Parts suggestions needed - picking up car soon

[mosu]

I'll be picking up the W108 I was asking about in the other thread in a week or two. It's been sitting since 1986, current owner got engine running, rebuilt calipers and put new brake hoses up front.

I want to hit the ground running when I get the car and have all the parts I would expect to change in hand to baseline a reliable, safe runner.

Obvious problems:
1) Hissing brake booster when pressing brake, decent amount of assist.
2) Rear axle sag
3) Oil leaks around valve cover and possibly elsewhere
4) Differential oil leak
5) Extremely sloppy manual shifter

Parts list so far, need comments/suggestions:

1) Reman or used brake booster - is the Cardone unit from Rock Auto any good?

2) Rear axle spring kit - which one is best?

3) New valve cover seal, front rear crank seals, axle seals, pinion shaft seal - any other seals to worry about?

4) All new coolant hoses and rubber fuel hoses - is there a kit somewhere that I can grab or is it part-by-part replacement? I want to avoid hunting from Napa to Napa for the properly moulded coolant hose once I take the old ones off.

5) Front subframe bushing kit

6) Shifter bushings - which ones/how many do I need? I see 2 o-rings and a white plastic one on this site. Are those to restore the shifter?

You guys have more experience so please chime in and help me get as prepared as possible.

Cheers,

Alex

[JMela]

Auto Shift Stick Bushings and Spring Clip

Thread on shift bushing replacement (floor shift only). Shared part with similar vehicle. Parts numbers:

112-267-00-05 (quantity 2)- bushings
112-268-01-50 (quantity 2) - bushings
112-267-01-50 (quantity 2) - bushings
112-993-01-20 (quantity 1) - spring clip

[Pooka]

You might just shop Ebay for a used shifter unit in good condition. The going price seems to be around $50 or $60 and it is just a bolt up thing.

[mosu]

Should've been more clear - it's a manual floor mounted shifter. Or is it the same bushing set that rebuilds either shifter?

[JMela]

For #2, this is what you're after, assuming your car's compensator is shot:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-W108-W109-W111-FEBI-BILSTEIN-Compensator-Spring-KIT-NEW-110-586-05-01-/140877633992

Manual shifter will require different parts than auto, sorry for the confusion.

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by JMela

For #2, this is what you're after, assuming your car's compensator is shot:

Mercedes W108 W109 W111 Febi Bilstein Compensator Spring Kit New 110 586 05 01 | eBay

Interesting, I thought that kit was NLA. I noticed that the seller pulled the listing...

[ScooterABC]

I think you are jumping into the parts purchase prematurely. You'll know a lot more after you have the car. For one thing, you say that seller got the engine running. If the car was sitting since 1986 I would be concerned about the entire fuel system.

The sagging rear end is the hydraulic compensator that you need to replace with the part shown in the ebay listing referenced. You can get them off a junker if it isn't available. The spring doesn't really wear out. The hydraulic thing dies and is impractical to replace.

Belts, hoses, etc. Also just because the front calipers were rebuilt says nothing about the rest of the brakes and the hoses.

Tires would be a concern also. 1986 tires are not OK to drive on.

The subframe mounts probably would be good to replace but it's not at the top of the priority list. Check motor mounts while you are at it.

I'm saying this as someone who recently bought a 1963 220S that had been parked 7 years indoors and supposedly was running when parked. LOL.

You really aren't going to know what you need until you have the car. Radiator? Exhaust? Windshield gaskets?

[mosu]

Rad looks ok, has new coolant in it. Hoses are ancient. All body seals appear to be in amazing shape - windscreen, windows and rear window.

It's the obvious or "should be done" stuff that I'm after. Belts, hoses, seals, etc that I'd rather have in hand than scramble for as they fail one by one.

About the spring kit - do vendors outside ebay carry it?

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by mosu

Hoses are ancient. All body seals appear to be in amazing shape - windscreen, windows and rear window.

That's really good. Plan on running it through the self-service car wash and finding the puddles inside the car and trunk, and hopefully you won't find any.

Originally Posted by mosu

It's the obvious or "should be done" stuff that I'm after. Belts, hoses, seals, etc that I'd rather have in hand than scramble for as they fail one by one.

You won't necessarily know the correct belts without seeing the car as the A/C could be a factor in the belt. Hoses are easy, but you are going to be ordering a bunch of parts anyway.

Originally Posted by mosu

About the spring kit - do vendors outside ebay carry it?

It's NLA from Mercedes. The one on ebay surprised me since it was suggesting that it was the NLA kit from Mercedes. Perhaps it is used and painted, which would be OK and the price would be OK. You would new rubber pads that go on either side of the spring which are available from Mercedes.

Personally I would change the oil and brake fluid (and clutch) and check the brake hoses and cooling hoses and replace those if needed and then drive it for a week and find out what you really need. Oh, and tires. You need tires.

[ScooterABC]

Wait a minute - your other thread was the thread about trying to get this car to be a good driver for $1000 in parts, is that right? I assume you are re-thinking that number... Tires are going to be $400+, rear spring is going to be $200+ (unless you get one at a junkyard, etc), and brakes are still an unknown... hoses are inexpensive and available. Subframe mounts a few maybe $250 - $300 for the parts, rebuilding the carbs isn't cheap if you have it done....

[mosu]

Yes, that's me from the other thread the $1000 has some flexibility. Seller put good tires on it. I'm budgeting for the rear spring which seems to be the hardest part to find, brake booster, carb kits, rubber gas lines, belts, cooling system rubber, subframe mounts and shifter bushings.

I think that $2k is a more realistic parts budget, anything under buys the beer. I can do all labour myself.

Are the Cardone rebuilt brake boosters any good? At $200 they're a lot cheaper than the originals at $800.

[JMela]

This guy was parting a 108 last week, he might have a rear
Spring for you:

w108 new owner - Page 3 - Mercedes-Benz Forum

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by JMela

This guy was parting a 108 last week, he might have a rear Spring for you:

I bought some parts from him. He was a good guy. Someone else is looking for a spring and bracket also. I think I said $300 for me to drag that stuff out of my parts car and that's because I'm lazy and busy, not because I think it's worth that much... If someone wants to pull it themselves they are welcome to for less!

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by mosu

Are the Cardone rebuilt brake boosters any good? At $200 they're a lot cheaper than the originals at $800.

I would look up what you need on napa and see what they offer. What I'm seeing is less than $200. And there are three convenient locations in Buffalo! I don't specifically know about Cardone but I certainly wouldn't pay $800 for a rebuilt booster that is relatively common.

[mosu]

Good tip on Napa! I found them quite expensive in Toronto so I didn't give them a second thought.

I pinged the guy doing the part-out. Worst case, ScooterABC, can I convince you to pull out the spring and brackets from the parts car and send it my way at a more reasonable price?