Back in the "S class or no class" club: 1991 300SEL - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

WhoWhat · #16 10-05-2009, 08:49 PM

Nice, Tyler. And, that woody Wagoneer in the garage? Niiiice.

How come you have all the cars I want? 6.9, woody Wagoneer, drop-top SL, and E500 wagon...get outta here.

tinypanzer · #17 10-05-2009, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerH860

I will have to sort out a few things though, but its a much shorter list than what I'm used to with old benzes. She does have a mild exhaust leak somewhere, and while not obtrusive it does give it a sort of embarrassing ricey sound.

I also feel a little vibration at high speeds and braking coming from what seems to be the front right brake rotor. The back driver's side window regulator is smoked, and the antenna mast was ripped off at some point. Everything else, including the AC, heated seats, and cruise control, work fantastically, and the fire sale price, nice cosmetics, and excellent service records more than made up for the shortcomings.

First things first, as always, will be a thorough cleaning. Ingrid is in need of a good clay barring compliments of the tree it sat nearby for the last 2 months. I plan on doing that tomorrow, and will take a thorough photo shoot then. Until now, this is all I have:

The sellers photos were from her old place that had a carport.

Nice car! You'll find it a tad slower and more cumbersome than the 300SE, but the extra room in the back is great on long trips. In some respects, you picked it up at just the right time. Only 128K, and the head gasket's already been done! That's one less thing you'll have to do yourself as all the M103s had to have that done at some point.

Exhaust leaks seem to be somewhat common on the M103 W126 cars, I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that the motor mounts crush down and the exhaust system likes to hit the cross member. Check the motor mounts before fixing the exhaust, just so everything is lining up as it should.

As to the rear window, it may not necessarily be the regulator. There is a little cheap plastic piece called the "sliding jaw" that routinely makes the rear windows jam up. Worth a check, the jaw is only $5.

Driving vibration can be a LOT of things on a W126. Tire balance is the most common. Also check the ball joints, Tie rod ends, the idler arm, the steering damper, and the guide rod mounts. Also warped brake rotors can cause vibrations. It is quite common to find multiple things in the front end that are all worn out.

Also, at some point you will want to verify that your odo is reading ALL the miles. When they get to about that age, they start to slip and start registering less and less mileage until finally it quits altogether. The fix is a simple 12 tooth gear.

Enjoy!

TylerH860 · #18 10-05-2009, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhoWhat

Nice, Tyler. And, that woody Wagoneer in the garage? Niiiice.

How come you have all the cars I want? 6.9, woody Wagoneer, drop-top SL, and E500 wagon...get outta here.

I just sold the woody wagoneer today actually. Loved it, and would love to own another some day. Same goes for the 6.9. Unfortunately, I can't afford to keep them, otherwise I'd have a decent stable.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190336841442&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMESOX%3AIT

TylerH860 · #19 10-05-2009, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinypanzer

Exhaust leaks seem to be somewhat common on the M103 W126 cars, I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that the motor mounts crush down and the exhaust system likes to hit the cross member. Check the motor mounts before fixing the exhaust, just so everything is lining up as it should.

As to the rear window, it may not necessarily be the regulator. There is a little cheap plastic piece called the "sliding jaw" that routinely makes the rear windows jam up. Worth a check, the jaw is only $5.

Driving vibration can be a LOT of things on a W126. Tire balance is the most common. Also check the ball joints, Tie rod ends, the idler arm, the steering damper, and the guide rod mounts. Also warped brake rotors can cause vibrations. It is quite common to find multiple things in the front end that are all worn out.

Also, at some point you will want to verify that your odo is reading ALL the miles. When they get to about that age, they start to slip and start registering less and less mileage until finally it quits altogether. The fix is a simple 12 tooth gear.

Enjoy!

I'm thinking its the jaw as well, and the other rear window is acting funny. First on the list is the exhaust leak and brake rotors. I'm almost certain its brake rotors because the vibration is very mild unless brakes are applied. The front end feels very tight. The car gets on my indy's lift tomorrow to do a quick once over on the exhaust. Motor mounts, tranny mount, and flex disc were replaced less than a year ago, and the exhaust was a pre-existing ignored condition. That supports your exhaust leak cause theory, I suppose.

I will check the odometer, but I believe it is working fine. I've logged over 200 miles in 24 hours. I'll be pulling the instrument cluster to replace a bulb at some point in the near future as well.

Thankyou for your suggestions. I'm at my limit for private car sales for the year, so this will be a longer term unit that I plan to sort out and take on more trips.

Fulcrum525 · #20 10-05-2009, 10:24 PM

Good find, get the wheels redone and you'll be all set.

As for the video, wow those fricken gas engines sure can rev

My car rarely sees anything above 3,000 RPM

pawoSD · #21 10-05-2009, 10:32 PM

Not too bad on the 0-60 time....its about 1.5-2 seconds faster to 60 than my 300SD.

I love the sound of the M103 revving in the 4-6k range. *drool It loves its gasoline at those rpm's though!

TylerH860 · #22 10-05-2009, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

*drool It loves its gasoline at those rpm's though!

I'm used to it. Actually Ol' Turbo has been getting the more use than the E500. Sheepskins put the comfort level into another world.

WhoWhat · #23 10-05-2009, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerH860

I just sold the woody wagoneer today actually. Loved it, and would love to own another some day. Same goes for the 6.9. Unfortunately, I can't afford to keep them, otherwise I'd have a decent stable.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190336841442&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMESOX%3AIT

How could you bear to part with it? So freaking sweet...

So, if my gut is right, you should be about ready to pick up:

- 1992 500E
- late 70's Porsche 911
- International Scout
- an old school G-Wagen
- and my personal favorite at the moment...a Triumph Bonneville (in black)

Nice. Post pics when you round out my (er...your) herd.

