sl r129 anyone taken the risk on a 3/4k car
Discussion
plasticpig said:
I bought this last week.
Paid more than £4k for it but it comes with the private plate. I will be selling the plate which should bring it down to a sub £5k car. RegTransfers value the plate at £2000 but I am not expecting to get that sort of money for it. There is one bubble of rust on the NSF arch. This looks like it could be down to a stone chip but I will be taking the arch liners off and rust proofing everything in sight anyway.
One issue I want to sort is the seats:
I ran the vin through MBdecoder.com and it gives the interior as:
The problem I have is I can't tell which colour is which. I am guessing the headrest and the U shaped part of the seat back are Mushroom/ Champignon and the squab and bolsters are Cream Beige. I need to order some dye so I can fix the split leather in the drivers side bolster and fill in the cracks.
It looks alright that. Paid more than £4k for it but it comes with the private plate. I will be selling the plate which should bring it down to a sub £5k car. RegTransfers value the plate at £2000 but I am not expecting to get that sort of money for it. There is one bubble of rust on the NSF arch. This looks like it could be down to a stone chip but I will be taking the arch liners off and rust proofing everything in sight anyway.
One issue I want to sort is the seats:
I ran the vin through MBdecoder.com and it gives the interior as:
The problem I have is I can't tell which colour is which. I am guessing the headrest and the U shaped part of the seat back are Mushroom/ Champignon and the squab and bolsters are Cream Beige. I need to order some dye so I can fix the split leather in the drivers side bolster and fill in the cracks.
I'd get a car upholster to fix the seat. A decent one will match and replace that side panel, retain some patina. All the cushions pop off fairly easily.
Clifford Chambers said:
Crook said:
Clifford Chambers said:
I'd definitely try lubing the regulator before anything else. Door card removal isn't all that difficult, follow one of the guides online. Buy some cheap trim removal tools too.
Thanks for the advice. Do you know if the clips are still available? It may be the difference between a no chance and a slim chance of me completing it and the door looking relatively unchanged.Crook said:
Clifford Chambers said:
Crook said:
Clifford Chambers said:
I'd definitely try lubing the regulator before anything else. Door card removal isn't all that difficult, follow one of the guides online. Buy some cheap trim removal tools too.
Thanks for the advice. Do you know if the clips are still available? It may be the difference between a no chance and a slim chance of me completing it and the door looking relatively unchanged.Door card removal, done methodically, isn't hard at all. The plastic clips can break but are replaceable. The worry is more the pieces which hold the clips - they are glued onto the compressed cardboard or whatever of the door card itself. Coming off is no big deal, coming apart would be more bothersome.
You can't remove a 129 regulator that easily because they are pop-riveted into place (with three big 6mm x 12mm rivets) that would need to be drilled out. Other models of this era have the regs bolted in but the 129s and 124 coupes\cabs are riveted. This is annoying because ideally you would clean and re-lube the teeth of the regulator, the cog of the motor along with with the guide rail and associated plastic piece.
Gratuitous pearl blue with gullis pic for attention (ignition switch had gone kaput).
You can't remove a 129 regulator that easily because they are pop-riveted into place (with three big 6mm x 12mm rivets) that would need to be drilled out. Other models of this era have the regs bolted in but the 129s and 124 coupes\cabs are riveted. This is annoying because ideally you would clean and re-lube the teeth of the regulator, the cog of the motor along with with the guide rail and associated plastic piece.
Gratuitous pearl blue with gullis pic for attention (ignition switch had gone kaput).
Zonergem said:
Door card removal, done methodically, isn't hard at all. The plastic clips can break but are replaceable. The worry is more the pieces which hold the clips - they are glued onto the compressed cardboard or whatever of the door card itself. Coming off is no big deal, coming apart would be more bothersome.
You can't remove a 129 regulator that easily because they are pop-riveted into place (with three big 6mm x 12mm rivets) that would need to be drilled out. Other models of this era have the regs bolted in but the 129s and 124 coupes\cabs are riveted. This is annoying because ideally you would clean and re-lube the teeth of the regulator, the cog of the motor along with with the guide rail and associated plastic piece.
Gratuitous pearl blue with gullis pic for attention (ignition switch had gone kaput).
Thanks and where are you going with my car? You can't remove a 129 regulator that easily because they are pop-riveted into place (with three big 6mm x 12mm rivets) that would need to be drilled out. Other models of this era have the regs bolted in but the 129s and 124 coupes\cabs are riveted. This is annoying because ideally you would clean and re-lube the teeth of the regulator, the cog of the motor along with with the guide rail and associated plastic piece.
