Mercedes W124 E300D estate - progress, or not...
Discussion
Right.
I have the car back. And, potentially, some things are fixed.
I'll hedge my bets on that one.
Current annoying faults list:
- Noise from drivetrain. Prompted by propshaft bearing replacement; jury's out on diff or gearbox but likely one of those. Plan: take to someone who does drivelines and doesn't rely on plugging in to OBCs (that this car doesn't have).
- Driver's window has a mind of its own. Prompted by who-knows-what, maybe water ingress or low battery. Plan: no idea. Didn't happen for the Man in a couple of weeks (albeit I'm not sure how much driving was done), happened almost unceasingly to me for the subsequent ten miles. Pretty damn annoying and, in the wrong weather, dampening of both spirits and vehicle.
Niggles:
- Paintwork is shabby but, for the most part, liveable. I do need to do something about the holed passenger front wing (or just tidy up the duct tape).
- Inner wing on DS is also holed. Went through the MOT fine last year, but might have had a sympathy bye after all the other welding was tackled.
- Rear DS door now doesn't open from the outside. It was fine when I last saw the car last week.... I suspect something has come off internally, but the only way to tell would be to remove the door car and, while I'm in there, I may as well add sound insulation.
- Water ingress. Not sure if this is still a problem, as there will at least be residual water tucked away in the car. Will ponder; may get a dehumidifier to try and dry things out. Black rubberish stuff in front footwells (factory sound insulation?) may need to be removed as the water is lurking underneath.
That'll do to be getting on with.
I have the car back. And, potentially, some things are fixed.
I'll hedge my bets on that one.
Current annoying faults list:
- Noise from drivetrain. Prompted by propshaft bearing replacement; jury's out on diff or gearbox but likely one of those. Plan: take to someone who does drivelines and doesn't rely on plugging in to OBCs (that this car doesn't have).
- Driver's window has a mind of its own. Prompted by who-knows-what, maybe water ingress or low battery. Plan: no idea. Didn't happen for the Man in a couple of weeks (albeit I'm not sure how much driving was done), happened almost unceasingly to me for the subsequent ten miles. Pretty damn annoying and, in the wrong weather, dampening of both spirits and vehicle.
Niggles:
- Paintwork is shabby but, for the most part, liveable. I do need to do something about the holed passenger front wing (or just tidy up the duct tape).
- Inner wing on DS is also holed. Went through the MOT fine last year, but might have had a sympathy bye after all the other welding was tackled.
- Rear DS door now doesn't open from the outside. It was fine when I last saw the car last week.... I suspect something has come off internally, but the only way to tell would be to remove the door car and, while I'm in there, I may as well add sound insulation.
- Water ingress. Not sure if this is still a problem, as there will at least be residual water tucked away in the car. Will ponder; may get a dehumidifier to try and dry things out. Black rubberish stuff in front footwells (factory sound insulation?) may need to be removed as the water is lurking underneath.
That'll do to be getting on with.
That's not much fun, Ian- keep safe.
Window-wise, I may have a lead: the routing, on the post-face-lift cars, goes switch>comfort relay>window.
(happy to be corrected by a wandering beard)
So, first port of call is the comfort relay (which is under the carpet under the rear seat) - as the switch works okay some of the time and physically seems to be moving okay, I'm thinking the finger of doom points toward the circuit in the relay closing when it shouldn't.
Window-wise, I may have a lead: the routing, on the post-face-lift cars, goes switch>comfort relay>window.
(happy to be corrected by a wandering beard)
So, first port of call is the comfort relay (which is under the carpet under the rear seat) - as the switch works okay some of the time and physically seems to be moving okay, I'm thinking the finger of doom points toward the circuit in the relay closing when it shouldn't.
There are many downsides to the current medical situation, but an upside is that I get to spend more time near my car. So, yesterday, I had a fiddle. Results are.... mixed.
- Comfort module is under the rear seat bases: fold the bases up, and you'll see a rectangular raised patch in the carpet. If you get impatient and can't figure out how to lift the carpet, don't score around the rectangular patch and lift to find the module underneath, because it isn't. It's closer to you than that, tucked in a recess at the front (to you) side of the section under the seat base. I didn't have the time, tools, or inclination to remove the module just yet, but I've scoped it out and it looks fairly easy to remove. I also bought some contact cleaner.
- OVP will be here soonish, so I checked out where it needs to go. It's the upright silver job:
I could loosen the relay from its holder, but I couldn't easily disengage the wiring loom so didn't get too far. I'll wait for the new one, inspect the base then remove the old. I'll clean up the contacts, and keep the old one as a spare. I may also remove & clean the window switches.
