Perhaps would take most of a day. Or more. There is some chance many things have never been cleaned and lubricated since these cars where new. I actually think besides being generally beneficial. We should start compiling a comprehensive list if one does not exist.

You need something most of us do not have. A point grease gun or fitting to get the door hinges. All the grease on the window regulators will be shot by now in most cases. Silicone lubrication of the window slides will make the system operate better and provide less operational stress on the power window system. Potentially prolonging the life of the components as well. Even the door seals should be lubricated or treated.

The hood hinge points. Especially those bushings and pins way back can seize otherwise. You will be sorry if they do.. The front hood latch and perhaps the hood cable as well. Then there is the sunroof slides to clean and lubricate. Plus the roof cable. When was the last time the front wheel bearings where repacked? This is just a start as all the door latch system is also probably pretty dry. All the throttle linkage parts.

We can cover the right lubricants to use as well in different applications. There will be issues in many cases. Like the door hinges not taking grease. So penetrating oil will have to be injected first in some cases. Excess wear in throttle linkage components if found. The Ball joints should still be available new or you can tell if they are still good on a car at the wrecking yard. Probably on gas as well as diesel cars.

I read somewhere that an individual had figured out just what the special Mercedes sunroof grease was. I believe he found the same product at a much cheaper price. I am going to have to search for that one as I both forget what it was and where I read about it. Possibly a thin silicone grease as it does not dry out. As normal grease tends to do with time.

It did occur to me that most sunroofs of many brands would need their sliding rails treated from time to time. So what do those brands recommend as a lubricant? Certainly not the Mercedes product. Also in the process we would build up a supply of many different types of lubricants.

I know I am going to the shelf myself frequently enough to grab what I think is needed for a certain application. That is often enough not car related in application. Silicone based greases for example are far superior to normal greases. In many applications. The checking and lubrication of the calipers so the brake pads are really free. The standard transmissions and rear ends. Might warrant consideration. At least a fluid level check.

Rear outer cv joints also may need a shot of heavy normal oil as a preventative measure. I know I am missing some things that should be addressed lubrication wise. In many cases it will make the car even seem better to the owner. Plus as you go along you may turn up something that really should be addressed. Before it evolves into a real issue.

The sunroof grease sold by VW also works great, its a small tube for abt 20 dollars and works for about 100 cars. GM also have an assortment of AC delco branded products for maintaining their cars.

e.g. Their spline lube is basically superlube teflon additized grease with about 8 times the teflon count. It works supremely good for brakes and sunroof too.

You can also buy their silicone emulsion which is applied to rubber door gaskets to soften them, they also have a teflon spray which is sold by superlube (at ace hardware usually) - its best for leaving an invisible dry film for door latches and other such parts like seatbelt retractors too.

Glycol grease used to assemble brake parts - usually remembered as toyota pink grease or rubber grease is nothing more than silglyde sold at napa.

Its a pretty deep rabbit hole if you want to go in it.

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Mechanical things designed to function with lubrication. Will wear and take more energy to operate without it. Beyond a certain point their intended design can be defeated when no effective lubrication is present. Binding or partial seizure being typical on many things. The lubrication also reduces the chances of oxidation forms like rust developing.

Wear is minimal until some exists. Then it increases in an exponential fashion as it continues to increase.

On a 250 parts car I got once. Where rust had destroyed the ball and socket for the transmission arm. Under the manifold.

Also by applying abnormal loads to nearby components sometimes. Till they or something else lets go as a result. I think the overall effort is worth it in cars especially this old.

Take the throttle linkage set up. If there is cumulative slop in many areas. As they have perhaps never been cleaned and lubricated over the years. So they have worn.

The linkage system serves more function than just advancing the arm on the injection pump. Yes it will take some time but little money. Plus in the process we learn about different lubricants and their advantages and disadvantages.

I have to wonder even if certain of todays lubricants where even available when these 123s and earlier model series where produced. The cheapest silicone grease I have found so far is the product used for terminals and wire cable connections on the electrical services on buildings. Silicone grease will not harden with time . Or attack plastics. As normal grease does. I have various lubricants on hand. At the same time on occasion I really should be using a different type.

A small quantity of specialized lubricant can last a long time. In a way the need to do some of these things exists even on our much newer cars. A garage is not going to do it in general today.

I often wonder if the ignition tumblers would go bad as often as they do in the 123 series. If the tumbler was properly and periodically lubricated. Say once every two years. Even just rubbing a lead graphite pencil on the key and inserting it. Repeating this a couple of times might be better than nothing.


I use the key fobs all the time to open and lock our newer vehicles. If say that system failed and I try to use the door lock tumbler after a number of years. It may resist working as it has gotten too dry in there and the pins will not drop back on the key. For some forgotten reason I used the key In the physical key door lock on the wives car not that long ago. It almost did not work and that lock has never been used.


This reminds me that I better buy something to treat it. Straight graphite was good for locks in constant service but not may be the best choice for this one.

I look at my shelf of lubricants. Typically I choose a type of penetrating oil for the purpose. Sometimes I want one that is not highly active but leaves a good coating of oil behind. Sometimes I want just as aggressive and fastest acting an action as I can get. There is not one penetrating oil that does both well. Young guys just getting started usually rapidly learn this.

