waking up my 72 280SE m130

[younggun85]

My darling benz has been a sleep now for about 6 years and I am interested in know if she has the potentional of being woke up. first thing I want to do is see if she will even turn over or if she is stuck. What way do I turn the crankshaft to see if she'll move? Also I'm interested in sourcing some parts in the future so I have to find out what I will need. she really ran like an old woman when I drove her. the first question. If I fried the voltage regulator and the alternator is also gone. will a new alternator contain the voltage regulator or will that still need to be replaced? can I put in a different alternator all together and how high of amps can i go? Also I am interested in replacing the wiring as a whole and was wondering if someone offers a complete kit or will I have to get one of those univeral deals and try and figure it all out? does it make sense to change the oil since it has sat and is going to continue sitting? If it doesn't have any coolant and the coolant areas are exposed to the enviroment aka there is no rad or hose will it begin to corode? will fuel sitting in the injectors destroy them? Does the injection system need to be removed in order to be cleaned. is it possible to replace the climate controls as a whole with an automatic electronic system? the power steering was weak before it died can this be rebuilt or will it need to be replaced?

[JeffreyNMemphis]

Hello Friend,

Yes, your darling can be awakened. You have so many questions. It is good that you have a check list. With a 27mm wrench you can turn the crank, but the direction escapes me in my first cup of coffee haze. I have read about waking sleeping beauties here on the forum dozens of times, so do a search and I guarantee you will find some first hand accounts. You will probably read the advice of oiling the cylinders and letting it sit overnight before turning the crank.

The way you are describing the car makes me wonder how and where she was stored? I get a picture of the car sitting in the jungle with vines growing through it from your questions, but surely it isn't that bad.

Replacing the wiring as a whole is a major deal amount of work. What makes you want to replace it all? Or is there certain sections that you know are problematic? Do you have the wiring diagrams? I bet you can get some sections of complete wiring from a salvage yard.

I would be most concerned with the rubber parts that carry fuel. If you watch Ebay like an obsessive compulsive, you will regularly see fire damaged cars for sale. Leaking fuel lines and fuel injector seals are a common fire hazard for our old cars. The fuel injectors are not hard to take out to have cleaned and the injector seals are relatively inexpensive. Replacing the fuel lines are not difficult either.

Is the car missing the radiator now? Has it been sitting for six years with the engine open at the coolant intakes? Or, are you planning to take the radiator out for a repair? If the engine has been open for six years, you might want to check it for critters like mice who find it cozy in an old Mercedes.

The power steering pump can easily be rebuilt,; they are famously well made. I read a thread about that last week. What condition are the tie rods, bushings and wheel bearings? When you get the car driving the suspension could deteriorate quickly without maintenance. It would be a good idea to get the car in the air and make sure your suspension is clean and well lubricated, wheel bearings packed with fresh grease, etc. Also, flush your brake lines and check them for leaks and corrosion.

Replacing the climate control system is ambitious, major surgery. It is a really simple and primitive system of heating and fresh air vents on these cars. The vent system probably needs cables lubricated at least, or new cables at most. If your heater core is not leaking, it will work fine. Air conditioning is almost a system by itself and if original, will probably at least need a new compressor. My compressor was 35 years old and barely used, but the rubber was crumbling so I had to replace it. Here in Texas, we use air conditioning in February so it HAS to work. Global warming must be getting pretty bad if cats in Minnesooota are thinking about A/C in April.

What are your goals for this car? Will it be a daily driver, Sunday driver, or candidate for Concours d' Elegance? How much do you want to spend?

The car's tires have to be at least 6 years old now, and even garage kept they are at risk for dry rot. When I bought my car, the tires had less than 2,000 miles, but were old and two of them failed at the same time on the ride home. I limped to Walmart (on a Sunday) on the spare and the other tire completely missing the tread. Good news was Walmart in Nowhere, Louisiana had tires for $34.00 each in my size.

The other guys will help fill in the blanks that I left. The just of my message is welcome back! Glad to see you. You can find what you need here to get the car running and restored.

All the best,

Jeffrey

P.S. Do you have a recent picture of the car? We love pictures...

[Skippy]

I also just woke up. Things that come to my sleep-fogged mind:

The gas in the car will be bad. Very bad. Drain fuel tank, blow fuel lines out with compressed air or flush with fresh gas. Change fuel filter. While you're doing that, check the condition of all rubber lines and replace as needed.

You can check to see if the motor is seized by turning clockwise (as you look at the front of the engine) with a 27 mm socket and breaker bar. After six years, it probably will be seized. If it is, you can pull the spark plugs and squirt some penetrating oil into the cylinders, wait overnight, and try to bar the engine over again. It may take several days of repeating that to get the engine unstuck. Once it's unstuck, change the oil and filter before trying to start it.

If the engine has been sitting with the coolant hoses missing, there is a good chance of critters in the coolant passages. I'm not sure how you can clean those out without taking the engine apart, but I'll bet someone on here knows a way.

The fuel injection system may have to come apart to be fully cleaned, but I would try to get it running without doing that first and see what happens.

I'm not sure, but I think '72 was the first year of internally regulated alternators, so if you need to change the alternator, it will come with its own regulator. You won't need a functioning alternator to get the engine running in the beginning, so you can get the thing fired up on battery power before you start troubleshooting that.

I need more coffee.

