My First W116 - My 280SEL

[Beastie]

I have some new wheel bolts here and from the factory, they are galvanized. Rusting will never be an issue again with them.

Ah, then I've probably ruined mine by grinding them the way I did?

[TJ 450]

Unless they changed the manufacturing process, I'm pretty sure they're not galvanised. That silver coating doesn't last very long in my experience.

Tim

[Beastie]

So my car hasn't been running perfectly for a while now. When idling it often stalls. At speed it runs well, no issues, but if I sit at a red light for more than a few minutes the revs will drop the engine will cut out. It hasn't been anything more than a nuisance so I've been putting off dealing with it. I figured it could be a lot of things, maybe some bad fuel or a bit of a clog in a filter, and so maybe it might just work itself out if I run the car a little more.

But over the weekend it stalled in my driveway and as I was trying to start it, it misfired. A very loud misfire, very expensive sounding. And then when it started it ran terribly. It's thrice as loud now and sounds a lot like a Singer 132K6. I took a quick lap around the block and it was backfiring on the overrun and people were looking at me. I think possibly the crack in the Y-piece of the exhaust may have become a gaping hole, maybe that's all that happened. I'm going to take it to my mechanic so that we can take a look at it, hopefully this week.

[oversize]

Sounds like it's time to get rid of the Y piece!  Might be a good idea to pull the plugs and have a look.  And check your fuel supply from tank to injectors.

[Beastie]

Sounds like it's time to get rid of the Y piece!  Might be a good idea to pull the plugs and have a look.  And check your fuel supply from tank to injectors.

I suspected it might have been a clogged filter. In fact I was pretty sure of it, all signs pointed to that from what I could tell. But as it turns out it was a burnt out rotor. My mechanic figured it out pretty quickly, gave me a new one, and now the car is running fine. No dying at red lights, no hesitation. Seems to be all sorted out. I was so sure it was a fuel problem! Oh well, I'm just glad it was a quick, cheap fix.

But, the exhaust is knackered and will need extensive repairs. He recommended a place nearby and I'll be taking it there on Thursday. I'm looking forward to getting it sorted. 

[Beastie]

I had a post written up but the forum crashed and I lost it so I'll just briefly add that I've had my car in to Exhaust Plus at Stepney and they cut out two great lengths of rusted pipe that were "paper thin" and replaced it with new stainless piping, and they also replaced the muffler which was cactus too. I'm glad I was able to keep it all a twin pipe setup and I was pleased with the work. They knew their way around the car and their prices were reasonable. And when I told them who had sent me there they gave me a nice little discount. They also invited me to go under the car to have a good look for myself which is always nice.

They said that the Y piece was OK and that the leak up at that end was coming from a gasket. I'm still planning on getting something fabricated to replace the extractors and y piece but that'll be a little further down the road when time and money permit. For now I'm just happy to have the car back in good working order, and quiet enough that it doesn't wake my neighbors and make all dogs within a three block radius bark their heads off as I drive by. I do kind of miss the crackle on the overrun though, because that sounded pretty cool.

[Beastie]

Oh, this thread looks great now that all my picture links went dead. Sorry about that. My free image host went to a pay system.

It's been a long time since I updated. I recently completed the exhaust work - new headers and the deletion of the EKG - with much debate with local mechanics. It's now done, it looks tidy, sound a lot better and is running smoothly. I regret taking this long to get it sorted.

In other news, I caught my antenna on a sticky-outy shrub branch on a narrow road in the hills. Snapped the antenna clean in half. I'm going the route of a new 'universal Hirschmann' from MercedesSource - new motor, new antenna. Has anyone here tried fitting one? https://mercedessource.com/store/hirschmann-universal-replacement-power-antenna-custom-instructions

It's in the post. When it gets here I'll snap a few pics and see how it goes fitting one to a W116. Hopefully it's as simple as it seems.

[beagle2022]

I replaced mine with their kit.  Really easy, slotted right in.  Clear instructions supplied.

[Beastie]

The new antenna and motor went in fairly easily but it sits in a different spot to the old original motor and I can't for the life of me see how I'm going to refit the boot lining carpet thingy.

I replaced mine with their kit.  Really easy, slotted right in.  Clear instructions supplied.

Did you manage to get the boot liner back in OK? I feel like I might be able to adjust the Hirschmann to gain a little more room but there's not a lot of play in it, maybe only a cm or two...

[beagle2022]

I had no such problems. Slotted right in the spot and no issues with the boot lining.  Perhaps a different model to the one I got.  My experience was over two years ago.

[Beastie]

Thanks for your reply. I'm without internet at the moment as I just moved house (currently checking the org from work) and I've been too busy to finish the antenna job. Hopefully I'll be able to sort it out soon.