The W108 home!

[mosu]

Great news, the 1968 W108 made it all the way back to Toronto from Montreal. It drove like a beast at highway speeds for over 500 km. I was blown away by how much grunt these engines have. Impressive for something that's been sitting since 1986 (with only brakes and tires refreshed when removed from storage). This will be my wedding limo project for May 10. Looks amazing and turns heads everywhere it passes. Interior is in perfect condition, window seals are not cracked and suspension is supple.

Pics attached below. Will need work at the rear axle and brakes, all hoses and cleaning up of the oil leaks. I'll document the jobs I do for the benefit of others as I sometimes find that threads on the W108 are thinner than newer models. Your thoughts, suggestions and helpful advice will be instrumental to turn this tired old mare into a wedding day princess.

Front view

New favourite spot

Side view with circumspect wife

Pictures of the leaks on the driver's side of the engine. Looks like the distributor shaft, oil filter and dipstick are puking oil, but it may be more than that:

Fuel Pump
Dizzy base
Oil filter housing

Coolant was clear when I started, now it's rusty brown. No floating oily spots so I think it's just deposits and the head gasket is OK:

I want to start tearing top down and replacing rubber bits as I go along. Don't want to tackle the head gasket unless absolutely necessary. A weird thing that I noticed is that parts catalogues list parts for chassis numbers > 35XXX and mine is 11XXX. Are they interchange-able updated parts?

Can't wait to get my fingers dirty! (Like I have a choice anyhow )

[JMela]

Congrats and nice recovery.

Time to flush and replace that coolant. MB has a specific type that should be used to replace it, otherwise a safe equivalent is Zerex G05 is a safe choice. Don't mix MB and Zerex coolants. Replace those radiator hoses and clamps before refilling w fresh coolant.

Hard to diagnose your oil leak from afar, the buildup suggests it's been going on for awhile. Maybe get out the scrub brushes and Simple Green and clean things up. Then, after a brief run it'll be easier to determine where this oil is coming from.

Oil and filter should be replaced asap if it hasn't happened already.

PS - post of shot of rear axle compensator/ spring, you noted this issue previously.

[mosu]

Will do on the rear axle. Car's at a friends place, so I'll get the pics in the next few days. Looked under and there's a compensator in there, and it looks like some fluid leaked out the top of it.

The old crud on the block was dry. The new oil is getting blown by the fan and spread all over. Puddles are forming at fuel pump (does that interface with oil in any way?), distributor shaft where it exits the block and the oil dipstick tube. Not sure where I can get seals for them, haven't seen them listed separately.

[Skid Row Joe]

Congratulations on your new purchase!

I've always loved the looks of that model of MB.

I was a young lad when my Mom and Dad bought a new 220D (late '60s). The next door neighbor was a banker and drove a new W108 in the pastel blue color.

Thanks for sharing pics too!

[JMela]

Hmm. Affixed to the driver's side of the radiator is an oil cooler, it appears to be an extension of the radiator itself. Check the two hoses as well as the cooler itself for leaks.

Whether healthy-looking or not, the two hoses should be replaced the next time your changing oil, if not sooner. Take the two old ones to your local hydraulic shop and they'll make new ones on the spot.

[mercmad6.3]

If oil is coming up the distributor shaft, I would make sure the hose on top of the rocker cover is clear. Mainly because it is almost impossible for oil to leak up that housing ,it's not under any pressure in there ,just splashing around. A blocked cam cover breather will cause crankcase over pressure . If it's not that,the head gasket is leaking around the edge of the cam box. Use a 6mm allen wrench and tighten up the three allen bolts ,one out side and two inside.
I can see a new cam cover gasket so that was probably leaking before you bought the car.
my first mercedes was a W108 280SE in 1975 -6 .
040 Black with Red MBtex interior .
Yes they love the open road,I would sit on an indicated 120MPH for ages when travelling long distances back then. Something I wouldn't do today,I value my license to drive...

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by mosu

A weird thing that I noticed is that parts catalogues list parts for chassis numbers > 35XXX and mine is 11XXX. Are they interchange-able updated parts?

Where are you looking for the part numbers that tells you after chassis 35xxx? If it is EPC, then it should list another part number for chassis xxxxx through 35xxx. Unless it says "replaced by" on the first listing, I would doubt that you can use the second part number.

If you have an example and your VIN and you DON'T have EPC, I'm happy to look one up for you... Or just provide the part number that it says to use AFTER 35xxx and I can tell you the part number for before 35xxx

[mosu]

mercmad: Good points, now that you mentioned it, I've had positive crankcase pressure in a Fiat before and it manifested exactly like this. I'll check the hose and its connection.

