Mercedes W124 E300D estate - progress, or not...
Discussion
That is the seal. There are two, not sided. The seal sits in a sealing frame which is sided; atop that is the body-coloured metal trim. I don't know how it all goes together. Bit of a bugger according to my man.
Does your car have ASD (automatic locking differential) or ASR (traction control)? It appears to have the warning lamp in the centre of the speedo.
Does your car have ASD (automatic locking differential) or ASR (traction control)? It appears to have the warning lamp in the centre of the speedo.
Thank you, sir. I've now placed the order for some seals - £10 delivered from Latvia, so we'll see!
I've ordered some other bits (because spending money is always a good thing until the credit card bill comes in):
Rear tailgate inner handle trim for a tenner (secondhand would have been £45 from the UK).
Rear wiper inside cover for another tenner, again new.
I've already grabbed some roof rack crossbars, which may never get used but were cheap.
Secondhand driver's door mirror.
Most interestingly, I was about to press the button on replacing the armrest via the expedient of buying a complete coupe passenger seat. Would have been about £30 more than just buying an armrest, albeit in grey fabric, so I could have converted the seat into a nice chair... but then a storage armrest came up in the US. Granted I'm paying more in postage than the part itself cost (and, working in the industry, the charge is hugely more than it'll cost, but hey ho) but storage is at a premium so I'm looking forward to touching up some chips in the MB Tex and bolting it on.
I've ordered some other bits (because spending money is always a good thing until the credit card bill comes in):
Rear tailgate inner handle trim for a tenner (secondhand would have been £45 from the UK).
Rear wiper inside cover for another tenner, again new.
I've already grabbed some roof rack crossbars, which may never get used but were cheap.
Secondhand driver's door mirror.
Most interestingly, I was about to press the button on replacing the armrest via the expedient of buying a complete coupe passenger seat. Would have been about £30 more than just buying an armrest, albeit in grey fabric, so I could have converted the seat into a nice chair... but then a storage armrest came up in the US. Granted I'm paying more in postage than the part itself cost (and, working in the industry, the charge is hugely more than it'll cost, but hey ho) but storage is at a premium so I'm looking forward to touching up some chips in the MB Tex and bolting it on.
Just grabbed a non-smashed rear lamp unit for £30. Getting there slowly!
VIN decoded below for interest. I'm not sure how much of the listed spec was standard, or when things were changed - the car now sports a leather interior, and is on 8-hole alloys. Neither of those are showing as fitted options.
r129sl: ref options, do you mean the section above the odometer and within the sweep of the speedo needle? If so, it's blanked out with an overlay. I was wondering what was supposed to be there!
VIN decoded below for interest. I'm not sure how much of the listed spec was standard, or when things were changed - the car now sports a leather interior, and is on 8-hole alloys. Neither of those are showing as fitted options.
r129sl: ref options, do you mean the section above the odometer and within the sweep of the speedo needle? If so, it's blanked out with an overlay. I was wondering what was supposed to be there!
Little steps...
I've had a look at the duo valve (which has had its innards removed to arrange heat into the cabin). It is, of course, significantly different to the spare one I bought - the one on the car has a thick brown plastic section in the middle, half of which removes with the solenoid covers. Obviously, one of the long screws snapped when I put it back together. I think the solenoids might be broken (which is what the specialist suggested) as I get no clunking when playing with the plug. Hmm. I wonder whether the solenoids from my spare would fit, albeit with some more disassembly first. I've bought a hose clamp to close off the hose that is attached to the valve portion that removes when I unscrew the five screws. I'll have a fiddle, break something, then have to take it to a mechanic as an urgent job because something else is going badly wrong after I've fiddled with it.
Rear lights aren't yet here, but are on their way. Same with the armrest.
I think the aux belt will need to be changed, as its squeaking for a fair time on startup. I guess the water pump may as well be done while the belt is off (?)
Something certainly isn't quite right with the starting after the car hasn't been run for a few hours. I'll probably drop off with my local Man - he's not a specialist but is willing to look up jobs on t'internet, and is slightly easier to get to. Hopefully he can diagnose if he starts the car up after an overnight stay with him.
