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What have you done for your W116 today?

Started by BWalker82, 18 May 2011, 06:27 PM

ptashek

It limits ignition coil current, so that it doesn't burn itself out. I'm not sure about the voltage part on our cars, as they're wired in series.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

sutekh

#451
For the sake of this post, more like "What have you done for your W116 this week?"

I've been slowly amassing parts to completely rebuild the brakes on my 300SD and install new tires / switch to steelies & hubcaps while I was at it. I started this process 3 days ago, and finally finished last night at 2am (just in time for a few hours of sleep before cars and coffee this morning!)

All said and done, the butchers bill was as follows:

Brakes:
  • Front / rear rotors
    • Zimmerman vs. OE, but they're from FCP so lifetime warranty applies if they warp.
  • Front / rear Akebono EUR1072 ceramic pads
    • Some may have feelings about this. Consider it a matter of preference. I install cermamics on all my Germans. I prefer the the braking characteristics, don't care about rotor wear (always replace them with pads anyway), and HATE brake dust ruining my wheels.
    • One caveat of note: No one offers a ceramic pad for the fronts of my pre-s/n 014085 car. I ordered the later Akebonos anyway and it turns out the only real difference is friction material thickness. The newer chassis' rotors must be thinner and the gap for the rotor between the pads was too narrow, even with the pistons fully compressed. I sanded ~0.5mm off of all 4 with some 220grit and they work perfectly.
  • Front / rear brake lines
    • I really wanted to install a set of stainless lines, but I ordered a set from Deerfield precision and they never shipped and wouldn't respond to me. Finally had to contest the charges. Buyers beware!
  • Fresh Pentosin brake fluid
  • Rebuilt all 4 calipers with fresh seals
  • Repacked all 4 front bearings and replaced both seals
    • This job Sucks™. Removing the Allen bolts that secure the rotors to the carriers is a PITA. God bless MAPP gas and modern high-torque electric impact drivers.
    • Regarding bearing pre-load (or lack thereof), opinions on this and other forums is all over the map. I tightened the pinch nut just to the point there was no lash, then +10deg. Bearings are nice and quiet and nothing has exploded  :o

Wheels / Tires:
  • 4 x 6.5in x 14in steelies (p/n 1084000802)
    • Found a straight set on the auction site and had them powder coated locally. They looks so good I almost hate to hide them :)
  • 7 x 14in stainless hubcaps
    • That's right, 7. Had to buy that many to find 4 straight, rash-free examples, and then stripped / polished them.
    • Still trying to decide whether or not to paint them. I ordered a couple of rattle cans of my paint code, but I kinda like the polished look too...
  • 4 x Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP IIs
    • Gotta have whitewalls with hubcaps on a car this color!
    • 195 /75 R14

Aside from a a seized compression fitting I had to cut off and re-double flare, all went more or less according to plan. I put 50mi on the car this morning, and it rides and stops well. Looks okay too IMO  8)

revilla

Very impressive. Good job there. I never thought of hubcaps unpainted. I love them. I think partially due to the fact they are on an astrasilber body. You're giving me ideas. Well done with this project.

Jan S

Nice work! And car looks great with whitewalls and hubcaps!
1975-mod W116 450 SE with 6.9 engine

Jan S

I gave the old man new carpet floor mats today.

Looks ok, but mats closer to the original carpet - i.e. without the ribs - would have been a tick better.

Main purpose is to protect the original carpet which is in stunning condition considering the age of 48 yrs. Good quality!
1975-mod W116 450 SE with 6.9 engine

johnnyw116

Quote from: Jan S on 04 July 2022, 05:39 PMI gave the old man new carpet floor mats today.

Looks ok, but mats closer to the original carpet - i.e. without the ribs - would have been a tick better.

Main purpose is to protect the original carpet which is in stunning condition considering the age of 48 yrs. Good quality!

Looks good and they have a good fitment ! Are these Lengenfelder floormats ?
JohnnyW116

Jan S

Yes - Lengenfelder Autoteppiche GmbH, and perfect fitment!