Couple of questions:
1) Do clogs happen in the hose or the passages/baffles in the valve cover and cylinder head?
2) To retighten the cylinder head, should I follow the tightening pattern of the whole thing, undo-ing every bolt by 1/2-turn and resetting to the right torque?

ScooterABC: To be honest I was looking at various vendors' online catalogues for a 1968 W108. They typically list a single part with chassis number > 35,XXX.

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by mosu

ScooterABC: To be honest I was looking at various vendors' online catalogues for a 1968 W108. They typically list a single part with chassis number > 35,XXX.

My assumption from that is that you can't assume the part is applicable. If you give me a specific example I can let you know.

[mercmad6.3]

The parts are still being upgraded,mainly because Daimler supplies a lot of parts for the W113 cars. You can fit the upgraded parts ,but the older part numbers represent parts no longer supplied. The old numbers remain in system so that part numbers can be used by the search system . This is very useful when trying to identify old parts that have been on the shelf for many decades.

[mercmad6.3]

Originally Posted by mosu

mercmad: Good points, now that you mentioned it, I've had positive crankcase pressure in a Fiat before and it manifested exactly like this. I'll check the hose and its connection.

Couple of questions:
1) Do clogs happen in the hose or the passages/baffles in the valve cover and cylinder head?
2) To retighten the cylinder head, should I follow the tightening pattern of the whole thing, undo-ing every bolt by 1/2-turn and resetting to the right torque?

ScooterABC: To be honest I was looking at various vendors' online catalogues for a 1968 W108. They typically list a single part with chassis number > 35,XXX.

It's not common but if the engine has been sitting or used in a cooler climate for short trips condensation will occur ,leading to clogging.
Regarding the head, You only need to check the allen bolts in the cam case . it's not a difficult job to change the headgasket but if the engine is running well ,I wouldn't remove the head,just wash down the engine every few months ...
The heads are hard to find,so make sure you use the best quality coolant additive you can afford to keep everything is top working order.

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by mercmad6.3

The parts are still being upgraded,mainly because Daimler supplies a lot of parts for the W113 cars. You can fit the upgraded parts ,but the older part numbers represent parts no longer supplied. The old numbers remain in system so that part numbers can be used by the search system . This is very useful when trying to identify old parts that have been on the shelf for many decades.

This is not necessarily correct. LOTS of NLA parts substitute out to the next version, and LOTS don't. EPC is a good database for finding out if the later part is compatible. Vendor sites are not.

I think I'm trying to be really helpful to the OP by offering to check a few parts but seem to not be getting any traction with this... Speaking as someone who has purchased the next version of a part only to find out that it really is not backward compatible, I would take advantage of the offer. Particularly since the OP is (I think) Canadian and as such wouldn't have access to EPC...

Example: Upper radiator hose: Part 1085010582 for 280S chassis number up to 034803, Part 1085010782 for 280s chassis from 034804 onward. Both are available and they are _not_ interchangible.

[mercmad6.3]

On the EPC they only offer parts that fit...
If you are in a country other than the USA you join your local Mercedes club (affiliated to Daimler AG) and you get free access to the EPC via your black membership card.

Canadian Mercedes club Access here..
Portal rund um die Mercedes-Benz Markenclubs | Official Mercedes-Benz Clubs
regarding online parts, I prefer to pay the premium and buy direct from the manufacturer . Quality is lacking in lot of parts my customers have bought n an attempt to cut costs.

[mosu]

ScooterABC: don't get me wrong, it's super helpful. As soon as I take the old parts off the car, and determine which ones really need replacement, I'll ping you. Right now I'm thinking fuel pump, but the list will grow for sure. It's quite different from the pictures. Not sure if it helps to look it up with chassis number 10-011637.

I'll follow the advice to clean up all the leaks, check the breather system and see if she still leaks before going further. Have to service all the hoses including the oil cooler. PO has it disconnected right now because it has traces of weeping.

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by mercmad6.3

On the EPC they only offer parts that fit...
If you are in a country other than the USA you join your local Mercedes club (affiliated to Daimler AG) and you get free access to the EPC via your black membership card.
Canadian Mercedes club Access here..
Portal rund um die Mercedes-Benz Markenclubs | Official Mercedes-Benz Clubs
regarding online parts, I prefer to pay the premium and buy direct from the manufacturer . Quality is lacking in lot of parts my customers have bought n an attempt to cut costs.

I have heard lots of stories about members of MB clubs NOT getting access, including Canadians, but I'm not current on that topic given it isn't relevant to me. As for buying genuine parts, there are MANY sources for genuine parts and the prices are all over the map for the same exact MB-packaged part.