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Hi guys,
after photobucket screwed the internet forum scene, ill start the post again with pics embedded via the forum so they will never be lost.
as  there is much to come i thought id start again
1979 Australian 2 owner (myself the 2nd) 450sel 6.9
355,000km on the clock running very well but time for a rebuild before the local German mechanic retires.  Knowledge of the cars in this area is not great so i want it done well before no one can sort it!

now i remember why i used PB, its painful shrinking all these pics to fit the upload size!

engine shots after removal. the car has been well looked after and i think the engine still looks pretty tidy already!

the engine out. the manifolds are to be ceramic coated, i believe the original colour was a dark grey.

note the (passenger?) side is to be replaced with a euro non EGR manifold. the australian low compression ones had the EGR rubbish on it and the euro manifold i have i the pic has this stuff blanked off.

That's a nice looking engine bay. Good luck with the rebuild.

Question: Can't see it in your pictures, but if your exhaust manifolds have studs which screws the downpipe to the manifolds, would you be so kind to measure it?

pic for reference :
(https://i.imgur.com/bKXhm6e.png)

ill see if I can find them Max. the car has been sent to the paint shop for the engine bay to be repainted.  The mechanic has taken a bunch of bits out, and I'm not sure if I currently have them all back, ill have a look!

so it might be time to upload some parts pics which may help future engine rebuilders point the bits they need.
i am not a mechanic but these are the bits i have ordered on instruction or just because the old ones looked rubbish!

and more bits

more suspension bits

and with the engine bay cleared out i went and started buying lots of the perishables to replace before it goes back in

note the black washer pump cable is the wrong one for our car. The classic centre is sending the correct clear with white webbing.

Excellent stuff, good to see the valve cover gaskets were available... perhaps the NLA was from a dealer spouting nonsense, lol. When in doubt go straight to the Classic Center.

Hi Nathan,

great!

Do you think you could tell us which manufacturer and part numbers are written on this 80x85x12.5-Ring?
This would enable us to source it in case it is NLA in the future.

Or just show us a detailled picture of the writing on the ring.

Thanks,
Thomas

(https://forum.w116.org/mechanicals/6-9-engine-rebuild-with-pics/?action=dlattach;attach=6811)

That engine vibration damper is the exact same part you get in a FEBI box, except for the MB logo and part number, and I'm certain it's made by Stabilus as it has their logo just underneath the MB logo.

PT, but it has the MB logo on it! ha. Thats the problem with some of that stuff, finding other sources vs getting 'original' and at least knowing its an acceptable brand.

Thomas, ill try and get time to get back to the mechanics and find the manufacturer. I took these pics before I gave it all to him so at least people will have the part numbers a bit easier.

Max, I haven't yet found the manifold bolt numbers, but I did just order some last night so should be able to measure for you.

regards

You may want to buy Mercedes brand flex discs, front and rear, as the FEBI ones are notorious for  high speed vibrations. 

Quote from: UTn_boy on 18 July 2017, 02:03 AM
You may want to buy Mercedes brand flex discs, front and rear, as the FEBI ones are notorious for  high speed vibrations.

I have a full FEBI set on my car. No vibrations to report from 0 to 220km/h.

All those new bits with 100... part numbers are enough to make me weep with jealousy. 

It's like that... the best thing yet though is the water pump. That is a work of art, and might be the last new one on the planet.

Tim

fe more bits today including the brake booster gasket, one of the two rubber buffers which fit on the side of the engine bay to protect the bonnet from striking in front of the springs (also the same part on the back of your chrome grill on each side for same role), and the two plastic white deflectors which fit on front cross member to stop your bonnet striking the cross member on closing

not heard about the Flex discs. I think they came from Niemoller who supplied a few bits for us.  At the end of the day with most rubbers, i think anything is better than whats on our 40 year old cars, especially when i drive it only once a month or so!  im not usually too bothered to see the Febi brand, i thought they were ok?!

Quote from: nathan on 18 July 2017, 10:38 AM
At the end of the day with most rubbers, i think anything is better than whats on our 40 year old cars, especially when i drive it only once a month or so!  im not usually too bothered to see the Febi brand, i thought they were ok?!

FEBI are OK for some parts, and aren't for others. My resto thread has some more details around that. The flex discs are good. Suspension bits are good as well. Gearbox mounts are poor. Engine and steering damper are the same part you get from MB, both made by Stabilus.

In many respects the MB parts are worse, because they're NOS items that sat on a shelf for 20+ years.

But, there's as many opinions as there's people :)

Very impressive!! One day I might get to order at least some of those parts!
I'd be keen to know the weight of the pistons & how they might compare to ones made from modern materials in the same size.... Would they be the reason MB determined they'd hit max piston speed in the 6.9 or was it more to do with the long stroke?

Oh and I bet any Ford or HOLDEN fan would think all their Christmas' had come at once if they were able to buy parts like this for a 40+ YO car!

Whilst the stroke is longish, the engine is still oversquare and probably not proportionally disparit with many US engines which don't rev much harder in stock setup.
I would suggest the M100 pistons weigh more because of the iron band in them to tame the piston slap...............I'd wager the rods and pistons with rings would be pretty hefty and it's this reciprocating mass that puts the brakes on the big rev.

There people here better qualified than me to comment on how to get your big Block yankee pushrod V8 to swing but piston and rod weight are generally the first port of call.

Ptashhek and Nathan, you can believe as you wish about the flex discs.  I only made mention of this due to the number of FEBI brand flex discs I've had to exchange for MB brand in the past.  The customers complained of vibrations, and getting rid of the FEBI flex discs took care of the problem.  It may be that Lucas acquired some old stock FEBI discs, which were wonderful.  However, the new production FEBI discs are problematic.  Use at your own risk. 

I've used the Lemforder discs in the past (they even have the MB marking ground off) and would generally prefer those, but I am running a Febi on my W126 rear and that hasn't caused any trouble with vibration, and it's been about 30,000km since as I drive the car everywhere.

If there's no vibrations after mounting I would say all is OK, and as Nathan said, they will be much better than old hard and cracked ones.

Tim

Well, we have to remember that whether it be the OE supplier or an aftermarket supplier, they have the molds to make them with. The mold includes the part number and the Mercedes star.  The aftermarket suppliers have to scrape off the star and the number for obvious reasons, but remember that they are not made the same.  They can't sacrifice the physical dimensions for fitment reasons, so they have to make it out of a different material and/or use different hardware that's inside of the disc.  It's this different material/hardware that causes problems.  Never be fooled by the number and star having been scraped off.  That never means that it was an original Mercedes part.  It only means that a company has reproduced it using different materials....usually substandard materials compared to what Mercedes made them out of.