I used the car as my instrument transport for a gig last night. The boot liner turned out to be a bit of a pain - now that I'm able to drop the rear seats (hurrah!) it was the liner that got in the way of just bunging my double bass in. Although the sloping rear window gets an honourable mention, too. The bass does fit, but has to go in diagonally. I'll have another fiddle when I have the time (hopefully not a breaking-something kind of fiddle) and see. It'll get fun when I take a keyboard, cello and associated stuff with me but, if it can all fit into a Skoda Roomster, it'll fit into this car.
Lastly.... I like the look of the US spec indicator units, but I'm feeling a bit too Yorkshire to pay £100+ for a pair at the moment. Cue a couple of stickers from ebay - perfect size and fit, any errors being mine. I like the change, although my indicator units do look whiter than the headlamps so I suspect they might not be the originals. Anyway, the extra ginger ties in nicely with the side repeaters, to my eyes.
Don't mind the rust hole - I'll get to them when I've run out of easy-level mechanicking (ie breaking stuff) or shortly before the MOT, whichever comes first.
Oh, and my replacement wing mirror has arrived, so I'm aiming to drop that on the road sometime this weekend. The adjustment motor seems to be working, but the mirror won't get to where I want it. I've got a replacement complete unit in decent condition and the right colour (£50 delivered) so I'll hopefully make one good one out of the two.
Boot now opens again, after cycling the locks a couple of times. Phew.
Rear lamp changed over. I remembered to check everything worked after it was all buttoned up and the boot refilled with clutter, which is the best time to discover a bulb out. I was going to console myself that at least the bulb-out warning was working properly, but it sorted itself out in a mile or so. Cars...
I think I've somehow attached the wing mirror in the wrong position - it seems to be rotated toward the rear (and down). Not sure how that's possible, given it only has three bolt holes. That'll be one for tomorrow.
I know it's only a few miles on from the last speedo shot, but...
Rear lamp changed over. I remembered to check everything worked after it was all buttoned up and the boot refilled with clutter, which is the best time to discover a bulb out. I was going to console myself that at least the bulb-out warning was working properly, but it sorted itself out in a mile or so. Cars...
I think I've somehow attached the wing mirror in the wrong position - it seems to be rotated toward the rear (and down). Not sure how that's possible, given it only has three bolt holes. That'll be one for tomorrow.
I know it's only a few miles on from the last speedo shot, but...
(These noob posting bans are frustrating)
Okay: I'm making some progress.
DAB aerial is in & working: aside from parking over a drain and an A-pillar clip falling off the trim, off my knee, and straight down the drain, sticking the aerial on was fairly straight-forward. Passing the cables through to the back of the head unit was a challenge, and I'll tidy it up when I have time. Connecting it to the head unit was more of a faff: I had to pull out the storage box, the centre wood section and the ash tray to be able to pull the head unit out, but that coincidentally fixed the ash tray's tendency to get stuck. Once I pulled the head unit, the aerial connection was taken up by some well-meaning attempt to hook up the FM aerial. That confused me, but a nice fitter at Halfords sorted it out. Initial review is that it's a worthwhile job.
Dash speaker on the driver's side is fuzzy - I've got a pair of Rainbows incoming.
Rear door speaker (this is an estate) on the driver's side isn't working. I sourced, modified, wired up & fitted a new speaker.... but still no sound. Must be the wiring that's bad. That's an arse.
Replacement rear light units are both fitted.
I ordered up some wheel bolts, but didn't check what's on the car. The car currently has at least three different kinds, but the new ones are different again.
The random short bolt is the bit that snapped off during the tyre change a few weeks ago.
I didn't fit the new ones as it looks like the far ends of the new bolts will be a few mm further towards the centre of the car, and I don't know whether that will interfere with anything. Comments welcomed!
What else?