Gratuitous pearl blue with gullis pic for attention (ignition switch had gone kaput).
Zonergem said:
Door card removal, done methodically, isn't hard at all. The plastic clips can break but are replaceable. The worry is more the pieces which hold the clips - they are glued onto the compressed cardboard or whatever of the door card itself. Coming off is no big deal, coming apart would be more bothersome.
You can't remove a 129 regulator that easily because they are pop-riveted into place (with three big 6mm x 12mm rivets) that would need to be drilled out. Other models of this era have the regs bolted in but the 129s and 124 coupes\cabs are riveted. This is annoying because ideally you would clean and re-lube the teeth of the regulator, the cog of the motor along with with the guide rail and associated plastic piece.
Gratuitous pearl blue with gullis pic for attention (ignition switch had gone kaput).
I do like the early ones with the ginger indicators. I am however biased in that view. You can't remove a 129 regulator that easily because they are pop-riveted into place (with three big 6mm x 12mm rivets) that would need to be drilled out. Other models of this era have the regs bolted in but the 129s and 124 coupes\cabs are riveted. This is annoying because ideally you would clean and re-lube the teeth of the regulator, the cog of the motor along with with the guide rail and associated plastic piece.
Gratuitous pearl blue with gullis pic for attention (ignition switch had gone kaput).
Well in a surprising turn of events both solutions I tried worked. I can confidently say that squirting silicone grease on the rubber window guides returned full functionality to the window.
Also, and rather unsurprisingly greasing a door latch improves its action!
However it’s not all good news: I’ve had a bit of a gurgle for quite a while from behind the dashboard when I start the car which I presume is the heater matrix doing something. The coolant light has been on (then off) recently then on again on corners but I checked and it doesn’t look particularly low BUT there is an air leak out of the overflow pipe joint where it goes into the radiator. I know it’s a pressurised system but the top hose has no coolant in it. (Is that normal?) and doing a bit of a search it seems that bleeding the system to get air out is somewhat tricky.
Two steps forward, one step somewhere else.
Also, and rather unsurprisingly greasing a door latch improves its action!
However it’s not all good news: I’ve had a bit of a gurgle for quite a while from behind the dashboard when I start the car which I presume is the heater matrix doing something. The coolant light has been on (then off) recently then on again on corners but I checked and it doesn’t look particularly low BUT there is an air leak out of the overflow pipe joint where it goes into the radiator. I know it’s a pressurised system but the top hose has no coolant in it. (Is that normal?) and doing a bit of a search it seems that bleeding the system to get air out is somewhat tricky.
Two steps forward, one step somewhere else.
Crook said:
Well in a surprising turn of events both solutions I tried worked. I can confidently say that squirting silicone grease on the rubber window guides returned full functionality to the window.
Also, and rather unsurprisingly greasing a door latch improves its action!
However it’s not all good news: I’ve had a bit of a gurgle for quite a while from behind the dashboard when I start the car which I presume is the heater matrix doing something. The coolant light has been on (then off) recently then on again on corners but I checked and it doesn’t look particularly low BUT there is an air leak out of the overflow pipe joint where it goes into the radiator. I know it’s a pressurised system but the top hose has no coolant in it. (Is that normal?) and doing a bit of a search it seems that bleeding the system to get air out is somewhat tricky.
Two steps forward, one step somewhere else.
Which engine? My M104 3.2 self bleeds.Also, and rather unsurprisingly greasing a door latch improves its action!
However it’s not all good news: I’ve had a bit of a gurgle for quite a while from behind the dashboard when I start the car which I presume is the heater matrix doing something. The coolant light has been on (then off) recently then on again on corners but I checked and it doesn’t look particularly low BUT there is an air leak out of the overflow pipe joint where it goes into the radiator. I know it’s a pressurised system but the top hose has no coolant in it. (Is that normal?) and doing a bit of a search it seems that bleeding the system to get air out is somewhat tricky.
Two steps forward, one step somewhere else.
A new coolant pump and fan clutch sorted overheating problems. Even stuck in traffic 40c ambient and A/C full blast, gauge stays around mid point.
Clifford Chambers said:
Which engine? My M104 3.2 self bleeds.
A new coolant pump and fan clutch sorted overheating problems. Even stuck in traffic 40c ambient and A/C full blast, gauge stays around mid point.
M119, this post from an MB forum has got me thinking although not sure what he means by 129.066 engine though. A new coolant pump and fan clutch sorted overheating problems. Even stuck in traffic 40c ambient and A/C full blast, gauge stays around mid point.