Actually, they are the exact same part as the Genuine unit in this case, ZF/Lemforder are one of the manufacturers of the Mercedes branded parts and the Mercedes markings are ground off after manufacturing. This is a fact, and it applies to quite a few parts from different manufacturers.

Febi on the other hand are entirely aftermarket when it comes to quite a few of the parts, although that obviously doesn't apply to parts like the Stabilus gas struts or engine shock absorbers, steering dampers etc.

I'll also say that having experienced poor quality Febi coolant hoses for a W126 280SE, I would personally steer clear from them where possible as well in most cases, but if I had the parts on hand already I'd use them.

Tim

Manufacturers like Febi seem to be a bit variable.  Some of their stuff is really good, some of it seems to be less so. 

I'm going to have to side with UTn here.  As time passes, I become more and more inclined to only use dealer-supplied parts.  As I repair cars to make a living, it just doesn't make sense to fit cheaper parts (even if the saving is passed on to the customer), and carry the risk of a comeback. 

The most expensive overhead in business is comebacks.  There is the direct cost of bearing the repeat labour, plus the indirect costs of loss of reputation, loss of income due to moving out paying projects to make way for the comeback etc. 

For my own cars, the projects currently on the go are a 126 500SEL, one of the 6.9's and my euro 500SL 107.  In these cases, I am swallowing really hard and fitting only OEM stuff.  The price difference between OEM 116 lower control arm bushing kits and Meyle 116 bushing kits for example, is a bit hard to swallow, but its such a huge job to fit these parts, I only want to be doing it once. 

It makes sense in a business setting s class. But out of interest - what was the percentage of comebacks between OEM and 3rd party, before you decided to not bother with 3rd party parts at all?

I have a much worse experience with the quality of OEM parts, than 3rd party. Just from yesterday: valve cover breather hose on my car  is already cracking, barely 15k miles after installation. And the  top injector holder seals are disintegrating after just 4k. Meanwhile none of the 3rd party parts have had any issues in that time.

Interesting topic. I can understand that in some cases genuine Mercedes and OEM might be the exact same part with the star ground off. But, I have also heard that by law they cannot use the same rubber formulation as the ones they provide to Mercedes, so for better or worse, the rubber composition may be different (possibly even a different shore hardness). Another thing to consider, is that an aftermarket brand might have used a genuine Mercedes part to cast a mold, so you end up with an exact copy of the original, only with whatever grade of rubber (possibly very inferior) they feel is suitable and then grind off the star for obvious reasons.

In short, having a part that looks identical to the genuine article, but with the star ground off, may or may not actually be identical. You take your chances and have to use your judgment. It helps if you or others have a good track record with the brand. Lemforder always seems to be top notch, while Febi can vary and URO and Meyle seem to be consistently junk.

I have also never had issues with Lemforder, always fits perfectly and top notch quality.  Meyle is hit and miss, and agree that Febi seems to be middle of the road for the most part.  Some Febi parts are very nice quality and others so-so.  For the most part I cannot justify dropping 10x the price on an original Benz part.  But I totally get that if you are working on a customer's car, it might be very good insurance to rule this out in case of a come back.

Hi Nathan, may I ask what you paid for the hood deflectors as I was chasing them last year and gave up due to the price and picked the one I needed from the wreckers.

Hi Peter,

do you mean the white plastic bits on the front of the engine bay cross member? They were 45 USD each. a bit silly! mine are currently ok but I don't want the area painted around them, I want them off, and the area painted under them.  But I'm sure they will crack when the come off so I ordered new ones.

re the parts, I'm buying original except for some parts my mechanic ordered. he ordered some bits from niemoller including the flex discs.  My mechanics word is good enough for me and he has worked on these cars longer than anyone here.  I'm not so precious I could pick up on a little wobble if they indeed induce it. as said, our cars are 40 year old relics and the collective bunch of used and worn parts will quite easily mask this. further, driving only 2000km/year and hitting an alrighty max speed of probably 120kmh if lucky, ill probably be ok!

More parts to come...

Haha, the plastic hood deflectors! I paid the big bucks for a couple of those. One of them only lasted a week before breaking. >:( That'll teach me to spend so much on a little item. The problem is my car was in a collision that buckled the radiator support and shifted it to the left about an inch and so the hood will never line up right until the radiator support gets replaced and the whole front end pulled back where it belongs.  So, the striker just hits the edge of the deflector and breaks it.

Quote from: TJ 450 on 21 July 2017, 10:11 AM
Actually, they are the exact same part as the Genuine unit in this case, ZF/Lemforder are one of the manufacturers of the Mercedes branded parts and the Mercedes markings are ground off after manufacturing. This is a fact, and it applies to quite a few parts from different manufacturers.

Tim

Tim, you're horribly mistaken.....They are not the exact same part.  Lemforder would be infringing upon copyright and patents laws if they sold the exact same part. Another good example are brake pads.....Mercedes has Texstar make them, and Texstar also sells brake pads......but they're not made of the same material. The physical attributes cannot be compromised for fitment reasons, so part composition has to be changed.  In the case of flex discs and brake pads, the material they're made out of is what's different, and as Sqiggledog mentioned, aftermarket companies may own the mold, and will produce an exact replica of the part, but they are most certainly not the same part that Mercedes had/has made.  Do some more research on this and you'll see what we're all talking about. 

Quote from: UTn_boy on 22 July 2017, 08:37 AMDo some more research on this and you'll see what we're all talking about.

Can you quote your sources?

As for the flex discs for example, yes it's a patented solution.
Daimler was granted the patent in the US in 1976, much earlier in Europe; here's a link to that document, including drawings (USPTO website) (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=%22Installation+vibration+damping+drive+connection+motor+vehicles%22.TI.&OS=TTL).

Note, that they have a patent on a specific claim, which does not specify in detail the materials to be used other than "rubber" etc.
If 3rd parties are allowed to replicate this exact functional design, it must be done under license from Daimler. I can't imagine how else they'd get away with it.
And if they're doing it under license, then they'd be doing it "as original" - bar the OEM logo.

Anyway, we've hijacked this thread far enough.

Quote from: daantjie on 21 July 2017, 04:47 PM
I have also never had issues with Lemforder, always fits perfectly and top notch quality.  Meyle is hit and miss, and agree that Febi seems to be middle of the road for the most part.  Some Febi parts are very nice quality and others so-so.  For the most part I cannot justify dropping 10x the price on an original Benz part.  But I totally get that if you are working on a customer's car, it might be very good insurance to rule this out in case of a come back.

