Project: W124 Recommission

[clk320x]

If doing a manual conversion you'll need the gearbox cross member as well as the front exhaust bracket as they are manual specific

Also the fluid reservoir, associated pipes even if it's just to use as patterns

It's an easy job to swap auto to manual

Believe he's parting out the car?

 

[rugged]

How much for the boot spoiler?

 

[Deleted member 11979]

Believe he's parting out the car?

Yes, but keeping the bits needed to do a manual conversion I think

 

[Deleted member 11979]

Believe he's parting out the car?

I think he's keeping the gearbox etc for future use or maybe to sell as a conversion kit, might be wrong though

 

[mj2k]

I think he's keeping the gearbox etc for future use or maybe to sell as a conversion kit, might be wrong though

Yep, you're dead right - I'll be keeping the gearbox for a manual conversion, though whether it'd be going into a W210, W201 or W124 is undecided as yet.

Thanks for the advice, didn't even think about needing the exhaust bracket or pipes

 

[mj2k]

How much for the boot spoiler?

I was planning to keep that bit for myself, but I've dropped you a PM anyway.

Anyone ever heard of a spoiler manufacturer called Designotto? Judging by the rotted bolt threads the spoiler's a 90's part, and it looks identical to the Lorinser ones you occasionally see on Ebay, but says Designotto, Designiotto or something similar on the inside edge in some fancy scrawl.

 

[mj2k]

Ref breaking the car, if you have outside temp gauge, illuminated vanity mirrors, leather steering wheel, genuine floor mats or anything unusual then you dive able to sell it, even a tool kit, jack and set of manuals seems to attract buyers, period stereo?

Just rechecked the build sheet and the car itself, and it has got a leather steering wheel (which I'll need to clean) and the temperature sensor, but I've got no idea how to remove the sensor

 

[mj2k]

Broken sunroof fix without removing headlining

Quick update, hopefully useful to someone...

I decided to remove the 'angular lifting arms' from the W124 since I'm bound to have a use for them in the future:

For anyone who doesn't know, these things are normally the culprits if your electric sunroof jams, or will only tilt and not slide. They're made out of plastic and some super-brittle alloy, and readily snap if the sunroof's not kept lubricated. Normally the advice is to drop the headlining, remove the whole sunroof mech, and replace stuff from there. However, if you do it carefully and can still operate your sunroof a bit, you can replace these pesky items in about 30 minutes:

1. Make sure you have some new lifting arms from Ebay or wherever, and make sure you're doing this undercover, because it's bound to rain.
2. Open the sunroof 1/3 of the way
3. pull the front edge of the sunroof cover down a bit, and you should be able to feel four trim fasteneners
4. Pop those trim fasteners so the front of the sunroof cover is loose
5. Fully open the sunroof, and slide the trim panel out through the top
6. Close the sunroof again, and tilt it if you can
7. Look up on either side of the sunroof panel at the centre. At the edge you should see 4 nuts. Undo these.
8. Look right at the very front of the sunroof, near the corners. Undo the four tiny bolts
9. You should now be able to manually tlt / slide the sunroof panel, and with a little wiggling / sliding you should be able to free the sunroof panel from the mech (be careful not to scratch your paintwork)
10. If you now fully close the sunroof mech you should see the above pesky items, probably in bits
11. Undo the 4 bolts at the rear edges holding the lifing arms to the long bit of metal
12. Take out the multiple small screws on the chrome strip on either side of the sunroof, and remove the strip
13. Now you can wiggle the damned things free, and carefully replace them
14. Reassembly is a reverse of removal

However if you're unlucky enough to have a damaged bowden cable (sunroof motor only whirs without doing anything) that'll still be a headlining out job unfortunately, and possibly a whole new sunroof mech, so probably not worth the bother of fixing it.

Just to prove how brittle these things are, I managed to get the nearside one out in one piece, but wiggled the driver's side one a little too hard, and 'snap'. I'd be very irritated if I was keeping the car, so just as well I'm not

 

[mj2k]

Actually the bowden cable itself is pretty easy to remove too, just follow the above procedure, unbolt it from the long bit of metal the lifting arms were attached to, and 'close' the sunroof until the cable disengages from the motor. Then you can just pull it out

If the bowden cable guide's damaged, then it's a headlining out job of course.

 

[mj2k]

Meh, to add the final insult to the poor old girl, I've just bought a 300TD W210 estate off Ebay with some MOT, which is what I was after originally.

