My W124 500E #2 - I'm returning to the fold

[Newera]

Bilal, I took a measurement for you from the back of my Benz.
The exact Japanese no. plate size is: 33 x 16.5cm.
Put those smaller m/c letters on and you'll have a sweet & very presentable private plate.

 

[Calcifer]

On my E55 (W211) I have put motorbike sized plate. Just as you guys have mentioned and it worked well.

 

[500E]

Right guys time for an update on the 500E. Attended the meet at MB World the other day and I was lucky to see such amazing machines there - the drive home with a souped up E320 Coupe was also interesting

Anyway back onto the car. I've been driving the car much more recently and as it doesn't seem to have any misfiring or hesitancy issues (touch wood!) I've decided not to change out the distributor caps and rotor arms. The MB parts are expensive and I only want to replace them with the genuine parts. Too much of a hit and miss with Beru (rubbish) and Bosch (ok but depends where you source them).

Might aswell begin with work completed to date:

- Several oil changes with genuine MB filters
- Ignition leads replaced
- Air filters replaced
- Engine intake hoses replaced
- Distributor cap covers replaced
- SLS fluid tank and accessories replaced
- Windscreen and headlight wipers replaced
- Airbox clips and rear bobbins fitted
- Dipstick replaced
- Steering wheel replaced with Victor unit
- Gearknob and gaitor replaced
- Centre wood box replaced (thanks Dee!)
- Number plates replaced / PP fitted
- LED number plate bulbs fitted
- Stereo replaced with a modern Alpine unit, sub fitted and wired through the car (still need to fit my Rainbow speakers in the front).

Fair bit of work done already but hardly scratching the surface imo. I've found the handling and steering 'wooly' and also have not gone through the fluids etc soon. The brakes are atrocious and the ball joints are making noise. Safe to say the motor needs some mechanical tlc asap...

I've booked the car in with Terry to have the following done:

- Replace coolant
- Replace brake fluid and full bleed of the system
- Replace differential oil
- Repace gearbox oil and filter
- Replace brake discs/pads/sensors/brake hoses
- Replace fuel filter
- Replace all the crankshaft breather hoses
- Replace the valve cover gaskets and check all ok inside
- Replace front ARBs
- Replace front ball joints
- Fit rear spring pads (nib 1) - lower the car a tad at the rear
- Replace coil leads x2
- Replace throttle cable
- Replace Idler arm bushing
- Replace centre drag link
- Replace tie rods x2
- Replace rear boot lid stops x4

That should make the car run, handle and stop much better. I'm loving this car though and have instantly bonded with it! I think I prefer the black paintwork to silver (even though black is more common) and the paint on this car is really nice.

I sold my AMG splits so I am looking for a set of new alloys - any suggestions? A few photos of few of the parts..































Cheers,

Bill

 

[500E]

Few more






http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii475/bilzabba/W124%20500E%20Black
/20160322_151719_zpsd1n1tzqr.jpg

 

[500E]

& finally a post about 'warts n all' - these are the cosmetic issues with the car as it stands. Most of it needs the stuff from Japan removing - waiting for a nice summer day where I can remove the seats, carpet etc, give everything a really good clean and take all the wiring out

- Trunk stops worn (new ones with me now)
- Leather peel on drivers door card
- Retrofitted air conditioner in rear shelf - bad mount of switch
- Rear console wood trim cracking
- Centre wood pieces also show slight cracking
- Radar detector fitted from Japan (it won't stfu either)
- Aftermarket centre mirror
- Drivers mirror handle broken off
- Side indis letting water in
- Rear boot plastic has a crack
- CD changer fitted in passenger footwell














Easy fixes I think and a very nice interior overall. More tlc needed but more of an ongoing WIP rather than sort it all at once.

Cheers,

Bill

 

[WDB124066]

Nice!

Be interested to see where the rear camber and toe ends up sitting after lowering.

Playing around with some mods myself after using adjustables to set the correct distance for -ve 1'30". Don't know if it will work but worth a punt.

 

[500E]

Nice!

Be interested to see where the rear camber and toe ends up sitting after lowering.

Playing around with some mods myself after using adjustables to set the correct distance for -ve 1'30". Don't know if it will work but worth a punt.

I will let you know. Once I have a new set of alloys on the car will go in for laser wheel alignment to get all the settings right. The car is as straight as an arrow at the moment but I think that will change once we begin messing about with the suspension...

Have you replaced the rear arms etc on your 124? I have heard of a kit from Lemforder but can't find the correct 500E one.