The problem with both Meyle and Febi is that the are always changing suppliers in China. A boot seal can be great in January, terrible in February and so-so in March. I know this from my short career as Febi-Meyle distributor in Taiwan. Dropped the whole idea because of this issue and another few, like supply delays, anally inclined brass/management and pretty poor service

Ha, cheers PT. I was thinking that very thing - but enjoy listening to the experts! Anyway, no more deliveries due until early next week I imagine.

Hi Max - the exhaust manifold bolts as requested earlier in the thread. arrived today.  304 017 008 028 $2.40 each!

the dry sump oil dipstick rubber. I can tell you this is not the same as the original and is much smaller. ill be reusing my original which is a much larger and better sitting rubber

expansion collant tank and lines (and clip!)

exhaust rubbers

this is one area thats pot luck. there are so many variants of washer pump connectors I just started ordering bits.  the hosing drives me nuts.  the factory part is now black which looks rubbish.  I then got the correct stuff, but not 8m I wanted (although I do have 8m of black tube now dang it!)

Does this help? http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?searchtype=partnumber&partnumber=0109978982&searchbutton.x=17&searchbutton.y=15 (http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?searchtype=partnumber&partnumber=0109978982&searchbutton.x=17&searchbutton.y=15)
(http://www.autohausaz.com/secure/PartImages/0109978982.jpg)

Ha, you would think so SW. Order it and I'm pretty sure the black stuff will turn up! its what the number seems to supercede too! I think I used that number and it bloody well ended up being the black stuff!

Nathan,

First of all, ooooohhh shiny shiny new parts  8).

Second, thanks for the pics of the bolts. But actually the 6.9 originally didn't use bolts, but studs. If you look at the 350/450 manual, they use bolts which you've shown. but if you look at the 6.9 manual, they use studs and springs and spacers. I think they did this to compensate for the expansion because of the heat, but I'm not sure. And I'm searching info about the studs since they are NLA.

But thanks anyway.

Hi Max,
I think the early cars like yours (wow #140!) had the springs as in your pic, but later ones did not.  The Aussie ones are all essentially later models.  This was from the EPC.

I have #521 and springs and studs were used on the exhaust pipe to manifold connection. Can confirm that #1164 also had the same setup.

I have a question about your timing chain rail purchases.
I pulled the part #'s from your images and contacted Tom Hanson to see about price and availability. I'm getting some conflicting responses that are driving this question.

Where did you get your part #'s. If off the original parts, then the assumption is that what you got will fit in place of what is there now. However, when I look in EPC, going to the Timing section for the M100985 motor, panel #2 is the M100 motor. Panel #1 (at least as far as the image goes) isn't a 6.9 motor, as you can see the oil filler cap on the RHS cam cover.

At any rate, per panel #2, these are the part #'s for the 5 rails that make up the timing chain guides:
100-052-02-16 - Sliding Rail Cylinder Head Left
115-052-07-16 - Sliding Rail Crankcase Left
100-052-01-16 - Sliding Rail Cylinder Head Right
116-050-27-16 - Sliding Rail Crankcase Right
100-050-01-15 - Tightening Lever

This list differs from the parts you received by one item - you got 115-052-04-16 instead of 115-052-07-16.

Per Tom Hanson, 115-052-07-16 has been replaced by 180-050-07-16 which is stupid expensive compared to the counterpart on the RHS of the motor.  List price for 116-050-27-16 is $9.50US. List price for 180-050-07-16 is $308.00US.

Further, 100-052-01-16 is NLA.

What's strange is that in EPC, panel 1 shows 3 parts available - #'s 280, 293 and 299. (Found this by searching for 180-050-07-16 and selecting a 100.985 motor from the list. If you pick a 116036 car and go to Panel 1 under Engine/Timing, the reference #'s are different - yay...)
280 is the upper sliding rail, right cylinder head - 180-050-08-16
293 is the upper sliding rail, left cylinder head - 123-052-01-16
299 is also an upper sliding rail, left cylinder head - 115-052-04-16, which is the part you received. List on this part is $71.00US.
Stranger still, 280 shows to have been replaced by 123-052-01-16 - same part # as spec'd for 293.

I'm flying blind on this effort, as I've not disassembled my motor for timing chain refurbishment, so I can't validate part #'s from the items on the engine.

What's your take on the discrepancy of part #'s spec'd for the LHS Crankcase Sliding Rail?

Brian, what you refer to as panel 1, is for the 6.3 motor.  Only panel 2 is of relevance here. 

Quote from: s class on 26 July 2017, 08:35 AM
Brian, what you refer to as panel 1, is for the 6.3 motor.  Only panel 2 is of relevance here.

That's what I thought - but one of the sliding rails that Nathan got is from that panel, not from panel 2...

I've asked Tom Hanson to give me a list of the 5 parts that are required for a full guide rail replacement on a 6.9. We shall see what he comes up with.

Regards

now now, i dont want any errors found in my parts!
ha, most bits were requested by my mechanic. ive done my timing chain and these rails only about 5000km ago but wanted them new from top to bottom. i just assumed they were the right part. the mechanic has just started assembly after having the engine washed and ill go and check it out this weekend. if Tom has sent me the wrong bits, let him know Ill be emailing!
regards
nathan

Hi All,

The flat crankcase rail (left side) is a die-cast part with a plastic lining on me car from memory. When I renewed the chain I left it be as they don't wear out. Upper flat guide is the 115 part as per Nathan's, then the small 100 part with end that kicks up.

The standard bolts for the exhaust manifold flanges are correct for a RHD Aussie 6.9. I've never seen anything else present.

Tim

i feel much better now TJ has spoken... :)

I went past the mechanics today to check the progress. early stages are done now the block is washed (although thats kept at a different site at present).  the old valves have come out and I'm amazed by how much crap are on the exhaust valves despite my car being what I consider extremely well cared for. anyway, only early stages but some pics

the heads getting checked out

reviewing the pistons. these are high compression euro pistons. I think the depth of the dome is 4mm

Awesome, the heads are in very good shape by the look of things. The old intake valves look a little worn although not as bad as my blue 6.9. The deposits on the exhaust valves are normal, although you'd think modern fuels would keep the new ones fairly clean.

Is that piston a euro one, or the original Aussie one?

Tim

Those heads really do look good, your engine does appear to have been in very well looked after condition.

Cheers S,
TJ - they are the euro pistons. I noted a little chip on that one on the non combustion side. not sure where that came from!
anyway, the boss will get onto cleaning it all up and putting it back together.
I should be able to pick up the ceramic coated exhaust manifolds this week.

few more parts arriving today. these were mainly for the driveshaft support and bearing.

