All about the purchase of my 500E

[mattc]

Guess I will have to work on other less erotic cars now. Unless.......................................................?

Guess we will have to see what we can arrange Ian

 

[paddy@polyposta]

Guess we will have to see what we can arrange Ian

Hi all yes.....its me Paddy the owner of this B-E-A-UTIFUL motor. I have been so busy with work trying to earn money to keep her running that I have not had time to even look at this forum.

Anyway...yes I picked her up from Ian after having to use plyers to get the keys from his hands and drove her back to Lincoln....she drove great and you just can't help but put your foot down......no what I mean!!...well you will if you own one.

Yes she's thirsty on fuel, but what the heck. I use her as an every day car and its just fantastic.

I love the mystery of the car, what I mean is other car drivers not knowing what they are dealing with. If your'e not in the know its just another large 4 door sedan....but ohh know...she's embarrased many an Audi, BMW, Boy racer out there on the roads.....seriously, if anyone trys it on, you just cannot help yourself.

Kick down is almost instantanious, she drops, her rear end slightly as if a curtsy and shes off and I am left chuckling to myself as I see the headlights of An Audi TT dissappearing behind me.

I must say thank you to Ian for his work...he certainly seems to know his stuff. I am quite content leaving her with him. I don't think his wife is though!

Well since then a few minor problems have developed. Bit of a serious wheel wobble, ASR light came on one day, car slowed right down,but switching the ignition on and off seemed to sort that although Ian is checking it out. Coolant light has been coming on ever so dim and then god damn it, with this lovely weather we have been having recently, I decided to use the sunroof and she jammed up. So back to Ian for some more TLC.

Took her up last week anyway just in time for Ian too as I gave him permission to take her to the GTG meeting at Briars Hall last night.

He even offered to pay and have her valeted. Looks like the meeting went well anyway. I shall be attending the next one hopefully.

So shes back in Kirkham and getting another seeing to. Turns out the coolant light was a loose cap! Never noticed it myself. Should get an update from Ian soon.

I have also decided to have my Brabus wheels colour coded to the car, repolished etc leaving the rims as they are though, try and get a bit of that "Hammer" look going on.

I am also still considering a full new SS Exhaust, a technician has told me i could expect a min +10bhp and pssibly another 5mpg!!

Any feedback would be appreciatted

Paddy

 

[whitenemesis]

Your link not working!

 

[KLP 92]

I have also decided to have my Brabus wheels colour coded to the car, repolished etc leaving the rims as they are though, try and get a bit of that "Hammer" look going on.

I am also still considering a full new SS Exhaust, a technician has told me i could expect a min +10bhp and pssibly another 5mpg!!

Any feedback would be appreciatted

Paddy

Are those wheels the genuine Brabus 2 piece wheels or replicas? They should have Brabus written on the face, if so you have have them split down and have the centres painted to match the car.

If they are replicas i would invest in a genuine set, probably AMG 2pc 18s as they suit the car better.

Re the exhaust, someones been telling porkies! May have a slight increase in BHP, not noticable though. Haven't seen any increase in mpg on any of my stainless exhausts, maybe too small to notice. 5mpg? No chance.

 

[paddy@polyposta]

For Sale !!!!!!!!!!!

Yes indeed, shes up for sale. New business venture means I need the cash. That does not mean that I am going to let her go for silly cash either. Sensible offers only and I will only sell to those who come and take a look/drive. Lost a front left hand repeater recently! Just fell out on the motorway, sunroof needs fixing, thats it really.....oh drivers electric seat works, but malfunction on one of the operations. Speak to ian if you want to know more about the condition/engine etc. I can be contacted on 07986 373236. I will be away for 2 weeks approx from around the 30th July.

Paddy

 

[SilverSaloon]

Yes indeed, shes up for sale. New business venture means I need the cash. That does not mean that I am going to let her go for silly cash either. Sensible offers only and I will only sell to those who come and take a look/drive. Lost a front left hand repeater recently! Just fell out on the motorway, sunroof needs fixing, thats it really.....oh drivers electric seat works, but malfunction on one of the operations. Speak to ian if you want to know more about the condition/engine etc. I can be contacted on 07986 373236. I will be away for 2 weeks approx from around the 30th July.

Paddy

Wow, i dont think this will be for sale for long. Good luck with the sale.

i just been reading thru the thread for the 1st time, and then got to the end and its for sale!!! I'm tempted but it wouldnt run on veg

p.s. probably best sticking your advert in the FOR SALE section instead....

derek

 

[Uberwagon]

The same year as mine!

Really wonderful cars.

This is the main things to do on a 500E imo afr 50,000km and 2.5 years of owning one.

Check the engine mounts and replace is necessary.
Replace rear strut rubber.
Do a coolant change.
Do the fan modification (It means the electric fans turn on a few degrees lower)
DON'T bother with non main dealer parts, far too much buggering about on crap.
DO switch on cruise control at 260kmh, is quite a wondrous feeling.
The suspension needs setting up by someone who knows how to do a 500E or at the main dealers, it really makes a big difference as these run quite a bit of camber and as you have seen, if not done correctly will screw up tyres.
I'd suggest having the shock absorbers looked at too, mine seemed fine, when I removed them off the car they even felt fine, no leaks, no pitting etc, but new genuine shocks made a big diffference to what it felt like.
If it understeers at all, something isn't set up right as mine just refuses to unless you are a complete gimboid with it.
Fully inspect the undertray and inner arch shields, i'd fit all new clips and screws to these, if one comes loose it acts like a very big air brake and then you may struggle keeping the car straight. Also the pressure build up throws your indicator out forwards, even at high speed.

ENJOY IT!

I did 3160 miles in 3.5 days in mine and it just ate it up, high speeds, hard runs and a few races, absolutely fantastic car that needs to be used regularly.

I use mine whenever I am at home and don't baby it, use the engine, it's what it's there for.

Dave!

 

[Uberwagon]

Oops, only just read the whole thread and saw that it's for sale.

If you lost an indicator then you have an undertray issue or someone didn't put the indicator back in right, or pattern parts.

Radiator caps are quite common, again, genuine part and problem solved.

Wheel wobble should be balancing, or it could be your prop doughnuts, it manifests itself all over the car.

Seat function is probably a fuse, this can happen when 2 functions are being used at the same time.

Dave!

 

[Dieselman]

I use mine whenever I am at home and don't baby it, use the engine, it's what it's there for.

Any chance it needs using when you're not at home..

 

[Uberwagon]

Any chance it needs using when you're not at home..

This job is currently being done by my Dad, so the position is filled

Dave!

 

[paddy@polyposta]

The same year as mine!

Really wonderful cars.

This is the main things to do on a 500E imo afr 50,000km and 2.5 years of owning one.

Check the engine mounts and replace is necessary.
Replace rear strut rubber.
Do a coolant change.
Do the fan modification (It means the electric fans turn on a few degrees lower)
DON'T bother with non main dealer parts, far too much buggering about on crap.
DO switch on cruise control at 260kmh, is quite a wondrous feeling.
The suspension needs setting up by someone who knows how to do a 500E or at the main dealers, it really makes a big difference as these run quite a bit of camber and as you have seen, if not done correctly will screw up tyres.
I'd suggest having the shock absorbers looked at too, mine seemed fine, when I removed them off the car they even felt fine, no leaks, no pitting etc, but new genuine shocks made a big diffference to what it felt like.
If it understeers at all, something isn't set up right as mine just refuses to unless you are a complete gimboid with it.
Fully inspect the undertray and inner arch shields, i'd fit all new clips and screws to these, if one comes loose it acts like a very big air brake and then you may struggle keeping the car straight. Also the pressure build up throws your indicator out forwards, even at high speed.

ENJOY IT!

I did 3160 miles in 3.5 days in mine and it just ate it up, high speeds, hard runs and a few races, absolutely fantastic car that needs to be used regularly.

I use mine whenever I am at home and don't baby it, use the engine, it's what it's there for.

Dave!

Paddy:

This is useful information as I am having second thoughts on selling her now.

How is the fan modification done?

I am having overheating problems at the moment, did some tests today to discover the Viscose Fan is not kicking in at what ever temp it should be!!

Will get the shocks checked and suspension as I keep having to get my front wheels balanced and tracked as they wobble like crazy at 100kph.

What should be done?

Paddy

 

[st4]

Just read this really exciting thread and was good to see how dedicated IBW is to his work.

I hope he does have the money for it as it would be a nice home for such a nice car.

 

[Uberwagon]

Firstly, have your wheels balanced at Merc or an independant who really knows what they are doing, I had some problems for a while, I couldn't get the rears balanced and they all seemed to use the same method, had them done while I had an MOT done at Merc and the problem dissappeared.

The suspension on these is very hard to diagnose, I had a handling issue with mine but one bottom ball joint was knackered, it had a tiny bit of movement when using a 3 foot heal bar on it but otherwise could feel no movement. This was replaced and the issue went away.

You can't set up the suspension geometry on these without weighting the car and needing a few hours to get it done. Despite what an expert may tell you, the results wont be as good.

The steering damper is quite a common failure point, this can lead to wandering in lorry ruts on the motorway, less than 30 to replace and a 10 minute job.

ASR could be a few things. Wiring harness (A common problem on cars from hot climates) This causes sporadic faults, worst case scenario you can damage the ecus and then you will be in for a big bill. It's best to remove each fuse in turn, rub the contacts on the board and fuse with scotchbrite and refit, this fixed an intermitant limp home at start up problem.

Replace the SLS fluid, an easy job, take the return line off the top of the resevoir, put this into a container, pop some weight in the back (I used an old fish tank filled with water, a few hundred kilos) and then keep the resevoir topped up with lean fluid. If the fluid has black deposits in then you will probably need new rear spheres.

