Junkyard score... Now what is this I've read about rubber washers and euro lamps? - Page 4 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

MBeige · #46 01-03-2009, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KAdams4458

I did grab the bolts and washers from the donor car. They're not in the best condition, but having them will make matching up replacements easier. About how thick are those rubber washers supposed to be?

I'll check the parts section. I haven't looked in there for a while.

As for the corners, well, I think they've turned out well.

Looks good! You can swap over the gasket from your US turn signal lens to your new Euros, so it's a good fit.

The rubber washers are around 2-3mm thick.

KAdams4458 · #47 01-03-2009, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBeige

Looks good! You can swap over the gasket from your US turn signal lens to your new Euros, so it's a good fit.

The rubber washers are around 2-3mm thick.

I think the gaskets that came with the Euro lamps are in better condition. Anything rubber of plastic on the exterior of my car that I haven't replaced is pretty trashed. 32 years and almost 500,000 miles will do that, you know.

Okay, so the rubber mounts sound pretty simple. I may even be able to find something suitable at the hardware store. I'll see what I can come up with.

All I have to do at this point is clean the reflectors without touching them, and do something for the galvanized areas that have grown dusty white corrosion. By the end of the weekend, I may have at least one lamp ready to reassemble.

Your assistance has been incredibly valuable so far. Thank you again!

MBeige · #48 01-03-2009, 03:10 AM

When cleaning the reflectors, you can touch them with a VERY clean, dry towel, to wipe off anything that came in contact. Be sure you apply only light pressure, not too much and don't go back and forth. One sweeping motion per side of the bulb.

It's easy to scratch the reflectors with vigorous rubbing. Your images showed the reflectors are in good shape, a bit "fuzzy", but good nonetheless. They'll clean up nicely.

I wanted to experiment with W124/W126 US DOT fog light reflectors. See, those units use the amber "cap" that gives them the amber/yellow look from outside, even with regular/standard color fog light bulbs. The caps are fastened to the reflectors in such a way that you'll have to bend the tabs in order to transfer them to the W123. And their reflectors are narrower, the W123 Euro fog lamp reflectors are rounder, so I decided they won't work. Sorry, I just thought I'd mention it here, in case you wanted to go with yellow fogs. If the fog light reflectors don't turn up nice, you could go ahead and paint them yellow, and give it that "rare" French Euro spec lights look when installed back together.

Mine were still good, so I decided not to ruin them.

vwnate1 · #49 01-04-2009, 01:20 AM

There's several W-116's , W-126's and W-123 Euro spec. Mercedes in the
P-A-P on north Lamb , just take I-15 North to Lamb off ramp and turn right , it's about three blocks down on the left .

I saw a set of the darker amber taillights on a W-123 , Euro bumpers galore on W-126's & W-116's , Eurto headlights too but one lens had a pebble break.

Some European Delivery cars too on there , one was really cherry a 280E sedan , too bad as I'da bought it it was so pretty & clean . I did grab the hard to find ' Eruropean Delivery " badge off the grille

In Henderson Nv. , P-A-P is on Rolly St. off Boulder Hwy. and has more W-116's and W-126's , euro spec , only a few but again , lotsa this 'n that stuff , one is a light smasher 300SD with 195,00 on the clock and looked good before the crash , cheap engine and tranny there .

A nice fellow pulled the single remaining W-123 Euro rear bumper off and stuffed it into SWMBO's 240D's back seat for me , she's *so* sweet she didn't even get mad....

I got every single nut , bolt , bracket and rubber plugs to , _finally_ one good enough for my 300CD Coupe

I can hardly wait .

Oh yeah : that car still has the complete European front bumper with washer jets for the headlight washers , the headlights are gone but the entire Euro lamp washer motors and arms are intact.... one little yard ding on the top side of the bumper is why I didn't grab it , chrome is *perfect* .

I hope someone here goes after this hard to find stuff .

daw_two · #50 01-04-2009, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KAdams4458

That does make me sick. I really have no tolerance for that sort of behaviour. I have returned to a car for parts only to find that sort of senseless destruction a few times.

