It's good that you went back to Enrique's with your car, what did he diagnose the temperature gauge issue to be?

Hopefully with that out of the way, and the license bracket issues solved, and of course the door question finished, you be free to go anyplace.

Strange little issues, I think. Hopeful that they wil be out of the way soon, at minimal expense.

If Paul Suginami said the car is good, I am sure it is. As you have seen, he has a keen eye for good ones, and he came back and bought another Mercedes, which is really pretty and with an excellent history, traded in by obviously well off owners.

I hope someday soon, I can get a look at your fire extinguisher, either personally or some good pictures, of it, to see how it is installed, so I can replicate the factory installation.

You are the only person I can ask, because I do not know any other person with one of them in their SEC, and I have met quite a number of people who had one, thanks.

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

He showed me the plaque
its on Enriques wall
Nice Guy
Nice Burgundy Benz

He liked my car
Noticed it right off...

Hey Congrats on getting in the Ole Red Club

You got a great deal w bracket!!!!!

Is mine Halogen or Halon whatever?

You must have had some good karma due for you too...

Ohhh. I'll take some pics & figure it out
just been really busy with trying to get the car so that I can drive it without my heart beatingin my throat...

Ran hot to Enriques
Close to 120
but I wasn't too deathly afraid as I had an inkling it was a faulty guage as it would waiver
Still I hit a road work section
it bottled up
I'm close to 120
no where to go
got this clicking sound when I brake
feel this weird grinding sound upon aceleration
like maybe I don't know
but not engine
well seemed further back
center maybe to right
It stops when you get moving

Wonder what that is
something to do w not being used
couldn;t really get a good handle on it
& where but it didn't sound right
almost like when my bushings were worn on volvo

I just want him to test it
He's an expert
he should be able to tell if its soemthing to worry about


Was hoping it wasn't tranny
I rubbed bottom getting out garage in aM
guess I didn't get it right
Arrgh
was hoping it didn't hurt anything

You know all those thiings put a damper on driving enjoyment

I left it with him
Begged it to take a good look
do a test drive when he could
I want him to take his time & not have it interrupt his work flow
I can wait
LOL


He said his first course of action is the oil temp

He said he changed the sending unit in it
Well that was good didn't see it waiver those 65 trips around block
but it still crept up near 120

__________________


83 500 SEC Euro 198K

I was not exactly clear about what happened at the shop today.

Did you get the car back home today, and is the temperature gauge showing normal once again?

I agree, you need that for the piece of mind. Your car looks so nice. The color and the fact that is a Euro means it is very rare - perhaps one-of-a- kind.

But I am sorry about the door. Perhaps too many years went by without attention to it such as lubrication. I hope a good locksmith is available who can rectify the problem quickly and cheaply. You should not have to crawl over the console to get in and out of the car. Difficult, and likely undignified looking if you had a short skirt on or were dressed up or something.


I re read the notice again about the fire extinguisher. The fellow who sold it is actually "Carson357", who is a long time Mercedesshop member, and who actually is the owner of a Mercedes Benz repair garage down in San Diego - so it looks like I even know who the seller is, now, and where he is .... he is one of "us"
so this is great.

The odds against purchasing something from an ebay seller you personally know who he is, would be infintessimal. I immediately paid for it through paypal, so the deal is done from my end now. Just have to wait for him to respond, and ship the thing out.

Looks like the best deals and best cars are sometimes found right here!!!

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

It seemed as if it was his ad but name ebay was different
Thats good least you can trust.
You did good
I think that was fair price
after all it costs more than that to buy one new
Halon are good
I didn't know if I have that
but if thats the benz type I guess I do
Its definitely written in german
looks very much like that from what I remember

I left the car with Enrique
he did some laser temp reading or whatever
I saw him do that
He said he changed the sensor
He asked me to test drive it
I took it arounf the block half dozen times
& it still got hot
110 115 quite near 120...

He sprayed the lock mechanism
he sadi that made it close better
but he also said there was too much play
he's tried to fix that.

I'll have to see about lock
or maybe its the key
Sometimes it doesn't go in all the way
It could be me too
getting to know the pressure iI need to insert it
I rather go easy on things.

