Anyone ever seen inside one. What a complicated moulding. It had never worked and was generally kept up. However decided to see if it could be corrected. Surprise, the entire moulding was completely shattered and only being kept in place by the foam. Can only think that someone had sat on it. Worse the PO had tried to mend it by pouring glue in. Not a success. Doesn't look repairable. Wonder what the chances of a replacement are?
They're perfectly replaceable. All you need is the covering to swap out and you're good to go.
Are you referring to the black plug cover is broken? Inside that hole is a nut that holds the armrest on.
Quote from: rumb on 26 March 2021, 04:46 PM
Are you referring to the black plug cover is broken? Inside that hole is a nut that holds the armrest on.
No the entire plastic moulding inside the foam block, well the cylinder part not the support extension, that goes on the seat bracket is completely shattered.
Completely replaceable? From where? An address would help although I think out of interest I might attempt gluing it back together. Not really practical though there are a lot of pieces. Who would have thought that it was quite so brittle?
A pic would help as I have a hard time figuring out what exactly you're referring to :)
You could simply replace the entire arm rest, and just put the old covering on the replacement.
Quote from: ptashek on 28 March 2021, 01:01 PM
A pic would help as I have a hard time figuring out what exactly you're referring to :)
You could simply replace the entire arm rest, and just put the old covering on the replacement.
Replacing the whole armrest would be the sensible option. I have the cover of course. The broken moulding is embedded within the foam block and would not be available separately. I cut the foam block in half to extract the moulding to see if it could be repaired and if so it could all be glued back together. I would not have thought a replacement armrest was available.
Hi,
I don't know about the condition of your armrest but I used some glue and piece of metal to fix mine. It was broken in the middle.
Good luck.
Thanks for the photos. You got it out of the foam very neatly. With mine it is the cylinder part not the extension and it is quite literally shattered in to many pieces. Looks like I will have to attempt gluing it as I think the chances of finding a RHD armrest are remote. I don't think they are interchangeable with LHD.
Quote from: marku on 30 March 2021, 11:57 AM
Thanks for the photos. You got it out of the foam very neatly. With mine it is the cylinder part not the extension and it is quite literally shattered in to many pieces. Looks like I will have to attempt gluing it as I think the chances of finding a RHD armrest are remote. I don't think they are interchangeable with LHD.
They are interchangeable as the armrest is always on the left seat.
There's a few for sale on German eBay: here (https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-w116-mittelarmlehne/k0) and here (https://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_nkw=w116+armlehne)
If you get stuck with sourcing a proper one, and won't mind waiting a few weeks, we could try the 3D printing route.
Given reasonably complete metric measurements, I could attempt to repro that internal element in CAD, and you'd just need to find someone locally to print it for you.
I've had good results so far with parts I've reproduced for my W124s (see below) so there's that as a last resort option ;)
Unfortunately I've sold my spare armrest last year.
(https://aws1.discourse-cdn.com/business5/uploads/mercedes_benz_club/optimized/3X/f/7/f743ca10b9ca64feb110a3def02710821977eff1_2_999x750.jpeg)
(https://aws1.discourse-cdn.com/business5/uploads/mercedes_benz_club/optimized/3X/d/3/d354c4abd28a712858598a2208e43ee6880f25e0_2_648x750.jpeg)
(https://aws1.discourse-cdn.com/business5/uploads/mercedes_benz_club/original/3X/9/6/96995cac5483e66b68d90a4a00829de26e2b43c2.png)
I spoke too soon ;)
Looking at Xentry, the armrest was standardised for mounting on the left seat only at certain VIN breaks across the models.
Quote from: ptashek on 31 March 2021, 05:13 PM
I spoke too soon ;)
Looking at Xentry, the armrest was standardised for mounting on the left seat only at certain VIN breaks across the models.
[/quote/
Mine is on the RH seat the driver's. It would be a great help if you care to have a go. It's quite large. There repair kits on ebay. de but they appear to be wholly metal and cost 250 euros plus shipping.
But, if some cars have the mid rest attached to the left, and others to the right chair, can't one simply get "just any mid rest" and attach it the "the other chair"?
Or am i missing something?
Quote from: floyd111 on 02 April 2021, 10:26 PM
But, if some cars have the mid rest attached to the left, and others to the right chair, can't one simply get "just any mid rest" and attach it the "the other chair"?
