Mercedes W124 E300D estate - progress, or not...
Discussion
I suspect it's been broken for longer than that!
I only had chance for a brief look at what Sion was talking about. I did notice that the new spring seemed a little longer than the (parts of) the old one, and Sion then pointed out the bottom of the coil, which had also fractured at some point (surface rust on the end). So I think it lost the bit which sat against the lower arm, but that probably had minimal impact on the ride height. There might have been as much as one coil broken off, but it may have been less than that. Certainly it was older than the recent break, and wasn't noticed on the MOT (which Sion did about six weeks ago).
I only had chance for a brief look at what Sion was talking about. I did notice that the new spring seemed a little longer than the (parts of) the old one, and Sion then pointed out the bottom of the coil, which had also fractured at some point (surface rust on the end). So I think it lost the bit which sat against the lower arm, but that probably had minimal impact on the ride height. There might have been as much as one coil broken off, but it may have been less than that. Certainly it was older than the recent break, and wasn't noticed on the MOT (which Sion did about six weeks ago).
Thanks - this helps substantiate my theory that spring fractures can be difficult to spot unless you are really looking for them, especially if they are near the top or bottom of the spring. I have found a few posts on the Merc Club forum along these lines, including ones about springs snapping near the bottom.
Found an OE wing to replace the rusty one on my E300D. Does anyone know a good source for the fastener/clip thingies that I understand are one-use only and will therefore presumably snap when I take the old wing off? Would prefer not to get them from Latvian ebayers. If it's MB UK only that's fine, just wondering if there are any worthwhile aftermarket options. Thanks for any info.
Just been chatting to a chap at Edward Hall Classic Mercedes in Aylesbury. Apparently they have a huge warehouse full of classic Merc parts that they're doing nothing with because (a) none of it is catalogued and (b) the warehouse is five miles away from their main premises. They've got everything in there, the guy told me, but it needs some old geezer (like me!) to go in there and spend the rest of their days methodically working through it all. As it stands they're not even offering a sales service because they can't spend an hour looking for one part.
Approaching the 160k mark on my '96 E300 estate. Just had all the glow plugs replaced, a new glow plug relay fitted and various crispy bits of original wiring liquid-latexed. All was great for a month or so, proper starting and running as the factory intended, but in the last week or so an intermittent fault has popped up when starting from cold. The car starts OK once the glow plug light is off but then instantly dies. I then have to crank it for a good while (20-30 secs) with the throttle pedal down before it eventually fires up again and runs. All is fine after that it's not an issue when the car is warm. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this? It's like there's no 'choke' action.
Sorry for the slow reply. Sounds entirely like an O ring in the fuel system is letting air in. Fine when warm likely just means it hasn't had time to drain back to the tank yet. It could be the strainer in the fuel tank, which isn't an impossibly difficult one to DIY if you felt like changing it (I've done is somewhere upthread) but most likely a seal under the bonnet (which I've also done upthread).
I will have to update more fully, but the car is still thrumming away and gently adding miles. Today I clicked onto 325k miles on my drive.
This was as I got home from picking up some new (to me) wheels from a confirmed Merc-head. Not sure what I'll do with them, or whether they'll even fit (they're 16 x 7.5, and were on a nice two-tone blue W140) but.... they were free.
Other than that, the car has been a fantastic road chariot for a bargainous kayak I bought recently. The paintwork sadly has some more scuffs now, but that'll get done eventually.
Other than that, the infra red central locking isn't unlocking the car, but then not is the inside method, so I think there's an issue with the central locking gubbins and the IR aspect is a side effect. Mildly inconvenient to jungle gym through the car, but....manana.
This was as I got home from picking up some new (to me) wheels from a confirmed Merc-head. Not sure what I'll do with them, or whether they'll even fit (they're 16 x 7.5, and were on a nice two-tone blue W140) but.... they were free.
Other than that, the car has been a fantastic road chariot for a bargainous kayak I bought recently. The paintwork sadly has some more scuffs now, but that'll get done eventually.
Other than that, the infra red central locking isn't unlocking the car, but then not is the inside method, so I think there's an issue with the central locking gubbins and the IR aspect is a side effect. Mildly inconvenient to jungle gym through the car, but....manana.
Thanks! Hopefully I'll be able to talk through in the morning what bits of the underside have turned to cornflakes, and we can go from there.
The welding bit of the fail sheet is:
"Nearside Front Lower Cab or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a cab mounting Inner part of the floor (6.2.2 (d) (i))
Offside Front Lower Cab or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a cab mounting Inner part of the floor (6.2.2 (d) (i))"
So I'm not really sure what that entails, but it sounds a bit front floor to me.
