That yellow SLK - new owner and new fixes! (the thread of history)

[RichardK]

In time! It will be happening. Need to have fewer projects demanding my time.

[RichardK]

The garage is getting crowded and the SLK is hogging the lift.

 

 

So time to finish this off.

 

 

Reassembly is the reverse etc. except I didn't get to replace the rear flexis since the fittings were stuck and the brackets threaten to bend, so will replace pipes and flexis at a later date.

 

 

Team yellow will be fully functional soon. 406 suspension next.

 

[RichardK]

(You can see I'd ceased caring about the finish on the rear calipers by this point, which is my own laziness and lack of prep - lacquer is best applied after properly refurbed calipers, not "vaguely washed, rattled clean and shown a wire brush". The fronts look better. Need a bench wheel thing).

[RichardK]

 

Out in the wild again! Drives well and it's good to be in a nice auto for tedious South East traffic. 2.3 sounding smooth and happy, diff quiet now it has new fluid.

 

Next jobs:

 

Change ATF + filters.

Change coolant + thermostat.

Get A/C charged/leak tested.

Wheel refurb, new front tyres.

New (genuine) front dampers.

 

Cosmetics - new wheel arch liners - full - both front sides.

Tidy small area of bubbling on roof near rear window (it's static, but not a good sign on these, best to get it before it looks really bad).

New front wings (genuine) with proper rust prevention on installation.

Replace all the dashboard bulbs.

 

Other tweaks:

 

Upgrade speakers, add microphone for the bluetooth/DAB+ radio.

 

And MUST find some genuine mudflaps. There's gotta be a set out there somewhere...

[RichardK]

One job off the list - picked up a microphone for for the hands-free side of the radio. One of those "Halfords in helpful mood" moments - went in and couldn't find one, they don't have them on the shelf, but then as I'm picking up some interior cleaner to attack the mouldy headlining on the Beetle, the chap pops up with one "remembered we'd got these in the back, will this fit?".

 

Yes, Yes it does. Cleaned a patch of windscreen with contact cleaner, heated up the sticky pad with hairdryer, fed wires alongside DAB antenna wire, no interior parts modified or damaged and I can now use the phone in the car on long trips. Very, very useful.

 

 

The SLK keeps on moving to being the best "all-round" car I have really.

 

 

Really need to get those wheels refurbished though, they look awful. This isn't the worst one, either.

 

 

Oh, and after all the fitting, phoned to make a test call and it was still using the headunit's faceplate one, which is naturally shit as it's on the left, to suit LHD cars, and I don't talk out of my knees anyway. In their defence, in a LHD SAAB 9-3 or 9-5 the microphone is very well placed. Had that "oh crap, I've been lying upside-down in a footwell ziptieing wires and now I have to take it all out again" feeling, but decided I should RTFM first.

 

 

*dunce hat*

[stripped fred]

Good work there. Enjoy hearing your updates on the fleet. The SLK is a very nice looking car and of course you've got it in the correct colour!

[RichardK]

These are fairly boring updates really.

 

I've tagged the yellow ones as TeamYellow, hence the link, and maybe other yellow cars can be tagged. That way we can just hit the tag and see all the yellow cars. Or Jaguars. Or CXs (which seem to be populating AS rapidly despite having long abandoned their status as shite and become recognised classics - or "parts not readily available so you need to stump up lots of cash to keep 'em mobile").

[RichardK]

So, with the other dailies playing up, the SLK has done the heavy lifting, racking up 5,000 miles or so since (it feels like) March or April. Poor thing was never supposed to put up with that.

 

One issue to report. Voltages went nuts, flickering lights... all manner of quirks - after some sodding heavy rain. I kept trying to solve it, while having to drive the car - it was at the point of "indicate and the radio goes off".

 

Went to remove the tail for the battery conditioner. Resigned to buying a new alternator.

 

...