The front footwells are showing a significant water ingress problem. I thought the passenger side was bad, but the driver's side edges it, I think. The foam was literally saturated. I haven't had time to properly dry them out yet, but I've got some strimmer line on hand to have a go of clearing the drain points. The rear seems okay, perhaps a bit moist on the passenger side. The car has rubber mats over carpet over mats over the carpet flooring, which is why it's taken me a while to notice.
Does anyone have a list of the drain points on an estate? I'm not sure what I'm looking for, or what's most likely to lead to water in the front footwells.
What else?
Panel clips are incoming so I can replace the missing three on the tailgate panel.
I whipped off the 'new' wing mirror as it was neither straight, nor in the right position, and only attached by two of the three bolts. Obviously my magnetic picker-upper got good use again. The new mirror is a coupe one and thus is a different shape, dammit. But I have found the cause of the changed mirror alignment - a small wiggly bit of metal has snapped off the innards. Once I popped the mirror glass off, I heard a rattle and the piece came out. I'm not sure how I can safely open up the casing to see whether I can reattach it but suspect it won't work (although I don't really get what the piece does) so a complete new mirror unit may be in order. If anyone needs a blue coupe mirror unit, let me know!
Other than that:
- Rust holes in the inner wings will get some attention somewhen. I think these may not be MOT failure points (?) but would like them sorted at some point.
- Front wing needs repairing or replacing. Again, it's a somewhen job.
- I need to cable tie the random trailer wiring socket so it's not banging on the exhaust.
- The very last piece of the front exhaust section is mildly holed. I want to fix that, and keep the exhaust going for a while longer.
- There's a thudding from the back of the car if I accelerate medium-hard sometimes. A bit like driving over cats eyes. No idea what that is.
- Hesitant starting if the car hasn't been run for 8+ hours. I need to leave the car with a trusted mechanic overnight so they can see what I mean, and we can go from there.
It's slowly coming along - things are getting done, but I'm finding more! Enjoying it, though, although it'd be nice to have some off-road space to do some jobs. (And someone knowledgeable to show me how to do them!)
Okay: I'm making some progress.
DAB aerial is in & working: aside from parking over a drain and an A-pillar clip falling off the trim, off my knee, and straight down the drain, sticking the aerial on was fairly straight-forward. Passing the cables through to the back of the head unit was a challenge, and I'll tidy it up when I have time. Connecting it to the head unit was more of a faff: I had to pull out the storage box, the centre wood section and the ash tray to be able to pull the head unit out, but that coincidentally fixed the ash tray's tendency to get stuck. Once I pulled the head unit, the aerial connection was taken up by some well-meaning attempt to hook up the FM aerial. That confused me, but a nice fitter at Halfords sorted it out. Initial review is that it's a worthwhile job.
Dash speaker on the driver's side is fuzzy - I've got a pair of Rainbows incoming.
Rear door speaker (this is an estate) on the driver's side isn't working. I sourced, modified, wired up & fitted a new speaker.... but still no sound. Must be the wiring that's bad. That's an arse.
Replacement rear light units are both fitted.
I ordered up some wheel bolts, but didn't check what's on the car. The car currently has at least three different kinds, but the new ones are different again.
The random short bolt is the bit that snapped off during the tyre change a few weeks ago.
I didn't fit the new ones as it looks like the far ends of the new bolts will be a few mm further towards the centre of the car, and I don't know whether that will interfere with anything. Comments welcomed!
What else?
The front footwells are showing a significant water ingress problem. I thought the passenger side was bad, but the driver's side edges it, I think. The foam was literally saturated. I haven't had time to properly dry them out yet, but I've got some strimmer line on hand to have a go of clearing the drain points. The rear seems okay, perhaps a bit moist on the passenger side. The car has rubber mats over carpet over mats over the carpet flooring, which is why it's taken me a while to notice.
Does anyone have a list of the drain points on an estate? I'm not sure what I'm looking for, or what's most likely to lead to water in the front footwells.
What else?
Panel clips are incoming so I can replace the missing three on the tailgate panel.
