THE most overpriced replacement part...we have a winner...foot pump for washer!

[nhdoc]

Yeah, I was trying to fix the windshield washer's foot pump on my '74 240D. I saw the metal plug in the back of the rubber pump bladder had deteriorated so I thought I could just buy the rubber bladder part for a few dollars and replace that...nope, the pump is sold as a complete assembly...and the list price...$565.

I guess they figure people restoring an old W111 cabrio won't blink at a $565 foot pump, but for the rest of us it was a bit shocking.

OK, so I see that with a little inginuity I think I can fix mine...I ordered some "1 inch piggy bank plugs" which are the same size as the metal plug that deteriorated and I'll "gorilla glue" one into the hole...I bet that will work.

[Larry Delor]

I believe the pumps are different for those two chassis. 4 vs 2 elec. connections. I sold one or two a year or so ago on ebay. I can check to see if I still have one of the two prongers, if you want.

[Skippy]

I bought a whole '77 240D for less than that. I'm working on getting the seller of a '71 250 down into that range.

[Emmerich]

Look up the dealer price for a fuel injector on a 6.3

[HighDesert Benz]

$565??. Guess I sold my spare wwaaay too cheap. Oh well, someone got a good deal. Wouldn't even want to think what an injector costs...

[wbain5280]

I'm going to replace mine with the guts from a W126, since I have two. I'm also going to be hunting for a later steering colum from a W109/9 to get the better turn signal stalk and saftey wheel.

[JeffreyNMemphis]

Hello Doc,

We chatted sometime last year when you were selling a W108 six cylinder on Ebay. Your willingness to tackle any problem inspires and encourages me. Please post some photos of your project, as I/we will all probably be doing this repair sooner or later (or forking over $$$).

Cheers!

Jeffrey

[nhdoc]

Interestingly, as Larry pointed out above, there are 2 variants of the pump assembly. The one with 4 wires on the plug is the $565 one...the one with 2 wires is only $40. Luckily I have the 2 wire version. I'll still try to fix it but it is good to know that if I am unsccessful I can replace it reasonably enough.

[nhdoc]

I received the $0.85 1" rubber "piggy bank" stopper today and it fit like a glove. I applied some "gorilla glue" along the ridge and installed it into the pump body and so far so good. If it lasts I should be all set...I attached a photo

[nhdoc]

In follow-up, I have concluded that there is no way to get a true watertight seal on the rubber pump bulb. I tried every type of sealant/glue I could find. I even resorted to pouring a liquid rubberized undercoating into it and letting it dry. When the bulb squeezed, the rubber flaked off clogging the nozzles. Oh well, I will check the price of the 2 wire pump with the dealer, if it's too costly I'll just retrofit an electric pump in...don't waste your time trying to fix one of these.

[TheDon]

A new rear trailing arm is around $2000

[nhdoc]

Well, my dealer informed me today that neither foot pump is available any longer...looks like I will either retrofit it to a electric pump or scout ebay for a good used one.

[sjefke]

I just picked a foot pump up for my W111 3.5 for $43 incl s/h.

Crazy idea, but I thought about adapting one of those "Spiderman" hand held squeegeas (spelling is wrong, but you get the drift. Then again, I am Dutch...) or even a turkey baster that has a hose connector integrally moulded on to the bladder pump.

Bert

[nhdoc]

Yes, in fact, today I adapted a dust blowing bulb and that seems to be working. It looks like this one shown below. I capped the end which had the one way valve in it and put a piece of 1/4" copper tube into the other end to feed the hose over and put it under the foot pedal...so far this is working out perfectly. Fingers crossed that this little project is now behind me.

[300SDog]

Doc, am guessin the only purpose of electrics ther is for wipers. And thats redundant anyhow with wiper switch doin the same thing. Caint ye pull the plug on foot wiper switch and install *any* MB pedal pump washer ther from 1960 - '76?

Fully functional manual window wash is pleasure to use, feels almost like manually peein on the glass regulating the flow.