Gina is getting a new rear-end!
 

Sucessfully removed a rear end from a 280SEL 4.5 in a local PNP here in San Jose! Came with two new shocks, blue, with "made in Belgium". Are these Boge?



Without a floor jack, it was a little scary releasing the stored up power of the road springs. I was inside the trunk releasing the shock nuts and the center bolt. KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG!
I am glad the springs didn't fly out and hurt someone, they just sat there in their perches waiting until I gingerly removed them...

Anyway, my sincere thanks to my buddy Bob (who just acquired a gorgeous brown 71 250, named Georgia!) who at 68 years young was a strong companion and egger on-er. ;)
But these two old fossils found it impossible to lift into a wheelbarrow to wheel it out. A passer by asked if he could help lift it, and he and I lifted it into the wheel barrow (more him alone really...) with Bob steadying the barrow.
Great! Now the monster is perched on top of the barrow. Now what, just wheel it up to the cashier window you say? Right!

Wrong! We could shuffle it perhaps two feet, with each of us on a barrow handle! What amatuers! Gee Whiz, what a job! That thing is HEAVY! Had to use an engine hoist from the yard to get it into the trunk of my Eldorado. It really showed how the self leveling worked, works good!:)

So now, I have a Mercedes rear axle which is begging to be installed in Gina, but is apparently permanently installed in the trunk of my Eldo! Hmmm...where is that young stong guy who helped us earlier...:confused:

But boy, is this going to be nice! The plan is that the V8 gearing in the rear end will make for a less frantic and quieter Gina. Her rear was whining and one of the axle bearings were shot anyway.

But how do I get that axle out of the trunk???:eek:

You could use a 'come-along' cable hoist, attached to a suitably strong overhead object like a tree branch, garage beam etc...
or invite a bunch of friends/neigbors over for a beer and axle party!

Happy Motoring, Mark

Just be sure not to give them any beer until AFTER the axle is removed!

Surely his friends are smart enough not to fall for the old " Beer and axle Party " invitation....:D

Yeah Greg, they see right through that ploy...:p

Except the beer part clouds their minds and in this part of the country, the beer comes first-then the deed is done in a heartbeat, then comes more beer.

Hmmm, this sounds like it might work!

What kind of beer?

So, put this in non-mathematical terms that I can understand.

Is Gina getting a larger rear end or a smaller rear end?

:)

Ken300D

Hmmm, I don't really know!

Physically, of course, they are identical-except this one out of the V8 has a tube which loops around from the axle housing to the pumpkin.

The V8 has a gearing in the range of 3.23..? and the rear end out of the 250 has something like a 4.10..?

So in effect the 6 cylinder 250 has better acceleration with the 4.10, but is spinning faster at freeway speeds.
So by putting in the 3.23 I will get worse acceleration (I don't mind because I am a bus driver and used to it :p ) but will get a much calmer engine at speed and perhaps better mileage (not an issue).

But, on the other hand, 1st gear is never used, so if I get into a bind at a stoplight, I can pop it into 1st and adios!

So, to answer the question of it being bigger or smaller, higher or lower, taller or shorter... I dunno.

Well, I got the rear end out of the Caddy using a chain and a forklift.

Then I used a steam cleaner to clean it off! Oh yeah!
(all done without any beer, alas)

There are quite a few marks on it from when they built it, different coded colors on various parts... kinda interesting.

The axle came with "new" shocks, one gray, one blue with "made in Belgium".
WHAT ARE THEY???

And the rotors look unmarked and there is quite a bit of pad on them. All I need is a new rubber mount for the diff, where it goes up into the trunk.

I don't know the condition of the compensator yet, but there weren't any leaks in evidence. So maybe now I have an extra.

So if you could get it to start in first gear everytime, maybe it would have about the same acceleration as before, when it started in second. I've heard about an updated 'fix' that gets these automatics to start in first.
My '72 250 automatic has always started in first gear, since I got it in 1988.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Ed: It sounds like a good idea to save gas mileage and make your engine quieter... in theory.

Have you taken into account the extra strain that this gear will put on your engine? Pulling that heavy 108 chassis is bad enough as it is on your 6-cyl, but with the gear change, it'd be like towing a trailer at ALL times!

This will be a stress on your engine in more than one way. First off, you'll be more likely to blow a head doing this! FAR more likely! That stress is murder!
Secondly, your engine will be running considerably hotter (as if you were towing a trailer, your stress will cause higher temps). It'll also cause it to burn more oil and, as you said, cost you quite a bit in acceleration.

I personally wouldn't do it, but it IS your call. After all, isnt Cali rather... flat? ;)

Nice thread here, 240 Ed, what year were you born?

I love the vintage forum, nice bunch of people with the true spitit of the automobile.

I have thought about selling my 1973 280 SE 4.5, to make room in my 1 car garage for my W124 Coupe that lives on the street.

I have been thinking about this for the last 5 years, and give me enough beer, I might sell Her!

My friends say don't sell that car, my MBZ garage owner says don't sell it for under $12,000, he knows the condition of this 30 year old car.

Every time I have it there for service, someone sees it and want's to buy it, but he tells them it's "not for sale"

I had a guy at a gas station offer big bucks for this car, I said no, he asked if I would take his name and number if I ever wanted to sell, I said NO!

I will only sell this car to someone that loves the W108 4.5.

I don't need money, I have lot's of it, I need room and it's hard to find where I live.

I love my 108

Lucky: I too love my 108. As with the others here, I've poured a lot of hard work into my girl. Unfortunatley, she'll probably never be a show car. But she'll always be my baby, even if she is just "road-worthy" due to living in the salt belt.
If I could do it all again, it'd never be driven in the winter, or if it was, instant car wash. :(

But, until I get a LOT of money to buy myself a new 4.5 that's at least rust-free (hell, I could transplant my engine and immaculate interior into it), then I'll happily continue to patch the body on my 108 until I can get her on the road ;). Lots of rivets needed... need a new drill bit... heater levers on the way... But hey, I love her! And what man in his right mind WOULDNT love a 108. You don't even have to drive in it, just sit in it, to appreciate it.

Plus, it's like driving a tank ;)

A very fast Tank!

Tomguy,

Yup, California is all flat and all desert. That's it.

My engine doesn't seem stressed at all. It always starts out in second gear and handles it well. The engine has recently been rebuilt, but I don't know the details as I am the second owner.
With the stock rear end, the engine is singing a pretty high tune at 65mph. So the revs with the new rear end will be the same as your car.

Mark, i would love to have this car start out in first, that would seem perfect! I know there is a solonoid on top of the trans which I believe reacts to the kickdown switch to shift it into first...

Lucky, born in 1948 in Benton Harbor Michigan, home of Whirlpool Corp.

Ed,
According to my '59-'67 Mercedes shop manual
the automatic starts out in first if you shift the selector to second. Maybe you'll need to row the shifter at every stoplight or, if you want to get creative, you could wire some type of momentary switch into the kickdown solenoid circuit.

I've heard that my '72 250 automatic is supposed to start in second. The P O did some 'work' on it (messed it up) before I owned the car and I had the trans overhauled in '92. It always starts out, briefly, in first. Downshifting the lever causes first gear to hang on longer.

How will you recalibrate the speedometer?

Happy Motoring, Mark