I whipped off the 'new' wing mirror as it was neither straight, nor in the right position, and only attached by two of the three bolts. Obviously my magnetic picker-upper got good use again. The new mirror is a coupe one and thus is a different shape, dammit. But I have found the cause of the changed mirror alignment - a small wiggly bit of metal has snapped off the innards. Once I popped the mirror glass off, I heard a rattle and the piece came out. I'm not sure how I can safely open up the casing to see whether I can reattach it but suspect it won't work (although I don't really get what the piece does) so a complete new mirror unit may be in order. If anyone needs a blue coupe mirror unit, let me know!
Other than that:
- Rust holes in the inner wings will get some attention somewhen. I think these may not be MOT failure points (?) but would like them sorted at some point.
- Front wing needs repairing or replacing. Again, it's a somewhen job.
- I need to cable tie the random trailer wiring socket so it's not banging on the exhaust.
- The very last piece of the front exhaust section is mildly holed. I want to fix that, and keep the exhaust going for a while longer.
- There's a thudding from the back of the car if I accelerate medium-hard sometimes. A bit like driving over cats eyes. No idea what that is.
- Hesitant starting if the car hasn't been run for 8+ hours. I need to leave the car with a trusted mechanic overnight so they can see what I mean, and we can go from there.
It's slowly coming along - things are getting done, but I'm finding more! Enjoying it, though, although it'd be nice to have some off-road space to do some jobs. (And someone knowledgeable to show me how to do them!)
[quote=Northbrook](These noob posting bans are frustrating)
Okay: I'm making some progress.
DAB aerial is in & working:
Was it one of the stick on dab ariels you've fitted. A bit late now but I put one of these on the oh's car last week and it transformed the signal from pathetic to pretty good.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FM-AM-DAB-Car-Radio-Act...
Okay: I'm making some progress.
DAB aerial is in & working:
Was it one of the stick on dab ariels you've fitted. A bit late now but I put one of these on the oh's car last week and it transformed the signal from pathetic to pretty good.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FM-AM-DAB-Car-Radio-Act...
Some brief thoughts given the late hour.
500k badge: eBay. Nice thing to have, though, and a few people notice it.
Rainbows: very good speakers. Sure, you can spend more, get more, but it is the law of diminishing returns and the Rainbows are very, very good given their size. They need a bit of beef behind them but I expect your new head unit is up to the job.
Water: I finally cured my water ingress by renewing the big, wide, flat seal that goes around the central windscreen wiper and reaches out to the bottoms of the 'A' pillars. It is a fiddle to fit right. Have a go at yours and make sure it is correctly fitted. also, there drain holes at the corners of the windscreen which bung up with leaves and stuff. Otherwise it could be the sunroof drains (but you'd probably get drips on your head and a damp headlining) or an ill-fitting windscreen. Took me forever to hone in on the big windscreen seal.
I have the 129 back but it might need more works. Bloody cars.
500k badge: eBay. Nice thing to have, though, and a few people notice it.
Rainbows: very good speakers. Sure, you can spend more, get more, but it is the law of diminishing returns and the Rainbows are very, very good given their size. They need a bit of beef behind them but I expect your new head unit is up to the job.
Water: I finally cured my water ingress by renewing the big, wide, flat seal that goes around the central windscreen wiper and reaches out to the bottoms of the 'A' pillars. It is a fiddle to fit right. Have a go at yours and make sure it is correctly fitted. also, there drain holes at the corners of the windscreen which bung up with leaves and stuff. Otherwise it could be the sunroof drains (but you'd probably get drips on your head and a damp headlining) or an ill-fitting windscreen. Took me forever to hone in on the big windscreen seal.
I have the 129 back but it might need more works. Bloody cars.
Don't necessarily expect the footwell water to come from somewhere immediately above the foot well. If this is the first time you've noticed it may have accumulated over time, water in the car will evaporate and condense in a daily cycle so it moves about. I guess it will be concentrating near areas that get cold and ones that are below them. I only ever looked/poked with strimmer wire at the drains in the sunroof corners and the leaf collectors on either side of the bonnet/windscreen area. The leaks I had were mainly the rear side glass in the boot and the rear windscreen rubber. It was a joy the day I stopped getting ice on the inside of the windscreen to clear.
