300E / W124 Rust Repair?

[ctaylor738]

In my quest for a "younger" version of my car, I looked at a 1988 300E 5-speed this morning with 65K miles. It drove as a new car.

It lived most of its life in upstate New York and its major problem is significant rust around both front jack ports.

Has anyone had experience with this? Expected repair costs? Or is this one to walk away from?

Many TIA.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

How rusty are the jacking points? Are there holes yet? I wouldn't run away just because of the jacking points but what about the rest of the underbody? Will the seller allow you to inspect that car on a lift? Does the selling price reflect the rust?

I patched the jacking areas on a rusted out 300D a few years ago, but it was a quicky-job. On that car,the jacking points were still useable, just the nearby rocker metal was gone.

I have used 90 weight gear oil inside rockers and wheel arches. It's smelly and messy but effective in locations where the oil would be trapped for awhile. There are some rust treatments such as Extend, Waxoyle and P O R, maybe others. I've tried Extend with variable results but haven't tried the rest. Maybe others here can share their rust treating experiences.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Eberhard Weilke]

I simply love Fluidfilm

It is originally produced as treatment for water tanks exposed to sea water. The base material is wool fat.

Great stuff, penetrates everything and is also available as jelly for outside applications.

You can get more information at:

Eureka Chemical Company U.S.A.
234 Lawrence Avenue
South San Francisco, CA 94080
P.O. Box 2205
South San Francisco, CA 94083-2205
Telephone: 650-761-3536
650-873-5374
1-888-387-3522
Fax: 650-589-1943

Kind regards
Eberhard

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Thanks Eberhard,
I will try to contact the company and see if it is availible locally. If not, any auto parts store carries gear oil, even Wal-mart and K-mart.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Eberhard Weilke]

Somebody wrote that it is available at Farm equipment stores.

Good luck! It is worth the search.

Kind regards
Eberhard

[leathermang]

That was me.... my Ford Tractor place carries.. but I have not used it... I prefer just rubbing my sheep up against my car....

[Mark DiSilvestro]

The problem here, in the Washington D C area, is....plenty of boutiques and office/computer supply stores but no farm or tractor stores.
The closest Central Tractor store, in Frederick Maryland, closed 2 years ago.
Might still be one out towards Winchester, about 75 miles! Maybe it's back to the 90 weight gear oil for me.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[ctaylor738]

What's a tractor?

Never heard the term inside the Beltway.

[leathermang]

And they say people in the Beltway are out of touch.... baaaaaaa to that !

[E DREAM]

a tractor is the front half of an 18 wheeler :p

[Eberhard Weilke]

It looks like www.gemplers.com sells Fluidfilm via the net.

Kind regards
Eberhard

[suginami]

Hey Chuck, you probably know that 5 speed 300E's are hard to find, but probably not aware of how rare they are, especially 1988's.

In the W124 chassis, in 1986 there were 781 US legal 5 speeds imported to the US. There were none in 1987 and 311 in 1988. There have been none since 1988, and no diesel W124's were sold with a 5 speed.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

On the subject of rust repair, I've seen something called P O R advertised in Hemmings. It's supposed to cover and preserve rusted areas with a thick coating that hardens and is paintable. Has anyone had any experience with the stuff? Thanks in advance.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Of the vintage board, but your predicament has struck a cord in me. Being on the receiving end of a mechanically solid, but VERRY rusty 240D 4 speed with a rebuilt engine, I have many quick, dirty, and easy rust solutions that have worked for me.
First off, jack points are nothing...3 of four on my car are rusty....aren't useful anyhow....so...spray gear oil into the rockers, and buy some "Great Stuff" foam insulation in a can...make sure to get "Extra Expansion" Spray some in, it expands amazingly, filling every crevice of the hole. Trim it around the jackpints, and paint with a matte black. Brand new, no moisture...no rust, correct?
As for floor panels...so what? All four door areas where my floor met rocker panel were rusted...and? Well...get a product called "Rust Mort" Chemically treats rust turning it from iron oxide into a non reactive oxide....turns a black color. Paint that on all rust and let it set. Come out the next day with your best friend: fiberglass. Mix up fiberglass resin with some hardener, paint it on too all areas of exposed rust. Hopefully you have pre-cut fiberglass matting to fit the area, basically squish it over the fiberglass. Next lay a big, thick layer of fiberglass resin over the matting until it becomes translucent...voila...instant floor. Then, go under the car, spray undercoating and anti rust agents over and around the areas where you can see your fiberglass.

Was it that hard?

[ctaylor738]

Well, ummm, yeah that would be hard as in painful to do to a car that you had just paid over market value for.