Check your hood spring pockets on the W123's - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

lietuviai · #1 09-29-2003, 06:49 PM

Here's a heads up for all you W123 owners. I was doing some maintenance on my 300D over the weekend and I took a look at the area where the hood springs and hinges conceal into when you close the hood. This is one heck of a collecting area for who knows what. It looks like a great place for rust to get its evil grip if you have any crud in there. I found a great way to clean it out by taking a piece of old garden hose and taping it to my shop vacuum. You need something small like that hose to get it there to thoroughly clean out that space. You'll probably have to unclog the hose from time to time since it may be smaller in diameter than the crud you'll vacuuming out. Then take a stiff piece of wire and rod out the drain holes that are actually there. Something to get started on before bad weather sets in and before whatever you may have there in those "pockets" turns into some thick stew that'll be a real pain to clean out.

BoostnBenz · #2 09-29-2003, 11:38 PM

Good pointer. I used a shop vacuum with the reduced nozzle end on it, then got it as close as I possibly could and broke the leaves loose with a longer screwdriver. You may want to check to see if your drains are clear too, when I found all of those leaves I pretty well knew that the drains would be clogged, most were.

DieselAddict · #3 09-30-2003, 12:37 PM

I'd also recommend removing the battery tray to check for corrosion which is common on the W123. On my 123's I applied POR15 over all the rust around the battery. The areas around the hood springs are pretty tight and painting over them is tough so what I did is clean and dry them, then spray them with Super Lubricant.

As far as clearing the drains goes, don't forget there are 2 front drains on each side. One in the hood spring area and one in the wheel well. There are other drains too on the rest of the car.

wagonpilot · #4 09-30-2003, 12:54 PM

I just finished fixing the hole in the hinge area on my wagon.

Yes, that area is tight BUT you can very easily make it way more accessable. That is by first removing the hood spring. Our Mercs are way easy because you can open the hood ALLL the way by using those little release tabs on the hinges. Once the hood is straight up the springs are completely unloaded and can be removed from the car.

If you still want more room, the hinge arm itself can be easily moved out of the way. Simply remove the little locking tab holding the arm in the fender, then work out the arm pin. Make sure you put some sort of safety strap on the hood up to the ceiling (to keep from getting bonked on the head!).

Once the spring and hinge are out of there, you can get in there to do any repair!

Happy Fixing,

WagonPilot

lietuviai · #5 09-30-2003, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wagonpilot
I just finished fixing the hole in the hinge area on my wagon.

Yes, that area is tight BUT you can very easily make it way more accessable. That is by first removing the hood spring. Our Mercs are way easy because you can open the hood ALLL the way by using those little release tabs on the hinges. Once the hood is straight up the springs are completely unloaded and can be removed from the car.

If you still want more room, the hinge arm itself can be easily moved out of the way. Simply remove the little locking tab holding the arm in the fender, then work out the arm pin. Make sure you put some sort of safety strap on the hood up to the ceiling (to keep from getting bonked on the head!).

Once the spring and hinge are out of there, you can get in there to do any repair!

Happy Fixing,

WagonPilot

I kind of thought about pulling the springs to get it there better but I hadn't figured out how to do it that easily. About getting bonked in the head, I usually pull the grill off any time I need to spend a long time under the hood. I still bonk my head even changing the oil! Damn that grille!

The Warden · #6 09-30-2003, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DieselAddict
As far as clearing the drains goes, don't forget there are 2 front drains on each side. One in the hood spring area and one in the wheel well. There are other drains too on the rest of the car.

Just wanted to re-affirm what DieselAddict said. Lake Daimler became oiver-flooded every time it rained until I cleaned out the two drains that are in the wheel well. At least on my car, the drain incorporates a plastic piece that, I think, is there to keep the water from coming down at too fast a rate...well, on mine, it was filled to the brim with mud. The plastic can be pried back carefully with you finger, and it hurts, but you can get that part completely cleaned out by hand.

Getting the plastic cleaned out is critical; otherwise, it doesn't matter how clean the hood hinge drains are; you'll still get a lake simply 'cause there's nowhere for the water to go.

Once I did that, Lake Daimler became a dry lake.

In addition, I check the drains every 3 months or so...stuff still accumulates, but there's much less to clean out.

DieselAddict · #7 10-02-2003, 01:33 PM

Wagonpilot, thanks for the tip about removing the springs & hinge arms. Well I wasn't able to remove the passenger side hinge arm because the bolt that holds it in place wouldn't budge even after repeated blows from my hammer, but I was able to remove the springs on both sides. Didn't know it was that easy. So last night I took the opportunity to permanently take care of the corrosion in that area. I scraped off all the dirt I could, vacuum-cleaned it, blow-dried it, then painted over the rust with POR15. Now my W123's should be ready for any rain that comes my way.

wagonpilot · #8 10-02-2003, 02:20 PM

Just for reference to others who might reference this thread, I disconnected the hinge from the fender (not hood) attach point.

On my '85 wagon, the hinge lower attach point is actually a "dowel" inserted through a bushing. The dowel has a groove in it, over which a clip is, well, "clipped" :-) You need to pop off that clip, then work out the dowel (outboard, towards the fender).

Glad to hear you completed the POR-15 attack!

WagonPilot

DieselHead · #9 10-02-2003, 03:12 PM

lietuviai,

good tip. last year I discovered that I had a pretty sizable rot hole in that hood spring pocket because I never bothered to clean it out.

DieselAddict · #10 10-02-2003, 03:22 PM

Wagonpilot, sorry it's my incomplete vocabulary. You're right, it's not a bolt, but we are talking about the same thing. I did remove the clip, but the dowel wouldn't budge. This was on the 240D. On the 300D I couldn't even remove the clip! But the driver's side on both cars was no problem. Even with the hinge arm in the way I was still able to do the job, but it's easier if it's out of the way.

wagonpilot · #11 10-02-2003, 03:26 PM

Yes, mine were pretty tough too. I had to hold a screwdriver between the fender and the hinge arm acting as a pry bar, as I opened and closed the hood about 30 degrees of arc. It backed out begrudgingly!

I got the clips out by rotating them over so I could get a screwdriver on them and hammer them down and off.

lietuviai · #12 10-07-2003, 08:15 PM

After reading the previous responses I was able to locate the spring loaded clips that allows the hood to be opened all the way, as much as almost 90 degrees. I never knew that was even possible. It makes the most routine oil change a pleasure since I don't bang my head on that "buck-toothed" grille any more. If I would have only known this earlier I wouldn't have all those dents in my skull.
Thanks everyone for this valuable tip!

rmmagow · #13 10-08-2003, 01:32 PM

I mentioned this in another post. If you've got holes in the hinge area try painting over every thing with por15. What I did was the painting then used some roofing patch stuff, layers of aluminum foil and tar. Cut this to fit as best I could and sealed the holes. Seems to be working OK. Bough the stuff at Home Depot.

DieselHead · #14 10-08-2003, 06:56 PM

rmmagow,
That was exactly what I did last winter. I used roof flashing compound (kind of like a tar) and put it on aluminum foil which was then used as a patch. So far it has worked really well, but I'm concerned that I created another moisture pocket. If you do this, make sure you wear rubber gloves. That tar stuff is very very difficult to get off everything.

ALex

lietuviai · #15 10-08-2003, 09:30 PM

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. Just a little surface discoloration. My battery tray on the other hand is not that great. I'll need a new one eventually. I still have one good bracket that holds the battery secure at the bottom.
Does anyone know where I can get a new OEM tray for a reasonable price?