Your dash dismantling and audio wiring jobs struck a chord, I fitted rainbows in the front, a wired fm modulator for an ipod connection so had to muck about with the aerial and had the ashtray get stuck when wires were floating around the rear of it. I got well practised at removing the storage box, wood trim etc. to get at the stereo. Connection to some of my speakers would come and go, it was the wiring immediately behind the HU for me though so relatively easy to wiggle and find the break.
These tinkerings are fond memories - I might look for another S124 one day when my wife is distracted.
Your dash dismantling and audio wiring jobs struck a chord, I fitted rainbows in the front, a wired fm modulator for an ipod connection so had to muck about with the aerial and had the ashtray get stuck when wires were floating around the rear of it. I got well practised at removing the storage box, wood trim etc. to get at the stereo. Connection to some of my speakers would come and go, it was the wiring immediately behind the HU for me though so relatively easy to wiggle and find the break.
These tinkerings are fond memories - I might look for another S124 one day when my wife is distracted.
Thanks for your comments, gentlemen. (or am I wrongly assuming we're all of the chaply persuasion?)
sprouting - aerial is a glass-mount jobbie, and does the job. Ironically, what was plugged in looks similar to what you've added, and wasn't rated by the Halfords guy. If I'm honest (after the event - duh) I didn't even think to try to scan for DAB stations as it sounded like there wasn't anything connected to the aerial port. Anyway, happy days all round (except having to retune at a particular place on a particular road - hmm)
r129sl - thanks again. I furtled the obvious drain points today, and they appear to be clear-enough, at least. Good to know that the front sunroof drains emerge in the front door shuts (albeit pretty inaccessible from the lower end) and the bottom-of-windscreen ones empty into the wheel wells. So now I think it's likely to be that big seal: I inadvertently tugged it off (fnarr) on one side when it was iced up a couple of weeks back, so I had a look along the whole length. I think the whole thing needs replacing as it's not a close fit along the whole length, and it looks to have been bodged on on the driver's side (which I've now disturbed).
Does anyone know whether that lower windscreen seal needs to be replaced in concert with the trim piece it clips into? And how easy it is to replace the aforementioned trim piece. I may well bodge on some silicone sealant to tide me over for a few weeks, and to see if that slows/stops the water ingress. But the seal looks like it'll be on the list in any case.
idiotgap - doo eet! Maybe distract with a handbag, and hope she doesn't notice. I park mine around the corner. Nothing to do with the drive being already full of cars & bikes, of course. And several large slabs of cedar, although that's its own tale.
So, what have I broken today? Well...
Heater button faces have been replaced! Not sure the buttons I got (from a breaker) are a direct replacement, as I had to separate the faces from the next bit back (technical terms are my speciality), and the 'new' switches don't have the plastic lens in the corner so, although the red lights can be seen, it's not quite kosher. But the faces are now visible, so it looks a load better. Not sure whether the centre button should be EC as the previous button was an easily-offended one (good job btw, helix402) but hey.
Pic because it did happen:
Mystery under the bonnet: should there be a plastic panel hereabouts? This area has seen bodgery, so I can't be sure either way. The other panels in this run will be on the replacement list.
... aaand today's breakage is the fan speed control, which I removed with my hammiest fist: it was already loose, but the plastic retaining pins holding the black plastic bit to the brown plastic bit have mostly snapped, so the front now has leprosy. Can't get the brown bit off easily, either, so I'm not sure how easy replacement will be.
