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Sweating the small stuff

Started by raueda1, 20 June 2018, 07:01 PM

raueda1

My family and friends are all sick to death of hearing about the wonderfulness of my car projects, so I'm forced to subject you guys to it.    My goal is to make everything work properly.  Everything.  Last fall I dealt with a transmission rebuild, which was obviously big.  Most of this stuff is much smaller.  There's not really much point to this post at all, except to recognize how much small stuff there actually is, and this is in a car that's running and has no larger systems problems (such as bad brakes, blowing smoke, rust issues, stuff like that).  But I'm now very, very close to reaching that elusive "everything works" nirvana.  Here's the what-was-done list:


  • Leveling valves rebuilt, new boots  and hoses on rear struts (not small stuff!)
  • Flush suspension system, replace filter and pump return hose (leaked)
  • Flush power steering, replace filter and pump return hose (leaked)
  • New bellows and center carrier for drive shaft
  • Replaced steering coupler
  • Fuel supply system overhaul (new pump, accumulator, filter, connecting hoses)
  • Cleaned fuel tank, replaced screen (fuel starvation with half-full tank)
  • Replaced radiator hoses (on principal)
  • Adjust/lube hood release (stuck, hard to open)
  • Recharge air conditioning (cooling much better now)
  • Replaced heater valve (AC was blowing half hot)
  • Realigned and lubed fuel filler lid lock (didn't engage fully)
  • Replaced windshield (gasket was terrible, windshield was cracked)
  • Replaced windshield and headlight washer hoses (discolored and gross),
  • Sorted out headlight washers (poor plug contact, valves clogged)
  • Replaced lots of interior trim pieces with better trim pieces
  • Unclogged fuel filler drain.  It was blocked by the old rubber bumpers that fell down the drain!
  • Replaced rear and driver seat belts
  • Replaced burnt fuse block.  Somebody did a hack electrical repair to it.
  • Lubricate seat slides
  • Fixed front dome light
  • Pressure blasted ashtray and fixed lighter (corroded, caked with cigarette junk)

As a result of all this the car is pretty damn sharp.  What's left and what's next?  There's still a WUR/fuel pressure problem.  The WUR is now out for a rebuild.  Cruise control is still kaput despite capacitor replacements.  Will continue to work on that.  In the fall I'll likely reupholster the car in leather.  As it is, I feel like I'm driving a very fast taxi  :P.  Finally, the exhaust has some pinholes so the car sounds rather crude.  None of that will stop me Summer Road Trip #2 next week:  Las Vegas and Santa Barbara.
 
Are there any lessons or conclusions from all this?  Probably not much.  One thing I did notice is that an electrical problem can often be "fixed" by unplugging/replugging all the salient switches, relays, modules etc.  That's no surprise, contact quality deteriorates with time and exposure to oxygen.  Other than that, these cars are like owning a large, old house:  no matter how much you do, there's always still something more that could be done.  And, when you add it up, it's a lot of work.  I can't possibly imagine what it would have cost to have it all done at a garage. 

I'd like to sincerely thank this group for all the info and archives that made all this possible!  Cheers,
-Dave
Now:  1976 6.9 Euro, 2015 GL550
Before that:  1966 230S, 1964 220SE coupe, 1977 Carrera 3.0

Peter

Hey Dave, we (the W116 forum dude's} are never tired of hearing about your car projects. Nice post and keep on going fella.

rumb

Congrats on your persistence getting you car up to shape! Enjoy your road trip!
'68 250S
'77 6.9 Euro
'91 300SE,
'98 SL500
'14 CLS550,
'16 AMG GTS
'21 E450 Cabrio

daantjie

#3
Dave I think you will find the "80/20 rule" firmly applies to the 116 resto efforts, and I am sure it applies to most cars.  The last little bit takes the longest and is the most frustrating as finding the parts for not too crazy money is becoming harder and harder unfortunately.  Benz has no interest in the 116, so we are pretty much left to our our own devices for the most part.
Here in NA most folks can restore any Detroit muscle car without breaking a sweat or the bank.  The market is of course here, so there is a 1:100 factor of German car enthusiast to US car fans, thus we can easily do the $ math.  For me here in Canada it is even more painful as I have to get all my stuff from the US, and some from Germany of course.  "fun" I guess ;D
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber

ptashek

QuoteBenz has no interest in the 116, so we are pretty much left to our our own devices for the most part.

Reading through some recent threads on the MB Club UK forum (the largest officially endorsed one in Europe) it seems MB has lost all interest in their young timer and classic models, except for the obvious higher-tier cash cows.