Expansion tank

Nathan - is that the part no for the tank in your photo? 126 500 15 49 gets me something very different and 116 500 02 49 (original part no) does as well. Lots of people advertising the second for the 116 but it wont fit. Suppose I will have to go direct to MB. Would really like to replace my old yellowed tank with one like yours.

Nice new parts... It should be nice and smooth with the tail shaft refurb.

BTW, I'm using my iPhone and can't review the pics atm, but were you getting/did you get new engine/trans mounts? I've heard that 6.9 engine mounts are NLA, but these rumours tend to be a little unreliable these days.

Tim

Marku, the expansion tank is that 126 part as you say. the only difference I'm aware of from the original is it has a sensor hole at the bottom for the fluid level but you can just plug this. it wasn't expensive anyway!

TJ, I got new mounts. we had these from a while ago.  I agree, you hear a lot of NLA but either times must change or people ask the wrong people!

But the 126 expansion tank bottom hose connection is far to big for the 116 hose. Yes you can block the sensor connector - you can get a kit - but it is not right and all the people selling the tank should stop saying it will fit the 116.

The footnote associated with the reservoir advises that additionally the 126 type hose needs to be used.  I've done this on numerous 116s with good results.  I would never trust the brittle old original 116 reservoir.

Oh don't be fooled fellas.  The motor mounts are no longer available.  No rumor.  Fact.

Yes, I used a 126 hose and cut the end off it so it fitted down the radiator end. There are two versions of 116 hose though, later tanks have a larger diameter... I never confirmed if this was the same as the W126 version, and it may well have been an earlier 126 upgrade, not sure on that.

With the engine mounts, if they are NLA lucky we have spares then. I bought some new old stock ones off eBay a while back. Worst case you could probably use M117 ones but they might not be up to the task of supporting the M100.

Tim

I used a rein motor mount 123-241-14-13

As long as the M-117 mounts are for a cast iron block M-117 they'll work just fine.  The 6.9 doesn't weigh that much more than an M-117 with a cast iron block.

Quote from: s class on 10 August 2017, 04:32 PM
The footnote associated with the reservoir advises that additionally the 126 type hose needs to be used.  I've done this on numerous 116s with good results.  I would never trust the brittle old original 116 reservoir.

But surely the 126 hose will be too big for the 116 radiator.

Hi Marku,

With the 126 hose,

It's the same diameter at the radiator end from memory, it's just at the expansion tank end where it increases in diameter.

Tim

OK thanks for that.

got the exhaust manifolds back from the ceramic coating place.  ceramic coating supposedly keeps the heat within the item and prevents local heat damage, and its also fade resistant so they should look good in 10 years when I've driven the car 50km!  I just went with cast iron grey. 

Hi Nathan,

Looking good... was this the place out in Welshpool area? Looks a lot better than the chrome look I had done. That grey would be good on the rocker covers too, although the baffles are non removable so could pose a problem if media blasted.

Tim

Yeah, CIC in Welshpool.  Do yours still look chromey after all this time?

They really do look great but when I was considering what to do with mine as they were in a poor state I ended up coating them with PQR 15 iron grey. More of an experiment really and didn't hold out much hope particularly putting the first coat on. Dried perfect though nice and even although mat not the gloss of the ceramic coating which looks very good. As for the cam covers had them polished and they look like chrome even after a couple of years.

not much as waiting on a few more hoses, I forget where this one under the manifold goes!

  Nathan happens to me all the time, "forgetting where things go."

that is why I always have more than one 6.9 parked in the garage at all times.

LOL

Sadly, the ceramic coatings don't last as long as the vendors claim. Maybe it's because our V8s run so hot.
At least the guys that coated mine said upfront that it'll really depend on exhaust gas temperature, and how often and for how long the manifolds run red-hot.

I'll try taking some pics tomorrow.

interesting PT, the guy thought they should be ok, but time will tell. I don't drive the car much so who knows!

another set of lines to be used was found (rather than ordered) today!
I had ordered the RRP USD 550! oil sump lines, forgetting I had ordered some 5 years ago or something like that !
luckily I found them this afternoon before I wasted a reasonable sum on them again!
part 100 180 00 82

Excellent, they will look great on the car and will be leak free for years to come I'm sure.

Tim

Nathan, this is how my manifolds look like after a year of driving (<6000km, mostly long distance).

Dang PT,
they don't look that shiny anymore!  Was it sold as a long lasting ceramic coating?
6000km certainly isn't much but perhaps its due to the long distances as you say, I don't recall the last time I drove my car for more than half an hour constantly.
hopefully my newly painted engine bay will last longer than the manifolds then!
regards
Nathan

a few more hoses turning up from the manifold side of things.

Hey Nathan,

Did you end up getting the 8x rubber "connector" between the intake manifold halves?

They're a whopping $69 each nowadays!

Tim

TJ, I think so, do you mean those rings on page 1 of the thread?  I got all of those.  I need the 4 rubber mounts for the manifold on top of the block, the little rubber ones that look like those mounts that fix the hydropneumatic bracket/cannister to the front frame.

Ah yes, I didn't see that. Yes they're the ones. I've just ordered them today along with the rest of the 6.9 stuff before I'm swamped with 6.3 expenses. It won't be long before the blue 6.9 is on the road again.

Those mounts for the air cleaner and air metering unit are generic across many models so should be easy to get.

Tim

Picked up some sand blasting and powder coating today.  Although the engine is almost done I'm told, I'm still waiting on the engine bay respray at the moment.  So I had a couple of 6.9 viscous fans done.  I couldn't actually remember if they were supposed to be gold or silver, although anything was better than the heavily deteriorated dark one after 40 years of use!  the airfilters always look better, although when they sandblast them, they blast out your liner on the lid internally - so I need to get the replacements now.

Looking great, it will look fantastic once complete.

Tim

maybe almost as clean as your engine bay!

The fans are cast aluminum with a very rough texture about them.  When new, they were silver in color, but not a bright silver.  In addition, they also had a rainbow effect in various areas with lighter and darker areas, and some various swirl looking areas.  If you want to adhere to originality, just order a new fan.  They're still available.  Part number 116-205-06-06. 

Quote from: nathan on 02 October 2017, 05:56 AM
Picked up some sand blasting and powder coating today.  Although the engine is almost done I'm told, I'm still waiting on the engine bay respray at the moment.  So I had a couple of 6.9 viscous fans done.  I couldn't actually remember if they were supposed to be gold or silver, although anything was better than the heavily deteriorated dark one after 40 years of use!  the airfilters always look better, although when they sandblast them, they blast out your liner on the lid internally - so I need to get the replacements now.

