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Winter Report

Started by Zagato, 15 December 2008, 01:21 PM

Zagato

I may be one of the few that drives their W116 in winter, so here are some examples of how the old warhorse handled a below freezing temperature morning:

-The locks were very hard to get open. I failed to open the driver's door (probably because of central locking?), so I went to the passenger door and has to try several times to break the frost to turn the key. After unlocking the driver's door from the inside, it took some effort to pull the door open.
-Start up was difficult. Took a few tries, but it started up. Also the first time I noticed the starter motor sounds as though it came from a battle tank.
-After accelerating down the road, the dashboard began buzzing loudly at me as the speed increasing. It startled me, as I thought there was something wrong with the engine. I quickly turned into a small street, which was covered in ice, and nearly slipped into someones yard while pulling over. When trying to accelerate out of the small snow drift, I then concluded that the problem was the speedo. The cable may have froze because the needle was struggling to move up the dial while the wheels spun. I made a U-Turn while no one was around and was amazed that the car was able to slide around nicely to the direction I want to go. Fantastic handling or just luck?
The car then got stuck on another ice road before I could get onto the main road. Every time I made an attempt to enter the main road, the rear wheels spun, only moving forward a few inches. Eventually sheer luck happened again, as I got through just by reversing a bit and accelerating hard to the right. Funny enough as I got back on track, an elderly woman down the sidewalk who saw what happened waved at me. Further down the road, the speedo eventually warmed up and stopped buzzing.
-Realizing how the cold has affected the car, I tested various electronics. The power windows failed to open but made an effort. The lights and stereo worked fine though.

That's my report so far for today. I will update if anything else interesting happens.

Note: It wasn't snowing, nor was there a lot of snow. Just a few inches of now-hardened snow and lots of ice.

Big_Richard

awesome, that's very interesting reading.

I find it concerning that the speedo cable should freeze - is it possible that water has entered into it, or perhaps is it the lubricating grease inside it that froze? I would of thought it was designed originally to cope with such temperatures without a problem. As for the frozen door locks, that's not just a 116 issue, it effects all cars, although some have heated door locks for this very reason.

pez

It's -20C here in Denver today....my second winter with the w116.  Car started flawlessly this morning, as it does every morning [Optima battery helps!].  I run 4 studded snow tires, so the traction is awesome.  Last winter I did have a short stretch of about a week when I could hear what I thought was the speedo cable.....but I ended up with a failed odometer this summer that I ended up having repaired, so it could have been that, too.

On another note, for cold weather use I switch from summer weight synthetic diesel oil [15w-40] to Castrol Syntec 5w-50 with great results. Much easier for the starter to get things turning.

Also, a v8 is mathematically always easier to start than a 4, 5, or 6 cylinder....

oscar

I can't imagine what it would be like to have to prepare for a real winter.  -7C 19F is about the coldest I've experienced.  So too for the 350.  I've never driven on ice or in snow.  Man that must be hairy.
But most winter days only get down to 3 or 4C (37F) where I am.  Ice on the windscreen and defogging the inside of the glass is as bad as it can get during winter here and there is no probs at all if the car is garaged overnight.  Even a carport is fine.   Do you guys need or use a block heater or similar?  What's involved there?

On the other side of the scale, we tend to have runs of temps over 40C 104F each summer for a few days at a time.  46C 115F is the hottest I've experienced.  On those days, native gum trees will shed cooked leaves, the roadway melts, the sun's unbearable, everything exposed to the sun is too hot to touch, you can't even walk on lawns without some kind of footwear.   During those extremes I wont venture out in the 350 till the sun's on the way down.   
1973 350SE, my first & fave

Papalangi

I can't for the life of me remember how to convert C vs F but it's running 21 to 24 F here in Seattle right now.

Car starts fine but seems a bit noisier, I think due to the rather fast idle speed of around 1700RPM.

Electric door locks work just fine thank you.  If only I could get the doors open after they are unlocked...  Had to use the passenger door, the others were  so frozen shut that the handles would not move.

It's not the bestest snow car I've ever owned but I did live in Yakima for several years.  It snows on Thanksgiving day (3rd Thursday of November) and there is usually still some on the ground in March.  Not near as bad as the Mid West but enough to learn that Western Washington drivers tend towards idiocy.  If they stay out of the way, I can usually get where I'm going.

I got caught this time with my ice scraper safely stored in the garage and the gloves in the closet.

Michael
'83 300SD, I'm back!  It's the son's new car (12/2020)
1976 450SEL, 116.033  Sold it to buy a '97 Crown Vic.  Made sense at the time.
1971 250C, 114.023
1976 280C
1970 250/8

Zagato

Quote from: pez on 15 December 2008, 07:12 PM
Last winter I did have a short stretch of about a week when I could hear what I thought was the speedo cable.....but I ended up with a failed odometer this summer that I ended up having repaired, so it could have been that, too.

Oh dear, a failed odometer ain't fun. I hope that mine won't fail, it's a bit hard to keep track of service intervals with that clock broken. Even if I do use the trip computer.



