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motor mounts

Started by rumb, 07 January 2017, 11:23 AM

UTn_boy

Out of curiosity, I contacted a close acquaintance of mine that works at the Classic Center in Fellbach about this motor mount issue.  I was told that yes, they were completely out of stock, and that Mercedes has decided to end the motor mounts completely.  No more will be made, and there are no plans to make any more.  I can't imagine why in the world they'd quit making/selling something like a motor mount.  Well, as the saying goes, if it's not for a 300SL or a Pagoda, they have no interest.  Such a shame. 
1966 250se coupe`,black/dark green leather
1970 600 midnight blue/parchment leather
1971 300sel 6.3,papyrus white/dark red leather
1975 450se, pine green metallic/green leather
1973 300sel 4.5,silver blue metallic/blue leather
1979 450sel 516 red/bamboo

rumb

motor mounts, strut mounts, and no doubt a host of other critical parts that they will not supply.  I guess they dont deem the 6.9 worthy enough, how very sad.  Guess they are leaving it up to aftermarkets to perhaps fill the void.

Well I guess that could also mean if you have a good to very good condition car the values should go up, since you wont be able to restore the rest of them....
'68 250S
'77 6.9 Euro
'91 300SE,
'98 SL500
'14 CLS550,
'16 AMG GTS
'21 E450 Cabrio

daantjie

Quote from: UTn_boy on 16 February 2017, 03:16 PM
Out of curiosity, I contacted a close acquaintance of mine that works at the Classic Center in Fellbach about this motor mount issue.  I was told that yes, they were completely out of stock, and that Mercedes has decided to end the motor mounts completely.  No more will be made, and there are no plans to make any more.  I can't imagine why in the world they'd quit making/selling something like a motor mount.  Well, as the saying goes, if it's not for a 300SL or a Pagoda, they have no interest.  Such a shame.

If the Chinese all of a sudden start buying old Benzes then you'll see them dusting off the molds and jigs in a heart beat.
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber

Em86

The question is now
1. can you somehow restore old part?
2. use later version part?
3. use some other part?

ptashek

To be brutally honest, screw Benz and their parts antics. They could make a heap of money from licensing original designs to 3rd parties, but prefer to kill the parts supply instead. As soon as that model becomes desirable to the cash-lined auction crowds (which it never will), the supply will be resurrected.

I have FEBI mounts in my car and can vouch for their quality after 6000+ km. It's always a bit of a roulette with their parts, but most fit perfectly, and all are well built.

Actually, I have quite a few FEBI parts on my car, and the only ones which didn't fit were the transmission mount and cam oilers, if memory serves. I even had the flex discs and brake rotors checked for balance, and guess what - they're spot on.

One thing that my restoration has proven is, that the quality superiority of MB parts is nothing but an urban legend anymore.

Consumables are nothing but repackaged of-shelf products (e.g. all filters), and other parts are old 1980s/1990s stock sitting in a warehouse in Fellbach.

As an example, I've ordered brand new check valves for the vacuum system. What came back was parts with a 07/1987 stamped on them.

Rant over :)
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

UTn_boy

We can definitely use other motor mounts.  Specifically, we can use the E-11 motor mounts.  The "E-11" is only a reference to the Shore rating, or harness of the rubber.  The E-11 mounts are for diesels, and work splendidly on gas engines, especially the V-8's.  These are still readily available, both from Mercedes and FEBI.  It may be that there are some Meyle and Lemferder out there, but be cautious, as they're getting old now, and those two companies haven't made these mounts in a while. 

If the Chinese did buy the molds and start making them again, we'd still have a lot to be concerned about, as they would likely use sub standard rubber material at first, but would hopefully get it right on down the road. 

Rumb, regarding what you last said, most, not all, values usually plummet when parts aren't available.  The mindset here is "why would I want to buy a car I can't get simple parts for?" Interest and demand falls drastically, and so do values.  This is actually why W116 chassis are so inexpensive to buy now and as of late.  Past paint, chrome, leather, and wood, a W116 is next to impossible to restore.  No more dashes, no more door panels, no more interior moldings, various exterior trim pieces are long gone, and heaven forbid we need a rear muffler...($800+).  Look at all of the time Stan has spent scouring the word for parts.  Even with all that he's found, he's still on the hunt.  W116 cars scare most people off for these reasons.  I hope things change, but without support from Benz or someone else willing to make/supply commonly needed parts, the future for W116 cars is really grim looking.  The same goes for W126 cars, too.  :/
1966 250se coupe`,black/dark green leather
1970 600 midnight blue/parchment leather
1971 300sel 6.3,papyrus white/dark red leather
1975 450se, pine green metallic/green leather
1973 300sel 4.5,silver blue metallic/blue leather
1979 450sel 516 red/bamboo

floyd111

 :)..and I have never gotten around to buying any exhaust part. I am simply gonna have a set made locally, in stainless.

But look at it from another side. I would not want an R107 or a W123, Great cars, but not my choice. Is an R107 really that much easier  to restore than a W116?
I would want something pre-1975,good enough to be a highway-car. Any W112 without a 4-speed manual would already be out of the question.
On top  of that, I have seen parts for W112 go for fantastic prices and I  would very much doubt  full resto with OEM parts would be possible, easy, or affordable.