 

[WDB124066]

Yes but I am ditching the adjustable camber arms the guys in the US recommended [ex Speedway Motors] because they squeak and they have lock nuts that don't lend themselves to being tightened easily meaning you get that god awful situation where you need to back out just after you have turned in when nailing it. Also don't like the way they load threads in constant tension and compression - not good for fatigue life.

I'll use them to set my rear at 1'30" then remove them to measure the hole centers, transfer that to the original MB arms that have been plugged and are ready to redrill at the new distance.

Incidentally my recommendation is not to lower the car beyond what translates to -ve 2'15" as my feeling is correcting to 1'30" still leaves the toe thinking it is at 2'15' or more. When driving the toe increases and causes outside shoulder wear [saw toothing] to stop this you need to set the static toe to almost 0 and I don't like doing that. Tells me things aren't working in conjunction with each other any more - but that's just me.

You have a really nice machine there Bill, and I'm absolutely thrilled to bits to see you doing all the right things to it. If I had of been working at the time I'd have bought your earlier one.

 

[500E]

Right car is booked in with Terry - cheers mate.

I will update once it comes back and if anything else needs changing on it as a part of his inspection

 

[ray_hennig]

Have you replaced the rear arms etc on your 124? I have heard of a kit from Lemforder but can't find the correct 500E one.

I have a 300CE-24 and now have the kit: Lemforder 33500 01.

I'm not sure if that is suitable for the 500E but is for all other W124s. Certain websites are claiming compatibility with 500E so I'd be optimistic. Can't swear to it though.

Bonne chance.

RayH

 

[Calcifer]

Super thread. Let's organise a E500 meet once done?

 

[Doodle]

I have a 300CE-24 and now have the kit: Lemforder 33500 01.

I'm not sure if that is suitable for the 500E but is for all other W124s. Certain websites are claiming compatibility with 500E so I'd be optimistic. Can't swear to it though.

Bonne chance.

RayH

ZF webcat says ok. Mercedes used the same multi-link setup for some time, across several models - 201, 202, 124, 210, 129 and 170 are all listed for this kit.

 

[500E]

Cheers gents that is massively useful.

Any recommended retailers? Lots of options if I Google it.

 

[500E]

Super thread. Let's organise a E500 meet once done?

Sure. Drop me a PM with your number so I can keep you updated with meets as/when they happen.

 

[Calcifer]

Sure. Drop me a PM with your number so I can keep you updated with meets as/when they happen.

Best for me is PM here as I'm living across 3 countries at the moment.

 

[zet]

Beautifull car and a really nice job you done

 

[500E]

Beautifull car and a really nice job you done

Thanks fella!

 

[greggster]

There's a nice article on the Japanese W124 E400 AMG in the latest Classic Mercedes mag. I didn't even know they built one?!

Oh, and awesome machine you have there

 

[zet]

Some nice wheels only you need and its perfect

 

[500E]

Right, time for an update on the old beast. Collected the car from Terry on Saturday after having lots of work done - many thanks to Terry and his team for turning it around so quick and completing the work to a high standard - very happy so far but going to put the car through its paces soon as I only managed to drive it home!

First impressions - wow! Steering wise it feels like i'm driving a new car! Who would have thought a few rods, bushes, etc would have such a difference. Those with the older MB's I really recommend you change out these parts if you have no record of them being replaced because I'd bet they're pretty worn and need replacement. They really do change the character of the car.

I managed to miss the steering damper in my parts list so this was also changed over. The brakes were also replaced along with new fluid and hoses and although they need settling in you can immediately feel the difference in the pedal, pulls up nice and straight too. MB gave me the wrong front pads in the end so they'll be going back next weekend.

The only thing to note was that the rear suspension was slightly bodged - spring pads had been fitted both above and below the rear springs - presumably to bring the rear higher This has now been corrected and the rear is lovely and compliant. The ride height also looks absolutely perfect.

I asked Terry to keep the old parts so will be taking photos so you can see the wear - some parts actually look ok on first glance however others look completely worn out/dangerous.

To finish it off, I had laser wheel alignment done on the way home. The rear was perfect but the front was miles off on toe. Now has been corrected and is dead straight. The car is running a slight camber but that is expected given the wheel and tyre combination, I am slightly concerned about the tyre wear on the insides so will be watching this as I have a fresh set of Michelin Sports on there and they're a fortune to replace.

I am changing the blinkers and rear lights over to orange and fitting the original backbox back on so will update with more photos once the car has been cleaned. Quick photo during alignment, you can just about see how nice the rear now sits:



I still have a few jobs to complete on the car but the list is getting shorter as time goes on - I want to make the car as nice as possible but not to go overboard with it, it's more of a restoration vehicle rather than a modification one. I will have a little think about the next steps and update you guys once I've made a few decisions.

Comments welcome.

Cheers,

Bill