Or am i missing something?
That depends on if both seats have the required mounting points. Worth a try!
Quote from: marku
Mine is on the RH seat the driver's. It would be a great help if you care to have a go. It's quite large. There repair kits on ebay. de but they appear to be wholly metal and cost 250 euros plus shipping.
That's not a terrible price if they're metal. I assume aluminium?
If you want to go the 3D route, I'll need a lot of well focused photos from every possible angle + reference measurements of every feature.
Quote from: ptashek on 03 April 2021, 03:49 AM
Quote from: marku
Mine is on the RH seat the driver's. It would be a great help if you care to have a go. It's quite large. There repair kits on ebay. de but they appear to be wholly metal and cost 250 euros plus shipping.
That's not a terrible price if they're metal. I assume aluminium?
If you want to go the 3D route, I'll need a lot of well focused photos from every possible angle + reference measurements of every feature.
It would seem that it is a later design and for a LH seat. Not possible to give any sort of accurate data regarding the moulding as I said it is completely shattered. Did attempt to assemble it (unglued) to see if anything missing but it is in really bad shape. I don't thing repair is practical as I cannot see it having any strength.
Reviving this thread, as I did go the 3D printed route recently in my W124 and wanted to show it's perfectly viable. Exactly same problem as described - the old plastic core shattered under load due to old age. You can see the prototype stage + final print below.
Due to build volume limitations of my printer I had to split the model into two parts, then put them together with industrial-grade CA glue. The support element was reinforced with three 8mm stainless steel rods.
The new shape also required some small modifications to the foam surround, but none of it can be seen/felt once assembled. Finally, the foam surround was glued back to the new core using trim adhesive.
My time was free as it's one of my other hobbies, modelling took about 8h total + 2x 14h to print partial prototypes for verification, then 37h for the final print, another hour for re-assembly and installation. In total about 800g of PETG filament. Total cost, including energy used, was under 25EUR. Totally worth it!
Prototype of spring support plate
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/vubz3fyaj6avcdm/proto2.jpg?dl=1)
First prototype of the load bearing parts of the core
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/yvu6dbzhfpdphvz/proto1.jpg?dl=1)
Final part printing
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/er6rrju8gqnahdg/proto3.jpg?dl=1)
Final pre-assembly fit check
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/0qv20f7cfv920yr/assy1.jpg?dl=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/9fye3m391wrhpra/assy2.jpg?dl=1)
Foam surround glued back into place
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/rqed183hlnru0pg/assy3.jpg?dl=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/acd7mh4i7fmm8s1/assy4.jpg?dl=1)
Ready to re-install
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/auhtixtpc7k7tuq/assy5.jpg?dl=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/9ayrby7t9vh5ogk/assy6.jpg?dl=1)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/qvk5dx90mx697f5/assy7.jpg?dl=1)
Impressive!
Yes really impressive. I was determined not to be defeated by mine so cut it all out of the foam. The actual support was in many pieces but it cleaned up and all glued back together with foam and covering back you would not know. So quite please with the result.
Amazing work there! 3D printing is so effective and powerful!
Great job. Looks much beter than the original. Just wondering is that possible to make some small parts such as antenna drain plug or first aid kit compartment handle with the 3D printer? Thanks.
Quote from: Taha on 01 November 2023, 07:42 PMGreat job. Looks much beter than the original. Just wondering is that possible to make some small parts such as antenna drain plug or first aid kit compartment handle with the 3D printer? Thanks.
Yes. As long as it's not structural/load bearing or exposed to higher temps on a permanent basis. Some houseld filaments start going soft at 60°C (PLA), others are good to about 80-90°C (PC).
I actually have a prototype model of the handle already.
However for anything that needs to be water/air tight or have close tolerances, a high resolution resin printer is much better, than a filament deposition one. These have their own downsides as the resins are quite toxic and need careful handling and postprocessing.
For load bearing or high temperature parts you're looking at printing with specialist polymers or alloys that household printers are unable to process.
For that you need an SLS/DMLS printer (selective / direct metal laser sintering) - which for example Porsche used to 3D print pistons for a GT3 technology demonstrator engine.
These can cost anywhere from tens of thousands USD (polymers only) to milions (can print titanium, for example).
The technology has reached a point where you can do anything with it, the main limitation being how much money you're willing to throw at the problem.