TylerH860 · #24 10-05-2009, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhoWhat

How could you bear to part with it? So freaking sweet...

So, if my gut is right, you should be about ready to pick up:

- 1992 500E
- late 70's Porsche 911
- International Scout
- an old school G-Wagen
- and my personal favorite at the moment...a Triumph Bonneville (in black)

Nice. Post pics when you round out my (er...your) herd.

You can keep the scout and triumph, and substitute that with something Italian, then we line up perfectly.

TylerH860 · #25 10-05-2009, 11:27 PM

Interesting service invoice commentary:

Wow... throrough huh?

March 14, 2008: Coolant and oil leaking internally and externally at head gasket. 11.00 R&R Cylinder Head and inspect for cracks and warpage.... OK. Found head gasket eroded and leaking into ports. Cleaned cylinder and engine surfaces and replaced valve seals during service. Had heavy carbon buildup and resurfaced seats by lapping providing good quality sealing surface seating. Fond about 10-20% sealing prior to servicing. Replaced head gasket set, valve cover, gasket, seals, coolant, engine oil, 1 missing panel screw, distributor rotor (cracked) and rotor bracket. Test drove - OK. After test driving and sending vehilce to courtesy wash, found thermostat housand cap cracked and broke. Replaced housing cap with new style metal cap. Topped off coolant and test drove - OK. Coolant contamination from failed head gasket. After repairs in line A were competed, drained coolant and added detergent and water solution. Ran einge to full running tempurature and then drained. Filled with coolant and checked for leaks. Found radiator drain plug dripping. Replaced plug and retest- OK. Found when first started engine from cold, coolant temperature gauge was inop but started working after several minutes. Found gauge faulty. Topped off washer fluid.

Way too much work for a working tempurature gauge.

July 2008: A. Hose Coming apart, soaked. Drained Coolant and replaced radiator hose. Replaced coolant and test drove- ok. B. Customer states engine temperature gauge is not working. Parts have been ordered for this repair. C. Engine mounts collapsed and coming apart. 4.00 Replaced leaft and right engine mounts and transmission mount. Test drove- OK. Topped off washer fluid.

July 2008: Intermitant short to ground in temperature gauge sender. Intermittent open circuit in tempurature gauge. 3.00 Found at times usually with cold engine and after vehicle set for hours temperature gauge will not operate. Found after dirving for a while gauge begins to work. Cold started engine and found tempurature gauge inoperative and found about 260ohms resistance in temperature sender. Replaced temperature gauge and started engine. Found in less than a minute tempuature gauge reads full hot. Disconnected tempurature gauge sender and found tempurature gauge reads full cold. Checked tempurature gauge for resistance on nrearly cold engine and found 74 ohms. Found sender shorted to ground. Replaced tempurature sender and topped off engine coolant. Reinstalled original tempurature gauge and found gauge reads full cod. Test drove until engine at operating tempurature. At about 90 degrees celcius and found gauge still reads full cod. Inspected with David Brown and ok'd to replace temperature gauge as per previous estimate. Replaced temperature gauge and found gauge reading about 90 degrees celcius. test drove and found no futher concerns.

The indy at her most recent visit is not nearly as verbose:

July 2009: Check and replace swolen heater hoses. Installed new flex disc.

pawoSD · #26 10-05-2009, 11:41 PM

I was more daring with my 300E....it came with nothing at all.

No records, no history, no receipts....Not even an owners manual! So far so good though.

JimmyL · #27 10-06-2009, 12:25 AM

Wow, that M103 really gets that big hunk of German steel moving pretty well!! I was shocked...... Nicely shocked.....

pawoSD · #28 10-06-2009, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyL

Wow, that M103 really gets that big hunk of German steel moving pretty well!! I was shocked...... Nicely shocked.....

Having an M103 is like having a super model as a girlfriend.....awesome when happy (running properly) but a stressful/frustrating situation when it demands attention and work!

Gotta keep them happy or else they retaliate....not like the man's best friend diesels.....

E150GT · #29 10-06-2009, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Having an M103 is like having a super model as a girlfriend.....awesome when happy (running properly) but a stressful/frustrating situation when it demands attention and work!

Gotta keep them happy or else they retaliate....not like the man's best friend diesels.....

I think thats just Mercedes in general! My diesel was a b**** to me.

TylerH860 · #30 10-06-2009, 03:11 PM

My indy had an opening yesterday so I dropped Ingrid off. There was a few cars I had purchased in the past that he didn't want to touch. Norm was one, as well as the 6.9, but he absolutely loves Ingrid. I forgot something in the car yesterday and went by to pick it up, and he was singing its praises. With Norm, I dropped him off to sort out the evil servo climate control, and Mo pretty much rejected it. When I told him I was buying a 6.9 he said something like, "don't bring it here." Since he's semi-retired working off established clientele with much deeper pockets than I, he can be picky.

I'm giving this car the full treatment it deserves since I'll be keeping it for a while. New exhaust and muffler from the cats back, new front rotors (which also means re-packed or replaced wheel bearings depending on condition), brake bleed, transmission fluid and filter, air filter and breather hose (rock hard), and an oil change. Thankfully Mo's lookyloo yielded no suprises.

That leaves me with the rear window and broken antenna mast to fix. I'm an over-achiever.

Then Ingrid will be a turn key, completely sorted, low mileage W126, and a looker as well.

I'm thinking this car will do a run to California in January like I did last year in Ol' Turbo, and I'm starting to waffle on my decision to not attend Sunny's Texas event next month, which NEEDS TO ADVERTISE!