Now that the weather is nice its time to get the old girl out of storage. I just fired her up today after changing a few fuel lines and some vacuum lines. It hasn't run since the middle of october, but the engine fired off on the second revolution! God I love that engine!

Tomarrow I need to drop the pan on the transmission and replace the o ring for the speedo cable. Then refill the transmission with a few quarts of Mobil 1 ATF, I think I lost 3-4 over the winter from that stupid O ring. Then change the engine mounts, again. After that she should be good, I just need to bolt on the wheels and flush the brakes. Lastly dump the storage oil, I have 8 quarts of Delvac 1 and an OE filter waiting to go in.


I can't wait to listen to the siren song of the 603, I think I will drag 2nd gear around to listen to it. After living with a 617 all winter this will be a treat!

I'm all excited, the mint W126 is coming out to play!

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Any pics?

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Selling used Mercedes parts on Ebay...always changing...
cdplayer51 take a look!
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Thats it for now, I need to take more.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

SDL is out! I put 100 miles on it this week! Spent my day off today waxing and detailing. Drover her up to the Mercedes dealer today to pick up a parts order, wow its nice to be driving a proper W126 again! I followed an Audi A6 all the way back at 90-100 this car is on rails at that speed! The 603 is more then happy to run at those speeds, smooth as silk...Not to mention the oil is still clear after 103 miles, I love this engine!

I forgot how this thing drove on the highway! Its not the old and creaky like the SD, its on freaken rails!

I also forgot just how good the hand of God brakes are! Man those cross drilled/slotted rotors bite!

Suprisingly nothing broke over the winter, well except for the serpintine belt making noise. I hope that clears up, sounds like my dads F150 at idle.
So the SDL is freshly detailed, lots of new parts, new Garmin GPS is in place, the weather tomarrow is going to be clear! Oh yeah.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

If your belt is a squeeling , check your AC clutch. My clutch just let go, and that is one hell of a racket!

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87 300SDL 300,000mi stock with some exceptions, no alda, blocked egr, factory airbox and flapper replaced with aem filter, nitrous oxide injection , biodiesel fueled, 0-60 in 8.1sec. 1/4 mi 14.4sec.

Yeah I need to do that this weekend. But I think its just the belt becuase if I spray it with water it stops. The AC compressor is the only thing on that belt that I have not replaced...

My dad's F150 just does this as well, has since new, its a Ford thing. Sometimes serptine belts just make noise it seems.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Yes the 603 is Great. Why follow the Audi when you can lead it?

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87 300SDL 300,000mi stock with some exceptions, no alda, blocked egr, factory airbox and flapper replaced with aem filter, nitrous oxide injection , biodiesel fueled, 0-60 in 8.1sec. 1/4 mi 14.4sec.

Yes I understand, my Dodge squealed but a replacement belt fixed the problem

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87 300SDL 300,000mi stock with some exceptions, no alda, blocked egr, factory airbox and flapper replaced with aem filter, nitrous oxide injection , biodiesel fueled, 0-60 in 8.1sec. 1/4 mi 14.4sec.

what's the difference in 'feel' according to you between the sdl and the sd?? It's the same body... I have a pretty tight SDL and an '83SD, and my SD is way better IMHO. Feels more like a new car somehow. that could be because of it being a socal car that was well maintained and the SDL I had to get back into shape and it prob has 500k on it...

what a joke. The SDL is not fast. Not european-diesel fast. I had a 2.5 turbo diesel overthere, big car, French, and that would go 195 Km/ hour... non intercooled. I don't see the SDL do that.

So the cops can nail him!

The SDL is not fast, it only has 150hp. But its respectable, and was quick for its day. When you consider a mid 80's Vette had maybe 250hp. If I wanted a fast car I'd sell it and buy an E55 or XJR.

The LWB W126 tracks better on the highway, the SWB is much more throwable around town.

As far as the driving experiance it depends what kind of condition your car is in. The driving feel between a tight W126 and a shot W126 is night and day. Have you rebuilt the suspension? Anything wih 500k miles is going to be sloppy, drive a mint sub 100k mile example.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Page 76-Mercedes Benz Technical Data Manual 1986

1986 300 SDL 126.125 maximum speed 195 km/h Federal 192 km/h California!

Any wager as to the percentage of SDLs on the road after 20 years vs. the percentage of French diesels are on the road after 20 years?

A W126 with a tired front end will wallow, clunk, handle like a barge, and you will feel every pothole.

When a W126 is 100%, they will "glide" along the road and around corners. You will not particularly care how much power is underhood for you are mesmerized by the awesome ride quality and hushed exhaust note.

If you still want extra performance, the OM60x engines are good to play with if you're not afraid to get your hands dirty, and willing to spend a little $$$$.

Yeah you know. They drive like they are on rails when in shape, just lean back and put your foot down. The car doesn't care how fast it's going.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

didn't know my sdl can do that... Guess it takes a while before it reaches that speed then.
go check in europe. plenty french diesels there, old and new... that engine I talked about gets 34 mpg and has been used in the fiat ducato van too. lots of them left in italy. French diesels are good, believe me. I like mercedes, but that's merely because there are no french cars here... and the fact that you can lean against them without putting a dent in it
I like french cars better because they're more elegant and over engineered. Citroen has that. if you take good care of them they're superb cars, really. Renault I don't like much, although their "25" was a pretty cool car that could beat the s class in a lot of ways I'm sure.