Those look great!
But if you want the fan to stay looking good for a long time, you'll be much better off powder coating it.
Otherwise it'll just oxidise in no time, going back to that rough, spotted look.

If memory serves, the colour used on mine was DB180.
I've done the same with headlight frames - same material, same long-term problem.

Still looks great a year later.

cheers guys, a new one could be obtained but if I got the colour right, things always look as good as new after blasting and coating. still not sure if I got the colour right!

PT, the blades are powder coated!  the guy does a lot of old Porsches and this is supposedly the colour on a lot of their fans or something.  it is actually coated, just silvery grey!

I quickly went out to the paint shop to check up on some body work. when the ;passenger side exhaust shield came off at the start, a small amount of rust was found under it. odd, as my car hasn't seen rain in 20 years! anyway, I didn't want a flat panel grafted in, so I bought the 280sel wreck and the floor pan was cut out. the guys have tacked it in and will be tidying it up. then engine bay painting, then engine back in!  Sadly I have decided it may be time to fit the new dash I have, so the end is not in sight by a long shot!

That looks nice and tidy, are the screws to keep it in place? I'd be having words with them if they're supposed to be permanent.

Tim

ha, they know what they are doing, just temporary tacking or positioning screws before the welding!

This is typical of many projects, we often find more to do than first though, but its good stuff Nathan

Funnily enough though RD, I hadn't needed to do much on my car in a long time, a really long time!
but once you get into it, you can really get into it!

I picked up the recored radiator today. the same guy did all the custom work on my Gwagen to a high standard.

Excellent, you'll notice a big difference with this as the old one was probably silted up, even with regular maintenance.

It looks like the same type of core as my blue 6.9, which had no problems dealing with the summer heat (40+ C) in South Australia.

Tim

I was a bit concerned TJ as my car has never had an issue, its just one of those things I wondered about as everything is getting done. the radiator guy noted some of the outer tubes/fins were damaged and it was better to replace it than repair or block them off.  I should probably hunt al the new hoses that come to and from this thing as well

some air filter housing bits came in.
the little clips for the cruise control cable to be secured to the air filter housing.
the rubber boot around the base of the air filter housing
the lining for the lid of the airfilter housing internally that gets removed when the lids were sandblasted. they re like felt/cork and I think they must be glued in.

4 of these rubber screws sit between the manifold and fuel manifold, TJ will give the exact specifics!

Great stuff Nat

I also bought the clip for the cruise control to air cleaner A0029880178, yet I have no idea where the little part actually goes.  Didnt have an old one on the car, and havent figured out a place for the new one.  anyone with a picture where it actually goes?

same thing with A1159950101 clamp - wire cable to right wheel arch panel.   dont know where it goes.

voila!  plugs into the snorkel and then the cable plugs into it.

Nathan, I'm not sure if this makes any difference to you or not, but the clips that hold the air filter lid down are supposed to be yellow zinc plated.  Obviously, it's easier to buy new ones and then put them on, but I'm not sure if they're still available or not.  Even if they aren't, they can still be removed and re-plated.  I only make mention of this due to the level of detail you're giving the restoration......it's a complement of sorts.  ;) 

must be a RHD thing.  My CC cable is on the other side of the car.
odd that EPC calls out for my VIN

Quote from: UTn_boy on 16 October 2017, 02:22 PM
Nathan, I'm not sure if this makes any difference to you or not, but the clips that hold the air filter lid down are supposed to be yellow zinc plated.

No, they're not. They were always dull silver from factory on the V8s.
Of that I am more than certain, unless every single unrestored W116 V8 out there was made wrong.
Even Mercedes Classic Centre / Museum restore and sell their concourse edition cars with silver air filter lid latches.

Quote from: rumb on 16 October 2017, 07:14 AM
same thing with A1159950101 clamp - wire cable to right wheel arch panel.   dont know where it goes.

Small side note for future reference for RHD car owners reading this thread:
RHDs only use the snorkel clip (A0029880178), but not the clamp (A1159950101).

PT, there you go, thats an interesting one! I wonder why this is so

UTN, so you mean the 6-7 clips from the body of the filter to the lid should be gold? admittedly, I wasn't sure as most of these things look pretty rubbish by the time you get round to 'repainting' them.  I've never even checked how to remove the clips but i have a few to experiment on so it might be worth doing.  Whist Im trying to be as original as possible, clean and fresh is still better than old and tired so thats why I'm not too irked by things like the fan blade being exactly 100% the right colour.  ill look into this, although I wouldn't even know where to get proper zinc plating done in my town!

Quote from: nathan on 16 October 2017, 06:21 PM
PT, there you go, thats an interesting one! I wonder why this is so

I guess it's because with the actuator being on the other side, there's fewer moving parts on the way the cable could come in contact with, like the alternator.

the restoration shop sent me a pic update of the 6.9, they will complete the engine bay in river tomorrow before a few bits get blacked out as well.
this means the engine should be able to go back in soon.

Hey Nathan,

The place that does the chrome plating will do them, it's yellow zinc plating as opposed to cadmium. Mine are cad plated.

The engine bay will look fantastic... it looks like all the detail has been done nicely.

Tim

Quote from: ptashek on 16 October 2017, 04:24 PM

Quote from: UTn_boy on 16 October 2017, 02:22 PM
Nathan, I'm not sure if this makes any difference to you or not, but the clips that hold the air filter lid down are supposed to be yellow zinc plated.

No, they're not. They were always dull silver from factory on the V8s.
Of that I am more than certain, unless every single unrestored W116 V8 out there was made wrong.
Even Mercedes Classic Centre / Museum restore and sell their concourse edition cars with silver air filter lid latches.

I would disagree, my old ones clearly had yellow remnants color on them. (6.9)

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-mercedes-benz-parts/air-cleaner-fastener-priced-each/0000941355/

Quote from: nathan on 17 October 2017, 07:17 AM
the restoration shop sent me a pic update of the 6.9, they will complete the engine bay in river tomorrow before a few bits get blacked out as well.

Seems like they did a really poor job masking out all the bolts/nuts, the exhaust heat shields, cross member, and even the power steering rack? None of these should be painted over in body colour.

ill check it out. heat shields were taken off, he was painting the cross member black and power steering box he knew was to be black. not sure from this dodger pic if they were masked or he plans to repaint black. interestingly the whole bay had gone a thistle greenish colour after 40 years!

Quote from: ptashek on 16 October 2017, 04:24 PM

Quote from: UTn_boy on 16 October 2017, 02:22 PM
Nathan, I'm not sure if this makes any difference to you or not, but the clips that hold the air filter lid down are supposed to be yellow zinc plated.