And I'm sure I took a pic of the sans-mat floor, where the grey stuff (sound deadening?) is flaking off badly. What's the best solution - treat the surface rust, then add some new sound deadening? (and maybe cure the water leak...)
sprouting - aerial is a glass-mount jobbie, and does the job. Ironically, what was plugged in looks similar to what you've added, and wasn't rated by the Halfords guy. If I'm honest (after the event - duh) I didn't even think to try to scan for DAB stations as it sounded like there wasn't anything connected to the aerial port. Anyway, happy days all round (except having to retune at a particular place on a particular road - hmm)
r129sl - thanks again. I furtled the obvious drain points today, and they appear to be clear-enough, at least. Good to know that the front sunroof drains emerge in the front door shuts (albeit pretty inaccessible from the lower end) and the bottom-of-windscreen ones empty into the wheel wells. So now I think it's likely to be that big seal: I inadvertently tugged it off (fnarr) on one side when it was iced up a couple of weeks back, so I had a look along the whole length. I think the whole thing needs replacing as it's not a close fit along the whole length, and it looks to have been bodged on on the driver's side (which I've now disturbed).
Does anyone know whether that lower windscreen seal needs to be replaced in concert with the trim piece it clips into? And how easy it is to replace the aforementioned trim piece. I may well bodge on some silicone sealant to tide me over for a few weeks, and to see if that slows/stops the water ingress. But the seal looks like it'll be on the list in any case.
idiotgap - doo eet! Maybe distract with a handbag, and hope she doesn't notice. I park mine around the corner. Nothing to do with the drive being already full of cars & bikes, of course. And several large slabs of cedar, although that's its own tale.
So, what have I broken today? Well...
Heater button faces have been replaced! Not sure the buttons I got (from a breaker) are a direct replacement, as I had to separate the faces from the next bit back (technical terms are my speciality), and the 'new' switches don't have the plastic lens in the corner so, although the red lights can be seen, it's not quite kosher. But the faces are now visible, so it looks a load better. Not sure whether the centre button should be EC as the previous button was an easily-offended one (good job btw, helix402) but hey.
Pic because it did happen:
Mystery under the bonnet: should there be a plastic panel hereabouts? This area has seen bodgery, so I can't be sure either way. The other panels in this run will be on the replacement list.
... aaand today's breakage is the fan speed control, which I removed with my hammiest fist: it was already loose, but the plastic retaining pins holding the black plastic bit to the brown plastic bit have mostly snapped, so the front now has leprosy. Can't get the brown bit off easily, either, so I'm not sure how easy replacement will be.
And I'm sure I took a pic of the sans-mat floor, where the grey stuff (sound deadening?) is flaking off badly. What's the best solution - treat the surface rust, then add some new sound deadening? (and maybe cure the water leak...)
I've tried to seal up the base of the windscreen with some silicone as a temporary fix - we'll see if it helps. Hopefully the weather will be good enough this weekend to dry the mats out - the foam sections hold an incredible amount.
Speaker grilles have been sprayed satin black. This is a change for the rear grilles, which were dark grey but scratched & battered. Rear left speaker was working but has been replaced; rear right wasn't working and still isn't, which points to a cable issue.
Front speakers have been replaced with Rainbows - not as plug and play as the seller (via eBay) assured me, so I had to muck around with cutting the cables off the old MB speakers to crimp on new ends. Passenger side was fairly easy to get fitted properly, albeing I had to cut back the textile in the hole as the rear of the new speakers is bigger than the old. The driver's side seems to have a bit more in the way under the dash, so I don't think it's fitted as well. But they're in, and they do sound better than the originals. Although there's a rattle, which will drive me nuts one day.
Armrest is making its way slowly in my general direction - just paid an extra £30 odd in Customs charges.
And I've bought a 500k km badge, from Serbia.
Speaker grilles have been sprayed satin black. This is a change for the rear grilles, which were dark grey but scratched & battered. Rear left speaker was working but has been replaced; rear right wasn't working and still isn't, which points to a cable issue.
Front speakers have been replaced with Rainbows - not as plug and play as the seller (via eBay) assured me, so I had to muck around with cutting the cables off the old MB speakers to crimp on new ends. Passenger side was fairly easy to get fitted properly, albeing I had to cut back the textile in the hole as the rear of the new speakers is bigger than the old. The driver's side seems to have a bit more in the way under the dash, so I don't think it's fitted as well. But they're in, and they do sound better than the originals. Although there's a rattle, which will drive me nuts one day.