The fan modification is very worthwhile imo, at running speed the engine needs no fans above 30mph, but heavy traffic and an engine bay with little airflow are not good things. It basically pope a resistor in paralell with the fan wiring which tells the fan that it's hotter than it is, but the sensor for the fueling is unaffected so it runs as intended. I'll try and fish out the link.

You really need to find someone who has experience of the 500E as they mask faults very well. Mine has been thrashed mercilessly and also treated very well with regards to warm up and cool downs, it's overserviced with regards to oil, brake fluid and coolant, regularly checked and only given main dealer parts. For the performance it costs pennies to run.

How is the tracking being done? Mine has only ever handled badly when tracked at regular garages, it was set up once at Merc and the difference was marked. Now the last few suspensions bits and pieces are done i'll have it set up again and it should be as new. Very few people know how these cars handle so just because it handles well, does not mean it is set up correctly.

It's not a very well structured reply so if you have any questions then fire away, i've spent the money seeing people make mistakes on my car and am now happy with the dos and don'ts on it.

Dave!

 

[paddy@polyposta]

Have decided I am keeping her, its that love hate thing, you know!

 

[NW_Merc]

Have decided I am keeping her, its that love hate thing, you know!

Paddy when you bought her, how did you check for major faults and stuff?

 

[paddy@polyposta]

Was not able to do that as car was in Japan, was just a case of looking into Chassis No through Merc dealership and finding out as much as I could about the particular car. Was a gamble at the end of the day!!

 

[paddy@polyposta]

Parts for cooling system then........

Now I have replaced the fan clutch and the car is running 80-90, I want to replace the following parts. Is there anything else I should consider changing?

I would be interested in members letting me know genuine Parts Numbers if you know them and associatted costs?:

Part Part Number Cost?

Radiator

Thermostat

All 6 hoses for cooling system

Water Pump

2 x aux fans

Also............

Clear front indicators

UK Spec Lenses for headlamps

2 x pumps for Water Resevoir

cheers chaps

Paddy

 

[paddy@polyposta]

Update

Well had some more work done recently.....

Auto Elite in Hull!..........http://www.autoelitehull.co.uk/index.html

Had a very severe wheel wobble develope over time which I am working on now and have started with some of the following work, can view other post also.........

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=56994

RECENT WORK

1. Renewed Steering Damper
2. Renewed Steering Idler Bush
3. Renewed Ball Joint off side
4. Renewed 2 x Track Rod Ends
5. Flushed out and replaced SLS Fluid
6. Flushed out and replaced Brake Fluid
7. Inspected Engine Mounts - OK
8. Inspected Rear Strutt Rubber - OK
9. Inspect Wiring Harness - OK
10. Inspect Water Pump/Radiator/Thermostat - OK
11. Fitted new pair of front clear indicators genuine merc
12. Fitted new pair UK spec headlamp lenses - (Has just faild MOT this weekend on these!!)
13. Fitted Clear Side Repeaters
14. All four alloys refurbushed and painted in 199 to match body work leaving polished rims
15. Drivers electric seat fixed as not all functions working correctly
16. Inspected front suspension/springs/dampers. Car has been lowered as low as it can go and has no option now to be raised. Would need new springs to raise ride height! Car sits almost dragster like
17. Parrot Hands Free Kit installed

RESULTS FROM THIS WORK

The serious wheel wobble problem that the car had developed has almost completely gone, but you can still feel a slight wobble in the wheel...although she does drive a lot better

Auto Elite then advised that I change both front tyres.......so fitted a pair of Vredestein Sessanta's

RESULTS FROM CHANGING FRONT TYRES

Again a bit more of an improvement, but still feel a slight wobble

Auto Elite then advised I also change both rears......so fitted some more Vredestein Sessanta's 265/35/18

RESULTS FROM CHANGING REAR TYRES

Much more grip, but still have slight wheel wobble

I think the next stage then would be to change the set up of the suspension itself, take the front up a bit and see how we go.

When I first bought the car, the front tyres had severe wear on the insides of the tyres and the back had wear also on the insides but not s bad as the fronts.

If I decided to change the dampers and springs....what would be the best set up to go?

I have found a set of Brabus Springs W124 500E/E500 new for 490 Euros?

Is that a good price and would these be ideal?

 

[m119.974]

Paddy.

Do you still have wobble issue on that 500E ?

if yes, Do you have a list of all parts that were replaced?

I have one more suggestion. But might have other ideas once a see the list.

The springs you mentioned. are they the ones on Ebay ?

cheers

 

[paddy@polyposta]

Paddy.

Do you still have wobble issue on that 500E ?

if yes, Do you have a list of all parts that were replaced?

I have one more suggestion. But might have other ideas once a see the list.

The springs you mentioned. are they the ones on Ebay ?

cheers

Hi, yes still very slight wobble. Work done is listed in this thread. I see you are new to the forum!

Paddy