No, they're not. They were always dull silver from factory on the V8s.
Of that I am more than certain, unless every single unrestored W116 V8 out there was made wrong.
Even Mercedes Classic Centre / Museum restore and sell their concourse edition cars with silver air filter lid latches.

Lucas, you may want to do a little more research regarding your commentary.  Look at some factory photos.  You'll see that the clips are yellow zinc plated.  If new ones are available, it may be that they're not yellow zinc plated much like other new hardware isn't.  Furthermore, the Classic center isn't known for putting things like this back correctly.   


Nathan, yes, I'm referring to the clips you make mention of. 

Quote
Lucas, you may want to do a little more research regarding your commentary.  Look at some factory photos.  You'll see that the clips are yellow zinc plated.  If new ones are available, it may be that they're not yellow zinc plated much like other new hardware isn't.  Furthermore, the Classic center isn't known for putting things like this back correctly.   

But that's the thing - except for brochure photos, where the engine bay is explicitly modified to make all the parts stand out, I haven't found a single pic - new or old - of an actual production car, where those clips were yellow plated. And I haven't seen a single car live, where that was the case - that's at least 30+ specimens. Maybe these were all faded and dulled from age, who knows, but I'm not convinced.

Quote from: rumb on 17 October 2017, 07:58 AM

Quote from: ptashek on 16 October 2017, 04:24 PM

Quote from: UTn_boy on 16 October 2017, 02:22 PM
Nathan, I'm not sure if this makes any difference to you or not, but the clips that hold the air filter lid down are supposed to be yellow zinc plated.

No, they're not. They were always dull silver from factory on the V8s.
Of that I am more than certain, unless every single unrestored W116 V8 out there was made wrong.
Even Mercedes Classic Centre / Museum restore and sell their concourse edition cars with silver air filter lid latches.

I would disagree, my old ones clearly had yellow remnants color on them. (6.9)

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-mercedes-benz-parts/air-cleaner-fastener-priced-each/0000941355/

I just got those clips last week from the local dealership. Ordered them 3 weeks ago, they were special ordered in Germany. They are definitely yellow zinc plated just like in the ECS Tuning picture.

by the time I got to the paint shop today they had already painted the bits black. the power steering box is a bit shinier than mat under the lights but I will survive.  the passenger floor has been replaced too now waiting for paint.

"I LOVE THE SMELL OF FRESH PAINT IN THE MORNING"

Quote from: ptashek on 17 October 2017, 07:57 PM

Quote
Lucas, you may want to do a little more research regarding your commentary.  Look at some factory photos.  You'll see that the clips are yellow zinc plated.  If new ones are available, it may be that they're not yellow zinc plated much like other new hardware isn't.  Furthermore, the Classic center isn't known for putting things like this back correctly.   

But that's the thing - except for brochure photos, where the engine bay is explicitly modified to make all the parts stand out, I haven't found a single pic - new or old - of an actual production car, where those clips were yellow plated. And I haven't seen a single car live, where that was the case - that's at least 30+ specimens. Maybe these were all faded and dulled from age, who knows, but I'm not convinced.

.....But they wouldn't have modified these clips for a brochure picture.  They're too finite of a detail to worry about for a brochure photo. In fact, until the late 1990's, all air filter housing clips were yellow zinc plated.  Even the late 1950's models had yellow clips, though those were yellow cadmium.  They quit using cadmium around 1962 due to the high rate of occupational hazard. 

I went to check the car today as its basically done. they had sorted a couple of the stickers I couldn't get new. I got the dealer delivery one (blue) and the NLA emissions control. the emissions control they did clear which doesn't matter on my car as its astral silver, but they are supposed to be grey. I will get them to make a bunch of grey ones for me.
they had two make several of each, so I've ended up with multiples of the dealer delivery with my order number on it which is a bit superfluous!

Was "Untertuerkheim" spelled this way on the original sticker? That's the new German spelling, which was introduced in 1996. The only valid spelling until then would have been "Untertürkheim".

Good point but all the stickers I have on our cars have had the 'Englished' version! This is off the red 6.9 6290 - which will now be replaced!

That's looking very crisp... once everything's in there again it will look mint. btw, what were you doing with the valve covers? I've been thinking about having mine ceramic coated when I remove them again, but am undecided on that at the moment.

Tim

I have the 6.9 bak home now, its occupying one of my garage spots with no engine in it so I need to get onto it. I've started reassembling the engine bay with new grommets, rubbers and everything else. I took plenty of pics when I disassembled and am now working backwards.  I even put the fan fare horn bar back in1 A few more bits will be needed but It will hopefully be back on the road by the end of the year.

seems to be a problem posting some pics tonight so not sure if all go through...

would you mind taking a few more photos of the fanfare horn bar?  top/side/mounting points/brackets.....

Thanks!

hospital grade I see.

rum, ill get it done. I tried to upload yesterday but because I rotated the pic on the Mac it wouldn't let me upload it. it said something about suspicious pic contact admin.

gotta be clean RD!

Hi Rum,
attached are some pics of the fanfare bare which supports the low tone horns.
sorry about the light in the pic. the morning light was wreaking havoc on the photos!
ill try for better ones later
regards

Nathan,

Congratulations.  Your engine bay is looking incredible.

Please keep sharing pictures of your progress with us.

Best regards,
Angel

Thanks for the pictures!!!!

ill try and get some better ones, the light was terrible in the morning in the garage, that and I couldn't bend over well in professional attire!

not much tonight.
a tip for people looking for those firewall drain hoses. they are always cooked it seems but then logically, I remembered a 280 wreck I had, the hoses were soft and bloody good in light of the small engine. in comparison, the hoses get decimated by the 6.9 as they sit behind it and cook. so look for good ones (they are NLA) fro a 280 if you need them!
I did a few brackets with new rubbers for the hydro lines. 
slow progress

Nice work!
Any luck with those unobtainium firewall grommets?

Hi Nathan and nice work - I think those duckbill drain hoses are also fitted to the W123 and W126 and available aftermarket. I got mine from MB Spares a few years back.

Daan,
I didn't want them to touch the firewall as the matting is NLA and I don't want to open a can of worms!
Duckbills is a good description Peter!

Awesome, yes that's looking mint. All those rubber parts would be quite crusty by now so it's definitely worth doing, and that was a good idea regarding the mat on the firewall.

Tim

I had some slave labour today in the form of a long time forum member who is largely inactive now.  it made possible a lot of work.  I accidentally snapped the bloody vacuum line on the cruise unit so will need to rectify that. otherwise going well.