Armrest is making its way slowly in my general direction - just paid an extra £30 odd in Customs charges.
And I've bought a 500k km badge, from Serbia.
I had a go at treating the surface rust in the front foot wells yesterday. The grey stuff was blown, cracked and with water underneath, so I hoiked it out.
The black, more rubbery stuff also seems to trap water against the metal, but it seems more robust so I'm not sure of a plan for that.
Mats dried nicely in the sun, so I need to put some kind of paint over the treated sections and put the mats back in. Hopefully, the silicone bodge will show that it's that seal that's the problem, so I can replace it and have done with it. Time will tell.
Well, the silicone sealant bodge seems to have sorted out the driver's side. Not so much on the passenger side. We'll call it a draw for now.
I've trimmed down the height of the boot liner - as a double bass player, the height of the liner was causing me issues, so I've chopped it back so the liner has an upstand of 2" ish. Should give me enough space to load properly with the back seats down, but still provide some protection. Gives a little extra length with the seats up. The liner was damaged anyway, so it's no great loss - it needs the corners patching up anyway, so it's not exactly pristine.
I'm now getting the glow plug light on after starting, for a minute or so, and the car really didn't want to run this morning. It seemed to be missing on at least one cylinder, and smoking a bit - sounds like the glow plug relay is on its way out, or a glow plug. I wonder whether that would explain the running issue, and I guess it needs attention if it's something that's getting worse. Once started, the car ran fine for ~60 miles of variable roads today, although it did show the glow plug light on a couple of restarts. Hmm. I presume that changing the plugs would be an inlet manifold off job, so I wonder whether there's much in it to change the clear fuel lines while in there (if anyone happens to have the part numbers for those on an OM606, I'd be grateful). I'll get over to my mechanic sometime soon to get the car booked in.
What else? Well, the driver's door seal seems noisy, but I have nothing to compare it with. Don't these cars have two sets of seals, too? Not sure where to start with that.
The wing mirror isn't better than it was, but then it's broken. It's usable enough for the time being.
I need to get a replacement fan speed knob, as (after I broke it) the existing one falls off! There's a brown plastic piece still attached to the dial; not sure how (if) I'm supposed to remove it.
Oh, and the heating needs sorting out before the end of the month - I don't really want a long trip with the heating full on. Resistance on the solenoids is about 20 ohms, if I'm doing it right, both on the existing and not-right-shape spare.
In addition to that, the centre vent controls have disengaged from the flappy bit behind the vent, so I can't modulate the flow of air. Not great when you just want hot but are also pumping in ambient; also not great when you want some ambient to counteract the hot and can't get it! Nice to see that getting the vent out is an involved job...
I've trimmed down the height of the boot liner - as a double bass player, the height of the liner was causing me issues, so I've chopped it back so the liner has an upstand of 2" ish. Should give me enough space to load properly with the back seats down, but still provide some protection. Gives a little extra length with the seats up. The liner was damaged anyway, so it's no great loss - it needs the corners patching up anyway, so it's not exactly pristine.
I'm now getting the glow plug light on after starting, for a minute or so, and the car really didn't want to run this morning. It seemed to be missing on at least one cylinder, and smoking a bit - sounds like the glow plug relay is on its way out, or a glow plug. I wonder whether that would explain the running issue, and I guess it needs attention if it's something that's getting worse. Once started, the car ran fine for ~60 miles of variable roads today, although it did show the glow plug light on a couple of restarts. Hmm. I presume that changing the plugs would be an inlet manifold off job, so I wonder whether there's much in it to change the clear fuel lines while in there (if anyone happens to have the part numbers for those on an OM606, I'd be grateful). I'll get over to my mechanic sometime soon to get the car booked in.
What else? Well, the driver's door seal seems noisy, but I have nothing to compare it with. Don't these cars have two sets of seals, too? Not sure where to start with that.
The wing mirror isn't better than it was, but then it's broken. It's usable enough for the time being.
