Project Mercedes Benz - W123 230E & W124 200E - Both happy and working ok

[Tadhg Tiogar]

On 6/5/2021 at 1:53 PM, Peter C said:

....The recommended lubricant for the bearings is PAS fluid. Luckily I had some and using a syringe I managed to apply it directly to the bearings without getting it all over the motor assembly.

....

I'm slightly* surprised to see PAS fluid recommended as suitable for motor bearings. I've always used plastics-compatible grease such as Labelle 102 for motor bearings, or Electrolube if I'm desperate. Grease tends to stay where it's put.

[Peter C]

8 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

I'm slightly* surprised to see PAS fluid recommended as suitable for motor bearings. I've always used plastics-compatible grease such as Labelle 102 for motor bearings, or Electrolube if I'm desperate. Grease tends to stay where it's put.

According to a MB website the bearings are actually brass or carbon bushings. Whilst grease might be better, it would not be possible to apply it without dismantling the motor and exposing the bushings.

[TheOtherStu]

You have some lovely old Mercs there. Not fancied a "touring"?

[jon928se]

According to a MB website the bearings are actually brass or carbon bushings. Whilst grease might be better, it would not be possible to apply it without dismantling the motor and exposing the bushings.

They're probably oilite bushings. In which case a straight 20 weight oil is recommended from memory. Dextron 3 ATF meets that and is a high quality spec, (compared to say SAE 20 oil yould put in a lawn mower engine.

Advice I have read is to steep the bushings in oil for 24 hours at an elevated temperature say 50 or 60 C or so, then allow to cool in the oil before installing

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[Peter C]

8 hours ago, TheOtherStu said:

You have some lovely old Mercs there. Not fancied a "touring"?

I've had two S124s, a 200TE and a 300TD. Both had issues with the rear SLS. 

I don't need the extra load space and I prefer the styling and simplicity of the saloons. The same applies to C124s and A124s, they are not my cup of tea. It's W all the way.

[Peter C]

I'm planning on giving the 200E a good polish tomorrow. I'll start with Autoglym Super Resin Polish, applied with my rotary polisher, then it will get a coat of Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection. Ahead of tomorrow's shenanigans I've given it a good wash and cleared out muck from behind the sill covers.

At the rear.

And the front.

It gives me pleasure to clean parts of the car that are not on show. Note the amount of crud that dropped out from behind the sill covers and bear in mind that I attend to these areas at least once a year. Less well looked after W124s will be hiding massive amounts of wet crud and rotting away quietly in these well concealed places. 

It's insurance renewal time for the 230E, which means taking fresh photos for the agreed valuation submission. The car looks so pretty and clean that I wanted to share my photos with you.

[Peter C]

One more photo, a bit more arty!

[Peter C]

Sometime last week, not sure exactly when, the 200E got hit with a stone and this happened:

I posted a wanted ad for a new headlight on the W124 Facebook forum. There are a lot of bell ends on there, however one chap came to the rescue and turned up this morning in this:

And delivered a replacement genuine Bosch headlamp, all for £40. Top man.

Before taking the old one out, I checked the height of the beam.

Removal of the headlight is easy, takes 5 minutes. Unfortunately, comparing the two units revealed that the vacuum pipe connection (for the height adjustment) is very different. There was no way that my connector would securely clip onto the pipe of the replacement headlight.

Not to worry, I swapped the lenses around.

And job done.

As I've removed and put back the original headlight, I don't think much could have gone wrong. However, checking the beam height revealed that it was a couple of inches lower than before. I suspect that removal of the vacuum pipe has affected the height setting and order will be restored next time I start the engine and adjust the height setting. I hope!

In other news, the front suspension is really starting to knock quite badly. The top mounts, shock absorbers and anti-roll bar bushes are all new. The only thing left to sort out is the bottom ball joints and wishbone bushes. This is not a job that I fancy tackling. For starters, I don't have the right spring compressor tool or welding equipment required to loosen 30 year old wishbone fixings.

I got a quote for the work from my local Mercedes Specialist, Wheels VT in Beaconsfield. They are walking distance from my house so I popped over to see them earlier this week. I got this today:

I'm not paying £1,156 for the work. I contacted another specialist, this time located in Princess Risborough and he quoted a more palatable £750 all in, including the geometry set up. I've agreed to have the work done, date TBC.

It's getting expensive!

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

5 minutes ago, Peter C said:

....I swapped the lenses around.

And job done.

 

Plus you now have good spare reflector bowls and rear housing.

[bigfella2]

Can you not just buy the lenses on there own? Only reason I ask is that in the late 90's early noughties you could buy just the headlight lenses for Merc 190's from German and swedish, so I'd imagine someone would do just the lenses for the w124. 