WD40 has some uses. As a penetrating oil or lubricant it is very weak. To the point of almost being useless. Just because it is so bad many people have found alternative uses for it over the years. The even changed the base product or carrier in it years ago. It was rumored it was now water. Personally I think they did change it for the worse. Just not to water as it still is flammable. Manufactured and priced to sell more than a really practical product for it's claimed usage.

To clean up before new lubricating I like laquer thinner. As it cuts old product well and dries off very fast. Or if you want to makes sure a surface is really clean it leaves no residue to prevent a sound interface between the lubricant and the metal. . For any form of applied lubricant. This product is also very useful in general. Just take care as it is highly flammable. The cheapest overall way is to buy it in five gallon cans. I think it is a fair statement. That once you start using it you will never look back.

Years ago we were cautioned to be careful of what solvent we used to clean front wheel bearings with. Before inspecting them and repacking them. Plus to never spin them with air pressure. Some solvents present a barrier I suppose to any adhesion of the grease to the metal surfaces. When repacking. Especially the slow drying ones that can leave a residual interface barrier. Between the grease and metal.

If you consider the actual contact area of the balls under load and the races at any given time. Less than a square inch of contact area is supporting the whole front weight of the vehicle with ball bearings. Needle bearings provide a much greater constant contact area by comparison. So the need for really hard metals in the bearings and races is obvious. Some of the aftermarket replacements are so bad that just getting a decent set of used bearing and races out of a wreck is better. Than some of the Chinese aftermarket wheel bearings for front ends . Pricing was very attractive but they turned out to be a waste of money for me.

There has been enough mention of total front wheel bearing failures with no previous warning. By a few members. On some of the 1990s diesels to be of some concern. Is this just a result of negligence in repacking them? Or is some other factor at work? Is this sudden and total failure mode of front wheel bearings something new? To me until the reason this is happening is established. I would inspect and repack mine. .

Historically an occasional one giving no early audible warning before total failure was always there. Yet rarer than what is being reported. Initially it sounds like lubrication failure as evidence of extreme heating seems to be the case with them. Races being heat fused to the axles in most of the reports. .So it is not just a sudden failure. More a case of the lack of needed lubrication service is the first indication.

I agree that it is quite a rabbit hole. Yet even old dogs like me can utilize more modern lubrication technology. I intend to aquire more variations of them. Sourcing the more expensive ones. I do not have as economically as possible.

The grease gun used to lubricate the chain on a chain saw has a pointed end which is ideal for lubricating W123 door hinges. They are available on line for less than $10 and last forever.

I use for places where you cant get it with the grease gun use ATF. It is good as suggest by Mercedes Source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFtHBq9MvNQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc9KU_Fs_CM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ8L2l8iQoo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFtHBq9MvNQ

Here they show the BR plus II grease or equivalent and the ATF.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOyvvFCspn8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyxEG1CdNxs

And Otherwise BR II plus grease. Works great.



You need to do all hinges, all window mechanisms, All propeller shaft joints, Steeringbox joints, control arm joints, seat rails, wiper arms linkage and shafts. Really everywhere that will move.

Good topic...add lube the parking brake cables. The front at the top of the pedal by letting drops of thin oil run down the inner cable, the rears by putting thin oil on the exterior of the cables. Use the brake frequently to keep it from seizing.

Often grease is used to lubricate mechanisms but it is too thick to get into the friction points. In certain instances like a hood hinge pivot point, consider using oil.

__________________
"Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength" - Eric Hoffer

Thats why I use ATF for places where the thick grease cant creep in.

Yep ATF good choice...

__________________
"Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength" - Eric Hoffer

ATF is cheap enough. Will not degrade rubber or plastics. Plus has other benefits.


Basically the earlier poster was right. If it moves it was designed to be either lubricated or self lubricating.


It takes time but thin lubricants will crawl up enclosed cables. Several applications are perhaps best.


I also wanted to thank the member for the suggestion of a chain saw point lubricator for the door hinges.

Oil is the cheapest mechanic .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Other items needing lubricating:
Latches (grease)Hood, Doors, Trunk
Hinges (grease) Hood, Doors, Trunk
Locks ( ) Ignition, Doors, Trunk
Rails ( ) Seats, Sunroof
Window tracks & regulator
Electric Antenna mast

__________________
Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Sometimes I get bored and start to notice some oddball stuff, e.g. I was repacking a set of OE CV joints I pulled from the yard for my daily beater camry.

I noticed that cleaning them with any solvent was not leaving the axles squeaky clean as I like, So I went a bit stupid with them, I mixed some purple industrial degreaser and filled them with it, then used boiling hot water to clean that out, that degreaser removed all of of remaining black grease from its insides and locked the CV joint solid tight (fully clean now) and the surface was also not oily anymore.

I then filled it with CV grease and booted it. Its been abt 20K miles now and the joints are ok. I later learned that CV joints are recommended to be cleaned with such degreaser as solvent residue can break down grease.

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)