California chick with tools could be dangerous

[Laca5551212]

Hey guys!

Brand new to the site but THANK THE LORD you're here. Two years ago, I sold the greatest car known to man. ('94 525i) Sorry if I've offended anyone. The tranny was on the way out and I wanted to buy something different that was stylish and well taken care of. I got the former, but certainly not the latter. Even though I am only the 3rd owner of this car and have every single work slip since the day of birth, I was fooled into thinking that this car had been well maintained. After an initial major tuneup including new spark plugs and wires, new distributor cap, rotor, ingnition control module, carburator rebuild, alternator, radiator, lower arm control bushings, shocks, brake (including two caliper rebuilds)pads and 2 lines, tires and alignment..... I'm too far in to back out. Now, I'm starting with the replacement of things that are somewhat aesthetic. I just bought new bumpers that are beautiful, but I'm not sure if they'll fit. That's a minor problem, but the major problem I need help with is that I have those power windows with the switches on the console. I have switched out both switches in the past year (of course they broke) and just last week, my drivers side power window will go all the way down, but on the way back up starts getting tight around halfway and then does a little backward jig in the track and gets stuck. What the hell is going on with this damn thing? And if I'm replacing the instrument cluster, how difficult is it to HOOK UP??? Don't worry, the old one practically FALLS out of the dash so I don't need any special dash removal tools or any of that crap. Thank you for your answers and I promise not to ask (too many) stupid questions.

[nhdoc]

The year and model you own might help us help you...

[Laca5551212]

Oh for God's sake! I thought when I entered that information in the signup it automatically included it as a signature. What a waste of a block. Anyway, out the door and already proven stupid.

It's a 74 280 . It's not an S or SE or anything. 4 doors, 6 cylinders, auto.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Most common problem with Mercedes power windows is that the alloy casting used for the gear casings tend to warp after many years of stress, allowing the drive-gear teeth to get out of mesh with the gear that actually pushes on the window. If this is your problem, the proper fix is a new window regulator. In some cases it may be possible to partly straighten the alloy gear case with carefull use of a vise or hammer, but don't force it too much or it may crack! Sometimes shims or washers can be added under the gear case mounting screws to persuade the gears to re-align. Otherwise also look for the usuall lose bolts, clips etc...

When removing the instrument cluster, the biggest thing to watch out for on a '74 280, is disconnecting the oil guage line and NOT restarting the car until it's reconnected. Also, there are some fiber-optic cables from lights in the cluster to the heater controls, that should simply pull out. Earlier cars had a mechanical temp guage with a capillary tube/bulb that had to be disconnected from the engine and snaked through the firewall, but I think that your 280 temp guage is electric.

If you're planning on replacing your 5 mph battering-ram bumpers with the pretty pre-74 chrome ones, I believe the mounts and fender trim are different. Could be alot of work.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[ctaylor738]

Welcome to the Vintage Forum. I hope we can help you with your car's problems. On your last post:

If you buy a new gasket for the instrument cluster, it will hold it in better. They come up from time-to-time on ebay.

[Laca5551212]

Thank you very much for the welcome! As far as the cluster goes, the old one literally falls out, the new one has a new gasket. I 'm good.

Mark, you are the guy that I need! Ok, YES, I did get the beautiful chrome bumpers and I think you're right....I'm still trying to install the windshield wiper system. I need some help on something really quick if you could.

I have changed the little nozzles on the hood and the hose that goes to the reservoir. I have switched out the foot pedal but the guy I got this from just cut the wires above what looks like a little regulator on the side of the pedal. It's cool if I just splice those with the ones already hooked up right? There is a hot and two not..........

BUT THE MAIN QUESTION FOR YOU IS......................like the loser that I am, I disconnected the hose from the reservoir to the foot pedal because it was shot. My new hose is soft and I can't getit through the firewall. I have a rubber tube that slides over the top of it, but I can't get the damn thing on. What do you guys use as a lube for the rubber casings of the hoses?

Thank you

[boneheaddoctor]

Go to User CP on the top left click it...then click edit signature....enter whatever you want and then it will append every post you make with it automaticly...

[Mark DiSilvestro]

That little 'regulator' on the washer pump is a switch to automatically run the wipers while you pump the washer fluid. Should be no need for splicing. The wires should be attached to a plug. Simply unplug the chopped off wire harness from your 'new' washer pump and plug the 'new' pump in to the one on your car.

You could try silicone spray to lube the hose. You could also try bending a small hook at the end of some clothes-hanger, small enough to grip inside the tubing and pull it through the hole.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Laca5551212]

Mark!

You are the best! I couldn't get the damn 'regulator' off the side of the pedal. I thought I would probably BREAK IT eventually.....so I ended up splicing out of frustration.

I'm off to get the silicon spray and THEN the coat hanger trick! That should do it and one more question and I'm DONE for the day..........................

If my fog lights are working just fine and then all of the sudden, out of nowhere (you know where I'm going with this) when you turn the headlight switch on as usual, they come on, but when you pull out the fog light switch.......BAM.................blows the fuse.................do I have a short? Do I have to trace the whole damn thing to find it? OK, you're the best, I owe you a case of beer or something!

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Of course there's a short. Unless someones been rooting around under your dash with a hammer and chainsaw, the first place I'd look is the foglights themselves and the wiring where it passes through the foglight housings and through/under/around the fenders. Try removing the foglight bulbs and preventing any bare wires from hitting anything metal by taping up any damaged wires or bare terminals, then see if it still blows the fuse.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[J. R. B.]

And one more word of advice. Don't call yourself a loser. We have a lot of respect for the ladies that try to fix their own cars. You are one of us.

[Tomguy]

When I first started working on mine, I didn't know anything. I had some tools, a broken-down rustbucket that needed a ton of work, a desire to get it back on the road, and the patience to learn how to do it myself.

