280TE back in my garage once again
 

Hi all -

This is the obligatory first post. In 2000 I sold my 280TE to my wife's dad, and always missed it.

This last weekend, I retook posession of the car. She's not quite in the shape she was before, but nonetheless made the 600 mile trek to my house reliably.

However, now my garage floor is covered in oil, coming from all over the bottom of the car. I suspect it's related to the self-levelling suspension (riding really low), so the degreasing and diagnosing efforts will begin this weekend.

Anyhow, here's a pic of the car for looks. I'm hoping to either clean her up and sell her, or hang on to her for awhile and enjoy driving this rare piece.

http://roten.mine.nu/albums/transpor...E/PIC00009.jpg

Mike

'00 A4 Avant 2.8 Quattro 5-speed
'96 K1100RS
'92 318ic
'88 Paso 750
'85 280TE once again

Looks like a really nice car.

Almost all W123's in the U.S. are diesels, so its nice to see a gas engine model.

Who put on the 8 hole wheels from a W124 car?

I put those wheels on it before I sold it in 99. The bundtcakes on the car were really in bad shape, and I wanted to go +1. If I had my way it'd have some period BBSs or AMG or whatnot, but these did for the price.

Here's some pix now that I have her back.

http://roten.mine.nu/albums/280te-0607/7079424_G.jpg

http://roten.mine.nu/albums/280te-0607/7079428_G.jpg

http://roten.mine.nu/albums/280te-0607/7079427_G.jpg

http://roten.mine.nu/albums/280te-0607/7079429_G.jpg

but the clearcoat is coming off in sheets :(

http://roten.mine.nu/albums/280te-0607/7079430_G.jpg

the interior needs some help too. lots of trim bits and nonfunctional nitpicks. i think i'll work on stuff, and kick it around for a bit. if it's too expensive, off she goes... unless someone offers me a trade for a decent 2-door diesel rabbit, 1979 or earlier

well, the oil canister for the hydraulics was filled with crap. removed it, cleaned it out, tested for leaks. it's sound. reattached all the lines, ordered a litre of oil and a new filter. we'll see how the suspension likes this change before proceeding further. the oil appeared to have been burping out the top of the can which could be due to the fact the filter was *gross* and probably original.

That is a classy looking wagon, and it looks very elegant in that color. I hope you can keep it awhile. It looks to be in really nice shape. It is surprisingly modern looking for its age, isn't it?

yes the W123 has aged gracefully. it will be interesting to see how this whole thing pans out.

i love the blue exterior, but I'm not overly crazy about the matching blue interior complete with european canvas striped seats. I think that a black dash and console with light tan interior would have been stunning. who knows what I'll do if I decide to keep it. in the meantime, I'll just keep picking at the stuff that's not working and enjoy it. it's been awhile since I've had anything 20+ years old in the garage. :)

pasting link to good rear suspension thread for my own reference:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=30084

this weekend I'm going to try to investigate the valve/controller under the rear

after 2 evenings of soaking and scraping, plus a couple of evenings tinkering with the rear suspension, here she is in all of her untinted-teutonic-no-longer-sagging-euro-glory

http://roten.mine.nu/albums/280te/IMG_0831.jpg

http://roten.mine.nu/albums/280te/IMG_0833.jpg

this car is still for trade for a comparable condition 1979 or earlier 2-door diesel rabbit

She cleans up real nice. Even with the peeling clear coat, the paint sure looks glossy.

still puzzled by the suspension leak. it's coming from the vicinity of the bottle, but the bottle is air/water tight. the line on the bottom is very, very tight. ideas?

link to a search on '280TE' for reference

Well, I finally broke down and did some further investigating, and found my leak. Unfortunately, I bet it's going to be an expensive (for what it is) part. It's the 'aeroquip' style line that goes from the pump to the hard line that feeds down under the car. The bracket, after 21 years, had finally sawed thru a hole in the line.

The fitting was practically welded to the flare nut, but with some coaxing with heat and WD40 it broke free. I guess I'll be calling the dealer tomorrow to see how painfully expensive this part is going to be. :(

The part number is 123 997 97 82

if the part is painfully expensive, you might be able to weld it.

tom w

it's the rubber portion. i am under the impression that it might be repairable if MB wants mucho dinero. i'm gonna find out tomorrow.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/productIndex.shtml?originalValue=aeroquip&L2=Hydraulic+Hose+Assemblies&operator=mfgRefinementSearch& L1=Aeroquip

Don't know your hose, or even if MB used AN(JIC) ever, but aeroquip style is here (and I'm sure McMaster/Carr).

Hydraulic shop could "rebuild" it?, if MB is waaaaaaay out there in price.

I like your car.

the replacement line was an affordable $120. it's on its way via a rush job from Germany. it should take about a week to get here. yay!