc wanted. TRW is part of ZF Group and we think the parts will be one and the same.
Some more pictures. We are waiting on new tie rods: you can see on each side there is one rusty old arm still in situ.
Driver's side (the fastenings are not tight because they have to be undone to re-install the spring in due course):
Passenger side:
I have also decided to go with TRW control arms at the front. These are £127 delivered against the £356 Merc wanted. TRW is part of ZF Group and we think the parts will be one and the same.
I will post a full update shortly but suffice to say I have the car back from Baister's and it is transformed. The entire suspension (apart from the front shocks and the springs) is new, front and back. The whole underside has been renewed with new heat shields, all rust removed and treated and new underseal. It drives beautifully. Worth the expenditure. Although I have not had the bill yet.
The diff still moans. In fact it is howling badly. I have a new-to-me item on the way from Germany and am hoping this will go in next week.
And I found my car on Google Street View. I noticed the Google camera car and periodically check to see if the images were used and at last here they are:
The diff still moans. In fact it is howling badly. I have a new-to-me item on the way from Germany and am hoping this will go in next week.
And I found my car on Google Street View. I noticed the Google camera car and periodically check to see if the images were used and at last here they are:
t. Fun though summer motoring is, there's a lot of wiping off birdsIt's a bloody good job I love this car and am not unfond of Baister. I did ask him where the red carpet, complimentary coffee and fetching dolly birds were but he didn't seem to know what I was on about. I'm off home to enjoy the thing now. Needless to say, the tank is empty...
Edited by r129sl on Friday 4th May 17:06
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