Two years later, it's still a rustbucket... but it's a 145MPH rustbucket

1) Replace your window regulator assembly. Even if it's started because its bent, chances are the teeth on the gear are wearing unevenly, and the teeth on the top of the geat are probably flat.

2) I don't know if the 114 has it, but the 108 chassis has a large nut on the back that holds it in place. Mine stays in fine without it, but you might need it on the 114 (if there is one) to keep it in. Of course, you'll be replacing that to fix your broken odometer I assume, so when you do, try to find that nut to put it on and keep it in.

3) Yes, oil and grease degrades rubber. But probably not to the extent where it would seriously damage the hose. Try a light coating of grease, it won't evaporate as fast as silicone spray.

It's great that another person trying to keep another of these old Benzes on the road. Be it male or female, as long as the person tries, and asks when they don't know, we'll all help to the best of our abilities. Good luck.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

The 114 instrument cluster doesn't have a retaining nut, only a ribbed rubber band that grips the hole in the dash. The poor man's fix is to insert strips of thin cardboard between the rubber band and the instrument cluster to 'tighten' it's grip in the hole.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[cth350]

welcome to the club. Most of us work on our own cars, and most of us were where' you're standing now (no, not LA, stuck). I learned the hard way with a 230/8, a car a similar to yours. Now-a-days, I'm scratching my head fixing a 600. Same pain, much larger scale.

You need to arm yourself with the following:
- Attitude (you got plenty I'd), be sure to keep it and remember, it's "never say die". Another thing to remember is that you know more than you think. When in doubt, start asking yourself questions about why and how. How does what you observe match the possibilities? Why does something work the way it does.
- Tools. Buy more of them as you go along. Right now, it seems you need an electrical meter and a trim removal tool. A screw-driver will do, but something more like a spatual to remove the door's cover is in order.
- Know-how. You get that two ways. (1) Ask us, not to mention search the archives. There are several dozen people here (true; most are guys) that can help. If you try a few of the other sites, like www.mbca.org, you'll find it's the same guys, but we tend to read this place more carefully I think. (2) get the service manuals.

You'll find the service CD for your car on ebay for about 10$. It retails for 99$ if you get a real one from this site. That's a good thing to do, but cheap bootlegs work too.

Specifically, you need three manuals:
1. The electrical troubleshooting guide. It will have the complete schematics, including the color codes. (Note that all those dull brown wires are ground).
2. The chassis & body manual. The ideal one calls itself the 114/115 chassis manual and doesn't mention a volume1 or a 2. You might find a recent printing that comes in two halves; that's OK. Very old versions of it called themselves volumn 1 and mentioned the engine too. That book isn't worth squat.
3. The M110 engine manual. There is a very thick, two part version of this manual and a really thin single volume copy. Get the thick one.

All of those books plus others are on the CD. You can find the separate paperbacks on ebay too (in used condition). Ignore chiltons and other varients not from mercedes. They're not worth it.

-CTH

[Laca5551212]

You guys are great, really! I appreciate all your help and patience with my project. I think I've always been into cars. Grew up 30 minutes away from the Martinsville Raceway, used to watch the Long Beach Grand Prix every year on television, then when I moved here in '94, I went to see it live. Hated it. Went back the next year and bought 2 different sets of tickets so I could move around and see some ****! Still wasn't good enough so when the California Speedway came into my vocabulary, I was THERE! Unfortunately, the first race I saw was the final race for Greg Moore. Horrific. And they knew he was dead halfway through the race and they chose not to tell the drivers. They just kept going and I think the crowd was silent.

I stop by Laguna Seca everytime I'm up north to visit my family and Skip Barber has me on their mailing list. I keep thinking maybe THIS birthday will be the ONE.

I have found that the more projects I tackle, the more tools I need, the more I'm able to figure stuff out and it's EXCITING! I've been in the radio business for years and one of the things that the engineers taught me is "if it's electrical, give it a good whack!" That sure came in handy when my ignition control module or whatever the hell that black box is called went on the fritz and killed the ignition. I'd pull over, get out my HUGE screwdriver, hold it in my left hand while turning the ignition with the right and stepping on the gas while simultaneously abusing the damn thing." All of the sudden, IT'S UP AND RUNNING! How much fun is THAT?

Ok, anyway, I do have the little riibbon gasket that you talked about Mark but I got to say, I have a little problem with the "poorman's fix". You see, this car was owned by a girl who'd never heard the phrase "preventive maintenance" and she resealed the radiator over 14 times. Tip of the berg.
Of course, I got a new one. I know the car isn't worth crap, however, if I'm going to put the time into it that I already have, I would like the jobs to be DONE THE RIGHT WAY. (splice in the lines today notwithstanding) I do have a very good friend who was a MB mechanic for years and now builds Morgans. He's recovering from Cancer so I'm stepping up to keep the projects going for a while. Is there something else besides cardboard that I can use to seat it securely since it doesn't have the bolt?

Thank you for the info on the fog lights as well. **** like that just drives me crazy. I am a great defender of STOCK. If it didn't come with it, generally I don't want it on there. And if it's not working, clean the damn thing, put it back together and it usually will! And I must say that I was aghast at the recommendation of learned-types who suggest that the two chambers of my Solex A4 be wired SHUT!!!! I had mine rebuilt and tuned and it hasn't spit nor sputtered in 2 years since. What am I missing? Anyway, a couple weeks ago I checked both of the bulbs in the foggers and they're fine. One of my actual casings has been a little loose and perhaps a line got pinched as I was going 90 mph down to San Diego. I'll tackle that project first thing tomorrow. I'm off to go and see if my windshield washer system works......it was too damn hot out there earlier to finish so wish me luck!!!! Thank you guys so much!