All looking very good you should be proud. I didn't manage to get the block out which made it difficult but I struggle on.

cheers Marku,
I didn't pull the block out, my mechanic did. I've never taken out a 6.9 without just cutting the front end off!
when dads 6.9 was painted, they just sprayed the whole engine bay black around everything, it doesn't look so good and I want mine done as nicely as possible as the car is a keeper. its a lot of work!
regards
Nathan

Yes a lot of work. I started only intending to do the engine but it gradually expanded to a full rebuild with the body stripped out and repainted. Never intended it bought the car just to tinker with the engine and drive round the pubs here on a summer evening. But the magic of the 116 got me and I haven't regretted it. Doing all the work myself I have really learned a lot about the car. Good thing now is that I am putting it all back together. Still looking forward to going round the pubs.

Yep, removing and installing the engine without impacting anything is a real challenge with the 6.9, particularly with the centre of gravity being high with the M100 on the engine crane.

It's looking good Nathan, nice work getting that stuff back in, it can be quite a challenge remembering where everything goes.

Tim

thanks goodness,
I think its ready to roll to the mechanic to get the engine back in. a few solid days of effort and the help of an old forum member has seen me wrap it up tonight for the time being. ultimately, there aren't actually that many wires running the m-100 with K jet, although I will get all of them re insulated by an auto electrician before its back as that stuff is well baked now.  luckily we have some 6.9s so I had one to look at for comparison, although its hazardous as after 40 years, you can't guarantee that car is as it should be!
anyway, I look forward to the next phase.

I found that loosening the rear of the round cross member and dropping it a inch or two really helped make room to lower engine in.

connect the engine hoist leveler chains as far forward/as tight as you can to you can get a steep angle on the engine/trans.

cheers Rum, ill leaving the engine install to the mechanic but I've wrapped the front end to reduce the risk of accidental damage!

sitting on a train from Montreal to Quebec on holiday so time to upload some pics of a delivery a few days ago. reportedly the engine is in and my car is running now as I left the bits with the mechanic. I even met Tom Hanson in LA on the way through which was a nice meeting!

Nice work! Did you pick these parts up in person from the Classic Center?

Tim

Nice to see so many new bits going in. A proper job!

p.s.: Looks like the 6.9, W123 and W124 with hydro all share the same lever joint (A1233201489). Hopefully there's good stock, as I'll need one next year when the rear axle on my 280TE will come out for a refurb.

returned from a brief break and the car is back.  running nicely but cant drive it really as the suspension is up and rock hard.  I have called in the 116.org heavy weights to see if they can figure this out today.  I put a few more bits back on yesterday. I want to take the car to an auto electrician to get a few harness' tidied up. there is a lot of chicken and the egg in this project I have found, id have rather had the harness' done before the engine went in, but you cant drive the car to an electrician without an engine etc.  a small thing which makes me happy is my repainted recovery point. after 40 years, mine was black and grubby and not silver in the slightest. repainted and reassembled it looks a lot nicer now!

restoring the wiring harnesses in the engine bay are real bit of work.  You have to disassemble from the connectors in.  remove connector body, unsolder pins, remove sleeving, replace bad wires with splices and then re assemble in reverse. But once done look wonderful. For splices I use un-insulated butt connectors and then shrink tube them so they are nearly the same as original diameter and fit back in the sleeving.

I've posted these before, but here are the sleeves available. the first 3 digits of the second half is the size in mm.

N040621-005200
N040621-007201
N040621-008202
N040621-012203
N040621-016204
N040621-022205

If you need a bit of a certain wire color, let me know I have an old harness to cut from.

Thanks Rum,
ill check out some pics of the shrink wrap as this needs to be tidied up.

yesterday we had success.  TJ and co came around to figure out why my car was stuck high riding in a rock solid mode.

we bled air from the front passenger sphere and all it did was drop the front which then wouldn't come up. we did the same on the rear at the bleeding valve (on left side of valve under a grommet). it got it down and then pumped up to normal height with proper damping. the front did not rise.  we thought it may be the front valve although this looked good with nice boot. regardless, we replaced this with a new valve I bought 10 years ago or something. no change dammit and we just put on a bloody unicorns horn of a part! 
use of the new valve which had a 126 number meant you had to change the lever arm from the old one (which didnt have that ball joint on it).

we paid attention and heard a hissing noise from the rear valve area (but no leakage) when the car would be turned off. TJs take was the rear valve was probably leaking internally so we then put the previous front valve one the rear, and success! whilst removing it the lever arm mount disintegrated and fortunately id ordered two when I was buying the engine part numbers.  the car is now at correct height and soft again. I also replaced the level arms to valve at the same time. I really need to get under the car and clean the underside but this will be easier when I hopefully get access to a hoist.

some pics

and the insitu valves.
I had a few from wrecked 6.9s but mine was in much better shape than these so ill keep these for another day!

slowly slowly. im now held up with my interior effectively being gutted and having to do it all in sequence. more on that later. these were the leads that we used to replace the older ones as one of the previous leads was noted to be cooked. (that and the old ones were unbefitting of the engine bay!)

ill start a new thread on this, but have now also moved onto replace the dash with the new one i bought a few years ago.  this then led to other things to do.

It'll look a million dollars once back together, and the A/C will be nice and cold which is a bonus.

Tim

...and it all started with an "engine rebuild".

Welcome to the rabbit hole Nathan! :D

cheers PT,
it certainly does. you know it all too well!
whilst the dash was out, I also decided to get the wood redone by the French wood polisher.
my car had all the other wood done years ago except for the dash stuff.
so when I sent this off I also sent off a batch of spare wood to put in our other cars (and a spare set!)

the before

and afters, put on your sunglasses! ;)

more

...

...

Looking very nice,

It's interesting they have the round fader holes. I think I have one sitting around at home somewhere.

Tim

H Nathan

this is excellent work,  has inspired me to finish my own 6.9 project,

thank you

robert

good one RD, im glad I have inspired you to enter financial destitution!

TJ, I think these are from the two 77s, the dark blue one and the thistle green one we wrecked.  ill either put the old school fader in or a rubber grommet. he couldn't fill them. its actually a better spot than our fader spot on the side of the shifter which is an odd, almost afterthought-like, position I think.

so after the rust repair in the passenger footwell floor, the paint shop inadvertently lost the original rubber insulation that is glued to the floor.  then after I bought another wreck and found a very good condition padding, it got lost too! disappointing but I still needed it.  this padding is the stuff that cracks and retains any water leakage from poor firewall grommets. it then masks any rust beneath it, as you cant see it below this stuff which is glued down.  I managed to find two pretty bad wrecks in the middle of nowhere near our city, and TJ and I checked them out. I got the passenger padding from both of them. the white one was pretty poor, the blue one was all right. I then painted the blue one (even though its not visible) to make it look a bit more respectable and similar to my silver cars natural padding colour. most of the cracks will be covered by the rear ventilation duct so it won't look too bad. it then has the rubber/carpet matt on the top of it before the mats on top of this.  I dont think ill glue it down.  the underside of this stuff is also contoured to your floor pan so this is why this NLA product is important, or your floor mats on top of it won't sit right either if you just glue any old flat padding down!