 

Found the live wire on the battery terminal was loose. Tightened it. SLK now going like a rocket again.

 

New tyres on the front have helped with enjoying it.

 

Really can't wait to get the rest of the fleet out of the way and have a nice - not convertible, just "usable" Mercedes as my daily driver and let the SLK have some rest and attention - gluing the door trims back together and giving the interior a decent clean!

[Jim Bell]

Moar pics warranted.

[RichardK]

So the SLK has been getting a break. A while ago (feels like a lifetime ago) it was left with Kwik-Fit to get the A/C recharged while I got a haircut. The system held pressure, but when started up, sparks flew from the compressor clutch/pulley and it all sounded VERY unhappy indeed. They didn't charge me, but now the A/C system has a full charge, and a broken A/C compressor clutch (or whole thing, if the whole thing is broken, the A/C may as well be written off apparently). Surprisingly it does engage and blow cold, but the clutch is so loose it worries me.

 

However, with the XJS being "there" and working, and a bit more free time, the SLK is finally getting the service work needed.

 

 

 

 

Once Keith's A2 is repaired and out of the workshop, the SLK will be getting up on the ramp to get:

 

ATF oil & filter change.

Engine oil & filter change (6,000 miles since the last one - that's how hard it's been working since February)

New eheel arch liners.

Possibly new underbrace parts (they're rusty-looking, but I'm worried about captive nuts in the body. OTOH, Mercedes...)

Door trims removed, reglued and window mechanisms serviced, new speakers.

Investigate replacement of A/C compressor clutch - can it be done in-situ.

 

Next, exhaust. It's getting a bit rattly. This may be where I stop using genuine parts, but if I go aftermarket I want something really well made and finished.

[RichardK]

So everything got busy. The car got off the road for most of Winter. I failed to use those parts for servicing the gearbox. This week the gearbox started with violent changes.

*sigh*

 

Still. 5 years down. It's earned whatever it takes to fix the gearbox.

[RichardK]

Fluid changed, topped up, filter and gasket done, and the car is driving better than ever. So smooth and predictable!

[RichardK]

It's got a new friend. This is the daily driver - since last week I've put three tanks of fuel in it, it's covered about 800 miles and will probably take that to 1000 by the end of the week.

Ropey, rust, squeaky, steering to die for - literally - on a good fast bend (must fix that) and a gearbox that is clearly teaching me about some new issues on 722.6s that I hadn't known previously (I think there's a bad pressure spring in the valve block but will reserve judgement until fluid/filter service is done). But it's a V6. And now I have learned that the V6 is definitely the right engine to have. And that winter mode is fine.

 

I'm also learning that my yellow SLK - rusty wings aside - is probably far, far better than I give it credit for and worth much more than "a typical 1998 230K with over 100,000 on the clock".

 

(Yeay! Multiple files upload working again, got the damn Mac to accept Flash installation).

 

 

 

Why?! i Mean... just... why?

 

 

(This is why I haven't got anyone to fix the little patch on yellow car's roof. It will get done when the window can be removed and the work done properly. Doubt this was any worse but probably looked bad on a silver car, now it looks like shit).

 

Mercedes, we add plastic to trap dirt and rust!

 

 

Firefly meets Serenity.

 

 

Left or Right?

 

 

Does this change your choice?

 

 

Still favourite.

 

[fiatdaft]

 

I also have a rusty slk

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RichardK]

I think the word rusty is redundant when discussing SLKs!

Silver is going to be my experiment in buying secondhand and third-party parts. First up? Secondhand wings so the bumper has something to hold onto other than hope.

[RichardK]

(I'm actually entertaining thoughts of becoming an SLK specialist, admittedly outsourcing the bodywork jobs at first. Doubt I'd make money, but I might make enough to feed myself occasionally).

[RichardK]

Work ate me. Life changed.

Six years with this SLK. Six years marking a very complex emotional period. I've moved on. It's probably time for the SLK to move on too.

