Titivating my Mercedes 124
Discussion
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Blackpuddin said:
Good to hear, I wish he did 3-pointed bonnet badges too as I'm fed up with returning the shoddy stuff I've been sent twice now! At this rate I might resort to supergluing the old one back on.
Use a main dealer, they're cheap. Blackpuddin said:
I wish I hadn't ignored your advice to that effect a few pages ago.
No problem! It's counter-intuitive, but dealer parts can sometimes be cheaper than other after-market. I can't remember what I paid for the star but I think it was less than 20 quid or so. (The OP will know, along with the part number from memory!)
I recently bought a not-working Hirschmann 6000KE - suspected problem the circuit board - from UK eBay. And then a tested & working control board via eBay US.
This has just come up: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Auta-6000KE-Mercedes-w1... Was thinking of getting it myself, but hopefully I'm not in need of it.
This has just come up: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Auta-6000KE-Mercedes-w1... Was thinking of getting it myself, but hopefully I'm not in need of it.
Thanks for the info. Using that I tracked down a factory bonnet badge at Coventry MB at £44.28 inc VAT only to find they don't post out parts 
Luckily Cardiff MB was happy to post one out to me, same price and he threw the postage in, result, hopefully the item will be 'proper' as opposed to the awful quality copies I've had to send back on two occasions.
Got a new aerial on the way from Malcolm, he's quite a star when it comes to comms. Made a bit of a horlicks of getting the old one out. Snipped the main motor unit out and started spannering the top nut but all it's doing is turning the internal cable. So at the moment I've got the aluminium tube + co-ax inside the car and the chrome dome + nut assembly outside the car with no obvious way of getting any further. Mulling it over again today.
Luckily Cardiff MB was happy to post one out to me, same price and he threw the postage in, result, hopefully the item will be 'proper' as opposed to the awful quality copies I've had to send back on two occasions. Got a new aerial on the way from Malcolm, he's quite a star when it comes to comms. Made a bit of a horlicks of getting the old one out. Snipped the main motor unit out and started spannering the top nut but all it's doing is turning the internal cable. So at the moment I've got the aluminium tube + co-ax inside the car and the chrome dome + nut assembly outside the car with no obvious way of getting any further. Mulling it over again today.
Edited by Blackpuddin on Friday 26th February 12:37
Quick service today, oil, oil filter and fuel filter. I have switched to Hengst filters from autodoc.co.uk. They seem slightly better than the Mann equivalent. The Merc ones I noticed are Hengst, at least in this application. I have also started using this Mannol oil, it is very cheap and is delivered whereas the Triple QX stuff necessitates a trip to Eurocarparts which increasingly I have less time to do. £36 for 20 litres delivered to the door: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-Litre-Mannol-10w40-S...
As always, the main ball ache was getting the under tray off. I notice the suspension fluid is too high and I think I'll swap out the power steering fluid and filter. Jobs for tomorrow. Mileage is 412,491.
As always, the main ball ache was getting the under tray off. I notice the suspension fluid is too high and I think I'll swap out the power steering fluid and filter. Jobs for tomorrow. Mileage is 412,491.
Hengst seems to have a good reputation and certainly heavy involvement with MB going back a long time. I find Mann quality to have dropped off lately, sadly. Having said that, genuine filters from major manufacturers have taken a quality nosedive too. A peer of mine in Uni did a cutaway test of filtration quality for OEM (VW), OE-equivalent (Mann, Knecht, etc.), and cheap filters (Japanparts, etc.). No prizes for guessing who's filter actually had the poorest filtration. I can imagine that diesel filters are falling into a similar vein. I know that anyone building a fast diesel car nowadays seems to use the CAT (yep!) 2-micron filters, often 2 of them. Definitely a downside of the high tolerances needed for small-capacity junk!
I changed to summer tyres today. While it was off the ground on stands I also changed the differential fluid. What came out is either two or three years old, not sure which; it was very clean, much cleaner than the black gloop that came out of the G-wagen's diffs last weekend (I still have the transfer case to do on the G-wagen).
r129sl said:
It's not getting any worse but it is worn. I am not sure what to do about it. The car is going to need some bodywork expenditure this year. Bite the bullet or get a replacement?
I am definitely of the camp that very much better the devil you know with this car. She has to be one of the best-maintained 124s in the country.r129sl said:
It's not getting any worse but it is worn. I am not sure what to do about it. The car is going to need some bodywork expenditure this year. Bite the bullet or get a replacement?
