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  #1  
Old 08-28-2005, 01:09 AM
Newfound benz lover.
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Ellicott City, MD
Posts: 12
Talking New 1972 MB 280se 4.5 in my garage, have many questions about it.

I just picked up a 72 280se 4.5 with 68k miles on it. The car is in great running/driving condition, but the exterior and interior are pretty worn. All the chrome is intact, and very minor rust for the age. Its my first MB and im 23 years old. I plan on cleaning up the car to make it a decent car, but not looking for show quality. My main concern for starters is a gas smell coming from under the hood, i see no signs of leaks anywhere, but it has a very distinct raw fuel smell when running.

Also the power locks dont work, 3 of the power windows dont work, and none of the dash lights work. The Gear selector guage doesnt move with the shifting of gears, and the climate controls levers are broken off(i have the replacement parts to fix these). I would like to fix most of the problems, and was curious as to where the best places are to get parts, and to find information on repairs. I'm a pretty handy person when it comes to cars, but ive never dealt with MB.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, also any good sources or links to pages with info. I could also probably use good interior parts. I will hopefully get some pics up of this new addition, but i can tell you it will be a pretty big project, although i do believe it will be rewarding in the end.

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  #2  
Old 08-28-2005, 04:17 AM
wbain5280's Avatar
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: Northern Va.
Posts: 3,386
Start by replacing all the gas line rubber hoses under the hood. Use fuel injection hose ONLY! It's a high pressure hose as opposed to regular fuel hose.

Read through the postings here on the V8. Several people have links to W108 web sites, the car chassis code you own. You will see that people refer to their cars by the chassis code, the first three numbrs of the VIN/chassis number.

There are several web based MB parts places, such as Fastlane.

The power locks are vacuum operated, so look for broken hoses or rubber connectors.

Some of the power window wire insulation may also be damaged.

Alos, grease your chassis, there are many on the front suspension, several on the driveshaft and two on the rear axle pivot joint. Jiffy Lube will hate you.
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Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.
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  #3  
Old 08-28-2005, 08:54 AM
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Location: Long Island, NY
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You'll find the fuses for the windows under the hood along the passenger side fender. There are several little brown boxes, each with two fuses. Remove the fuses, clean the contacts a bit and put them back. While you're at it, look for dead ones.

After you replace the hoses, smell the dipstick. Does the oil smell like gas? Change it. Check it again after a while. Smells like gas yet again? Change it and also look into why you're dumping so much gas into the motor. Sometimes, it's just a sticky injector (from sitting). Sometimes it's bad electronics or out of tune.

As for the vacuum locks, Start under the hood and follow the pumbing. Using a vaccuum gauge and/or hand pump (a mighty-vac works wonders here), ensure that each junction handles the vacuum appropriately. You could have 20 leaks, each letting out just a little, that adds up to a system failure. The prime candidates for failure are:
- The one-way valves (little can-like things).
- Master vacuum switch on the front doors.
- Vacuum dashpot inside each door, including the trunk and gas flap.

Yes, definitely grease those several dozen fittings. It's a nice intro to your frontend.

Lastly, when looking up the details on your car, remember that the body is a W108. However, all the 4.5 engines from 1972 to 1975 are essentially the same, meaning 450se & 450sl experiences also apply. For manuals, there are the 108 chassis manual, the 3.5/4.5 engine manual, the owner's manual and an A/C manual.

-CTH
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  #4  
Old 08-28-2005, 05:18 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 7
oil...

Use plenty of oil on window tracks, door latches, but remember there is an oil or greese for each item!
The window switches can pop apart using a small screwdriver, take them apart slowly as there are springs inside, pry at the side of the button around the center pry out and up but be gentle not to break the plastic
clean the contact points witl fine sandpaper and lube with the right greese and put them back together.
a 12 volt test light on the motor contacts will tell you if this is necessary
take your time to do each job on the car, use the proper parts not tape and glue, you will have a great car when you are done
A car is a car, the basics are pretty much the same, some cars just go the extra distance to put in the quality, But I aprenticed in high school, decided to get an electronic engineering degree instead, never had a car that I could not fix.
Ask questions, and get a book, haynes do not 280se book for engine, great for body and electric, engine you have to get their 450 book
good luck
Paul
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  #5  
Old 08-28-2005, 05:37 PM
Newfound benz lover.
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Ellicott City, MD
Posts: 12
ok well today i went out and fixed some of the doodads in the car. I found a blown fuse for the windows, so now all the window motors are running good.. the only window that doesnt go up and down is the drivers, i beleive the regulator is at fault. Fixed the dome lights. I took the top of the dash off(wood trim and cover). Got the rear seat out and found that there is a lot of water leaks with the weatherstripping on this car. All the doors are retaining water in the wells and the front and rear glass are leaking around the rubber. The trunk is also leaking water into it. found a good bit of rust around the lower parts of the doors where water has been building up and sitting.