A good number of W124 parts have gone NLA recently, people are now also reporting being unable to source replacement keys for R129s and R170s, and there's growing concerns around quality of parts that are still on offer, with some failing within months / a few thousand miles post-Installation, or being unfit for purpose right out the box (e.g. warped rotors!).

I have myself definitely noticed a bunch of  parts used in my W116 resto now marked as NLA.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

Squiggle Dog

You will end up with one of the best and most reliable examples of a 6.9, for sure! It seems so many are barely running, let alone in a condition where they can be driven long distances. Once you have one with working everything (and a Euro model to boot), you will be the envy of many! I'd like to get to that point as well. Having things like inoperable climate control, central locking, and cruise control for years has bothered me, but it can be so expensive once you start adding up all the parts needed like the diaphragms that go into the lock actuators.

It's a shame Mercedes doesn't care for the W116, and most of the parts that are still available only seem to be so because they are shared by the R/W107 chassis, which is their golden child. The 6.9 is kind of a legend in their eyes, so they'll stock some specific parts, but any other model W116 is pish-posh. I never really did understand the majority of Mercedes enthusiast's preference of the W123 over the W116, or why people think a two-door is so much better.

I enjoy reading progress threads. Not only are they entertaining, but they are inspiring and satisfying.
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1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

floyd111

I don't think it's an factory-interest thing. It must be simple economics. WW1/WW2-era multinationals do not do interest-pieces, as far as I know ;D.
Both Euro and USA economies are down, on their way down, and/or destined without much doubt to go down. Many pundits say it will be this year even, that the bottom is gonna fall out of everything except except actual gold bars. That is a risk that MB will calculate. I also would expect that there's a lot less shopping for classic parts happening globally, among the Gen-pop, and therefore the future sales projections can not be very optimistic neither.
At the same time, Asian markets are booming, and so are MB production and sales in those territories. There is no classic car culture in Asia worth comparing. Never was, and according to what I predict, never will be. So, who's going to buy those newly produced classic parts. especially at automatically elevated prices due to smaller reproduction numbers? The Dutch, who just got rid of many thousands of young-timers and semi-classics, due to a change in the road-tax system? The French unemployed lower and former middle class? Surely not the bankrupt Greek or the Italians on the brink of collapse. It's a long list.
If you add to this story, MB's obligation to produce/source a percentage of their needs within China, there's also an explanation as to why certain parts are failing within months. As to avoid "Made in China" stickers on their products, MB would source basic parts in China, and have them shipped to a "respectable" country for assembly, after which they reach people like us, with "Made in Germany" stickers, insinuating it means "100% German" It's what Made in Italy companies have been doing for over a decade- with Italian labels.
This W124 issue is not new, btw. When I started to look for my first NOS parts a few years ago, I already bumped into professional companies stockpiling everything with a A124xxx number, telling me it would be the next big thing. I remember being rather surprised at those statements, thinking they were looking 10-15 years ahead of time. Now I see they were talking short-term.

ptashek

Nothing new on the economics of it there Stan. Actually, after I've posted here, one of the club officials responded in a thread that they've been given, in principle, the same answer by Daimler AG folks.
Can't blame them for the obvious specialised stuff - but consumables? Replacement keys for models barely 15 years out of production!? That just sucks. And deteriorating quality of spares ain't going to push people towards buying a new Benz either. The economy is sometimes a false one.

You know what I would do? Release the damn engineering drawings and manufacturing specs to public domain and be done with it. The community around each model would take care of the rest.
If they're not making any money out of it, what's the loss anyway? Their precious IP from 40+ years ago no competitor cares about since times long gone?
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

floyd111

#8
You're not wrong. The key-thing is ridiculous. That should never leaver the domain of first-line service items, always available.
I think that soon enough we'll be seeing a new stream of products, made in various 3D printing materials, either MB-made or privately. It's just a matter of years before all this drops in pricing and the tech becomes simple and usable to the regular guy even. Once we have home-made 3D printed front fenders, we'll know we have arrived.

In the meantime, I went back to check for W116 parts on ebay.de, for the first time this year. It's a terrible state of affairs there now. The French brothers now own the complete NOS market and my word, they are charging more then before even. They must have bought their regular supplier's mothership, for they have an endless stream of stuff now. Everything else on ebay.de is just overpriced aftermarket stuff and there's a bucket of second hand parts in all kinds of states.
I would NOT want to start a full resto in these conditions. It would be sheer insanity, forced to buy from MB-direct and all their NLA issues, or the Frenchies with their NOS/NLA stuff.
I have not finished my project yet, but by the looks of it, I might be the last guy in a position to succeed at "tolerable" rates. Woo to  the next guy that wants to try this in these present conditions.