Front wings rust, 124 series. (1)

[del320]

There was much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth when thumbnail-sized bubbles appeared on the leading edge of the front wings. We all know this is a weak area on the 124 series but I set out to find out why.

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After tearing off the wheel arch liners, I found the inside of the wings relatively clean and rust-free. But since I was there, I cleaned them thoroughly and slathered on smooth green Hammerite.

No, the problem is the underside of the outer side above the bumper and in particular, the rubber strip which harbours muck. Unsurprisingly, the offside was in far worse condition.

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EEK!

 

[del320]

Front wings rust, 124 series. (2)

Off with the bumper: 1 x 10mm bolt with captive washer on each side, 2 pairs x 13 mm nuts below headlamps. Thorough clean required. The s/steel “boomerang” trims are each held with 5 clips (see inset) and easily removed. The entire bumper insert is clipped along its length with a pair of small crosshead screws at each end.

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So now if/when a full respray is done it can all be taken apart.

The wings themselves will live to see another day. From a couple of feet away, my paintwork looks OK but, more importantly, further deterioration has been arrested.

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202 and 210 owners, look away now or read on and weep: This is the only cosmetic bodywork rust on my coupe. (Obviously I exclude surface rust on heavy mechanical components).

123s may be “the last of the best” but the 124 is not far behind. Apart from the headlining and dashboard area, I have now, at one time or another, effectively stripped the car down to a bare shell.

Here's when I removed the body cladding

The quality of the clips and fastenings makes this far simpler than you would expect. If you can be bothered doing the maintenance, the body should pretty well last forever!

 

[grober]

Bl**din' Water Based Paint.

PS forgot to say thanks for the pics!

 

[big x]

Good post.This does highlight another long term failing on many Mercedes in my view, poor design of rubbing points.For example the W202 rear bumper will in time chaff the edge of the rear wing and cause a rust point.Given that all W124 front wings rust at the same point I suspect the front bumper deflects at speed wearing the paint at some point in contact with the rubber strip.The better the paint the slower the process.A lexus won't rust in the way way because they have a hard shiny undercoat that appears to be totally lacking in the Mercedes paint shop.

adam