E320 Estate - bad water leak in load bed area

[ArtistsRifles]

Whilst loading up the estate ready for a trip down to France last week I found, under some loose waterproofs, a patch of fungus growing. Further exploration revealed the whole O/S of the load bed was soaking as were the fold up rear seat back and the foot well of the foldup rear seat. The water extracted thus far doesn't look - or smell - like the fluid from the rear screen washer although whilst out there drips were observed coming from the light fitting in the O/S rear pillar - which is the one the screen wash pipe runs up....
The amount of water in the back, though would seem to indicate a far more serious problem than a minor leak from the washer pipe.

Has any one out there come across this before???

Only taking this little bomb-shell in conjuction with the awful instability of the car whilst towing a caravan I'm seriously considering parting company with it!!!!

 

[BTB 500]

Only taking this little bomb-shell in conjuction with the awful instability of the car whilst towing a caravan I'm seriously considering parting company with it!!!!

What noseweight are you running at?

From memory your car has quite a big rear overhang (back axle to tow ball measurement), which doesn't help stability. Have you got the car tyres at the recommended pressure for towing (normally higher than solo)? Caravan tyre pressures double-checked? Friction pads on the stabiliser aren't contaminated? Checked the car suspension for worn bushes etc.?

I have a GTS Vogue 418 which is dead stable even when overtaking trucks / coaches / etc. on the motorway.

Good luck tracking down the water leak.

 

[bolide]

I'd look at the rearmost side windows. I've seen lots of W124 estates that leak there. Rust on the inside under the window is a clue

The aerial motor may have a drain hole in the base and a pipe to take it away. Worth checking

There's a vent in the side of the spare wheel well and a drain plug in the base. It's a good idea to make sure those are clear so there's some ventilation

Misted up rear windows when the car first gets warm is a sign there's too much moisture in the car

Re towing, I'd check the weight distribution in the caravan, the nose weight, your rear tyres and the state of the rear control arms that set the tracking. I've had one major tank-slapper with about 2100 Kg on the back but it seems fine with about 1600 Kg. I have to get the car just right on the trailer, though, which is why I suggest checking the weight distribution in the van. I stick to 60 mph with a big load and less when going downhill

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[andy_k]

poor towing stability can also be the result of worn bushes on the rear suspension - get those checked.

As for the water, check the side windows as Nick suggested but the rear door seal can also be suspected.

If there is water dripping from the rear pillar then I'd start looking for splits in the seal.

Andy

 

[ArtistsRifles]

Thanks folks - I'll go a digging at the weekend in the places mentioned for leaks

As regards the instability towing - the rear tyres are up to 46 psi as per the label in the filler flap - I think the fronts went up to 35. Van is loaded to get the minimum noseweight - wich is around 85 Kg. 10 Kg more than the recommended weight but if I take the van down any lower it starts snaking. Laden weight of the van is 1450 Kg so using the 7% guideline it should be running with a nosewight of 100 Kg approx.
Highly embarassing when the caravan sits there like a rock whilst the car starts swaying all over the place as asomething overtakes!! Its ensitive to sidewinds too - on the M40 with 4 adults onbaord it required lots of steering movement to counteract sidewids that tried to take it from the inside to the outside lane.........

 

[bolide]

Sidewind sensitivity is something I have on my "new" W124 that was never a problem on my old one. I replaced the front ARB bushes, springs & balljoints and it's just the same

Next up are the two rear track control arms (what is the correct name for those things???). They're £15 each so just replace them. They control the tracking at the rear - the metalastik bushes break up and let the rear end wander about & steer the car

I drive these old beasties all the time and can say there's a world of difference between a good one and a high-miler. My 93 car (212k) is great but feels like a boat next to an 88k-miler. There's a ton of rubber in the suspension so just keep replacing bits till it feels right!