Looks like there are replacement panels available.....in theory. Possibly even genuine Mercedes ones, for a price, otherwise aftermarket does exist, or at least used to exist.
I don't want to throw good money after bad, but it's a very practical car that I'm very fond of and enjoy driving.
Equally, though, if I don't sort out the water ingress issue, it'll just happen all over again!
The welding bit of the fail sheet is:
"Nearside Front Lower Cab or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a cab mounting Inner part of the floor (6.2.2 (d) (i))
Offside Front Lower Cab or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a cab mounting Inner part of the floor (6.2.2 (d) (i))"
So I'm not really sure what that entails, but it sounds a bit front floor to me.
Looks like there are replacement panels available.....in theory. Possibly even genuine Mercedes ones, for a price, otherwise aftermarket does exist, or at least used to exist.
I don't want to throw good money after bad, but it's a very practical car that I'm very fond of and enjoy driving.
Equally, though, if I don't sort out the water ingress issue, it'll just happen all over again!
Edited by Northbrook on Thursday 11th January 23:14
It is an estate and the wet spot on the ground is right below where that plug sits so I'm hoping for an easy solution. The only other thing that's happening is some diesel wetness on the ground from the tailpipe at idle. Hoping that's nothing sinister and just something I haven't noticed before, maybe connected to the unusually cold weather?
Thanks for your thoughts and I hope you get your issue sorted. Great cars.
Thanks for your thoughts and I hope you get your issue sorted. Great cars.
Northbrook said:
"Nearside Front Lower Cab or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a cab mounting Inner part of the floor (6.2.2 (d) (i))
Offside Front Lower Cab or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a cab mounting Inner part of the floor (6.2.2 (d) (i))"
Likely sounds dreadful but a known quantity for the w124 specialists - and as you say, panels are always available. Can you get some pictures so we can ask the PH collective and get some recommendations for repair places to help?Offside Front Lower Cab or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a cab mounting Inner part of the floor (6.2.2 (d) (i))"
I'm happy to see it again - been a while!
I'll see what I can do - thanks. I was feeling quite down about it, but I don't really want my time with the car to end because of it. Thanks for the suggestion.
I've got the car back now - my Man doesn't want to tackle it, because he thinks it would need A Proper Job rather than patching. I'm inclined to agree....except a patch job might help to keep things going for now while I get together the means to restore properly.
He did also say the rest of the underside is in pretty good nick (which is a little nicer than he said for the 14p Lexus!) and he's since said that he's working to find someone who could do the welding. So there's hope! Car is under a cover at the moment as the reason the floors are dodgy is water ingress, and I think that's scuttle panel related, so keeping the rain off for now is the short term plan.
BP - that sounds like it's worth a try. It's a big spanner or socket you'll need, though - thirty-something if I remember rightly, or it's a big hex bit. I have changed the filter, so the side of jobbie should be mentioned up-thread. I think I tackled it about 4 years ago and I've moved house since then otherwise I'd gladly lend you the tool, but I have no clue where it is!
I've got the car back now - my Man doesn't want to tackle it, because he thinks it would need A Proper Job rather than patching. I'm inclined to agree....except a patch job might help to keep things going for now while I get together the means to restore properly.
He did also say the rest of the underside is in pretty good nick (which is a little nicer than he said for the 14p Lexus!) and he's since said that he's working to find someone who could do the welding. So there's hope! Car is under a cover at the moment as the reason the floors are dodgy is water ingress, and I think that's scuttle panel related, so keeping the rain off for now is the short term plan.
BP - that sounds like it's worth a try. It's a big spanner or socket you'll need, though - thirty-something if I remember rightly, or it's a big hex bit. I have changed the filter, so the side of jobbie should be mentioned up-thread. I think I tackled it about 4 years ago and I've moved house since then otherwise I'd gladly lend you the tool, but I have no clue where it is!
No problem thanks, I'm sure my local one-man 'specialist' will have the right tool for the job. He has a ramp and we've got a time booked in to take a look at it.
Can't imagine losing my wagon. In over 50 years motoring I've never felt so attached to a vehicle. It's on washing machine transport duty tomorrow, or a sofa if I can fit it in/on.
Can't imagine losing my wagon. In over 50 years motoring I've never felt so attached to a vehicle. It's on washing machine transport duty tomorrow, or a sofa if I can fit it in/on.
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