On Friday morning I went into ECP and got a new 100Ah Bosch S5 battery , the old smaller battery was a bit tired and the car now starts much better .
I also got a genuine MB oil filter from the dealer and 10litres of Shell Helix 10w40 : changing the oil yesterday the old stuff was black , thin and very 'runny' ; with 7.5 litres of the new oil in the engine sounds much smoother , although the oil pressure at hot idle has only marginally improved . I purposefully didn't put more expensive oil in as I want to just run it for a week or two to flush it through then will change it again for something better . Even so , the oil pressure is still within spec since MB say it can drop as low as 1 bar at idle without harm , and it always rises as soon as the accelerator is touched . I suppose the sender could be faulty and might be worth replacing .
While at MB Glasgow , I was able to order new fuse charts for the front and rear fuseboxes against the chassis no , these should arrive in a few days . The rear fusebox lid is no longer available , but Carl at W140 parts is advertising a used one in the correct colour so I'm going to order that today .
I was taken aback at the cost of a door mirror glass ( my driver's side mirror has lost some of its silvering ) with ECP wanting more than £200 and Merc £300+ just for the glass . Again used R129 mirrors can be had for £50 or so , although some sellers suggest that W202/210/140 mirror glasses are the same ; I went to one breaker yesterday , who had a solitary S210 in , missing its doors .
I was also looking round for a steering wheel since the horn push on mine doesn't work and a switch has been put in the carpeted panel in front of my right knee ! I'm guessing I need to find a late W124 or W126 with airbag to get a compatible wheel , or maybe a W140 - there aren't so many 129's in breakers and most of the yards round here are closed for the bank holiday weekend .
I do fancy getting a nice wood/leather wheel but want to be sure of compatibility . I'm reluctant to take the existing wheel off just for a look simply because of the time the car has to be left with battery off for capacitors to discharge . I'm also wondering whether the existing wheel is original since it obscures the fuel gauge and the clock - or is that normal ? My wheel is not adjustable .
The other job will be to sort out my audio system , I understand some later cars had rear speakers - presumably in the sides of the rear seating area , but I need to check carefully where it is safe to cut holes and routes for cable runs . I understand there is space under the back seats where I may be able to put amplifiers/DSP unit , the CD changers will have to go in the boot but I don't want to lose any more space than I need to there ; I also need to order a new aerial as the old one is knackered - was looking round the breaker yesterday for a Hirschmann but nothing to hand .
I have largely driven the car quite sedately and have been rewarded by seeing 200 miles on the trip counter with just over 1/2 tank remaining and now on 300 miles with just over 1/4 showing .
However , yesterday , just to see what it would do , and alone in the car , on a straight and clear stretch of road I floored it from about 40mph : it kicked down to 2nd and took off rapidly , with 90 mph coming up very quickly before I backed off . Worryingly , there was an alarming and very loud thump from the back when I did this - so I will need to look at propshaft couplings , subframe bushes etc . However , it doesn't happen in normal driving so I will just resume my normal sensible driving for now .
The saga continues .
So far , having set the trip counter when I filled up , I have covered about 160 odd miles and the fuel gauge has just dipped below 3/4 .
