How did you found out the EGR valve was bad?

The first thing I always do when I have a new Mercedes is replacing the stock shock absorbers for Bilsteins HD and the steering shock.

Just replaced the motor mounts and engine shock absorbers on my 300SE, I went with Mercedes motor mounts (not cheap, even that I found a decent deal), what a difference those make! Repainted the wheels last week, I still have to give them a good buff to give them a shine, but they do look sharp.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

Jorn,

One day randomly I checked the egr to see if it would hold vacuum, and it wouldn't at all. It wasnt running rough or anything, there were no indications it was bad. So I plugged the line going to it. I also unplugged the smog pump, it was making a lot of noise when it would engage. The shocks are newer, I have receipts from the PO or I would have replaced them.

I would love to touch up the wheels but I have to figure out how to get the two broken wheel bolts out. I snapped the head off of them.

I reconnected and fixed the factory alarm this morning, there was water intrusion in the connectors in both the front doors causing a short. I cleaned and water proofed them with bathroom silicone and it works like a charm.

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"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

Fitts07, recommend using a center punch on the broken lug bolts as a starting point for a small drill bit. You may need to use a Dremel tool to cut a flat surface for the center punch. Drill a hole 3/4" deep or so, then use a slightly larger diameter drill bit (preferably with a rotary hammer drill) that makes a large enough hole for an E-Z Out. The rotary hammer drill should help loosen the rusted threads. It may help to spray some PB Blaster or rust cutter on the broken lug bolts after drilling for the E-Z Out, and let it soak in for 10 minutes. Avoid using a drill bit that damages the wheel holes.

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Fred Hoelzle

Changed the oil today, ran 15w40 Rotella T4 for 4k miles.

Only burned 1/4 of a quart!



I bought some cobalt bits to drill out my wheel bolts, wish me luck!

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"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

With the snow today I found out all my outside heated bits work.

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"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

I love how the heat wraps around you in the W126, instead of blowing straight in your face with most modern cars.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

Is that what the vent that goes into the front doors is for?

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"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

I believe so. Btw, my EGR valve is shot as well...

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

I couldn't think of a reason to pay for a replacement, and I don't have any type of state inspection. So I unplugged it.

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"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

So a few weeks ago I noticed when I changed my differential oil that the driveshaft was rubbing on the exhaust heat shield. I ordered all my parts from the classic center except the carrier mount I got a meyle one. Had some time off work this week so I figured I'd swap everything out.

27 degrees outside, and some snow on the ground. bit chilly lol


Got it up on ramps, and jacked up the back


Dropped the trans mount cross member, lowered the exhaust and removed the heat shield. Then took everything out. I used a 10 inch pipe wrench to get the slide joint nut loose.


Popped the old mount off, wasn't much left of it. Then used my trusty puller to yank the bearing off.



New flex discs in and torqued.



The old discs were full of cracks, the rear one was the worst. Picture barely shows any of them.


The center carrier mount was non existent lol.


Pretty straight forward. I had to go to the hardware store and get a pipe, I think 1.25 inch, to pop the bearing onto the drive shaft. Cleaned and Greased the slide joint, put the new boot on. Then I dropped the car and rolled it a bit and tightened up the carrier mount and snugged up the slide joint nut. Went for a short drive, got up to 55mph no vibration. Shifts seem smoother, don't know if that's in my head or not lol.

My high mileage award came in last week. And I discovered the right rear brake is dragging, the battle continues!

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"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

You're just having too much fun. did you happen to notice if the U-joint on the rear driveshaft had a notchy feel or detent when moved a few degrees off center. They develop a groove in the needle bearings over time, and the first symptom is usually a vibration under acceleration at about 15 MPH. Gotta be professionally replaced eventually. Also, the big collar nut at the center bearing should be "snugged" as you said, allowing the splines to move laterally a tad under normal flexing and load as the car runs; and also allows flex disc replacement and even tranny removal without dropping the center bearing and driveshaft.
Non-working EGR valve seems to be no big deal, as long as it's not stuck wide open and allowing a big vacuum leak at idle (very unlikely. And the line at the junction is probably clogged with carbon anyway - they do that). Mine failed for several years before I found a working one at the junk yard. No observable difference in the engine, certainly none at idle, as the egr is normally not open until about 1500 RPM anyway.

Yeah, drove her today in 26 degree; going along and noticed I couldn't really feel hardly any warm air flow, but I was absolutely warm and toasty - warm air wafts out from everywhere, and love the heated doors!

Oh, one more comment; my 103 engine has not seen premium fuel in 20 years. Absolutely no pinging and gets 20 MPH in mixed driving. Don't want to start another gas discussion thread, use you own judgement there.

DG

Guru,

I did notice that the u joint was a bit notchy. I figured if I keep the car long enough I will replace it. Next summer I might upgrade to a 350sdl or a 560sel if I can find one in good shape.

I was considering switching to midgrade, premium does get expensive and I've messed with other octane ratings and seen no difference. If I was doing highway travel or driving through the mountains I'd still run premium.




Today I changed my spark plugs, the previous owner had the wrong ones installed, NGK V-power TR5 which are resistor plugs. I installed Denso T20EP-U, gapped to 32 thousands. The old plugs looked decent, they were very worn the gap had increased to 51 thousands.


Also changed all the intake hoses on the engine. They had gotten very hard and brittle, when i cleaned the iacv one of them split so i figured it was time. I used meyle hoses. All four, including the 2 for the IACV. The one that had the cold start injector mounted into it was a bear to get off and back on, it also broke apart in my hand. I ended up leaving the little hose clamp off of that one. Had to jam my hand between the first and second intake runner to help guide it, slightly painful.

__________________
"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

Had a rear brake caliper dragging. Sooo, I replaced all the hoses, and that caliper. Flushed with clean DOT 4 fluid. Calipers are pretty cheap from the auto parts store $51.


Also today I replaced the belt tensioner shock, it was rattling pretty good at idle in drive and making my 300se sound like a diesel. Had to drop the water pump pulley off and loosen the belt to get to the lower bolt. The old shock had a dead spot in it, and the bushings were dried up.


Had to get a new M7 bolt for the top of the shock, the original M8 bolt wouldn't fit.

__________________
"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

Nice work on a nice car...a 126 with a 103 motor!!!

Slightly off topic but, being under that large car with the front wheels on ramps would make me uncomfortable. You may wish to consider putting something under the opening of the ramp such as a large wood block in case the ramp fails. My suggestion comes from experience.

Thanks for the number on the Denso plugs, I did not know about them.

Good luck!!!

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"Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength" - Eric Hoffer

NGK does make a compatible non-resistor plug - BP5EFS. Hard to find, I get them from Europe via eBay. Actually, they are identical in size, reach, heat range to the TR5, just non-resistor.