completely take apart W124
 

Hi everyone,

This summer I'm planning on being bored and I figured the best way to learn the most about my car the fastest way possible would be to completely take it apart and then put it back together...anyone do this before?

I was just wondering if anybody can tell me from experience wether or not this is a good idea. Basically what I'm trying to get from this is to learn exactly what everypart under the hood does and how one thing affects another.

Any input would be apprecieated

Agreed - sounds overly ambitious without much reason.

In Spanish we have a saying that roughly translated goes something like: "if something is working fine, leave it alone!"

And that would be my advise to you. Why mess up with something that would certainly give trouble after you decide to take it apart for no reason?

what else to do to learn then?

I say go for it. Just don't burn out.

Hell, I would love to spend a day taking apart every last screw on my car.

Putting it back together, however...

Wait a minute,

These Mercedes-Benz from the 1950s to 1995 are known for their solid structure and build quality. Everyone loves just how tight everything is assembled and how it seems to stay that way over 10, 20, 30 years of weather cycles, years and mileage.

Your car is not like a tank all because the parts were made that way, but because it was assembled that way.

Unless you know every torque specification, are damn good at indexing and labeling parts ETC..., dont mess up your car!

If you do go through with it, be sure to document every step and detail and then write a book! :-)

My advice would be to buy a donor car (that is if you have the room) and dismantle it for parts.
Keep the bits you want and sell the rest on Ebay or somewhere.

there you go. get a non runner for a small price and have at it! i would never never never take apart a car that is running and useful.

there are thousands of them lying about right now that folks have taken apart for restoration and never got any further.

as a buyer i would never buy one in baskets like that unless i had another that i knew was complete to put with it and make one.

buying a basket case always causes missing part anxiety. what is missing? so folks pay almost nothing for basket cases all the time.

it always takes a lot longer to put them back together, too.

good luck

tom w

Possible
 

I can do thi$.:D

Average tear down/re$toration time i$ 2000 hour$ and $18,000.00 - $38,000.00 U$D per vehicle.:)

Practice on $everal part$ car$ before touching your daily driver.

Have a great day.

A day? ONE single day?

Sounds like the english expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

makes sense...
 

Okay that's a good point, because my car has gone 220k miles strong and could probably last another 220k more.

So if I get a salvage car do you think a restoration attempt will be a good idea to get a good know-how with these types of things? Or do you think I should get a flood car with no intention of ever driving it, but everything is still intact?

"Right on the dot!"

Its a lot easier to take things apart than it is to put them together. Especially if you have no plans to put it back together again. So my recommendation is first - DONT do it. But if you must then get a parts car and go for it. Its a win-win. You gain knowledge and spare parts at the same time.

if you disassemble a flood car you can sell off the many good mechanical parts.

tom w

This is indeed what "Junkers" are for. Take one apart. You won't feel pressured to put it back together if you can't. Sure, it'd be fun to be able to, but it wouldn't be easy.

While you have it apart, you can clean everything, paint everything, and grease anything that squeaks. And if you're taking apart EVERYTHING, keep in mind you will be taking some stuff out that probably won't go back together right (old engine mounts, rubber bushings, seals, etc). So you'll need to buy a gasket for everything, and all the rubber bits that go along with the vehicle.

better yet, why not offer your services for free to some of the w124 owners around ur area who are in need of mechanical / electrical work. they'll get their car fixed and u can have the amount of hours working on it :)

I would not be so sure about that... :)
Bruno

i agree with bruno haha

Buy a junker and experiment.

any particular motor especially easy to learn on?

Hmmm
 

IMO.
The best engines to learn tear down and rebuild are:
Step one:
* single cylinder Maytag engines.
http://www.maytagclub.com/page-4.htm
http://www.bser.com/maytag4.htm
http://www.herculesengines.com/Maytag/Default.htm
http://www.oldengine.org/members/billd/webdoc2.asp

Step two:
* single cylinder diesel engines.
http://www.yanmar.com/
http://www.agroengine.com/diesel.htm
http://www.oldengineshed.com/diesel.html

Step three:
* four cylinder gas engines.
* any cheap old domestic.

Step four:
* four cylinder diesel engines.
* OM621.912
* OM621.918
* OM615.912
* OM615.913
* OM616.916

The next step is five cylinder diesel engines, then electronic controls for diesel and gasoline engines.

Oh; I forgot to mention the fifty thousand dollars worth of tools you acquire, and keep walking off.:eek:


MB IDI Diesel Engines - what was available through the years
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/general-information/170845-mb-idi-diesel-engines-what-available-through-years.html

Now that would be the best way to learn. Find the same vehicle and break it down.

I sent you a PM.