Anyway, I have found a small design flaw with my w116. I don't know if later models have this, but my 1974 450se has a non-locking filler cap cover which opens by swinging down. I noticed with this arrangement, rain gets in there and floods that compartment with water. I didn't mind it and went on living with it.
However, now that it's far below freezing outside, the water trapped in that compartment has turned to ice!
While at the fuel station I found the flap slightly open. I tried to open it but it was frozen solid! I had to pour hot water into there to turn the ice into slush before I could open it up and start filling the tank with precious 91 octane. But when I tried to close it again, the slush and floating ice chunks prevented me from doing so. I only got to close it just enough that it won't clip another car. But the flap is still no where near flush with the body.

I think I need a water pump to suck the water out of there.

s class

There is a drain hole in the base of the cavity around the fuel filler cap.  It connects to a rubber pipe that runs down inside the bodywork and comes out just behind the rear wheel.  These drains often get clogged with leaves and similar debris.  As you stand looking at the fuel filler, the drain is in the bottom left corner.  Get a long wire and poke down there and see if you can free it up. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

TJ 450

Did you remove the trim inside the trunk? The drain hose for the fuel filler is located behind there. After syphoning out the water or removing the chunks of ice, it would be worthwhile removing the hose and ensuring it is totally clean inside. You can then clean out the fuel filler area and treat possible rust, then apply polishing wax. This will protect from further deterioration.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

oscar

Quote from: s class on 17 December 2008, 03:27 AM
 It connects to a rubber pipe that runs down inside the bodywork and comes out just behind the rear wheel.   


Rubber pipe??  I think this is another pre '76 versus post '76 difference?  Mine pictured below is all metal and non removeable, welded up top and below and I reckon zagato's 74 will be the same.    Either way, good advice there.  Wire down the tube should clear the blockage but I wouldn't be surprised if that pipe is suffereing a bit from rust on the inside and a possible source for leaks into the trunk behind the rear wheel well.  Yikes I've got a bit of dusting to do.

A couple of pics.  BTW papa, I don't know the easy conversion from C to F either, I just cheat and use this site  8)


1973 350SE, my first & fave

TJ 450

Whoa that is insane! ;D 8)

I never knew such a thing existed.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

Papalangi

I was checking the outside temperature to see if we had a new record when I found we had new record low for indoors.  56F.  WTF?  Thermostat is set to 67.

Turns out I've lost another hot surface ignitor so I'm off to Grainger as soon as it's light enough to see the bozos that can't drive in half an inch of snow.

Sucks having to light the thing with a BBQ lighter every 5 minutes as it cycles trying to bring the temp up.  Have to wait for the induced draft timer then listen for the gas valve to click then stick my puny little flame in there.

At east I have something to do other than laying in bed watching Tivo.

Michael
'83 300SD, I'm back!  It's the son's new car (12/2020)
1976 450SEL, 116.033  Sold it to buy a '97 Crown Vic.  Made sense at the time.
1971 250C, 114.023
1976 280C
1970 250/8

Zagato

I'll look into that drain right away. Thanks for pointing it out!

Anyway, I just returned from my Christmas holiday to find my 450se with a dead battery.
I guess it is to be expected as it was sitting outside for 3 weeks bearing heavy snow fall and heavy rain showers. I wasn't careless though, I asked my landlord to start it every 3 days or so. He said it took around 2 or 3 tries to start the car each time. However this morning, the car had no ignition buzz, no battery light, no starter motor action.
I had an AA man come to jump start the car. Took two tries and when it started, it sounded rough, as though it was misfiring. It eventually smoothed out one it warmed up. I let it run for 30 minutes. After that, I turned it off and tried to restart it. There was ignition buzz, but the starter motor only 'clacked' against the flywheel, indicating it didn't have enough power. So I guess the alternator is okay since it charged a little power to the battery.

Still, strange as the battery is only 2 years old. (Though I did accidentally short it with a wrench several weeks ago.)

I'm gonna go out to buy a new one. Anyone have any recommendation on a good brand? If not, I'll get Kal tire's 'DieHard' battery.

chinny4290

#12
I've discovered that W116s are extremely easy to handle in the snow.

I made it up steep hills, did proper side ways drifts on windy roads (When noone was around of course), held drifts in donuts (oscar has seen my video  :D)....and guess what...all on bald tires.

I even did something crazy. I was able to stay sideways down one of my roads for nearly a half a mile, doing a sideways drift at 35 MPH. It was hella scary but it was so easy to do lol. I never did that again.

Really though you just need to know a thing or two about car control and these are a breeze to handle in the snow.

Here's the 280S starting up in 19 deg F, just after the snow storm. Starts up like a breeze. Had to hold the pedal down a little to keep it from konking as you'll observe in the video, but when it goes down to normal idle, it was fine after that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVMcCRjiEHc
1975 W116 280S - SOLD
1994 W124 E320 Coupe - Gone

CURRENT - 1974 450SEL

Yesmar

your not alone with winter/snow/very cold weather:

"-The locks were very hard to get open. I failed to open the driver's door (probably because of central locking?), so I went to the passenger door and has to try several times to break the frost to turn the key. After unlocking the driver's door from the inside, it took some effort to pull the door open."

exact same thing happens to me for the past 3 days ;)
- Ramsey

Yesmar

"the dashboard began buzzing loudly"

again has happened to me one on the highway very very VERY annoying
- Ramsey