New here... my first MB

[ianrandom]

Looks great. What kind of brush was used? I'm just about to do mine and can't decide what brush would be too hard.. Would hate to ruin my leather, I overcleaned my last interior and removes the top coat..
Hope your noise is just a pulley or something.

 

[john rh]

Looks great. What kind of brush was used? I'm just about to do mine and can't decide what brush would be too hard..

We just used the nail brush from my bathroom. It looks manky now though so I'll have to get a new one!

John

 

[john rh]

My Merc specialist thinks the noise is the timing chain, so I'll be getting that done soon. He is pricing up the parts needed (gulp!).

I have done similar work DIY, but being slow and paranoid it would take me several days. This is the daily driver, and I have the Volvo project car to get on with, so it'll be going into the specialists for this to be done, along with some other jobs on my list.

John

 

[john rh]

A quick update:

I've had a new timing chain and tensioner fitted. The old one was not too bad, but a little stretched.

I have also replaced a rear brake caliper (sticky piston) rear discs, pads and handbrake shoes and front flexi hoses (a bit cracked).

I think I'll be getting a recon gearbox this summer. Mine is leaking - from the sump gasket I thought - so I took it to my auto gearbox specialist to have it replaced. They checked it and showed me a leak from the pump seal near the front of the box, and it's a gearbox out job to fix. If I'm going that far, I'll save up and get my box reconditioned - quoted £1200 all in.

Meanwhile, I've tried a can of "snake oil" gearbox leak fixer... which didn't! It's not urgent because the gearbox works fine and the leak is slow (no visible loss on the dipstick in 1000 miles).

Next money-spending thing is to get the aircon looked at!

The car is driving better and better now it's in daily use with careful maintenance and the occasional thrash to clear out the cobwebs!

Cheers

John

 

[219]

Hello there, It's a 1986 500SEL which will be my daily driver (... my car rules are a bit different to most people - in my head this counts as "modern" and "sensible", although I don't think my partner agrees!).[/FONT][/COLOR]

Welcome to the forum , there are quite a few fellow W126 owners on here - it is a model that was designed to last a lifetime - Mercedes said so when it was launched .

I have to concur on both counts , but then I am slightly biased as I run the same model and year as my daily driver too , having covered 20,000 trouble free miles with it over almost two years .

Anything significantly younger than myself , and that I remember being new once I was of driving age , is 'modern' in my book . Besides that , current cars leave me cold .

 

[219]

Next money-spending thing is to get the aircon looked at!

I'll be interested to hear how you get on , and what needs done for the conversion , as both my W126's need this done , although somewhat well down the list of priorities .

 

[john rh]

I'll be interested to hear how you get on , and what needs done for the conversion , as both my W126's need this done , although somewhat well down the list of priorities .

OK I'll report back.

It needs to be converted to the modern gas, which entails some seals being replaced, then I think it's a matter of work through, find out what doesn't work and vigorously empty wallet.

I'd like to have the AC because we're going to the Nurburgring in August for the OldtimerGP (fabulous event, I go every year) and then touring in France in September - Alsace area.

AvD-Oldtimer-Grand-Prix:Homepage

Cheers

John

 

[navycooder]

Beautiful car! Almost looks like a mobster mobile....strictly business!

 

[john rh]

Hi

A quick update:

Replaced front discs (again). Trying Brembo this time because the genuine MB ones warped after 5000 miles

Gearbox has been reconditioned. Super smooth now, and the car feels faster.

Swapped tyres front to rear.

Fitted single CD player, Merc one from my partner's A160. It's nothing special. I may buy some good ICE in th future but can't afford it now and I wanted to be able to play CDs.

Changed oil and filter - using Millers ester-based fully synthetic.

Booked in for aircon work on 26/7.

Regards

John

 

[ianrandom]

Ooh, recon gearbox? I have to save up for this at some point. Do you mind if i ask what it cost and whereabouts you had it done? Also, is it really as good as original in all its shift points and kickdowns etc?
Mine only has a little flare from 3rd to 4th every now and then, but the shift quality is pretty damn good. I wonder if it would be as good ione its been opened up and put back together again.
the place i might use is excellent iwth everything else so i guess the chances are good.

Ps with any luck your aircon will be an easy fix. Mine was non functional but only needed a re-gas. (phew!)

