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Originally Posted by TylerH860
I will have to sort out a few things though, but its a much shorter list than what I'm used to with old benzes. She does have a mild exhaust leak somewhere, and while not obtrusive it does give it a sort of embarrassing ricey sound.  I also feel a little vibration at high speeds and braking coming from what seems to be the front right brake rotor. The back driver's side window regulator is smoked, and the antenna mast was ripped off at some point. Everything else, including the AC, heated seats, and cruise control, work fantastically, and the fire sale price, nice cosmetics, and excellent service records more than made up for the shortcomings.
First things first, as always, will be a thorough cleaning. Ingrid is in need of a good clay barring compliments of the tree it sat nearby for the last 2 months. I plan on doing that tomorrow, and will take a thorough photo shoot then. Until now, this is all I have:
The sellers photos were from her old place that had a carport. |
Nice car! You'll find it a tad slower and more cumbersome than the 300SE, but the extra room in the back is great on long trips. In some respects, you picked it up at just the right time. Only 128K, and the head gasket's already been done! That's one less thing you'll have to do yourself as all the M103s had to have that done at some point.
Exhaust leaks seem to be somewhat common on the M103 W126 cars, I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that the motor mounts crush down and the exhaust system likes to hit the cross member. Check the motor mounts before fixing the exhaust, just so everything is lining up as it should.
As to the rear window, it may not necessarily be the regulator. There is a little cheap plastic piece called the "sliding jaw" that routinely makes the rear windows jam up. Worth a check, the jaw is only $5.
Driving vibration can be a LOT of things on a W126. Tire balance is the most common. Also check the ball joints, Tie rod ends, the idler arm, the steering damper, and the guide rod mounts. Also warped brake rotors can cause vibrations. It is quite common to find multiple things in the front end that are all worn out.
Also, at some point you will want to verify that your odo is reading ALL the miles. When they get to about that age, they start to slip and start registering less and less mileage until finally it quits altogether. The fix is a simple 12 tooth gear.
Enjoy!