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Help Needed With Mounting Oil Pan Skid Plate

Started by Squiggle Dog, 27 October 2012, 10:16 PM

JasonP


I have no idea. I did get a set of 4 new tires last year, all 195 70 14. No mention was made of wheel size. 

Hmmm. Can a 14" tire fit on a 15" wheel? Could this possibly be the cause of my "mis-alignment," why the car pulls to one side?
1979 300SD
Color: 623H "Light Ivory"
1979 300SD
Color: 861H "Silver Green Metallic"
1977 280 E
Color: 606G "Maple Yellow"
-------------------------------------------

oversize

No definitely not!  Wheels and tyres are not interchangeable.  I seriously doubt any car came from the factory with one fitted and it's likely they all were added by the dealers later
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

Squiggle Dog

Well, I did own a 1955 Pontiac that had 15" wheels and the previous owner had somehow managed to fit 14" tires on it, but it is NOT a good idea. This is the same guy that after I sold a 1955 Ford to, he fixed the broken brake master cylinder cap by shoving a baby bottle nipple and a magic marker into it. He also spraypainted the car with $1 spray paint and used magic markers to draw graphics. Then he attached a baby seat for his daughter to the rear seat cushions by tying it to them with an old seat belt--the seat cushions weren't even attached to the body!
Stop paying for animal cruelty and slaughter. Go vegan! [url="https://challenge22.com/"]https://challenge22.com/[/url]

1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

Casey

#18
636 means elimination of warning triangle, not 15" rims.  No W116 ever came with 15" rims, certainly not a 300SD which has smaller tires than the more powerful models.  http://www.w116.org/library/codes5

JasonP


Quote from: Casey on 30 November 2012, 12:13 PM
636 means elimination of warning triangle, not 15" rims.  No W116 ever came with 15" rims, certainly not a 300SD which has smaller tires than the more powerful models.  http://www.w116.org/library/codes5

That's a direct cut & paste from the response I got from the Classic Center.
1979 300SD
Color: 623H "Light Ivory"
1979 300SD
Color: 861H "Silver Green Metallic"
1977 280 E
Color: 606G "Maple Yellow"
-------------------------------------------

Casey

Quote from: JasonP on 30 November 2012, 04:14 PM
That's a direct cut & paste from the response I got from the Classic Center.

I believe you.  I don't believe they were correct however.

JasonP

#21
Hmmm. Well, that's disconcerting.

I think someone needs to head down to the Classic Center and kick some ass.



General Ludendorff is not impressed.

1979 300SD
Color: 623H "Light Ivory"
1979 300SD
Color: 861H "Silver Green Metallic"
1977 280 E
Color: 606G "Maple Yellow"
-------------------------------------------

oversize

#22
Quote from: Squiggle Dog on 30 November 2012, 11:56 AM
Well, I did own a 1955 Pontiac that had 15" wheels and the previous owner had somehow managed to fit 14" tires on it, but it is NOT a good idea. This is the same guy that after I sold a 1955 Ford to, he fixed the broken brake master cylinder cap by shoving a baby bottle nipple and a magic marker into it. He also spraypainted the car with $1 spray paint and used magic markers to draw graphics. Then he attached a baby seat for his daughter to the rear seat cushions by tying it to them with an old seat belt--the seat cushions weren't even attached to the body!

Maybe they were 14" wide???  A Pontiac has huge guards, so it might be possible to fit 15" diameter wheels with 14" wide tyres....  Sounds like he should be banned from tampering with cars!
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

Squiggle Dog

Quote from: oversize on 30 November 2012, 05:38 PM
Maybe they were 14" wide???  A Pontiac has huge guards, so it might be possible to fit 15" diameter wheels with 14" wide tyres....  Sounds like he sould be banned from tampering with cars!

They were actually 14" tires on 15" rims if you can believe it. This guy was notorious for flipping cars with extremely unsafe repairs.
Stop paying for animal cruelty and slaughter. Go vegan! [url="https://challenge22.com/"]https://challenge22.com/[/url]

1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

s class

Quote from: Squiggle Dog on 30 November 2012, 08:39 PM
They were actually 14" tires on 15" rims if you can believe it. This guy was notorious for flipping cars with extremely unsafe repairs.