I need to fix the gear selector needle, its stuck at L and only moves when the shifter is moved down to the lower gears. Also, how does the radio come out? i found the rear bolt that holds the radio in at the rear, but cannot get it to slide out of the dash. Seems like i have a good deal of work to do in the future, but im still pretty excited to have a good running classic car that has so much charisma.
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  #6  
Old 08-28-2005, 06:00 PM
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Location: Northern Va.
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I think the radio comes out from behind. Take the knobs off and the faceplate and watch out for the wook facia.

Like every car out there, the doors have drain holes. Poke them fron underneath and watch your eyes.

Tge gear selector display is operated rom a small hook and cable arangement from the selector column.
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Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.
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  #7  
Old 08-29-2005, 08:55 AM
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Austin, Tx
Posts: 439
If you smell gas get your injector hoses and rubber gas hoses replaced immediately. These are prone to fire and your car is over 30 years old most of the rubber is likely gone, start replacing it.
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  #8  
Old 08-29-2005, 08:57 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Central/SE Ohio -- Heart of the Rustbelt
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My 72 108 radio (Becker Mexico which I swapped in for the original Europa)pulls out the front. The radio trim plate has two tension springs at either end which can be released by pressing them with a small flat-edge screwdriver. The notches for this are very discrete and run parallel with the wood dash. Once the plate is off (knobs off first -- some press on, others have a tiny set screw) you will see how the two up and down bars are held in by the screw in the middle. Easy removal, of course assuming you have some type of Becker radio.

Good to have another 108 appreciater here.
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  #9  
Old 08-29-2005, 11:37 AM
Newfound benz lover.
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Ellicott City, MD
Posts: 12
thanks for the extra info, i got the radio out last night.... It wasnt as hard as i thought once i found how to get the knobs off. I'm assuming im going to have to run a constant power wire for the memory on a current model radio. I know its sacraligious to put a new style radio in, but i cant live without sirius radio and cd's

And to the people that helped me with the info on the fuel system, Are there metal lines that run the length of the car? with small amounts of rubber at the tank, and the engine sides? I'm also getting a small gas smell in the trunk too. So i dont know if the tank is rusted out, or if the lines are leaking somewhere.. like i said before, im not noticing any leaks under the car whatsoever... ?
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  #10  
Old 08-29-2005, 10:47 PM
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Location: Austin, Tx
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Your lines under the car are metal with the exception of at the fule pump at the gas tank underneath, you may be getting a smell back there from a leak in the line. I repeat OLD RUBBER is a BIG PROBLEM. Take the air breather off and replace all those rubber lines in you fuel system, you can order a kit from FASTLANE that connect to your injectors REPLACE THOSE as they may be prone to cause a fire.
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  #11  
Old 08-30-2005, 02:05 AM
Newfound benz lover.
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Ellicott City, MD
Posts: 12
thank you again, this weekend my father and i along with couple buddies are going to take the car to my fathers shop on the delaware shore to tackle some of these issues. Hopefully we get them resolved and without finding new worse problems after we get her fully road worthy, i plan to start repairing the body, and if that becomes over my head, i guess off to a reputable body shop.... like i said originally, i dont plan on making this car a complete resto, but making it a sharp looking, great driving classic to turn heads when i take it out on the town.
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  #12  
Old 08-30-2005, 02:29 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Posts: 2,075
Has anyone ever modified their exhaust, put flowmasters (remus?) on or something on these ole V8's? I heard a 560SL with some sort of mod'd exhaust and it had a nice, almost detroit muscle car rumble at idle that I thought sounded really cool. Didn't get to hear it above idle though.
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  #13  
Old 08-30-2005, 01:15 PM
Newfound benz lover.
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Ellicott City, MD
Posts: 12
i was actually thinking about that the other night.. i dont know how a flowmaster would sound, but a magnaflow might sound alright, although these cars are luxury, i dont know if i would ruin the solitude the car was built for...
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  #14  
Old 08-30-2005, 01:26 PM
PaulC
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As long as the heater/defroster blower is working, all is well.
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  #15  
Old 08-30-2005, 08:22 PM
Newfound benz lover.
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Ellicott City, MD
Posts: 12
yeah well that isnt working, all the control knobs are broken off the front of the climate controls.... :-( so i have to take that all apart to fix it.. so that should be fun...

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