Work on my Benz so far - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

cirrusman · #1 11-20-2013, 01:34 PM

So it all started with me wanting to fix the A/C as a hole opened up in my evaporator about a month after I got the car. Hole's still there and I realize it's going to have to be a spring project since I'll have to check all A/C components, but it took me to fix the climate control, since it was really not working. It blew air from the defroster vents and the driver's side vent, that's it.
So I took it apart, got the dash off and started troubleshooting the vacuum. Found out that the PO had misrouted the vacuum so the system was getting no vacuum. Voila! It was so nice to test the thing at different temps and see it working! Since everything was out of the car, I thought why not make it look nicer since it looks really like crap. So I got some SEM paint and vinyl prep and got to painting the interior. My central console was destroyed by the PO so I got a good one at my local PNP. Different color, but once I painted it it looked fantastic. I really recommend these products. Painted the dashboard and got some good grade vinyl from Joanne's ($40 for 2 yards) and re-covered the dash.
Before laying the vinyl I covered all the cracks with black silicone gasket. I thought that would be a good idea, but it turns out that the silicone is not sandable so it kind of shows through a bit on the finished product. If I was to do it all over again (which I'm definitely not) I'd use some sandable foam to make it look even. So then I layed the vinyl down spraying some high temp glue that I got from Home Depot a little bit at a time starting from the part that touches the windshield, all the way to the front. The parts that need to follow the contours were made to fit with a hair dryer and I'm pretty happy with the results, except for two stubborn spots that refused to stay put no matter what, so I'll just let them be. it doesn't bother me that much and they're really not all that noticeable.
Then proceeded to paint the a pillars, b pillars, door panels (front, the rear are not done yet but the paint doesn't cover all that good in this cold so It will have to wait at least for the Spring) and once everything was liiking nice, put everything together. Then I tested the climate control, and what do you know, it wasn't working again. So it all came off again, the vacuum wasn't giving me troubles at first, the electrical tester was showing all nominal, so I was really confused. It turned out that I was having vacuum problems AND electrical problems at the same time. So I tried to fix the troublesome pods and I got some flexible glue at a Yamaha delership and proceeded to patch the pods with pieces of rubber gloves. No good. Tried to cover them with a cut balloon. No good either. That only rended the diaphragms immovable. So I got some new diaphragms from this place and installed them. The new diaphragms fixed the vacuum problems, but they do not follow the shape of the old ones all the way so I ended up with 2 pods that only semi-opened or semi-closed the fresh air/recirculating flap. Called the stealership and they wanted $85 for the left one and $125 for the right one. No thanks. At the same time, it so happened that my pushbutton unit was not sending any current to I got a push-button unit from PNP. I tested all vacuum switchover valves with the ignition on and unit in the "off" position and all got nominal battery power. When unit was on the "on" position and temp was set on max heat, valves 4, 5 & 6 got no power, same when temp was set to max cold in the "econ" setting. On hot setting valve 4 should get no power, closing the vacuum, valve 5 should get power, and valve 6 should be closed. On cold setting, valve 4 should get power to open the valve and allow vacuum to the diverter flap's pod. Valves 1 to 3 got the correct power at the correct times, but 4-6 were getting no power when the switch was on. So I proceeded to get a new unit from my local PNP. The Unit I got is a remanufactured unit by ProgRama. Still the same exact problem! valves 1-3 getting correct power, valves 4-6 getting nothing on any temp setting. So I just opted to go to the PNP, got a heater cable from an old '55 jeep CJ and routed it to just under the steering wheel, not too visible, but works like a charm and now I can decide if I want my flap open or closed at will

That seemed to do the trick. Tested everything 10 times before putting anything back, after all was put together tested another 10 times before I fastened any screws, and with the all go, it's all back together and working, for the most part, like it should. I'm happy with the results, specially this being the first time I attempt something like this.
Next on the list: A/C fixed, painting the rear doors, get a new headliner (mine has a big hole in it) and paint the whole car the correct color (DB172, anthracite grey) as it's now painted a non-Mercedes dark coffee brown.

cirrusman · #2 11-20-2013, 01:36 PM

More pics of the whole process:

cirrusman · #3 11-20-2013, 01:38 PM

SEM products and my futile attempts at fixing the pods:

cirrusman · #4 11-20-2013, 01:41 PM

The manual flap cable routing and how it looks installed...

cirrusman · #5 11-20-2013, 01:43 PM

How it looks now...

cirrusman · #6 11-20-2013, 01:46 PM

...and you will notice that on my center console I have a second hazard light switch, that's just a "camouflaged" kill switch that goes to the glow plug relay for 2 reasons: 1) That's a replacement for the old one, but this one sometimes shuts down, and sometimes it doesn't so this way i just turn it off at will, and 2), just a nice safety feature

cirrusman · #7 11-20-2013, 01:52 PM

I'm also going to re-do the seats as they're in pretty bad shape right now... I'm planning on using new cloth instead of the current vinyl. I really don't like the way cold vinyl feels on your butt on extremely hot or cold days, and here in Utah we get both. Going to post pics also of the whole process as I'm planning to buy the cloth, cut it and sew it myself...

SirNik84 · #8 11-20-2013, 01:58 PM

your dash looks amazing

vstech · #9 11-20-2013, 01:59 PM

Wow

compu_85 · #10 11-20-2013, 03:11 PM

Nice dash repair!

I wonder if you could use the same technique to fix the ripped door frame coverings I often seen on Gen1 cars?

-J

Walkenvol · #11 11-20-2013, 03:32 PM

X2 - nice job especially on the dash!

cirrusman · #12 11-20-2013, 04:09 PM

Thanks guys!

Quote:

I wonder if you could use the same technique to fix the ripped door frame coverings I often seen on Gen1 cars?

I wouldn't do a door using this technique; the dash did increase ever so slightly in size when I laid the vinyl; I can notice a bit of a change when I'm cranking the key to start the car... A door might just not close properly.

MaineCedes · #13 11-20-2013, 06:29 PM

That really looks great. Did you delete the ashtray? And if so, how.

cirrusman · #14 11-20-2013, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaineCedes

That really looks great. Did you delete the ashtray? And if so, how.

Nope, ashtray is still there, fine and working. I did change all the wood in the car from zebrano to burlwood at my wife's suggestion (happy wife, happy life...) so the ashtray was included in the wood swap, but it's still there

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode