What are your favorite mods/upgrades? Most satisfying repairs?
 

I was thinking about this on the way home today...

I found a modification on here for having heat out the center vents on my 124. So far, has to be one of my favorite mods.

Other contenders:
-143/150A alternator.

As for most satisfying repairs?
-Pretty much any that silence a persistent annoying noise.
-Replacing the speedometer cable on my 300D to have buttery smooth cruise.

What about you?

Favorite mod- the 150a alternator. Soon my twin turbos:)

Favorite repair was removing my engine... To clean it. Now my hands don't get really greasy when I work on it..

Probably adjusting the throttle linkages properly to have full throttle on my cars again. You would be surprised how misadjusted these become after 30 years.

I have done high amp alternator mods on all my stuff (560 even, just use the AL129X and reclock it to clear the block). Nice to be able to run everything at once.

Upgrading the headlights is a big plus too.

jesus i don't check this forum much anymore since i don't/can't drive the w124

but good to still see some of you guys are active!

james - why would you remove the center vents?

hmm i havn't tried the alternator upgrade, but that sounds great (i love that my piece of crap daily puts out a pesty 60 amps)

my favorite has to be bigger brakes from the 400e,500e, etc!
hid's.. i mean i didn't have projectors but i aimed em down and they were great with euro/facelift lights
who doesn't love tire mods? haha
and on my 93 disabling that stupid immobilizer was great hahaha

most satisfying was adding 150 wheel horse to my s320

probably 124 water pumps

the best mod is euro headlights on a pre-facelifted 124, hands down

Not remove the vents. I've connected their vacuum pod's supply line so that they are permanently open. That way I get heat or a/c all the time. I just use the wheel thing to close/open them as I see fit.

Im bringing back my 12 year parked in a barn 300D.

Pressure cleaning under the hood was sure a joy as has been the still ongoing pine needle removal.

Replacing a number of the dash lights with LED's has been a vast improvement. Turn signals on the dash are now visible from the trunk area. Working on even more output for the overall dash illumination.

Im adding an LED mobile light under the hood too with a magnetic base. Very nice to have portable bright light!

The best repair I have done to my car (W201) - and probably the cheapest - was replacng the gear lever silentblocks, which were damaged, allowing the lever to be all over the place.
After the repair the lever movement was very precise, which is nice in manual gearboxes.
The job takes a bit of time, but once you get the lever assembly out of the car, you can do the rest of the job confortably at home

Regards
gonzalo

Glow plugs. I didnt actually do the work. I didn't have the time. I only had 3/5 working on my 300D and man does those last two make a huge difference.

Last week, with only 3/5, long glows AND a block heater is took a considerable amount of cranking to start.

Now with 5/5, no block heater, fires up and idles smoothly very quickly.

Auto down on drivers window.
Auto Headlights and running lights.
Alarm for Oil, Temperature, Voltage, and Low Fuel with display,
buzzer and flashing light.
All on my 500SEL. The alarm was overkill but I got started because I wanted a voltage indicator and an alarm for oil and temp. It just keep going.

Paul

Favorite mod that also qualifies as a repair: Swapping out the M104 for an OM602. :D

Have you got that car up and running? Hows the 602 in that 140 body?

Yes its running already... :) Haven't driven it outside the village though... still working out the kinks. It's got plenty of low end grunt... lurches the vehicle forward. Shifting is a bit late... don't have a tach attached yet so I'm not really sure. The turbo outlet isn't attached to the intake yet so the noise may be throwing me off regarding rpms vs shift points. All in all... it's a success! Have to tackle the electricals before I install the interior... and before that it needs a respray. STill a looong ways to go... but it's up and running.

Thats what I was going to say, I have euros in my 124 and my 201s, amazing difference.

Just recently: Getting my windshield replaced. I dealt with it cracked for 5 years!!

I didnt realize how ghetto it really looked until after the new glass was in....

87 W201 diesel 4spd- #1 Has to be swapping those horrible sealed beams back to euro style headlights, with imported Vision Pluses from Germany, and Hella Yellowstars. Seriously- the old bulbs were a hazard! #2 Heater Core Replacement thanks to the Mercedesshop guru!

96 W210 diesel- #1 Glow Plugs replaced (Bosch), fires right up now.

I wish I could do that! ... I'm scared its a mayor thing and something going wrong.

I've done a boatload of mods while making my wagon what I want it to be. My top 3 would be the super lightweight 16" CLK wheels, updating the crappy belt tensioner to the later 104 style, and of course the custom turbo install.:cool:

The very first test drive with the initial turbo setup was VERY satisfying. With just a short dump pipe on the turbo, the exhaust snarl mixed with turbo whine was extremely exhilirating. However the MOST satisfying work was building and installing the 2nd turbo engine. A LOT of planning, blood, sweat, tears, pain, work, and time was spent building the current engine.:(:o:confused::):D

I didn't think I could do it until I did it. Having a spare car helps matters too.

Most satisfying repair? The new water pump/radiator/and heater core. It's great driving to work now in a warm car when it's 20 degrees outside.

New bushings on the transmission selector were nice, too.

The rebuilt fuel distributor was nice, too.

Pretty much everything I've done has made the car be a nicer experience.

Merry Christmas, all!

'86 560SEL: favorite mods/upgrades? Most satisfying repairs?
 

Favorite mod would be replacing the dead Becker radio with a mechless head-unit.

Most satisfying repair would be replacing a lot of chassis bushings and the guide rods. I like the easy fixes too. New monovalve would be a close second. Then new door striker.

My favorite was the S124 passenger side airbag retrofit.

I think my best mods [for my w201]:
1. keyless entry
2. remote start
3. dvd/nav/mp3/cam/32gb hard drive
4. rear headrests
5. definetly my euro HID upgrade
6. twin dual exhausts

best repairs:
pretty much everything....most recently my heater core. I'm sure everyone is excited when they are able to fix something that goes awry with their car, so its really hard to pick a best repair. I'm mostly proud of doing jobs that I thought that I would not be able to do like the heater core or resealing my leaking p/s pump.

I cannot say this was my favorite or best one, BUT it certainly was an upgrade on the W123 and I really liked doing it --

Removal of the entire PS system and installing the mechanical (manual) steering box.
Although the very generous person who provided the same warned me that I would not like it, nothing could be truer.

From a total standstill, yes it is more difficult.

1-20 miles per hour there is a gradual improvement as you go faster where I really cannot comment on the difference between the two

20-40 really no difference

40 and over -- I prefer the mechanical / manual box.

I get rid of a bunch of stuff under the hood and lose whatever parasitic drag created by a pump. I can say the mod did the following also:

1. It gave me about 5 more miles on the speedometer. I easily hit 85 vs. 80 and still had some throttle to go

2. It improved my MPG by 2 miles per gallon, give or take.

3. It simplified the car itself, which is my personal preference.

Best repair?

Motor mounts...hands down!


Nick
1991 300E

Mark. How did you find that manual steering box?

exterior cosmetics on my 190E. HID headlights with clear corner lights, new taillight lenses, new later model like grill (bar grill), paint detail. IMO, car looks newer but still stock.

Megasquirt fuel injection conversion on my W114's. No more Solex'es!

A close second was getting the W126 painted. I was going to yank the M117 and install it in one of the W114's but it's too pretty now.

cold intake,turned turbo up on my 617.

manual box
 

My man LARRY BIBLE ! I looked forever, but he had one ! As I said, he was very generous !