Wow.  I wouldn't have thought it possible.  I do believe you, but gee it must have taken some effort to stretch those tyres onto the rims.


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

Squiggle Dog

#25
I spent some time today seeing if I could install the skid plate. There's a hole on the outside of the rails that I thought might be marker holes for skid plate installation. The holes can't seem to be drilled from the inside out as the engine is in the way and there would be no room for the drill, so it seems the holes have to be drilled from the outside in.


I bolted up the rear of the plate to the engine crossmember and then marked in the holes of the front mounting arms approximately where they would go. Then I unbolted the plate and took a drill bit of the same size as the holes on the outside of the frame to poke around. I found that the drill bit stops partway into the box tubing because there is an angled piece of metal inside!


So, if I drilled straight in from the outside hole, I would hit the angled piece of metal, which would be difficult to drill through and might mess up the angle of the hole. Looking in there, there is a large hole off to the side. I wonder if this is where the hole is supposed to be? In order to reach this hole, I would have to drill to the side and up of the small hole, but exactly how far away from it? JasonP took pics of his skid plate holes, which I thought were maybe not original--but now it looks like maybe the mounting holes do need to be drilled off to the side of the small holes.

JasonP's pictures:

Left side.


Right side.


It looks like if I drill in the proximity of the hole in the angled piece inside the box tubing (would have to guess), it would come out a bit further back than where the mounting arms of the plate attaches (my finger is on the estimated location of the hole inside the box tubing), so I am afraid the holes wouldn't be in the correct location.


It's a bit scary to drill into the frame, so I'm not sure what I want to do right now. I wonder if the mounting hole is supposed to be lined up with the hole inside the box tubing, or go through the angled metal inside. I'm taking a break from this until I know for sure. I was looking up through the oval hole at the bottom of the box tubing.
Stop paying for animal cruelty and slaughter. Go vegan! [url="https://challenge22.com/"]https://challenge22.com/[/url]

1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

shadetree77

where can one of these skid plates be ordered?  my oil pan has a big dent in it and i'd like to prevent that in the future
1979 300SD
1983 300SD
1991 420SEL

Squiggle Dog

Quote from: shadetree77 on 02 January 2013, 10:45 PM
where can one of these skid plates be ordered?  my oil pan has a big dent in it and i'd like to prevent that in the future

They are no longer available anywhere, but the last dealer MSRP was $84.00 (GROUP 52 UNDERSHIELDS, 10998, Code: 481, OIL PAN UNDERSHIELD, 116 520 00 42, PROTECTIVE PLATE). It is listed as "NOT FOR U.S.A., SWEDEN, JAPAN, NOR AUSTRALIA". It shows this part as fitting all models of W116 (116 020, 024, 025, 028, 029, 032, 033) except for 300SD (116 123) and 6.9 (116 036).

The 300SD has no undershield designated to it, but the 6.9 has part number 116 520 01 42 designated, which has been superseded by part number 116 520 04 42, which is also no longer available but the last listed MSRP was $250.00. It is listed as "NOT FOR U.S.A., JAPAN, NOR AUSTRALIA".

These don't seem to be found often in the USA. I have heard that South African cars came with them commonly, which is where I got mine. I think it would be an easy piece to fabricate if a good specimen was used as a template. I am sure there would be a good market for them. Apparently these are still available for the W123 from Mercedes-Benz at a reasonable price.

Another piece of interest is that there was an additional "baffle plate" available to protect the radiator that mounts on the screw holes in the valance under the front bumper (GROUP 88 FRONT AND REAR END SHEET METAL, 56116, BAFFLE PLATE UNDER RADIATOR BLOCK, 116 888 00 38, BAFFLE PLATE). The last MSRP was $134.00, and I haven't checked to see if it's still available. It is only listed as being for 350SE/350SEL (116 028, 029), but I imagine it should also fit other models and I believe I have seen a few of these on 6.9s.
Stop paying for animal cruelty and slaughter. Go vegan! [url="https://challenge22.com/"]https://challenge22.com/[/url]

1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

shadetree77

thanks for the info squiggle. i do have some contacts in germany that have come through on some tough to find parts for W126's. i'll give them a ring and see what i can find out
1979 300SD
1983 300SD
1991 420SEL

s class

The radiator undershield was common on early-production South African 350SE's - apparently part of the 'safari' kit.  I have one on my car. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL