What have you done for your W116 today?

[raueda1]

• Finish repairing crack on dash

Interesting. Tell us more? How are you planning to repair a single crack vs. replacing / covering the dash?

I've been experimenting with this using vinyl repair paste and silicone molding compound.  The idea is to make a dashboard impression with the molding stuff.  Next, spread a very thin layer of the repair paste on the mold so you have a kind of dashboard patch or "skin". Add a couple more coats so the skin can be handled but feathering towards the edges.
  In the meantime fill the crack so you have a uniform surface to put the skin on.  Now spread a very thin layer of the repair paste over the area to be repaired.  Put the skin over it and press with a soft roller.  The patch will have a near-perfect pattern match with the dash. With buffing and rubbing alcohol you can get a good match of gloss.  It's not perfectly invisible but nobody will see it unless you tell them to look hard.

At least that's the idea.  I made some excellent patches last summer but never finished leveling the area around the crack. Then I garaged the car for the winter.

I did the same for some headliner holes.  They're now totally invisible.  The process seems to work if you're patient.  I'll post pix of it when (and if) the time comes.  Cheers,

[BigGreenMachine]

Like raueda1, did above, I'm mapping out my winter to-do list.

1) Lube three remaining window assemblies. Replace the white plastic jaw clip in one of them. Clip is on order, and I went ahead and purchased the detailed door card removal video from mercedessource to supplement the manual and maybe prevent avoidable headaches. I plan to use red tacky grease for the window gears and rail slider, and silicone spray for the window channels. The door latches are getting sticky too, so I'll take the opportunity to rehab all the moving bits inside.

2) Rebuild springs in saggy driver's seat. Spring kit is on order from mercedessource.

3) Rehab sun roof. Haven't tried to open it for a few years. Car has always been garaged and very well maintained so I'm hoping I'll get off easy with a less intrusive clean and lube vs deep rebuild.

4) Troubleshoot transmission fluid drip. I first thought I had a bad gasket, but when I pulled the transmission dipstick to see how much fluid I've lost to the leak, I found the trans actually appears to be overfilled by several inches above the hash marks on the stick. When I do a clean dip with the stick, it comes out looking like I've got trans fluid even up above the big zig-zag bends on the dipstick - so maybe I'm dealing with an overfill vs a serious leak.

5) Next time it's in a shop up on a lift, I want to inspect the drive shaft center bearing. I sometimes hear a short weird noise on the highway after hitting a bump, almost like when your plane has landed and you hear the electric motors laboring in the wings to trim up the flaps. It's such a distinctive and mysterious sound, this bearing is the likeliest culprit I can think of since I came across a video calling that piece out as a wear item.

6) Survey time: how much of a difference does it make before/after when replacing the hood pad? Is it mainly a preventative exercise to stop more disintegrated foam from getting into the motor, or does it also provide a noticeable improvement to sound dampening after replacement? I can't tell if the reward is worth the work on this one - any input is appreciated.


Lastly I want to plug a mod I made last year that I find extremely convenient: I put a throw switch on my battery to make it easy to disconnect it between drives and covered storage without having to unscrew the battery leads or leave a trickle charger permanently attached.

[daantjie]

Hood pad is a must.  It protects your paint from the under hood temps.

[BigGreenMachine]

Hood pad is a must.  It protects your paint from the under hood temps.

Great advice - I hadn't even considered that aspect!

[rumb]

Sounds like a good plan. I would not use red grease at all. Get 001-989-37-51-09  grease for window regulators and guides.   It is a very light grease. The red stuff will eventually dry up and make things worse, and just makes a mess.

The regulator motor/assy only needs some white lithium spray on the pivot point and some of the light grease on the side of big gear where the rubbing blocks hit it.  The big gear doesnt need anything on it. The motor uses the light grease inside.

This light grease I think it would be good also for the sun roof even though it is not the official MB sunroof grease, which is presumably better.You can usually buy small quantities on ebay or from mercedesource.

Dont forget the technical section has all the repair manuals in it.

[Jan S]

Hood pad is a must.  It protects your paint from the under hood temps.

Great advice - I hadn't even considered that aspect!

... and it looks much better! Did the hood pad last spring, relatively easy job.
https://forum.w116.org/mechanicals/what-have-you-done-for-your-w116-today/msg153684/?topicseen#msg153684

[BigGreenMachine]

Sounds like a good plan. I would not use red grease at all. Get 001-989-37-51-09  grease for window regulators and guides.   It is a very light grease. The red stuff will eventually dry up and make things worse, and just makes a mess.

The regulator motor/assy only needs some white lithium spray on the pivot point and some of the light grease on the side of big gear where the rubbing blocks hit it.  The big gear doesnt need anything on it. The motor uses the light grease inside.

This light grease I think it would be good also for the sun roof even though it is not the official MB sunroof grease, which is presumably better.You can usually buy small quantities on ebay or from mercedesource.

Dont forget the technical section has all the repair manuals in it.

This is unbelievably helpful. Thank you for this guidance. I really appreciate it.

[BigGreenMachine]

The motor uses the light grease inside.

Does this mean you think I should remove the regulator/motor assembly from the door to access the motor to lube inside? I'd envisioned leaving the regulator installed and reaching my arm up inside the door to apply lube to various points. How realistic/effective is reaching vs removal?