Post excerpt:
“ Classic air lock problem. Not thermostat. Not fan clutch. Not rad, and definitely not pump. Don't waste any more time/money replacing parts before you have eliminated air lock.
You have an air lock either in the head or block. More likely former.
I would say air lock could have started in matrix. But now definitely in head/block.
When engine is hot and idling, the air lock disrupts flow of coolant. Water around air lock over heats and turns to steam which expands rapidly, increasing size of air lock, causing partial obstruction to flow of coolant through jacket. Temp goes up to 110-115. When you drive on highway, the additional pressure supplied by pump spinning faster overcomes the partial blockage due to build up of steam, normal rate of flow returns, engine temp reduces to 85.
Clues are in what you have already said: -
1) Temp goes up when you replace cap. This is because the system pressure builds up around the steam bubble and disrupts the flow.
2) That 2nd tank you found down by fog light/bumper. Half full of coolant? It shouldn't be. It should only have a small amount in bottom. It is an overflow tank in case of over expansion or overfilling of coolant. Why is your coolant over expanding and overflowing into overflow tank? Because when steam expands into air lock in jacket, this increases system volume and pressure, which raises coolant level in expansion/filler tank, and coolant overflows into overflow tank.
3) Blipping throttle 4k revs caused temp to drop because sudden momentum of coolant overcame blockage due to air lock.
4) Had a leaking water pump? Air locks can cause very high local temperatures (hot spots) and very high system pressures. The high pressure can lead to failure of the seal in the water pump, which then starts to leak. Bearing in pump normally fails first due to wear, which then cause leak. Tell tale is noisy pump. If you have leaking pump without bearing noise, suspect blown seal due to v high system pressure.
5) At 85° reading on dash temperature gauge
50° thermostat housing...
At 105°/ 110° reading on temperature gauge
90° thermostat housing...
Change in temperature differentials indicates restricted flow at higher temp due to air lock.
Get a good mechanic who understands the 500SL properly and who also understands the significance of air locks on the 129.066 engine.
This engine is the most tricky of 129 range to refill with new coolant apart from 600. Fill expansion tank up to top of clear plastic where it meets black plastic. Remove overflow pipe to lower tank. Fill up to underside of filler. Leave filler cap off. Run engine at high idle and squeeze top rad hose regularly. When engine starts to get hot, turn cabin heater up to max. Top up coolant if it falls below top of white plastic. Run for 20-30 mins when fully hot, blipping throttle to clear air locks. Turn off engine AND DO NOT REPLACE FILLER CAP UNTIL TEMP IS BELOW 60 deg C. Replace overflow pipe.
Driving a 500SL with an air lock inevitably leads to overheating and a blown head gasket!
Happy days!
Rob”
Benzworld post
129.066 is the specific model. My facelift 500s are .067 so I guess it’s the pre-facelift version; they’re pretty similar where cooling is concerned, although the thermostats differ early to late M119s.
I’m a novice, but successfully changed the coolant in mine without issue. The advice is to fill the block by disconnecting the top hose from the radiator; I can’t recall now how much it took, but a fair proportion of the total. Reconnected the radiator, top up via the expansion tank and then run up to temperature. Heater on hot and just topped up when cool and no further issues.
I’m not aware of it having a reputation of air locks etc., but if it persists perhaps drain and refill.
I’m a novice, but successfully changed the coolant in mine without issue. The advice is to fill the block by disconnecting the top hose from the radiator; I can’t recall now how much it took, but a fair proportion of the total. Reconnected the radiator, top up via the expansion tank and then run up to temperature. Heater on hot and just topped up when cool and no further issues.
I’m not aware of it having a reputation of air locks etc., but if it persists perhaps drain and refill.
Stegel said:
129.066 is the specific model. My facelift 500s are .067 so I guess it’s the pre-facelift version; they’re pretty similar where cooling is concerned, although the thermostats differ early to late M119s.
I’m a novice, but successfully changed the coolant in mine without issue. The advice is to fill the block by disconnecting the top hose from the radiator; I can’t recall now how much it took, but a fair proportion of the total. Reconnected the radiator, top up via the expansion tank and then run up to temperature. Heater on hot and just topped up when cool and no further issues.
I’m not aware of it having a reputation of air locks etc., but if it persists perhaps drain and refill.
Thanks for the advice. I’m a novice, but successfully changed the coolant in mine without issue. The advice is to fill the block by disconnecting the top hose from the radiator; I can’t recall now how much it took, but a fair proportion of the total. Reconnected the radiator, top up via the expansion tank and then run up to temperature. Heater on hot and just topped up when cool and no further issues.
I’m not aware of it having a reputation of air locks etc., but if it persists perhaps drain and refill.
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