So I'll be sticking the W124's remains (minus engine / gearbox / interior and any bits which anyone wants) on Ebay with a starting price of £10 to make room for the new purchase. So this story's going to have a scrappy ending rather than a happy one...

 

[mj2k]

Another busy evening taking the W124 to bits - all pipes / wiring now disconnected from engine, exhaust front section off, centre console out, gear lever removed, tricky bolts on top of bellhousing undone (I used a ring spanner with another long spanner hooked over one end; plenty enough clearance to spin that round).

Last thing to do is drop the undertray, undo the remaining bellhousing bolts, gearbox mounts and propshaft bolts, and out it should come. Of course, experience tells me it's not going to be that easy...

 

[roadhog]

Is there a reason why you're not taking the gearbox out with the engine in one lump?

 

[mj2k]

Is there a reason why you're not taking the gearbox out with the engine in one lump?

Only that Mr Haynes says that's the way to do it

I'm not 100% sure I'd trust my '2 tonne' hoist to handle the weight of engine / box combined, but if it'll come out without needing to raise the car in the air I might give it a try as one unit.

 

[grober]

Remember that bonnet opens 90 degrees??

 

[mj2k]

Remember that bonnet opens 90 degrees??

Yep, I certainly do...

I'm more worried about scraping the gearbox along the ground as I get it out, or my cheap(ish) hoist not being able to support anywhere near it's supposed maximum weight. Maximum it's had to handle so far is the ultra-light Alfa Busso (170kg) and I suspect this old Merc diesel lump will weigh considerably more than that.

TBH it wouldn't be too bothered if the engine dropped and got wrecked (though it'd hurt my wallet a bit, and make the pain of buying a lemon that bit greater) but I'd be pretty unhappy if the gearbox casing got smashed.

 

[roadhog]

I used a 2ton crane for my engine swap and it coped easily with the 603 and gearbox attached. Only downside is that you need to tilt the engine as you lift to clear the front panel but that's not beyond the means of man...

 

[mj2k]

I used a 2ton crane for my engine swap and it coped easily with the 603 and gearbox attached. Only downside is that you need to tilt the engine as you lift to clear the front panel but that's not beyond the means of man...

Mmm, I've got a 'load leveller' on order, so that might just work, especially as I've finally freed that stuck front caliper so I can move the shell out of the way

 

[mj2k]

Heh, that load leveler was a waste of money - I couldn't raise the engine through a large enough angle so the engine / box got stuck on the way out! So I ended up lowering it back into position, firmly supporting the engine / box and removing the gearbox anyway...

After 3.5 hours of faffing I finally have the engine / box out though, so all that remains is to recover the clutch pedal assembly and I'm done. And then I'm off to pick up a W210 on Fri night

Think I might leave starting a project thread on that one or spending any serious time / money on it until I'm 100% sure it's not on it's last legs.

BTW has anyone else noticed how much smaller the engine / box look when they're removed from the car?

 

[mj2k]

Weirdly complicated job

Taking out the brake / clutch pedals was much more time-consuming than I thought - remove panel beneath steering wheel, remove driver's and console carpet, drain brake reservoir, pull off flexi pipe, unbolt rigid pipe, undo bolts and brake pushrod clip, wiggle pedals, feel puzzled...

Much wiggling / unbolting / puzzling later I managed to make enough clearance to remove them by unbolting the steering column and pushing it to the left, and then there was just enough room to get them out. I'd hate to have to replace that clutch master cylinder.

So that means the most complex jobs I've found on the W124 are:

1. Remove n/s/f wheel (impossible thanks to corrosion)
2. Remove brake / clutch pedal
3. Remove engine (complicated by catalytic corrosion sticking the gearbox bellhousing to the engine backplate)
4. Replace in-tank fuel strainer (what a faff on a saloon!)
5. Remove saloon rear headrests (fiddly)

Discounting 1 and 3 as being down to the condition of this car and body rot (which depends on how your W124's gone through life), can anyone think of any more complicated jobs than this on the W124?

 

[WDB124066]

Cleaning out cat pee successfully with NO after smell using no sprays only elbow grease, then putting it all back together without loosing, breaking anything or skinning your knuckles in 30 ++ Degrees of heat when you are half blind, need glasses, a torch because you are in poor light, in very cramped conditions being over 6' 7" tall and beyond 50 with no assistance - no easy feat young man!