You think the w126 body was ever seen parked under trees other than for the occasional photo-shoot?



I imagine they figured the cars would be either garaged, or heavily used and not usually parked in compromising conditions.
Besides part of the origional dealer oil change/service was probably cleaning that area out

I use a few tools:
An air compressor works great for moving the stuff around, so the vacuum can get it.
Also get some copper pipes and duct tape them in the vacuum nozel. These will let you reach to the hard to get places.
I would also pull the battery tray.

Just don't spray water in their it makes a mess, ask me how I know.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Look at the pictures in post #8.

The EPIC has BEGUN... Project "Sway" is Underway!
W126 The EPIC has BEGUN... Project "Sway" is Underway!

W126 The EPIC has BEGUN... Project "Sway" is Underway!

.

Good heads up. I've been meaning to get to that. Haven't had it long.

__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

i'll take a picture of my shlomo-- hes suffering from the same ailment.

im a vw guy since before i got bitten by this diesel benz bug and i should have known to look... but i didnt.

it doesnt look like a hard fix, but to hell if any of the three freaking welders ive contacted to do my vw floors and this will do ANYTHING they say they will.

why are mechanics so freaking fickle? every one ive ever known has done work when they want and usually your car has to sit there waiting for a week to be molested and not put together correctly again.

this is something i cannot do myself. anyone within driving distance?

__________________
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...Untitled-1.jpg

I plan on cleaning out this area on my W126 soon. I got out as much as I could with my hands a couple of weeks ago, but not much room there. Didn't appear to be that much in there, but according to that photo, there is actually another space it can "glob" up to the left side of the fuse block. Which area is of more concern?

What is the importance of cleaning under the battery tray? Can a fire break out there as well because of the debris?

I am thinking that a "custom" cut piece (cut to fit) of home window screening could be placed in there somehow to help keep this to a minimum? Has anyone ever tried/thought of that?

When I got my brown 300SD a couple of years ago, whunter advised me about cleaning out the leaves under the brake booster.

The next day I was driving up Telegraph road and the leaves started on fire! I had to pull over and pour water inside the engine compartment and to put it out.

What a psychic!

__________________
Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

So your sway bar mount doesn't rot out on that side.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

is that with a margarita or two?


i know you ment, it.

__________________
currently
[1981 300 td tdidi 165500 dark brown/palamino-Brownie-mine-3k miles of ownership
1983 240d 162+++ Anthricite grey w/ henna red interior and hella lights-wifes car-Red

the above two cars are for sale
and can be seen on the cars for sale thread here. pix also available.


240d-144+ Manilla Yellow w/ palmino interior-greasecar kit-Blondie-the college kids car

23" gt 21 speed still on original tires-still got the nubs
21" khs tandem

The area behind the hood really DOES get clogged up with leaves, pine needles and blossoms and such. It can happen real quickly too and those drains do need to be kept clean. Sometimes you have to just lift the hood and clear that stuff out of there...I even found a valet type parking slip from a previous owner who had had the car in a shopping Center in West Los Angeles many years before.

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I just checked out the new safety thread by Whunter. It reminded me of a w126 from which I took the battery tray. There was, and still is, a bunch of stuff under the battery tray. This was on the 380SEL that popped a chain that I've been pulling parts from locally. When I put the replacement tray on my 420SEL after cleaning and painting it, I made sure the trough was free of any debris. I also just vacuumed out that area on my 300SE. There were a few pine needles and leaves down there.

__________________
Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

My 380 has caught fire from this.


and it was around a week after reading this thread for the first time. It was on my way to work (an entire 2 miles) at first I smelled some leaves burning, but people do burn leaves (I told myself)


It finally started smuldering from under the hood. I was a block from work then, so I (quickley) pulled in the parking lot, shut the car off, poped the hood, and grabbed a co-workers' bottle of water.



scared the piss out of me.

__________________
-1983 VW Rabbit LS Diesel (5speed, VNT/Giles build)

I blow/vac out both sides every oil change, there's not much in the way of leaves, etc where I live. It's a great time to oil the hood lifts - PO failed to do that on my '84 and one side broke

__________________
1983 300SD 467,000 km - 473 champagnermetallic

location: 34°5' N 106°53' W (Socorro NM, USA)

Thanks, whunter. I had already cleaned a bunch of leaves out from ththose two areas when I bought my "new" 300SE, but I doubt I did a very good job. Now that I see the crazy possibilities, I'll get the shop-vac out and do a better job.

__________________
'88 300SE | Midnight Blue | 237k
'09 Subaru Impreza | red | 0k

MB should have just named that area the "Kindling Kollector," or perhaps, "the Tinder Trough."

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles