Titivating my Mercedes 124
Discussion
Just happened to fit a new (used) relay to mine. It didn't cure the problem i hoped it would but it fixed some problems I didn't know I had.
Kick-down far better than it's ever been. Feels more powerful (I did feel the car had lost a little power some time ago) and seems to be using less fuel.
If it stops raining at some point I will get some more details about the relay in question.
Kick-down far better than it's ever been. Feels more powerful (I did feel the car had lost a little power some time ago) and seems to be using less fuel.
If it stops raining at some point I will get some more details about the relay in question.
I'm running this borrowed plume. Just for fun, really. It is a fabulous car (although a bit drug dealer in spec). I do prefer the 124, though. Not so good for towing. The G doesn't even notice this little trailer on the back. I'm picking up a big twin axle job tonight. I shall be interested to see how it hauls that when loaded with green wood.
A G350 2013>on is still my realistic dream car, and I toy daily with changing the family XC90 for one. I have never driven a new diesel, only my G500 - and my only concern is the manners on the motorway, as I felt like you really had to steer it in a straight line. How is the G350 in this regard?
jke11y said:
A G350 2013>on is still my realistic dream car, and I toy daily with changing the family XC90 for one. I have never driven a new diesel, only my G500 - and my only concern is the manners on the motorway, as I felt like you really had to steer it in a straight line. How is the G350 in this regard?
I ran the G down to Barnsley and back today, a roundtrip of almost 300miles. To my surprise, it made an excellent motorway companion. Visibility is excellent. Ride comfort is very high. It is quiet, too. It is also fast enough. I ran at between 80 and 100mph most of the way and it was very happy. Against all expectations, directional stability was very good. I did not feel like I had to steer it constantly. The chassis rigidity is pretty impressive, too. It gives a great feeling of well being. It is not economical:
I did some serious towing with it over the weekend. The trailer weighed 850kg. Full of huge, freshly cut and rained upon logs, I reckon it was hauling 4tonnes. It sailed up a very steep gradient and accelerated briskly to 70mph when joining the A1. It is fair to say I couldn't really tell the trailer was there, certainly I never felt the tail wagging the dog, which was quite common when towing loaded horse trailers with a P38A Range Rover.
Geekman said:
I actually think 20.6MPG is pretty impressive from a G if you were doing between 80-100MPH. I get that from my RRS (which I'd assume is considerably lighter) at 80-85: stick at 100 and you'll be getting close to half that, go much over 100 and you're straight into single figures.
Indeed, for similar driving I would get only 26-odd from my E61 535d Touring or Superb 280 estate, both without towing anything and with a considerably sleeker profile!loudlashadjuster said:
Indeed, for similar driving I would get only 26-odd from my E61 535d Touring or Superb 280 estate, both without towing anything and with a considerably sleeker profile!
Really? That seems very low for the E61... My early 211 with the 320 diesel returned 38 on a cruise through Germany at a 90 cruise 3 up and packed with luggage in 40 degree heat last year!With a big trip almost upon us, I replaced the front shock absorbers and shock top mounts and also changed the engine oil, oil filter and fuel filter. If I get time, I will have my local man drain and refill the diff and swap the steering damper. I just don't like going that far under the car, even on proper stands.
The shocks were about 85,000miles old. I'm not sure how old the top mounts are. I can't recall (and haven't checked) whether I did them last time I did the shocks or whether they were part of the works of refurbishment carried out when I bought the car 150,000miles ago.
I used Febi Bilstein shock top mounts (p/n 08669), £13 each on eBay; and Sachs shocks (p/n 115 069), £56 each from carparts4less. Both including delivery. Carparts4less is a trading style of Euro Car Parts but is always about 10% cheaper. I have no idea what the commercial logic there is.
This is an easy job, especially with air tools. Up on stands, support the control arm, loosen the top mount, blast off the three lower fixings, completely unfix the top mount, replace. The shock top mounts are three nuts. Maybe 30minutes per side. As always, the hardest part is getting the car up on stands.
A quick run to the village suggests a discernible improvement in refinement so I think maybe I didn't bother doing the shock top mounts last time.
The shocks were about 85,000miles old. I'm not sure how old the top mounts are. I can't recall (and haven't checked) whether I did them last time I did the shocks or whether they were part of the works of refurbishment carried out when I bought the car 150,000miles ago.
I used Febi Bilstein shock top mounts (p/n 08669), £13 each on eBay; and Sachs shocks (p/n 115 069), £56 each from carparts4less. Both including delivery. Carparts4less is a trading style of Euro Car Parts but is always about 10% cheaper. I have no idea what the commercial logic there is.
This is an easy job, especially with air tools. Up on stands, support the control arm, loosen the top mount, blast off the three lower fixings, completely unfix the top mount, replace. The shock top mounts are three nuts. Maybe 30minutes per side. As always, the hardest part is getting the car up on stands.
A quick run to the village suggests a discernible improvement in refinement so I think maybe I didn't bother doing the shock top mounts last time.
I find that prices are a lottery between ECP, CP4L and the eBay stores for both brands. It's a very odd business model whereby they often end up separately posting orders containing multiple parts to me.
Likewise, I just supplemented my 3 tonne axle stands with a set of 6 tonne stands. They're great, a much wider footprint and I can comfortably get under a car with them on their lowest setting.
r129sl said:
As always, the hardest part is getting the car up on stands.
You might have already gone down this route but replacing my flimsy ubiquitous Halfords 2 tonne trolley jack with an overly large and hefty 3 tonne jack made such a difference to the speed and confidence that I have whilst lifting cars. I really hate using smaller jacks now.Likewise, I just supplemented my 3 tonne axle stands with a set of 6 tonne stands. They're great, a much wider footprint and I can comfortably get under a car with them on their lowest setting.
This is the jack I use:
https://www.sgs-engineering.com/tja25-aluminium-tr...
It's a nice piece of kit. I have four axle stands, not huge capacity but enough. The main problem is my garage is a mess and quite small. Yesterday I was outside but my yard is gravel, which makes using the jack a bit tricky and lying on the ground quite uncomfortable. What I need is a shed: tidy the non car stuff out of the garage and into the shed. One of those scissor lifts would be nice, too.
https://www.sgs-engineering.com/tja25-aluminium-tr...
It's a nice piece of kit. I have four axle stands, not huge capacity but enough. The main problem is my garage is a mess and quite small. Yesterday I was outside but my yard is gravel, which makes using the jack a bit tricky and lying on the ground quite uncomfortable. What I need is a shed: tidy the non car stuff out of the garage and into the shed. One of those scissor lifts would be nice, too.
Any ideas what this might be?
A little 2 pin connector that has become detached behind my stereo. 124 820 5117 stamped on the plastic protection for the wiring.
Could it be the cabling for the hazard warning light switch as they stopped working recently.
Bought a new stereo that is playing up. Hopefully just down to a broken earth wire that I found.
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