I've always dug wagons and tried to get one for the wife when she was pregnant for her daily driver. Somehow, she ended up with a brand new HHR that she won't give up even though she's put 196K on it.

The boy's '83 300SD had that moldy car stank when we picked it up last November so I got an Enerzen ozone generator from Amazon. Let it run it in the closed car for an hour then let it sit with the doors open for a few hours as the ozone smell was very strong and it's not good for carbon based lifeforms. It smelled of ozone for a week or so after but it seems to have greatly reduced the moldy smell. Since the car still leaks a bit, it may be a story that never ends.

Michael

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Usta haves '69 250/8, '76 280C, 1971 250C 114.023, 1976 450SEL 116.033
Current have, 1983 300SD 126.120

Ozone will break down your plastics which might already be an issue on cars of this age. So be careful with the ozone.

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Past mb: '73 450sl, '81 280slc stick, '71 250, '72 250c, '70 250c, '79 280sl, '73 450sl, parted: '75 240d stick, '69 280s, '73 450slc, '72 450sl,

I agree, it will degrade them pretty badly. And it's probably not good for the wood finish either. I plan on using it once or twice then hope that keeping the car clean and as dry as I can will keep the stank to a minimum. My thinking was to kill as much mold as I can up front, especially were it's set up housekeeping in the cardboard door panels, headliner and various foam bits. I believe the 300SD sat from ~2013 to 2020, the wipers had that date code and the tires were all dated pre-2007.

In short, ozone treatment is not a weekly chore, it will cause cracking and loss of structure in rubber and plastics. And damage you in high enough concentrations.

Michael

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Usta haves '69 250/8, '76 280C, 1971 250C 114.023, 1976 450SEL 116.033
Current have, 1983 300SD 126.120

In my Honda Ridgeline, it caused the soft rubber OEM floor mat to crack where I’d put the ozone generator on top of the floor mat. The rest of my truck is ok, but clearly there was damage where ozone was being generated.

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Past mb: '73 450sl, '81 280slc stick, '71 250, '72 250c, '70 250c, '79 280sl, '73 450sl, parted: '75 240d stick, '69 280s, '73 450slc, '72 450sl,

Yikes!
I did set mine on a piece of plywood on the center console. Maybe next time I'll use an old floor mat or carpet square set so the air flow hits it first and is broken up. Or maybe I'll rethink it all together.

Michael

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Usta haves '69 250/8, '76 280C, 1971 250C 114.023, 1976 450SEL 116.033
Current have, 1983 300SD 126.120

I'm happy to report that after a few days of being somewhere considerably dryer the car no longer smells horrendous and the damp has pretty much gone. The place where the Benz had been sitting for the past couple of months was an eastern facing shoreline with a pretty steep incline and tree coverage behind = barely any sunshine to dry things out. I've been leaving all the doors and hatch open when working on it over the past few days. It's now somewhere I don't feel queasy sitting in.

A few pictures...

I got busy the other day swapping the front end:






I haven't quite managed to get rid of the remnants of the E320 badge (half of it was already missing). I've tried a bunch of rubbing compound on this but can't seem to get it any further than this. Any ideas? Wet sanding perhaps?


That's all for now. The interior cleaning continues, I've got some rear hatch rams to install and need to order some new strut mounts to go with the new struts plus a low oil sensor. All in all it's going well!

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1975 W115 300D

It looks much better! Bet your are smiling when you see it now instead of wondering what you’d gotten yourself into.

Do you think the badge residue is glue or damaged paint?
There are pinstripe removal wheels that are mildly abrasive but I’ve never been brave enough to give one a try. WD 40 is my go to for adhesive removal. It might need to sit a bit to soften it. The issue with it is that if the paint is porous, it’ll leave a shiny spot that might be hard to clean off. Goo gone works well but since it’s also oily, it can also leave a film. Goof off is a bunch of nasty chemicals like acetone and MEK (?). I’d use it as a last resort and test somewhere inconspicuous just to make sure it won’t damage the paint.

Michael

I have whatever letter or numbers you're missing.

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David Hendy
'97 Renntech E60RS
'97 GMC 2500 Sub' Diesel
'95 E300D
'88 300TE
'88 250TD
'84 L/Rover 109

Thanks David! I'll be in touch!

So here's why I should stop being a cheapskate and never order URO parts equipment ever again...

Old struts out, easy enough - if a bit fiddly - job:


Of course the cletus pins don't fit in the URO strut mounting holes. Useless!


Stopped by a couple of fastener places but no luck. The only thing I've lost is time, so that's ok. I also stopped by the local MB dealer. As usual the valet guys refused to park my car. Is it really that intimidating?

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1975 W115 300D

Also to add. Does anyone know where this mounts to?



It's the attachment that ensures the passenger's seatbelt buckle moves along with the seat. It's not attached to anything and it doesn't seem obvious where it's supposed to go

Cheers

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1975 W115 300D

I’m just curious. Why did the e320 badge get removed? Is that what it is? Is it a 1995 with an earlier hood (and lights)?

Edit: engine pics?

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Past mb: '73 450sl, '81 280slc stick, '71 250, '72 250c, '70 250c, '79 280sl, '73 450sl, parted: '75 240d stick, '69 280s, '73 450slc, '72 450sl,

The numbers were already missing from the badge. It was just an 'E' and a bunch of leftover black sticky stuff. So easier to debadge for now.

Haven't taken any engine pics at this point but I will grab some. Need to give it a decent clean under there. The only thing I've done so far is to remove the remains of a forest which was hanging around in various spots.

I was curious about the front end. Having had the whole thing off I looked for any evidence of accident damage/repairs but there's nothing - which is of course a good thing. It's as straight as a (silver) arrow . So perhaps the original fenders had rust issues? Anyway, I'm glad it looks better than when I bought it!

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1975 W115 300D

Goof off should get through that sticky stuff. I haven’t had any paint damage from it myself.

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Past mb: '73 450sl, '81 280slc stick, '71 250, '72 250c, '70 250c, '79 280sl, '73 450sl, parted: '75 240d stick, '69 280s, '73 450slc, '72 450sl,

The seat belt rail has snapped the pin off of the seat base (with the motors).

The seat belt has frozen on the rail and the power of the seat motor has snapped the pin on the side of the seat base. The seat motors are very powerful and will crush anything.

Also the black plastic sheath has slid off of the toothed rail.

This happens when the seat belt gets frozen to the black sheathing or to the rail itself. Probably because it all got so damp. Someone needs to weld the pin back onto the seat base.

My 3rd pic shows the front of the pin that you have shown the rear of in your pic.

Attached Thumbnails

     

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David Hendy
'97 Renntech E60RS
'97 GMC 2500 Sub' Diesel
'95 E300D
'88 300TE
'88 250TD
'84 L/Rover 109

Oh dear, bit of a pain that will be!

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1975 W115 300D