- Drivers side rear door doesn't open from the outside, but does from the inside. I assume the rods have displaced. I'll need to take off the door card for this, so will wait until I have a new check strap & more SilentCoat. May as well have a go of whatever jobs it needs while I'm at it.
- My recently-fitted washer fluid cap has been damaged (it wasn't me) and most of the fluid has fallen out, been used, or been drunk. To the extent that the warning light is flickering on. I'll top up the fluid, but the cap annoys me - retaining strap looks torn.
- I don't know what this pipe is/does (and I haven't yet been bothered to check - hey, it's raining and I'm supposed to be WFH) but the insulation is knackered and now mostly fallen off. Can anyone tell me what it's for, whether it's needed and whether I can use something else to do the job?
Oh and, during comfort module excavations, it would appear that there's water sitting atop the metal under the carpet under the rear seat. I guess I need to pull the carpet and get the area dried out, but I have no idea where the carpet is secured.
Other than that, the driveline noise, the slightly odd shifting at times, the is-it-there new engine-speed noise, the lack of carpets in drivers footwell (still mopping up water), the odd wisp of smoke from somewhere around/under the intake crossover pipe, the car is doing well.
I should get a dehumidifier.
- Comfort module is under the rear seat bases: fold the bases up, and you'll see a rectangular raised patch in the carpet. If you get impatient and can't figure out how to lift the carpet, don't score around the rectangular patch and lift to find the module underneath, because it isn't. It's closer to you than that, tucked in a recess at the front (to you) side of the section under the seat base. I didn't have the time, tools, or inclination to remove the module just yet, but I've scoped it out and it looks fairly easy to remove. I also bought some contact cleaner.
- OVP will be here soonish, so I checked out where it needs to go. It's the upright silver job:
I could loosen the relay from its holder, but I couldn't easily disengage the wiring loom so didn't get too far. I'll wait for the new one, inspect the base then remove the old. I'll clean up the contacts, and keep the old one as a spare. I may also remove & clean the window switches.
- Drivers side rear door doesn't open from the outside, but does from the inside. I assume the rods have displaced. I'll need to take off the door card for this, so will wait until I have a new check strap & more SilentCoat. May as well have a go of whatever jobs it needs while I'm at it.
- My recently-fitted washer fluid cap has been damaged (it wasn't me) and most of the fluid has fallen out, been used, or been drunk. To the extent that the warning light is flickering on. I'll top up the fluid, but the cap annoys me - retaining strap looks torn.
- I don't know what this pipe is/does (and I haven't yet been bothered to check - hey, it's raining and I'm supposed to be WFH) but the insulation is knackered and now mostly fallen off. Can anyone tell me what it's for, whether it's needed and whether I can use something else to do the job?
Oh and, during comfort module excavations, it would appear that there's water sitting atop the metal under the carpet under the rear seat. I guess I need to pull the carpet and get the area dried out, but I have no idea where the carpet is secured.
Other than that, the driveline noise, the slightly odd shifting at times, the is-it-there new engine-speed noise, the lack of carpets in drivers footwell (still mopping up water), the odd wisp of smoke from somewhere around/under the intake crossover pipe, the car is doing well.
I should get a dehumidifier.
I'm not sure this car is cheaper than fishing!
But it's been a satisfying day, and I'm feeling better about the car.
Here's what I've done:
- Cured the intermittent low washer warning light, by putting in some screenwash.
- Thanks to a Herve Collette video I stumbled across, I've got the driver's side rear door working again. His video (Mercedes W124 rear exterior door handle, or similar) illustrates is best but there's one allen bolt to loosen - which is hidden behind the door seal - allowing the non-moving part of the handle to be removed, then slide the handle rearwards & pull outwards. The handle mechanism had come adrift from the inner lever, so a bit of fiddling later it's back on. It's still a little graunchy, but I'll have another look when...
- The parts I've ordered arrive. Two door check straps, £14ish each for Meyle, and some SilentCoat sound deadening. I'm planning to take off the door card, change the check strap, put some sound insulation in, grease the window regulator, make sure the plastic water barrier is in good nick, and reassemble. No idea how to do most of that, but I'll work it out!
- Driver's window issue seems to have (probably temporarily) gone away again. I'll continue to monitor. Maybe the can of contact cleaner being in the car was enough.
- OVP relay is in, and the rev counter is back! Along with the idle being 1-200rpm higher, and things feeling a bit healthier. I won't know about the cold start situation until I drive the car tomorrow.
Here's the blurb I posted on swampy442's thread:
The OVP change is pretty simple - take the black plastic covers off to see the part number, which should be visible. Get one of those.