[Dirk Diggler]

Once you're above the ground everything's fixable no matter how it appears through that days window

 

Hope to see some Twingo related posts

[Sigmund Fraud]

It's probably time for the SLK to move on too.

 

Tell us more...

[RichardK]

Tell us more...

 

 

Work involves driving many new cars plus I have my Fullback (which I'm loving despite driving many new cars - have driven X-Class, Navara, Amarok V6, Isuzu D-Max, still very happy with the Fiat I pay my own money for, rather than say, resenting it). The SLK hasn't been MoTd for six months, it's just been sitting in a corner of the (now well-lit and well-appointed with plugs) workshop because I've had no time to drive it. Or my Twingo... which is still behaving well but hasn't had a fuel up since September.

 

So I am thinking the SLK will get MoTd and go.

 

Amusingly my housemate's old Saab 9-3 carked it, and I bought her a C70 2.0 turbo cabriolet auto thinking we might share, but she's so utterly in love with it - and spent so long setting the seat up just right - that I'm not allowed it. And I drove it and remembered why I didn't buy a new one, I haven't felt that much scuttle shake since having a rusty 1979 Renault 5 "Cleveland" Cabriolet (or test-driving a new C70).

[Jim Bell]

I think he meant HOW MUCH MONEY FOR THIS FINE YELLOW KNICKERDROPPER.

[SiC]

I'd love a Triumph Herald/Vitesse or similar classic convertible, but they're worth too much now!

 

This one might be worth keeping an eye on.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F253427040828

 

Ok it's not a convertible, but the roof comes off still and cheaper because of it. Worth keeping an eye on eBay, I saw a decent looking Spitfire going for £2k. Admittedly it was listed in the wrong category (other modern cars rather than classic cars).

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 

 

So I am thinking an E46 BMW with a floppy roof, but not be horrible.

 

 

 

 

 

Let us know how that works out.

[Sigmund Fraud]

I think he meant HOW MUCH MONEY FOR THIS FINE YELLOW KNICKERDROPPER.

 

^WHS.

 

I can haz midlife crisorz.

[Six-cylinder]

 

 

but it has to have four seats and a folding roof and not be horrible.

 

 

 

Saab 9-3 Turbo Convertible?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

James Corden has/had one.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

I saw a bright yellow SLK in a car park in Warrington the other day. An early one. It really did look VERY different to everything else parked there and I liked the look of it. I suddenly realised they have made the transition to classic (in my head at least.)

[RichardK]

I think he meant HOW MUCH MONEY FOR THIS FINE YELLOW KNICKERDROPPER.

 

I am really not sure; on the one hand it seems so much tidier than many S-plate SLKs, plus yellow, OTOH it has a couple of scabby bits which have been in stasis for 6 years.

 

I paid £2250 for it. I'd probably consider that a win, regardless of what I've spent in the meantime. But I'm more interested in what other cars might be feasible - there's no push to sell it, just a sadness that if I am going to be in a relationship with someone with two kids, and working where I drive test cars all the time, the SLK is literally sitting in a garage going nowhere. And that's horrible.

 

It's got a full tank and had a wash, but needs MoT before I do anything else. And no matter how I try to think about different things, the E36 cabriolet is calling. Less stodgy than an A4, and I don't want to go down the route of a SAAB again (trying to get rid of a not-convertible one), and C70s are too floppy.

 

 

[RichardK]

Also tempted by the thought of a Rover R8 cabriolet. Which is, frankly, worrying.

 

What next, late-model Escort floppytop?

[Braddon81]

If you've got the opportunity I'd stash the Slk away under a cover for another day. You've invested a lot of time on it, currently their at their lowest level price wise and genuinely nice ones are becoming few and far between. By all means get a more practical cabrio.. sell the Twingo if needs be.. but reading between the lines I think that if you did get rid of the Slk you might regret it more than you currently think you would.