I’d certainty be of the mind to keep it. Be interesting to see just his long it will keep going (I suspect many years yet). One of the best threads on Pistonheads, and such a lovely car too.Today I treated myself to a Blaupunkt Bremen SQR 46 DAB stereo to replace the utterly hideous Pioneer Fruit Machine that I installed on a temporary basis about two years ago when the Becker went bad. Expecting a big wiring job, I also sprang some cash on various bits and bobs of soldering equipment. Even though it hasn't been delivered and even though I am up to my eyes with work, when the nanny went home at 4.30pm, boy one and I set about steps preparatory to installation.
I ordered the Blaupunkt from Amazon for safety's sake and for quick delivery, even if it was £20 more than some other vendors: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XVMBKW4/ref... It looks great:
This Alpine KTP-445U compact Class D amplifier has been reinstalled in the front passenger footwell. It is not the most powerful amp in the world at 45w per channel RMS but that is twice what the Blaupunkt headunit puts out. It is very well reviewed here: https://soundcertified.com/alpine-ktp-445u-review/
I expected a wiring nightmare but it was all surprisingly OK.The Blaupunkt will connect to the Alpine amplifier by two Amazon Basics RCA cables: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01D5H8P0G/ref... (I do love Amazon Basics and Amazon Essentials). The output lead from the amplifier is fitted with an ISO female plug end so it can be connected straight into the factory speaker wiring harness which would usually plug into the back of the radio:
There is already a 12v feed from the battery. I need to tap into the 12v switched accessory supply. This has been butchered in the past. My intention is to tidy it up and tap in with a Scotchlok connector. That's a job for tomorrow evening when all bits have arrived. In the meantime we took the opportunity to remove a load of unused wiring:
I will also fit a black USB to Lightening lead to the rear of the new headunit and run the Lightening end either into the glovebox or into the centre console tray. The former is tidier. The latter more convenient. As I type I have had a brainwave. I could connect it to a wireless charger which I would put under the carpet in the centre console tray. Genius. Do you thing it will work? How close does a wireless charger have to be to the phone? Hmm, not sure about this.
The boy dismantled the old Pioneer. There is hardly anything inside it. It was a delight to see him carefully pull it apart to destruction.
Edit: scratch the wireless charger idea as I do not think the wattage will be sufficient to drive a wireless charging pad.
Edited again: this was the hideous Pioneer. Apologies if you have one and love it.
I ordered the Blaupunkt from Amazon for safety's sake and for quick delivery, even if it was £20 more than some other vendors: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XVMBKW4/ref... It looks great:
This Alpine KTP-445U compact Class D amplifier has been reinstalled in the front passenger footwell. It is not the most powerful amp in the world at 45w per channel RMS but that is twice what the Blaupunkt headunit puts out. It is very well reviewed here: https://soundcertified.com/alpine-ktp-445u-review/
I expected a wiring nightmare but it was all surprisingly OK.The Blaupunkt will connect to the Alpine amplifier by two Amazon Basics RCA cables: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01D5H8P0G/ref... (I do love Amazon Basics and Amazon Essentials). The output lead from the amplifier is fitted with an ISO female plug end so it can be connected straight into the factory speaker wiring harness which would usually plug into the back of the radio:
There is already a 12v feed from the battery. I need to tap into the 12v switched accessory supply. This has been butchered in the past. My intention is to tidy it up and tap in with a Scotchlok connector. That's a job for tomorrow evening when all bits have arrived. In the meantime we took the opportunity to remove a load of unused wiring:
I will also fit a black USB to Lightening lead to the rear of the new headunit and run the Lightening end either into the glovebox or into the centre console tray. The former is tidier. The latter more convenient. As I type I have had a brainwave. I could connect it to a wireless charger which I would put under the carpet in the centre console tray. Genius. Do you thing it will work? How close does a wireless charger have to be to the phone? Hmm, not sure about this.
The boy dismantled the old Pioneer. There is hardly anything inside it. It was a delight to see him carefully pull it apart to destruction.
Edit: scratch the wireless charger idea as I do not think the wattage will be sufficient to drive a wireless charging pad.
Edited again: this was the hideous Pioneer. Apologies if you have one and love it.
Edited by r129sl on Tuesday 30th March 20:20
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