I figured out the fuel cap
 

spring thing right away. But since we're admitting things, I opened a thread to ask how to turn on the fog lights. I hadn't tried pulling out the knob... :rolleyes:

i have been using the spring thing so long i dont ever remember not knowing what it was.

that is the thing about a benz though. i have been driving them for over thirty years and still i often look at a little well thought out detail and say, "oh, nice detail, now i see why they did it that way".

tom w

[QUOTE=Maroon 300D] I've never filled up outside of Oregon, where you are (stupidly) not allowed to pump your own.

That regulation does'nt apply to diesel. I found this out on the Dodge/Cummins forum when I got my truck so I tried pumping my own when I passed through Or next in my 240D. The attendent kid rushed over :eek: and I told him to check with the "boss". You CAN pump your own diesel in Or:P

Tom W remarks about discovering neat engineering things on MB.

Here's one for you W124 owners. Requires crawling in to the trunk and laying on your back. Take a look at the mechanisms that retract the rear headrests.
Vacuum actuated. Talk about engineering overkill! A thing of beauty.

As an aside, I did discover how to remove the rear speaker covers. I could find nothing in the manuals. You put your hand over the cover with your finger outboard toward the outside of the car. Squeeze your fingers toward the inside of the car. Then pry the front of the cover upward taking car not to dent the plastic. Once the front is loose, carefully wiggle / pry the rear of the cover upward. There is a plastic post at the rear that looks easily breakable.

Steve

most things are easy to work on if you know where to apply pressure, tools etc.

if you just go to prying on things at random it is pretty easy to break things.

tom w

IF it's like the 108
 

that has the filler under the license tag - there is a place between the door and the body that captures the cap to hold the door open. :)

another nice little touch.

tom w

No, its in he same place as on the 123, on the upper half of the right rear quarter. The hinges are on the bottom instead of on the side.

one more for most...
 

One more for those with sunroofs, in the event electrical operation is not available they can be closed manually using the big external nut on the motor usually located left rear sedans and wagons.

heh, any new info to add to what's been found about the cars you didn't know?
how about the seats on a 123, there are two slide handles, one for minor adjustment forward and back, and one for the additional adjustment for them long leg drivers.

One of them affects the height of the seat and the other just the fore/aft position, if I remember how my 240 works correctly. By going front/back on one of them, you're going up and down a height ramp or something.

Maybe. Last time I was playing with mine, I thought I could tell I was going up and down. But who knows.

And in comment to the last post on this thread about the sunroof nut (yeah, it's 2 years old, but since it's already been revived...) that's great in theory, but every time I've ever seen one fail to close, the electrics were fine and it was damaged or destroyed hard parts that had failed. Therefore the nut is useless in most "real" emergencies that I've had.

I've never fueled mine yet. One of these years I'll check this spring out. Joking.

That one threw me for a loop when I first got the car.

I don`t remember when I first discovered the holder for the fuel cap, had the car so long now, seems like I always knew ;).

The night we bought the car was interesting. bought it from a private party, but the guy was selling it for another guy that was on a trip in Japan.
went over what papers there were, had coffee, BSed for a while then headed for home.

stop at a gas station down the road to fuel up. thing was about dry. I pull up behind the wife, get out and the door won`t open. I said, pull the cable to pop the door. there is no cable, I can`t find it, there is nothing there. there has to be one. so I walk around and take a look, nothing. well, look in the owners manual. thumb through it and don`t see anything. go back around, still won`t open.

Now Iam the proud owner of a New mercedes and now have status, can go asking how to put fuel in this thing.:rolleyes:

wife gets out of the car and walks around to the fuel door, and now it opens up. how did that happen? I don`t know. what did you do? nothing :confused:

I was a while before I finally got this one worked out. Unlock the door :D.
dang vacuum.

Charlie

New car orientation
 

Bought mine at Stephenson Mercedes in Dallas in 1983. Part of the purchase package was an orientation of features from the salesman. As I remember, this was about 30 minutes long and one of the first things demonstrated was where to put the fuel cap when refueling. He also demonstrated the 90 degree hood position. I wonder if this was done at all MB dealerships in the 80's?

Bigger challange was for gas station attendants to find the gas cap on my 56 Chevy. Neat design: you turn a chrome trim piece on the tail light and the entire assembly hinges down to reveal the gas cap. Most attendants had to ask for the location. In those days, full service was the norm.