Quite stiff as well, which is good. We'll see how they look after a few years with wear and tear.
1975-mod W116 450 SE with 6.9 engine

johnnyw116

Ok , i recently bought the same lengenfelder rips floormats it's indeed an perfect fit and quitte stiff , i ordered them in dark green and it's sounds crazy the dark green does not come with an heel pad for the drivers side becouse they dont have green matching material for it , but we will see it how long they are gonna last in our W116's
JohnnyW116

ptashek

#458
I've had their floor mats in both my semi-daily driver W124s, and they're keeping very well. The heel pad is definitely not as robust as the original, but the rest is very solid. No wear to report after 2+ years.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

Jan S

Sounds promising - good to hear your experiences!
1975-mod W116 450 SE with 6.9 engine

SteveDuNord

Fixed the dash illumination issue I'd noticed the night before by replacing fuse no.5 and twisting the fader knob until I had light. Bonus being that I now also have working glovebox and hazard switch light.

Went out for a drive to bathe in the glow.
'77 280se

Jan S

Quote from: Jan S on 08 June 2022, 10:05 AMOver the weekend I did a first "major" test-drive since I closed several items on my to-do list. Total 820 km (510 miles) at a speed of mainly 90-120 km/h (55-75 miles/h).

Car performed beautifully. Started immediately cold and warm, although rpms still too high when warm (800 should be 600 ... need to look into that). Very stable and tight at relative high speed (75+ miles/h).

Average consumption 1,54 liter/10 km (15,27 miles/gallon) is the best I have ever measured (for that car).
 
Only a few things to put the finger on:
-   I missed the AC, but the sunroof worked flawlessly
-   Minor play in the steering box

Closed items:
-   Renovated radiator (disassembled, sandblasted, flanges re-welded, new register, painted)
-   New coolant hoses and clamps in engine bay (except return heater-to-engine, and expansion tank to lower part of radiator ... will leave those to later this fall)
-   New thermostat
-   New thermostat housing incl. bolts and sealing
-   New engine temp/coolant temp sensor
-   New coolant
-   New ignition cap and rotor
-   New "100-hose" (the breather hose from idling house to air intake left and right)
-   New rubber boots and vacuum lines around WUR and idling house
-   Cleaned and tested aux air valve
-   Cleaned idling house incl. new seal
-   New injectors incl. seals
-   New windshield wipers
-   New hood isolation pad

Over the last couple of days I did the 2nd "major" test drive since I closed several items on my to-do list. Total 1013 km (630 miles) at varying speed up to max 120 km/h (75 miles/h).

Car performed beautifully. No issues whatsoever.
1975-mod W116 450 SE with 6.9 engine

sutekh

Quote from: Jan S on 17 July 2022, 03:31 PMCar performed beautifully. No issues whatsoever.

Marvelous! That was a serious amount of work.

Today I replaced my glow plugs, including carbon reaming. I DID NOT remove my fuel lines as many recommend. All in, I think it was probably slightly easier working around the hard lines vs. removing them and bleeding the system. Carbon buildup in the chambers wasn't horrible, but there was plenty of it. Car starts cold now after lighting the plugs once instead of twice, so mission accomplished :)

Jan S

Replaced all rear bulbs today, including license plate bulbs, but except the two left and right festoon bulbs (one can be seen far left in 1st pic). Need to buy these two bulbs later.

Used standard Osram bulbs (see 2nd pic):

- 6 x P21W (12V, 21W)
- 2 x R10W (12V, 10W)
- 2 x C5W (12V, 5W, 36 mm) (License plate)

Replaced also the front two signal bulbs (2 x P21W)

The rear bulb holder and front signal bulb holder looked great and now signs of rust. Good to now.

Interesting to see the date stamp on the rear bulb holder (10 Oct 1974) ... coincides well with the date the car left the factory (18 Oct 1974).
1975-mod W116 450 SE with 6.9 engine

BigGreenMachine

Quote from: johnnyw116 on 17 May 2022, 04:34 AMCool color  8) looks like 825 tiefgrün

Confirmed! I just found the original import paperwork from 1978 and it's indeed listed as tiefgrün.