Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone out there has came up with some great idea on how to upgrade the little things on these cars. I've done quite a few of the normal meredes upgrades like the rack damper bolt, new plunger primer pump, new style blowby hose, inline vacuum filter, and other things which are associated with maybe going the extra step with general maintenance but what I am wondering if there are any ideas a person came up on how to improve something no matter how big or small.

A couple ones I came up with off hand are on my stock filter housing I got this wing nut which is made for GM vehicles and fits perfectly with the perfect color so no tools are required in getting access to the filter. Another idea I just followed through with was after all this time of getting my hands all scraped up by those sharp edges on the fuel line clamps I rounded all the edges with a bench grinder then by hand filing them down. In the next month or so I may be ditching the stock filter housing and going to a K&N filter to simplify things. My 84 had silicone hoses rather than the rubber ones to connect the plastic lines with, worked very well. A couple more I just thought of are my heated seat install as well as a lumbar support in the driver's side seat. Have you done any improvements or do you have any ideas on things to improve upon for your diesel MB?

__________________
Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k

I put a later model cylinder head in the SDL and it hasn't cracked yet :p

Mobil 1 fluids all around if that's an upgrade.

I plan to upgrade to Euro headlights next year.

As I posted in another thread, downgrading to fabric covered seats and manual AC would be a plus in my book.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL
83 300SD ... $950, see cars forum

I suppose those are all upgrades, I have Euros with 55/100s, and all Mobil 1 fluids as well. Yes fabric would be nice, I've never been a fan of leather, at least this stuff is no maintenance MB tex.

__________________
Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k

On the highly prized, rare and valuable air filter housing wingnut..... the power steering reservoir wingnut is perfect match on 123's.

I replaced the intake with a K&N custom pipe.
Removed the exhaust to a straight pipe after the flex pipe.
Boost gauge in the center air vent hole.
Replaced mechanical fan with an electric.
Advanced IP timing 2*.
Changed the door locks to an electric vacuum pump drom an SD.

I thought you were against using the k&n filters.

Isn't the electric fan less efficient than the mechanical one? Was your fan a vicious coupling one?

What are the advantages of advancing the timing of the IP by 2*?

My mods:

Front central arm rest. My car didn't have one.

Clear front blinkers.

s600 style front grille.

15" alloy wheels.

195/65 r15 Sava Eskimo 3 tires. They're snow tires and it was a big mistake buying them as we don't see snow in Tirana . Once they wear out I'll go for 205/60 r15 or 205/55 r15 tires.

Blue led instrument cluster lights.

Led rear reverse lights.

Upgraded the sound system with Kenwood mp3 player (can't remember which one but it's pretty good). In the rear I have 2 6.5" subwoofer speaker powered by a 130W rms amp, front 3" speakers soon to be upgraded to 6.5" door mounted speakers.

Boost controller, and boost adjusted to about 14.5-14.7psi.

LPG injection. I'm still tuning it. The LPG turns on at 10psi. I'll move the injection from pre turbo to post turbo so I can get more air in the engine and probably benefit from the much cooler temps the lpg provides.

EGT and boost gauges. My 190D has a space right above the mp3 player and the gauges fit perfectly there. There's space for 3 gauges. Probably the 3rd gauge will be an AIT gauge.

Forgot to add:

16 flat plate heat exchange from kaori. Looped return. Will add some electric heating to the spin on fuel filter. Running about 10-20% fresh sunflower oil blended with diesel. Sorry we don't have biodiesel over here.

The mods I'm hoping to add:

Improve the lpg injection. As mentioned above move the injection post turbo. Find a way so I can inject different amounts of LPG at different boost levels. If anyone has any idea how to do this PLEASE let me know!

Add an intercooler. I'll look for a Saab intercooler but they're very rare here.

Upgrade the turbo to a vnt one.

Upgrade the brakes. My front rotors are less than 1 year old so I'll feel pretty bad when I'll upgrade them.

__________________
1992 Mercedes 190D 2.5 turbo 5sp manual. EGT+boost gauges. Boost controller set to ~14.5 psi. 1 1/4 turns on full load adjustment. LPG injection. Next in the list is water injection.

Look at the post date bud. 12-22-2003, 02:34 PM That was a loooooooooong time ago. Live and learn.

Sorry

Did you get rid of the k&n? If yes, may I ask you why? Did you experience any problems or was it from readings on how inefficient they're at preventing dirt from entering the engine?

Did you see any difference going back after the k&n?

__________________
1992 Mercedes 190D 2.5 turbo 5sp manual. EGT+boost gauges. Boost controller set to ~14.5 psi. 1 1/4 turns on full load adjustment. LPG injection. Next in the list is water injection.

Went back very quickly. My engine ran like cr@p with it. Mostly it was too small but I was very glad to get rid of it once I started researching them.

...let me count the ways.

Improvement stuff done:
1) Limo tint on the wagon's windows.

In the werks:
1) Installation of a manual transmission in Marlene (to be started after the first of the year).
2) Fitting/adapting manual HVAC controls from a 240 in Marlene

So, I guess there's three things worth changing on a W123.

OTOH, it sometimes seems like I work on my cars constantly but, it's not on upgrades. Most of my work is related to PM ...getting all the things that can leave you on the side of the road worked into a known maintenance cycle.

PM, etc
Marlene—
Replace/rebuild front seats
Replace driveshaft and flex disks
Replace leaking power steering pump
Install offset woodruff key

Lilly—
Citric acid flush cooling system, replace all coolant hoses and belts
Replace worn fan clutch
Restich upper seat cover in back seat
Replace front and rear window gaskets
Replace front windshield
Replace flex disks
Replace shocks
Replace sub-frame bushings

Can you tell I'm more interested in making sure that SWMBO isn't on the side of the road?

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

A zebrano wood cupholder.

Best $50,,,,,yes $50,,,,I ever spent.

Jim

pictures please???


..

__________________
'87 924S
'81 280SEL

Sold ->

81 300SD -
93 300E w/ 3.2
85 300D-
79 300SD
82 300CD
83 300CD - CA
87 190E 5 spd
87 Porsche 924S

"..I'll take a simple "C" to "G" and feel brand new about it..."

The upgrades on my 1984 300SD:

Electric engine fan
Additional auxiliary condensor fan
Third brake light
Trio gauge set

I'm seeing some pretty good ideas here. High on my list of to dos for the upcoming 04 year is have the heated seats finished, installing amp with small sub or perhaps 6x9s, tinting the windows, adding that third brake light, getting that K&N system to replace the stock one, advancing the timing a degree or two, and make sure it is running 13psi.

A cupholder sounds nice, perhaps I should consider that. Where did it install? I don't know if I have the heart to drill a couple holes in the door panel.

Did the straight pipe gain much in power or lower the EGTs much so you could raise the boost?

Could you just wire the third brake light in or did you have to relay it for the cruise control unit as it is supposed to be quite sensitive to the resistance. Perhaps I'll get a LED third brake light so the resistance difference should be minimal.

__________________
Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k

I'm thinking of 2 important upgrades for the coming year:

1) A parallel condensor, depending on the results of one of the other forum members here.

2) Possibly replace the oil cooler lines with steel braided hoses

One improvement I am constantly fiddling with is cabin noise reduction at speed. Minimal results so far...

__________________
Matt
------
1995 E300 Diesel (Die Blau Frau)