[younggun85]

I had a real power shortage when it did drive and I am asumming it was du to the fuel system, the pump was replaced with some tube style thing, but lucky enough they left the original still mounted to the car. I had drained the fuel tank last year and it was a little thick and yellow but not gummy thanks to the sta-bil i put in it. however I don't know how much of it got to the injectors. The majority of parts are disassembled from the engine. the intake/ exhaust/ alt/ a/c system/ rad and hoses. I have removed the fan from the front of the engine as well, but beleive the pulleys are all intact. My plans are to keep all the body and drivetrain pretty much original and upgrade as much of the accesories as possible. I want to replace the electrical because I want to be able to drive it worry free of shorts and fires. I plan on upgrading the tails to led and the head lights to halogen, but all this can wait if I can just get it running and not driving that is fine. It has been mostly stored on bricks off the ground with a tight car cover and two tarps. I had put rags in the cylinders before I let it sit, but they were dry rags. last year I put about a teaspoon or two of mystery oil in each cylinder and covered the rags in it also. I have yet to check where the coolant hose goes in the bottom of the engine, but we do happen to have good amount of field mice around here so I may just find a dead critter in there. Anybody got a how to for flushing the tank and lines? I'm really looking to make this a luxury car that modern luxury car owners could be jealous of. basically keeping all the things that make a 72 a great bulletproof car yet replacing all the outdated equipment. At the moment though i just want to make sure i still have a good runable engine still.

[JeffreyNMemphis]

I drive a 1973 everyday. The only thing outdated is the radio, and I jacked in my i-pod to remedy that. The car drives smoothly over terrible paved roads. And modern luxury car owners do notice and wave or come over to chat when I stop for fuel.

Sounds like you are assembling a plan that will get you back on the road. If your motor is already out of the car and mostly dis-assembled, you might even consider going all the way with a complete rebuild. Is there a machine shop that specializes in Mercedes engines near you? They can clean the parts and measure them to specification; if the valve guides are worn, they can change them, and check the valves, pistons etc. Then you know you have an engine that will provide another lifetime of service. Imagine how cool it would be to open the hood and see a brand new motor with the engine bay detailed and freshly painted?

[younggun85]

the engine is still in the car and complete just the majoruty of stuff has been removed. My elecrtical just seems overly worn and all the casing seems pretty dry rotted. It will work to get it running but I do not want to drive it like this. when it first died i was moving it and had it in the accesory position and something started smoking from one of those little boxes. It just seems more worth my time to replace it all then to try and diagnose and replace just what is necessary on the current system which is probably like 20-30% of the entire wiring, plus if I will be adding different lighting that will need to be changed to. I may just keep all the under dash wiring and replace just the fuse box and then replace the engine part of the electrical, pretty much just cut it off at the firewall. That's what all the road salt around here will do to a car this old. I just got some pictures of what i'm working with and will try to post them. I also plan on adding heated power seats and that will require extra wiring in the car and I just don't like those german fuses and the hold metal relays.

[younggun85]

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[younggun85]

these are the boxes I was talking about.

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[younggun85]

the fuel filter that was there.
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my dash
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[JonL]

How about some overview pictures of the car? it looks like quite a lot of the bodywork is missing....
Never mind... I see you have them coming as I was writing.

[JonL]

Do you have all the missing pieces?

[younggun85]

for the most part i have everything that was removed from the car, but then again my parents have a way of throwing things away. so i won't know unless i look. i haven't seen my fuel pump or my radiator in a while, but i haven't looked through everything in a while either. the car itself does need some body work. the front corner rockers are pretty bad and there is the imfamous hole in the trunk and a good size dent under the right taillight which accurred from moving it. I will get a few more pictures of the overall car. I pulled apart the dash to see if the wood dash piece was salvagable and to see what made up the vent/ cooling system.

[Q45Denver]

Sounds like a big job but will probably save you considerable aggravation in the end. Haven't had much problem with the fuse box but a couple of wires have shorted on mine. Would you retain the old mercedes electrical connectors?

Originally Posted by younggun85

the engine is still in the car and complete just the majoruty of stuff has been removed. My elecrtical just seems overly worn and all the casing seems pretty dry rotted. It will work to get it running but I do not want to drive it like this. when it first died i was moving it and had it in the accesory position and something started smoking from one of those little boxes. It just seems more worth my time to replace it all then to try and diagnose and replace just what is necessary on the current system which is probably like 20-30% of the entire wiring, plus if I will be adding different lighting that will need to be changed to. I may just keep all the under dash wiring and replace just the fuse box and then replace the engine part of the electrical, pretty much just cut it off at the firewall. That's what all the road salt around here will do to a car this old. I just got some pictures of what i'm working with and will try to post them. I also plan on adding heated power seats and that will require extra wiring in the car and I just don't like those german fuses and the hold metal relays.

[Mike D]

That's not a fuel filter. It is an "inline" fuel pump.

My '73 280 sat for at least 10 years. I drive it daily. My '74 280C sat for 8 years. Granted they are W114's and not W108's but the engines are both sound. The rubber was trashed in both of them but I had minimal rust. The usual places, trunk deck and front floorboards due to dried out windscreen rubber but nothing major.

It'll be a good learning project as long as you take your time and do each repair step correctly and completely! Any half-arsed repair you attempt WILL come back and bite you in the butt!

[younggun85]

i will try replacing as much as i can but somethings will have to stay the same. connectors that can be replaced i will replace, but some things have the connectors built in and would require me to replace the whole part and i want to keep it looking original so all the interior switches will remain the same. I will try to replace as many of the connectors as i can in the engine bay because most of the ones i have seem to have cracks in the or wear right around the end of the wire like the connector is coming off.