Window Grommets & Painting
 

You needn't remove the windshield and back light for re painting .

Get a nylon or plastic scraper and some 1/4" rope, use the scraper to lift the edge of the old grommet and carefully tuck the 1/4" rope in the gap ~ this will hold the lip of the grommet up so you can mask it and the new paint will go under neath the edge or the grommet be it old or new .

I typically use a single edge razor blade tp skim off any old paint ridge from prior re paint works and I use a stiff bristle brush and narrow upholstery nozzle in the vacuum cleaner to loosen and remove any dust or crud I discover under the lip .

A few years back I replaced the windshield in my '82 240D and used a factory new grommet from the M-B Classic Center, it now has a 1'4" wide gap in the lower right corner, apparently B-M use extruded rubber strips and molded corners on the replacement seals and it shrank and separated at the seam, I dislike looking at it but no leaks so far....


As fas as the why so cheaply done questions, that's because of the bean counters, they're necessary to insure the venture capital put up to create out old parts doesn't vanish .

So far I'm still quite happy with my new Uro W123 HVAC blower ~ I never turn it off .

Hi guys, in the past it was difficult to accurately replicate seal profiles. Often the seals were NLA, and decades-old used seals are no longer their original shape. Or if new OEM seals are available, sometimes they're not the quite the same shape as OE, so you get some design creep in the shape of a profile (an imperfect copy of an imperfect copy).

However, a few years ago we invested in a FaroArm scanning system, which greatly enhanced our reproduction accuracy. Then about a year ago we added a Creaform HandySCAN BLACK | Elite system to our metrology lab, which is really stepping up our development program.

If you're curious about Creaform technology, check out these videos:
HandySCAN BLACK: The Ultimate Reference in Portable Metrology
HandySCAN Black Elite Landing Gear Scan Demo

This technology will really help us create accurate seal profiles going forward. It's still not easy to guess the original shape of a seal that hasn't been available new for a long time, but these tools and software will help our engineers capture complex 3D shapes digitally, and enable them to make tweaks to the shapes that will hopefully be more accurate representations of the original items (when they were new).

Needless to say, we're pretty excited about it.

I just used one on my 82 240D worked fine. Pro installed it, two person job, I wouldn't have been able to do it myself. Entire job windshield rubber labor and remove the trash US$420.

The answer is real simple for mercedes benz corporate. They simply need to solicit pre-paid orders for whatever part number. All they need to say is once we get 200 pre paid orders (or whatever number...), then we will re-manufacture the product and send out your part(s).

They could easily have a count meter on their web site so that people knew where the count stands. And, if say, after six months they don't achieve enough sales, they simply refund the monies to you, the customer.

All this said, it wouldn't hurt MB to have a few extra parts on the shelf for their loyal MB customers......

They do this for 300SL gullwing owners. I’ve watched the YouTube videos with the wealthy collectors saying MB contacts them and says they’re going to do a run of tires and recommends they join the group order. I don’t think we command as much influence.

MB is going through some serious financial problems right now. Our satisfaction is the last thing they are worried about. Forcing us to take our infinitely rebuildable cars off the road with NLA parts is only going to help them. They get no reward for supplying us with parts for a 123. And it costs money.

We aren’t even much of a good propaganda piece because the news is out that “they don’t make ‘em like they used to.” My 1997 C280 ($2000) was almost given away to me because nobody wanted a 1997. As I dug into fixing it I soon found out “they don’t make ‘em like they used to.” And from what I hear the Daimler Chrysler cars are worse.

Back on topic my URO front window seal on the 300D is still supple and sealing perfectly. I am happy with its quality. I installed it in 2019.