I need to get a replacement fan speed knob, as (after I broke it) the existing one falls off! There's a brown plastic piece still attached to the dial; not sure how (if) I'm supposed to remove it.
Oh, and the heating needs sorting out before the end of the month - I don't really want a long trip with the heating full on. Resistance on the solenoids is about 20 ohms, if I'm doing it right, both on the existing and not-right-shape spare.
In addition to that, the centre vent controls have disengaged from the flappy bit behind the vent, so I can't modulate the flow of air. Not great when you just want hot but are also pumping in ambient; also not great when you want some ambient to counteract the hot and can't get it! Nice to see that getting the vent out is an involved job...
Little update: the car is in with the man who'll hopefully be My Man (sounds so wrong).
Dropped off on Thursday and, by then, the from-cold running issue had developed a little further: a definite misfire, smoke from the exhaust because of the misfire, then (after that started to clear) the glow plug light coming back on. After a couple of minutes of running, the car is fine again but, on Thursday, it had the diet version of the same thing even after four hours rather than overnight.
So far, they started the car from cold on Friday to experience my problem, then switched it off. Borrowed a knowledgeable older MB guy from the local MOT centre, who came over and suggested a couple of things.
Glow plug relay is fine, but #1 plug is not fine and is seized, so that was the order of the day on Friday. They were generally complimentary of the car when I dropped it off, but hadn't had a chance by Friday to give it a good look over.
Dragging rear brake will be looked at, too - that's fairly new.
Heating duo valve has been organised from a nice guy in Lithuania (I think) - videos of it working were sent over. €65 posted. Fingers crossed!
Dropped off on Thursday and, by then, the from-cold running issue had developed a little further: a definite misfire, smoke from the exhaust because of the misfire, then (after that started to clear) the glow plug light coming back on. After a couple of minutes of running, the car is fine again but, on Thursday, it had the diet version of the same thing even after four hours rather than overnight.
So far, they started the car from cold on Friday to experience my problem, then switched it off. Borrowed a knowledgeable older MB guy from the local MOT centre, who came over and suggested a couple of things.
Glow plug relay is fine, but #1 plug is not fine and is seized, so that was the order of the day on Friday. They were generally complimentary of the car when I dropped it off, but hadn't had a chance by Friday to give it a good look over.
Dragging rear brake will be looked at, too - that's fairly new.
Heating duo valve has been organised from a nice guy in Lithuania (I think) - videos of it working were sent over. €65 posted. Fingers crossed!
...and the noob posting bans continue - very frustrating.
Car is still with the mechanic; when I spoke to him yesterday he hadn't had a chance to have another run at it. Glow plug is still stuck despite best efforts, and his tame drilling-out guy is out of action for personal reasons, but as he thinks it's not a glow plug issue and testing indicates that it's not affecting the other plugs, it can stay there for the time being.
Issue is, he thinks, either based on compression or diesel injectors. That's what the other mechanic suggested when he had a look last week. I'm hoping my Man can have another go of the car this week, either to track down or rule out the problem - if it's injectors it sounds like they can be refurbed (?), otherwise I guess low compression is more of an involved issue.
Hopefully the injectors aren't seized in, so can be removed and checked without significant effort (time, cost) involved.
Any beardly suggestions welcomed!
Car is still with the mechanic; when I spoke to him yesterday he hadn't had a chance to have another run at it. Glow plug is still stuck despite best efforts, and his tame drilling-out guy is out of action for personal reasons, but as he thinks it's not a glow plug issue and testing indicates that it's not affecting the other plugs, it can stay there for the time being.
Issue is, he thinks, either based on compression or diesel injectors. That's what the other mechanic suggested when he had a look last week. I'm hoping my Man can have another go of the car this week, either to track down or rule out the problem - if it's injectors it sounds like they can be refurbed (?), otherwise I guess low compression is more of an involved issue.
Hopefully the injectors aren't seized in, so can be removed and checked without significant effort (time, cost) involved.
Any beardly suggestions welcomed!
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