 

[john rh]

Ooh, recon gearbox? I have to save up for this at some point. Do you mind if i ask what it cost and whereabouts you had it done? Also, is it really as good as original in all its shift points and kickdowns etc?
Mine only has a little flare from 3rd to 4th every now and then, but the shift quality is pretty damn good. I wonder if it would be as good ione its been opened up and put back together again.
the place i might use is excellent iwth everything else so i guess the chances are good.

Ps with any luck your aircon will be an easy fix. Mine was non functional but only needed a re-gas. (phew!)

My gearbox was not slipping, and most changes were smooth. But occasionally it would do a rough change, the manual down-change did not work, it was noisy and there were several leaks, one of which meant the gearbox needed to come out. This was the clincher really, it would have been silly to remove the box and partly dismantle it without going on to have it rebuilt.

I've never driven an untra low mileage w126, so I can't compare how mine behaves. But it feels excellent to me. For example, the "double kickdown" at about 60mph (downshifts to 3rd at about half throttle, then to 2nd at full throttle) is fast but still very smooth.

It was done by Martin Lowe in Barnsley. They were recommended by the brilliant, old-school manual gearbox man I use. He said they are the best in the country and I trust his judgement,

Martin Lowe - Auto Transmissions

Cost was £1200 + vat, for removal, rebuild, refitting and testing.

My aircon will definitely ne more than a regas. It needs converting to the r134 gas and the compressor does not kick in when requested. So I'm barced for a biggish bill, but the car is a long-term keeper and I want to get it right.

John

 

[ianrandom]

Thats a lot of money, but must be nice to have that peace of mind. Mine also has a leak which has been patched up, but it'll need to come out for that anyway and you're right, be foolish not to sort out the lot. I expect i'll stick to my local place, their general work so far has been tops.
Fingers crossed for the a/c then. The compressor wont switch in if the gas is too low anyway, to protect itself so you never know.

 

[john rh]

The compressor wont switch in if the gas is too low anyway, to protect itself so you never know.

That's encouraging. As you say, fingers crossed!

 

[219]

When I phoned a local air con place re conversion from R12 to R134a , I was told at minimum I'd need a new receiver-drier , some seals and a regas . Depending on what they find , condenser or compressor ( expensive ) could need changing too . Luckily , I now have a spare compressor . He wouldn't even give me a ballpark , best and worst case price , which was worrying , so I left it .

 

[john rh]

Today, I did a few more jobs:

Replaced diff oil

Replaced PAS fluid

Cured some rattly heat shields under the car

Fitted new electric aerial

John

 

[john rh]

My aircon is successfully converted and up and running.

The garaged used this conversion product, which may be of interest to others getting rid of r12.

No new components are needed. This product somehow allows the old seals etc to work with r134a, so it's much cheaper. Hope it lasts!

John

 

[john rh]

It's been a while since I updated - been busy with various old Volvos!

Today, I got the buffing machine on the S-class to cut out the swirl-marks and surface fading from the lacquer. It came up well.

I recently replaced an indicator that had been broken when a truck pulled out in front of me.

Soon, I am going to repaint the rear panel to correct several small dents above the bumper, and re-paint the bumpers and cladding satin grey to match the mirror casings.

I have also managed to get a virtually mint rear screen, so I can replace mine which has some delamination in places, and some heating elements not working.

The 'miracle can' conversion on the aircon is still fine - it's ice cold when needed.

And after that, a subtle exhaust mod might be on the cards.... I want it to stay quiet and refined, but a little more V8 rumble would be good!

Cheers

John

 

[trapperjohn]

It came up very well indeed.

 

[ianrandom]

Looks lovely.

A question about the screen elements though, how will you be able to check the replacement one works better?

 

[john rh]

[update part 1]

Hi

A long time since I updated this thread, but I have been keeping up with things.
I've done some minor but time consuming cosmetic bodywork issues. Although most of the body is in very good condition, the bumpers and side cladding were badly painted, too shiny and too dark in colour. I decided to redo them all to correct the problems and also to protect and preserve the bumper chrome trims which are keen to rust.

I also corrected some minor dents on the rear panel and scratches on both rear arches, and welded up a hole which had been drilled for an old-style mobile phone aerial. I had also noticed some rust starting underneath the chrome handle on the bootlid and, for some reason, a previous owner had brushed on lacquer around the star boot badge.


Rear end being stripped down

Filling the dents and working on the bootlid

Aerial hole welded then filled

Preparing side cladding. The right front wing section was warped, so I bought a used replacement (thanks to retrodave)

Great help from my friend Steve! Also thanks to my friend Ellis who did the honours with the spray gun.

[continued....]