Guess those things are not so bad
but need to be tended too.

SEC is so much sleeker & smaller than SE or SEL
I had just thooght difference was in the doors
but no
this was a design in its own right

I just get nervous
getting stuck in traffic or on roads I can't pull over fast when I'm heating up & NowI got strange clicking

Arrgh
from the dash

__________________


83 500 SEC Euro 198K

I am sorry - I still think the car is in good hands with Enrique. Hopefully it will be all fixed when you go back there to get the car tomorrow. I wouldn't contemplate going there without all the good recommendations he gets.

He seems really good, but buried in work given by customers who trust him.

All I really need is a the airconditioning, sunroof, and wheels taken care of on mine. Then perhaps, I could go anyplace! Not sure about where, exactly; when the car was newer it was really the vacation car, it went all over California and even once into Washington state and to Las Vegas for the SEC owners car show. They are such good cars for those long long trips.

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Thanks
If the thermo was stickin
then one would hope changing it would fix it.
Either way I have a new one & he didn't charge too much
Needed motor mounts got those & it was affordable

So now he has to go further
the sensor though mabe bad guage didn't do it either
I think he was checking for cool spots in radiator
don't know if he found any

So not sure where he'll check next
but it needs to run at a safe temperature

electrical problems scare me
esp on a car like that
everything is electric
arrgh
& things in dash take time & each hour is $

LOL

Its in the best hands
so all I can do is hope whatever it is isn't too labor intensive or part expensive

__________________


83 500 SEC Euro 198K

I agree that troubleshooting electric is the scariest thing, it can run into money.
Imagine if you had one of those 1957 Ford Skyliners with the retractible hardtop, and it had an electrical fault to track down.

Those cars have over 20 MILES of wiring in them!!!! Imagine the bill.

But Enrique's reputation is that he is known to charge only for the time it took for him to fix the car. For that reason, you can relax and be happy he isn't charging you an arm and a leg because he thinks he could get away with it.

I would relax about it. If I were you I would be a lot more worrried if you had left the car at some Mercedes dealer like in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica, where the mechanics might not know the Euro cars very well, and not care about working on them - some of them flat out refuse to work on Euro/gray market cars. You really need to find a good mechanic who knows them, and understands them, and best of all likes woring on them.

I do think your car is in the good hands of such a person.

Now you have been there again, do you know how much per hour he charges for the work?

What is the per hour rate at a Mercedes dealers down there? Up to $150 ph and beyond yet or what?

Worst case scenario: Gray Market older Benz with difficult electric problem sitting at a white glove Mercedes dealer with open ended work order "Find, diagnose & repair electrical problem" -

Yikes, for something like that you'd need to go out in your back yard and peel a lot of $100 bills off that money tree you have, growing there....

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Hourly fee is posted was $70 looks like the 7 was made into a 8
so guess its $80 hour
thats not bad

I feel its in good hands
he cares about the cars and his clients
He's a remarkable man
We were talking about real estate among all things
He's very knowledgable & savy even in that market.

He has been very fair with me so I am glad its inhis hands
Really I am
Jst I am a worrier by nature
LOL

As if you couldn't tell


Nite

__________________


83 500 SEC Euro 198K

Sounds like about half the dealer rate to me! Good deal, even for Northern California. I think he really likes working on those cars.

I hope you will be back soon with tales or cruising in a cool running, and cool looking car - pack up the beach towel and a lunchbox cooler - and head south, to Newport or whereever the best beach is down there - goodnite

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Enrique called
Changed radiator
Behr
runs 80 to 100 now
says noise I heard was exhaust pipe vibration
he striangtened & secured...

The bill was very reasonable

Just got home
No clicking no grumbling
Its ran 95 ish
Door closed

WOW

He did it!!!!

__________________


83 500 SEC Euro 198K

It sounds like your radiator was simply at the end of its useful life.

Probably the passages were getting rusty and clogged up inside and the flow was impeded; you will be running good with a new cooling system.

You got the Behr, with the reinforced upper hose neck, so you are absolutely good to go now. Probably you replaced the original radiator, 24 years is a real good run on one. Most cars that old have been junked long, long ago.