Do grab the corners. Also, the passenger light may well be worth grabbing, as one is better than none - maybe you'll stumble upon a car with a broken passenger side lamp but a good drive side the next time you're out. For that matter, the remains of the driver side lamp could be worth grabbing, too. The reflectors look good, so a new gasket and glass would seemingly provide a nice lamp.

Not to hijack the thread....I grabbed the remains from both sides and the corners. Did anyone notice anything weird about this set? The small bulb is on the OUTSIDE of the lamp. Is that the early configuration?

KAdams4458 · #51 01-04-2009, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBeige

When cleaning the reflectors, you can touch them with a VERY clean, dry towel, to wipe off anything that came in contact. Be sure you apply only light pressure, not too much and don't go back and forth. One sweeping motion per side of the bulb.

It's easy to scratch the reflectors with vigorous rubbing. Your images showed the reflectors are in good shape, a bit "fuzzy", but good nonetheless. They'll clean up nicely.

I wanted to experiment with W124/W126 US DOT fog light reflectors. See, those units use the amber "cap" that gives them the amber/yellow look from outside, even with regular/standard color fog light bulbs. The caps are fastened to the reflectors in such a way that you'll have to bend the tabs in order to transfer them to the W123. And their reflectors are narrower, the W123 Euro fog lamp reflectors are rounder, so I decided they won't work. Sorry, I just thought I'd mention it here, in case you wanted to go with yellow fogs. If the fog light reflectors don't turn up nice, you could go ahead and paint them yellow, and give it that "rare" French Euro spec lights look when installed back together.

Mine were still good, so I decided not to ruin them.

Both of my fog reflectors are as perfect as the headlamp reflectors, thankfully. I am somewhat tempted to use the selective yellow H3 bulbs in them. I sort of prefer the appearance of clear lenses on fogs, but being a person with a history of being very sensitive to glare, find greater comfort on yellow light.

My reflectors do have a nasty layer of scum coating them, and I've decided to treat them as you would treat any fine optics. What hasn't blown off with compressed air will be cleaned off with a lens brush, and followed up with lens cleaning solution and tissues. If it's good enough for my coated camera lenses, I think it will be good enough for the 300D.

I'll post results.

KAdams4458 · #52 01-04-2009, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwnate1

There's several W-116's , W-126's and W-123 Euro spec. Mercedes in the
P-A-P on north Lamb , just take I-15 North to Lamb off ramp and turn right , it's about three blocks down on the left .

I saw a set of the darker amber taillights on a W-123 , Euro bumpers galore on W-126's & W-116's , Eurto headlights too but one lens had a pebble break.

Some European Delivery cars too on there , one was really cherry a 280E sedan , too bad as I'da bought it it was so pretty & clean . I did grab the hard to find ' Eruropean Delivery " badge off the grille

In Henderson Nv. , P-A-P is on Rolly St. off Boulder Hwy. and has more W-116's and W-126's , euro spec , only a few but again , lotsa this 'n that stuff , one is a light smasher 300SD with 195,00 on the clock and looked good before the crash , cheap engine and tranny there .

A nice fellow pulled the single remaining W-123 Euro rear bumper off and stuffed it into SWMBO's 240D's back seat for me , she's *so* sweet she didn't even get mad....

I got every single nut , bolt , bracket and rubber plugs to , _finally_ one good enough for my 300CD Coupe

I can hardly wait .

Oh yeah : that car still has the complete European front bumper with washer jets for the headlight washers , the headlights are gone but the entire Euro lamp washer motors and arms are intact.... one little yard ding on the top side of the bumper is why I didn't grab it , chrome is *perfect* .

I hope someone here goes after this hard to find stuff .

I wish I was down there! I would love to get my hands on W123 headlamp wipers and sprayers! The amount of road scum that gets kicked up on the front of a car here in Washington is infuriating. I have to stop and clean my lenses frequently after driving in the rain.

And I would kill for a Euro Delivery badge! My 300D was a European Delivery car, but the badge was missing when I purchased it. Apparently those badges are not obtainable as replacements, which is frustrating.

TheDon · #53 01-04-2009, 02:46 PM

I want euro wipers and washers