[Ian_Fearn]

@Peter Clooking at the interior pictures of your W123 makes me think this would be a lovely place to spend time. Purely from a speculative point of view….. what are the w123 series cars like to drive?

Are they a country mile away from say a 90s saloon car?

What about getting parts for one? 

[Six-cylinder]

Have you any experience of low cost W124 aftermarket front wings? 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223325165005?fits=Plat_Gen%3AW124&hash=item33ff3795cd:g:PDkAAOSwJWhfsCQL

[NorthernMonkey]

1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

Have you any experience of low cost W124 aftermarket front wings? 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223325165005?fits=Plat_Gen%3AW124&hash=item33ff3795cd:g:PDkAAOSwJWhfsCQL

Watching with interest….. 🤨

[Agila]

3 hours ago, Ian_Fearn said:

looking at the interior pictures of your W123 makes me think this would be a lovely place to spend time

Having been lucky enough to see this a few weeks ago. I can confirm this is a majestic incredible machine that pictures really don't do it justice.

[Peter C]

On 6/18/2021 at 7:51 PM, bigfella2 said:

Can you not just buy the lenses on there own? Only reason I ask is that in the late 90's early noughties you could buy just the headlight lenses for Merc 190's from German and swedish, so I'd imagine someone would do just the lenses for the w124. 

I think you can. I asked for either a lens or a complete light unit on the Facebook page and the offer to deliver a complete unit for £40 was too good to miss.

[Peter C]

5 hours ago, Ian_Fearn said:

@Peter Clooking at the interior pictures of your W123 makes me think this would be a lovely place to spend time. Purely from a speculative point of view….. what are the w123 series cars like to drive?

Are they a country mile away from say a 90s saloon car?

What about getting parts for one? 

They are comfortable and fun to drive but in an old skool way. In a straight line, my 230E, with approx 130BHP keeps up with modern traffic and will sit at 80MPH all day long, however show it a bend or two and it struggles. The suspension is all independent, it's got PAS and disc brakes all round but it feels old fashioned and lacks grip on 175 section tyres. 

Most parts are available but not trim, that's only available second hand and often at inflated prices.

[Peter C]

3 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

Have you any experience of low cost W124 aftermarket front wings? 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223325165005?fits=Plat_Gen%3AW124&hash=item33ff3795cd:g:PDkAAOSwJWhfsCQL

@NorthernMonkey

I have good news for you boys. Take a look at photos of my W124, the nearside wing is a genuine replacement MB part whilst the offside is a cheap EBay pattern part. The repro part fits ok. It's all good around the front where it abuts the headlamp and indicator and the shut line with the door is perfect. The top of the wing is level with most of the bonnet, it only drops a bit by the A-post but it's not instantly noticeable. 

Last year I acquired a pair of good (rust free) genuine MB front wings, which I would be willing to part with in exchange for the same price as the pattern wing offered on EBay, if anyone is interested? They would be sold as a pair and both would need painting.

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, Peter C said:

Last year I acquired a pair of good (rust free) genuine MB front wings, which I would be willing to part with in exchange for the same price as the pattern wing offered on EBay, if anyone is interested? They would be sold as a pair and both would need painting.

I am interested in the genuine wings, do you have some photos?

[Peter C]

1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

I am interested in the genuine wings, do you have some photos?

[Peter C]

1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

I am interested in the genuine wings, do you have some photos?

They look better in the flesh. 

[Rocket88]

Apart from wrong gearbox, gloriously povo 

[JimH]

Bit late to the party but that 123 is just smashing.

[Peter C]

33 minutes ago, colc said:

wrong gearbox

[Peter C]

4 minutes ago, JimH said:

Bit late to the party but that 123 is just smashing.

Welcome, better late than never.

And thank you.

[Cord Fourteener]

Yes I'm a bit late here too, and yes a cracking thread!

[Rocket88]

37 minutes ago, Peter C said:

Mercedes being the exception 

[Peter C]

3 minutes ago, colc said:

Mercedes being the exception 

No self respecting African W123 taxi driver would come near an automatic ‘box.

[Peter C]

32 minutes ago, Cord Forteener aka Tim_E said:

Yes I'm a bit late here too, and yes a cracking thread!

Fashionably late.

[NorthernMonkey]

3 hours ago, Peter C said:

They look better in the flesh. 

Obviously, @Six-cylindergets first refusal but if for any reason he doesn’t want them, I’ll have them 🙂

[Peter C]

7 hours ago, NorthernMonkey said:

Obviously, @Six-cylindergets first refusal but if for any reason he doesn’t want them, I’ll have them 🙂

Sorry old chap, a deal has been done with Six-cylinder.