The T-bar on the back of the relay fits into a brackety thing on the side of the relay box. I found I had to rotate mine toward the front of the car to free it from the far side, then push toward the rear to free the front side. That doesn't make sense until you see it, but you'll see what I mean.
The wiring connector isn't clipped to the relay (on mine, at least, but I suspect on all) so some patient wiggling should get them apart. I used a trim tool to gently prise them apart, but it is fiddly.
Squirt of contact cleaner in the connector, press the new relay onto the connector, and reinstall.
https://thumbsnap.com/5sOodlk4" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">
https://thumbsnap.com/5sOodlk4
You'll notice the connector has unpopulated pin holes - I guess this is why there are few variants of the OVP.
Even if this, on its own, hasn't resolved my cold idle completely, it certainly seems to have fixed the rev counter. After thinking about pulling the display, getting cables made up etc, a 15 minute £45 fix is well worth it.
- Dehumidifier is on order, and should be here in a few days. I'll try to get the existing water out of the car, so I can see whether there's still an ingress problem. Most of the factory sound deadening in the driver's footwell has now been removed, as there was water underneath it - this is what the SC is mostly intended for, but that won't happen until I'm fairly confident the footwell will remain dry. It will need to have the surface rust treated, and it'd be nice to be able to run with more than the bare metal.
What else?
- Mystery drive train noise is still there.
- I think there's a vacuum pipe off, as the car is shifting harshly most of the time. Not harshly-harshly, but it's thudding into gear when not going for it. I'll have a scout around.
But it's been a satisfying day, and I'm feeling better about the car.
Here's what I've done:
- Cured the intermittent low washer warning light, by putting in some screenwash.
- Thanks to a Herve Collette video I stumbled across, I've got the driver's side rear door working again. His video (Mercedes W124 rear exterior door handle, or similar) illustrates is best but there's one allen bolt to loosen - which is hidden behind the door seal - allowing the non-moving part of the handle to be removed, then slide the handle rearwards & pull outwards. The handle mechanism had come adrift from the inner lever, so a bit of fiddling later it's back on. It's still a little graunchy, but I'll have another look when...
- The parts I've ordered arrive. Two door check straps, £14ish each for Meyle, and some SilentCoat sound deadening. I'm planning to take off the door card, change the check strap, put some sound insulation in, grease the window regulator, make sure the plastic water barrier is in good nick, and reassemble. No idea how to do most of that, but I'll work it out!
- Driver's window issue seems to have (probably temporarily) gone away again. I'll continue to monitor. Maybe the can of contact cleaner being in the car was enough.
- OVP relay is in, and the rev counter is back! Along with the idle being 1-200rpm higher, and things feeling a bit healthier. I won't know about the cold start situation until I drive the car tomorrow.
Here's the blurb I posted on swampy442's thread:
The OVP change is pretty simple - take the black plastic covers off to see the part number, which should be visible. Get one of those.
The T-bar on the back of the relay fits into a brackety thing on the side of the relay box. I found I had to rotate mine toward the front of the car to free it from the far side, then push toward the rear to free the front side. That doesn't make sense until you see it, but you'll see what I mean.
The wiring connector isn't clipped to the relay (on mine, at least, but I suspect on all) so some patient wiggling should get them apart. I used a trim tool to gently prise them apart, but it is fiddly.
Squirt of contact cleaner in the connector, press the new relay onto the connector, and reinstall.
https://thumbsnap.com/5sOodlk4" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">
https://thumbsnap.com/5sOodlk4You'll notice the connector has unpopulated pin holes - I guess this is why there are few variants of the OVP.
Even if this, on its own, hasn't resolved my cold idle completely, it certainly seems to have fixed the rev counter. After thinking about pulling the display, getting cables made up etc, a 15 minute £45 fix is well worth it.
- Dehumidifier is on order, and should be here in a few days. I'll try to get the existing water out of the car, so I can see whether there's still an ingress problem. Most of the factory sound deadening in the driver's footwell has now been removed, as there was water underneath it - this is what the SC is mostly intended for, but that won't happen until I'm fairly confident the footwell will remain dry. It will need to have the surface rust treated, and it'd be nice to be able to run with more than the bare metal.
What else?
- Mystery drive train noise is still there.
- I think there's a vacuum pipe off, as the car is shifting harshly most of the time. Not harshly-harshly, but it's thudding into gear when not going for it. I'll have a scout around.
Tinkering is going okay, and is a pleasant antidote to the stresses of getting my team online and working remotely (although I'm very glad to be in the position to have work to do, and an employer that'll pay me for doing it).