Quote from: nathan on 04 March 2018, 09:50 AM
so after the rust repair in the passenger footwell floor, the paint shop inadvertently lost the original rubber insulation that is glued to the floor.  then after I bought another wreck and found a very good condition padding, it got lost too! disappointing but I still needed it.  this padding is the stuff that cracks and retains any water leakage from poor firewall grommets. it then masks any rust beneath it, as you cant see it below this stuff which is glued down.  I managed to find two pretty bad wrecks in the middle of nowhere near our city, and TJ and I checked them out. I got the passenger padding from both of them. the white one was pretty poor, the blue one was all right. I then painted the blue one (even though its not visible) to make it look a bit more respectable and similar to my silver cars natural padding colour. most of the cracks will be covered by the rear ventilation duct so it won't look too bad. it then has the rubber/carpet matt on the top of it before the mats on top of this.  I dont think ill glue it down.  the underside of this stuff is also contoured to your floor pan so this is why this NLA product is important, or your floor mats on top of it won't sit right either if you just glue any old flat padding down!

Nice find. These are very hard to find in decent shape. I got lucky and scored a NOS one for the driver side off of ebay recently.

I bought a caulk gun size tube of white silicone and and tube of black. - one color for each side.  Liberally applying over all cracks and most of the surface and smoothed as best I could with a putty knife at about 1/8" thick or so over most of the surface.  Besides sealing cracks in, it is now also is less prone to future breaking.  still not the prettiest thing, but it is covered with carpet later.

Geez Dan, a NOS find is lucky! I  dont think it would be too hard to fabricate a poor mans version with some dense foam and cutting tool but still, a shabby old one is better than flat material. 

Rum, not a bad idea. I didnt thin of that, I just flooded it with pain to rot into some of them.  admittedly, it has a crack in the large flat section that wasn't there 24 hours before I bought it (due to me handling it). this stuff gets brittle and as you say, is easily cracked on removal.

it will do the job and cover ups the 6.9 exhaust shield screws sticking through!

and back in.  thank goodness, ive been stuck for weeks with this damn thing out. now I can progress !

Most excellent, that's certainly looking the part now.

Tim

         
        Good Stuff Nathan

This is an epic thread.

This thread has been incredible useful for getting the right part numbers for hoses and other parts I need to get my 6.9 into a reliable, enjoyable and safe condition - especially in the Australian summer.

Hey Nathan, i'm curious to know two things - what was the part number or source of the correct clear/white braid washer hose? Mine is brown and crumbling like the insulation on the engine bay wiring.
Further to that, where did you get the radiator re-cored? I'm going to get the borescope into mine and run a flush through it first - actually, the cooling system has been well maintained and the coolant is free from contamination.

Thanks again for the information and helpful post - A

Hi Andrew, text me if I dont get back to you in a couple of weeks, currently overseas for the Christmas break (I just cleaned the rental car of all snow and crud!).  the hose number I recall was frustrTig, as the same number first got me black hose, the same number but specific instruction to send me the clear hose with white line got me the correct one!!

The radiator was recored by the local custom radiator guy who has done custom work for me before, when I needed a bigger radiator for a 460 gwagen that had a bigger motor put in it. im not sure if this is technically difficult or not for guys in the know?

Quote from: andrewk on 25 December 2022, 09:20 PMThis thread has been incredible useful for getting the right part numbers for hoses and other parts I need to get my 6.9 into a reliable, enjoyable and safe condition - especially in the Australian summer.

Hey Nathan, i'm curious to know two things - what was the part number or source of the correct clear/white braid washer hose? Mine is brown and crumbling like the insulation on the engine bay wiring.
Further to that, where did you get the radiator re-cored? I'm going to get the borescope into mine and run a flush through it first - actually, the cooling system has been well maintained and the coolant is free from contamination.

Thanks again for the information and helpful post - A

No need to get fancy here.  I found identical tubing at my local hardware store.  It's just clear, fiber reinforced PVC tubing.  They had a big rack of spools in various sizes ranging from tiny to maybe 3 cm OD.  It's pretty cheap too.  If not at a hardware store then just look for a tubing/hose supplier.  I suggest slicing the old tubing off with a razor rather than trying to pull it off the fitting.  Very high risk of breaking the fitting cause old tubing is hard as a rock (you can probably guess how I know this  ::) )  Looks much better than the brown, discolored old junk!  Cheers,

Lemme hook you guys up on the washer hose:

0109978982  cheap and you can buy it by the meter too.

Quote from: daantjie on 26 December 2022, 02:09 PMLemme hook you guys up on the washer hose:

0109978982  cheap and you can buy it by the meter too.

This is the case with Pelican Parts. One is from Cohline and the other is a MB part, but with the same number.
MB Classic suggest the part is definitely black, but will investigate further to see if other stock is available.

Actually, I have hose in the right size here in my lab but it is slightly tinted and the braid looks very different. I'd like to retain the OE appearance where possible.

Unfortunately, the following parts not available from MB Classic Center at the time of writing:

Ground cable -116 540 05 31 not currently available. Not discontinued but in production with no stock
Flashing - 116 887 00 45 no longer available
Breather hose- 100 090 01 82 no longer available
Clamp - 916016 005201 no longer available
Windshield washer connector - 113 869 00 24 no longer available
Brake fluid reservoir RHD - 001 431 53 02 no longer available
Air slide valve hose - 100 094 12 91 no longer available
Fan clutch - 116 200 05 22 no longer available


 

MB Classic is wrong.  The hose was never black. 

If you DDG the part number and view images you will see about half of them show black tubing now. Is it possible that MB changed their specs?

The hose MB Classic have under that PN is definitely black now. Michael will check for me when back from holidays next week to see if there is also clear hose.

Also very curious to know the part number for ignition wires, mine are definitely on their last sparks. Classic Centre didn't know if the 6.3 wires worked and asked me for a part number :P

Attn: Nathan. enjoy your holiday! I'll look for a radiator shop in the new year, if that fails over here in the East, I'll ask for your guy. Makes sense to do it before I replace the coolant hoses, one of which is definitely original (lower hose) and starting to look sketchy.