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[BTB 500]

Van is loaded to get the minimum noseweight

You've not by any chance got it loaded "dumbell style" with a load of weight at the back to reduce the noseweight? If so you might need to remove a gas bottle (or two) from the front locker when towing. The noseweight on my 418 is very high with 2x 6 kg propane on board and the 110 A/h battery (went off the scale with my noseweight gauge!). Is your water heater also at the front, like mine? If so, draining it might be a good idea (if you don't already do this).

 

[ArtistsRifles]

Bill,

Van is loaded such that all items of substance (weight) are either over, or just slightly to the rear of the axle as per the CC guidelines. Only way I can get the nose weight down to the 75 Kg MB recommend is to completely empty the front locker...... - then I have to find somewhere to put that stuff.......

 

[BTB 500]

OK, it's got to be the car then. My van is pretty much identical to yours, and loaded similarly it's 100% stable at all speeds behind my Sharan.

 

[ArtistsRifles]

Well - it went into Lakeside Mercedes last night to be checked out - waiting to hear from the wife what the estimates are for:

* Sorting out the rear suspension - we described what was happening in detail.

* fitting the split-chrage relay into the wiring for the 13 pin socket so we can recharge the van battery as we drive/run the fridge etc.

* Checking the seals around the rear windows & tailgate for source of leaks.

Relpy should be interesting!!!!

 

[ArtistsRifles]

Put the car into Lakeside Mercedes - part of the Lancaster group - to be checked over and I don't know whether to be dismayed or impressed!!!

For starters they had to have it two days because "none of the parts were in stock so they had no idea of the prices".... Weird because when I go to a SAAB dealers for mine they just pull up the part diagram on a computer, select the parts needed and it prints out the price plus availability!!

When we finally picked it up:
* we were told "the labour charge is £99/hour and we spent 10 hours - so you're bill is £58.00"... but happy it wasn't the £990 normal, non-Mercedes Dealermaths would say it should have been!!
* The mechanic gave us a good break down of what had been found - then pointed out there were a lot of independent specialists out there who could do the work at a fraction of the cost (est. invoice was £918!!)

According to them we have:
A leaking diff
Worn diff bushes and stabilizer bars
Water leak from tailgate seal (small) and rear light cluster (large)
Problem with centre pin on the 13 pin towing socket and a towbar wiring loom that "looked like spaghetti" - interesting as it was factory fitted!!!

So - at least we know where to start on the repairs. Any one recommend a good independent around the Dagenham are? Otherwise we've been using BPW Moors - a German marque specialist in Seven Kings.

 

[Craigc689]

Towing Instability

I too have a GTS Vogue 417 and find that my E240 is the most impressive towcar I have owned. I borrowed my brother's Rover 620 Turbo to move the van this weekend and scared the crap out myself.

The M B self levelling suspension is ace and the adaptive Tiptronic 'box chooses ratios perfectly.

By the way I have always owned Volvos before this for towing, so I am using a well proven comparison.

Only a shame that these modern Merc's rust like Lancia Beta's!!!

Cheers Craig

 

[ArtistsRifles]

So - put the car into the local independent guys workshop to have the towing electrics sorted first - thinking this would be a quick easy job.

WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!

Seems whatever monkey of a dealer put the towbar on new:

1. Used sub-standard wiring (as in too small a dia) - esp for the 35A earth connecions. Had it all been connected properly we would, at best have had molten wiring, at worst a nice fire in the region of the fuel tank.
2. Taken what should have been the 12v switched feed straight from the battery.
3. Not even bothered fitting the split charge relay - the wires went into the fuse box and relay housing - and were just left there, loose.

Independent guy tried to get info from Mercedes as to what relay should have been fitted as part of the OEM towing wiring - and they wouldn't tell him. Upshot was, after he'd had to strip out the carpeting, dash and fuse box to trace the wirig and replace with the correct guage stuff we got hit with a bill for

£350​

And we haven't even TOUCHED the business about the water leak and the knackered rear suspension bushes!!

Trust me when I say I'm not laughing about this and that p/exing the E320 for another 4x4 is looking increasingly attractive