These are /were the years where we can still pick up W116 parts at OK pricing,  either new, used or refurbished. The car in question is the actual guilty party., not it's market. A complicated,tough restoration. But no matter what the market sentiments are, the W116 was a masterpiece and one of the world's most expensive cars for nearly a decade. Thanks to these sloppy market sentiments, some of us are able to pick one of these cars up cheaply and restore them with a middle-class working income.
I adore the Pagodas and W112 Coupe,even more than the W116, but I would never have dared costly projects like those as a beginner. Was I wrong?

UTn_boy

Picking a W116 to restore as a first car wasn't a good idea.  There are many more parts available for W111/W112 coupes and cabriolets than there are for W116 cars, and for the parts that aren't available, they show up in new or good used form more often than, say, a W116 dash.  Granted, an earlier car is more expensive to restore due to the amount of chrome, leather, and wood in/on them.  However, regardless of what the W116 was in its day, they're still viewed as the "fat girl at the dance" today.  They're an acquired taste, and when fellas like us die off that do appreciate them, they'll likely be forgotten about for the most part. 

R107 cars are much easier to restore than a W116 by far.  More parts are still available, and so many were made and still exist that good used parts can be had very easily.  In addition, the R107 is a smaller car with fewer parts, less leather, less wood, and less chrome and/or anodized aluminum trim. 

A pagoda would be a much less expensive of a car to restore than a W116 if Mercedes didn't use gold standard pricing on the parts they're having made in China using child labor.  There are probably more new/reproduced parts for a Pagoda, 190SL, or a 300SL than any other car......which makes me wonder why they don't listen to reason and do the same for other chassis.  There is a demand, but apparently not a demand that's good enough for them.  The demand is far past minuscule, but I think they also realize that the majority of W116 owners would never pay their prices.  It's  a crap shoot these days, but I don't care.  I love all of my cars, and I'll continue to do what I do until I see I'm not fit to do so.  I'll always end up putting more into my cars than they'll ever be worth, and I'm ok with that.  At the end of the day, I realize that regardless of how much money i have in my cars I'll never be able to buy a new W116 for what I have in mine.  So it's all relative, and in the good sense.  :)
1966 250se coupe`,black/dark green leather
1970 600 midnight blue/parchment leather
1971 300sel 6.3,papyrus white/dark red leather
1975 450se, pine green metallic/green leather
1973 300sel 4.5,silver blue metallic/blue leather
1979 450sel 516 red/bamboo

daantjie

All valid points.
The 116 does seem to have been passed over. I'm a Gen X'er myself thus I saw these cars on the road as a kid plus of course 126's by the ton. That's why I love the 116 and 126.
Just look at what happened to E30 BMW prices. Astronomical. All Gen X'ers and hipsters now pushing the demand. Looks like this demographic is also now chasing 126's but sadly the timing seems to be just off for our beloved 116.
The baby boomers are pushing up the Pagoda market to unsustainable levels IMHO. There will be a correction I believe. The 6.3 market is already cooling rapidly. Boomers dying off and getting out of the market. The same will happen to Pagodas.
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber

UTn_boy

I'm pretty sure the Pagodas have already started plummeting, at least stateside.  They're having a really hard time cracking $60,000 here in the U.S. as of late.  Nice used ones that need attention are selling for under $30,000.  Granted, many are still being advertised for anywhere between $70,000 and $120,000, but they sit and sit and sit.  They never sell. 

I'm certainly not old enough to remember seeing W116 cars around when they were new, but I've seen my share of W126 cars growing up, along with a large number of older used W`116 cars in the mix.  I can still remember W126 cars still being on the lot at my local dealership, as used cars, obviously. 

I think the rising price on the W126 will plateau much sooner than earlier models, and will plummet much sooner with greater force, as well.  My reasoning for this is that people will realize much sooner that restoration of a W126 will end up being just as nearly impossible as it is for the W116.  Nice examples will always bring a premium, but others will fall by the wayside in favor of an earlier or later model.  Writing this makes me cringe at how I've used my W126 over the years.  I wasn't rough on it, nor did I not take care of it.  I simply wish I would have used a different car for my snow and rain car.  Well, we all know what they say about hindsight.  Also, it never let me down, and with mine having ASD, it never failed to proceed in snow.  :) 
1966 250se coupe`,black/dark green leather
1970 600 midnight blue/parchment leather
1971 300sel 6.3,papyrus white/dark red leather
1975 450se, pine green metallic/green leather
1973 300sel 4.5,silver blue metallic/blue leather
1979 450sel 516 red/bamboo

rumb

In  my town I see a good number of W126, only 1 or maybe 2 W116, every blue moon a W108, but a bunch of older finny and old diesels.

The only padgoda's I see are at shows.
'68 250S
'77 6.9 Euro
'91 300SE,
'98 SL500
'14 CLS550,
'16 AMG GTS
'21 E450 Cabrio

daantjie

Well, one of 2 things will happen.  They will either fade into the sunset, as they are being crushed at high rate now due to low/no love from Benz and Benz fans.  Or there will somehow be a revival in this "obscure" particular S Class from the 70's, and then the remaining good ones will command fat premiums.  Methinks the latter is highly unlikely :'(
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber

rumb

'68 250S
'77 6.9 Euro
'91 300SE,
'98 SL500
'14 CLS550,
'16 AMG GTS
'21 E450 Cabrio

Em86

I think this is the older version mount. I took this picture from my 450SE 1975. The newer one looks a little bit different.