Rear door cards are off, and remarkably easily thanks to a tutorial at Peach Parts. No notable breakages either, just one broken plastic clip that must've been sitting in the door for a while. That'll thankfully just be a superglue job.
Neither back door has its vapour barrier, which is not a huge surprise. The passenger side one, particularly, has bowed out slightly when it's got damp. I believe damp proof membrane would be a suitable replacement, although I'm not sure what to stick it to the door with. Any thoughts?
Door check straps are incoming, and will go into the rear doors before I put the cards back on. I'll get another pair for the fronts.
I've found out why one rear speaker wasn't working - this in addition to the wire extracting itself from its crimp...
Door card reinforcer needs re-sticking
Lastly, I've added some SilentCoat to the inside of the door panels, to supplement the single crispy elderly factory bit.
While I'm in there, I may as well grease anything that'd benefit. I'll have to look up what to grease, and how to do it.
Rear door cards are off, and remarkably easily thanks to a tutorial at Peach Parts. No notable breakages either, just one broken plastic clip that must've been sitting in the door for a while. That'll thankfully just be a superglue job.
Neither back door has its vapour barrier, which is not a huge surprise. The passenger side one, particularly, has bowed out slightly when it's got damp. I believe damp proof membrane would be a suitable replacement, although I'm not sure what to stick it to the door with. Any thoughts?
Door check straps are incoming, and will go into the rear doors before I put the cards back on. I'll get another pair for the fronts.
I've found out why one rear speaker wasn't working - this in addition to the wire extracting itself from its crimp...
Door card reinforcer needs re-sticking
Lastly, I've added some SilentCoat to the inside of the door panels, to supplement the single crispy elderly factory bit.
While I'm in there, I may as well grease anything that'd benefit. I'll have to look up what to grease, and how to do it.
It looks like the water ingress - at least into the front footwells - may have been dealt with. The solution isn't pretty, but it'll be revisited when there's less to work on.
Tosay I was able to swap the incorrect fuel filter bolt for the correct, £60ish one:
That gives me the ability to shut off the fuel if the standard shut-off fails. I assume the wrong bolt was fitted due to the high cost of the right one, but I wanted to have the safety aspect reinstated.
Just waiting for a few bits, now, so I can change the rear check straps and get the panels back on.
Tosay I was able to swap the incorrect fuel filter bolt for the correct, £60ish one:
That gives me the ability to shut off the fuel if the standard shut-off fails. I assume the wrong bolt was fitted due to the high cost of the right one, but I wanted to have the safety aspect reinstated.
Just waiting for a few bits, now, so I can change the rear check straps and get the panels back on.
Northbrook said:
I assume the wrong bolt was fitted due to the high cost of the right one, but I wanted to have the safety aspect reinstated.
Mine had the wrong bolt, too. Bizarrely, I think the wrong bolt might be factory but you have absolutely done the right thing. I was glad I had changed mine when the vacuum pump failed en route to a fortnight in the Highlands. That little knob saved the day.
It's good to know that I now have a Little Knob of Righteousness, even if I never need to use it.
After a frustrating few days of Working From Garage (a story for another time, perhaps) I'm now putting some time into the car. I've been waiting for a delivery from ECP and, although I understand the situation, getting a little unreasonably annoyed by the time it's taking to deliver.
But no matter - turns out I have what I needed in the garage already....
Anyway, today's job may mushroom now I've found the grease, but for now I'm working to change the front anti-roll bar bushes.
I've used the factory jack to get the car up enough for the axle stands - partly because my trolley jack is inaccessible, partly to try using the jack in advance of ever needing it - and I'm taking a break while the penetrating fluid penetrates.
While I'm beavering away, if anyone has any thoughts on the front shocks, I'd be interested to hear them - I don't know enough to know whether something isn't quite right (which I suspect it is (or isn't)) and what would need to be done to make it right.
The brake calipers & hub faces are looking a little crusty, so I'll aim to clean them up a little. Discs have a lip, but not a massive one.
~ time passes ~
Okay - the bar is off. Took some persistence, but not a massively difficult job so far. Car up on axle stands, wheels off, 13mm socket & spanner required.
Plus a 6'3" spanner, of course.
I'd left the undertray on, but ended up needing to remove the front two 8mm screws to let the front down, and the bar out.
I also found a screwdriver in there that isn't mine. Does that mean I'm in profit?
The inside of the driver's side inner bush doesn't look too clever (I cut the bushes to get them off before I decided on the undertray method)...
The bar itself doesn't look wonderful. I'll clean it up, and have a think about what to do. I suspect it'll need to be replaced.
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