By keeping up with things like this, the car should run eternally.

You are in line for a brake fluid flush, as it's likely been over a couple of years since it has been done. Hopefully the auto frans fluid is still pink looking too.

Once all the things, especially the fluids are up-to-date, you have a good baseline for future things to be done.

Keep an eye and ear out for the exhaust system, muffler hangars in good shape.

Flex joints, like U-joints, eventually go, and should be inspected.

Hopefully you will sort out the drivers door lock question soon.

That guy Enrique, really sounds like he is good. I would keep with him for maintaining the car. When you consider how few good mechanics for older Mercedes are out there, and what you would have to pay if you got a bad or inept one on your car, guys like that are a prize.

There were plenty of indifferent, lazy or incompetent ones all over the San Francisco area, even (especially) at the Mercedes Benz dealers, too.

I wonder what your bill was.

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

The bill was a gift.
I am very happy

The radiator was the most expensive
I believe $440
Its a big one

He said he found the center cool with his heat detector yesterday
He didn't tell me that yesterday but obviously the new radiator has made a difference
ITs not 80 but 95 is OK


He was more than fair with his price.

Singing Enriques praises over here!!!!!

I'm sorry I didn;t bring him Krispy Creme doughnuts or something
but I will bring him something...

I'll just stop by


I just wanted to get there & back before the traffic got Friday heavy
It was a lil stop & go in places
but car stayed under 100
All pressure even at still idle never went below 1 1/2


It's idleing about 650
The dash clicking is gone

OOOOhhhh it really drives well
Smooth as silk
WOW

Wait til it gets a major service

I got new
Motor mounts
20W50
New thermo
think sending unit
Behr radiator
Coolant & I'd assume MB coolant
I certainly wouldn;t expect him to put anything else
He lubed the door it works
Straightened the exhaust pipe & secured
Its the darn steep driveway
I hit it on the way out yesterday
Angle wasn;t just right
Arrrghhh

I came in ok but its hard to get it right sometimes

Even tucked up the headliner
Bless his heart
All for under $1000...parts were almost 3/4 of the price.

OOOh for window washer
any fluid is OK
He recommends water

He also said I would be ok with my charging of the battery
just can't do it with too big amperage
10 was ok
I'm glad I was hoping I didn't short a ground or something

__________________


83 500 SEC Euro 198K

That is just great!!!

Before I say ahh, he just took pity 'cause you were a girl or cute, or something, it's also said by many others that he is just GREAT, and treats all his customers well.
It really helps that the SEC was designed by Engineers to be really easy to work on by Mercedes mechanics, too.



I guess you have sold me on a trip down for some work on my old black car one of these days. That is enough, I am convinced. I will need a Hirschmann antenna too.

Listen, while you are amped up you could maybe put in a few words of encouragement...here..at the thread...

MR MB Motors Tarzana, CA

Really great all is well. now for the license plate frames etc

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Do you think I over did it...

__________________


83 500 SEC Euro 198K

He said tranny fluid was clean n pink
I;m not so wowrried about that as its probably only got few hundred miles on it & time is not such a factor

I think those things are in order
but as Enriques says
drive it a bit first just to see.

Like its good I hadn't changed coolant yet
as it would have gotten dumped with the old radiator.

The old radiator look good externally
I hope the hood pad didn't fould it externally
Probably not
It was likely the original radiator
but I am not sure
It has a paper sticker on it w a model numer

Well don't have to worry abou radiator anymore
Got a new one
Should last a long time

I am so glad that noise I heard was the vibration of exhaust pipe
Gosh I was hoping it wasn't tranny gearing or some other bad thing.

Darn driveway
Three times it scraped

He said you can't scrpae it or it will be rattleing again.

Got in ok tonight
just have to really get the hang of positioning the angle
& it would be hard if the darn garage door was only half open
like it was last night...

Wow,
I am stoked
What a relief
& the dash is quiet too
I stepped on brake & it was silent
LOL

He even parked it way in back where none could fuss with her or ding her doors...
She was had a private parking spot the queen of the lot...

guess Christine is happy now

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83 500 SEC Euro 198K