W124 250E - Is the Hood Ornament Spring Loaded?

[Huzaifa]

So I recently bought a '89 250E W124 and I've noticed that the hood ornament on it doesn't go back to the upright position if it gets impacted or if you move it yourself. I looked up some basic stuff yesterday and found that the hood ornament for that model is supposed to have a spring mechanism that brings it back to it's default position when you let it go. Mine doesn't do that, from what I've gathered there's also two types, one that attaches to the grille from the top and one that goes into the hood, mine goes into the grille (Not sure if this is some aftermarket thing, the different attachment points), wondering if mine's supposed to have that spring mechanism or if you just have to manually adjust it yourself.

 

[Will]

An ‘89 W124 will have the separate grille with metal chrome frame and the star emblem mounted to that.

Facelift cars will have the emblem mounted to the bonnet directly.

Both are spring loaded.

 

[optimusprime]

Yes and they do spring back but you do have to line them up after ..i took mine apart a few times .But not easy to put back together ..I purchased a removable star.. .Reason was , i use a car cover for the winter , and it was getting in the way, so i had to trmove it every time . Mine is now a plug and play ..Remove it when i leave the car parked ...and refit to drive the car away .

Mercedes Benz star removable original W202 W203 W204 W205 W208 W210 W220 W124 | eBay

W202 W203 W204 W205 W208 W210 W211 W212 W213 W220 W221 W222 and W124 with the emblem on the bonnet. Removable system manufactured in zamak, which is an alloy of zinc, aluminum, magnesium and copper.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Huzaifa]

Yes and they do spring back but you do have to line them up after ..i took mine apart a few times .But not easy to put back together ..I purchased a removable star.. .Reason was , i use a car cover for the winter , and it was getting in the way, so i had to trmove it every time . Mine is now a plug and play ..Remove it when i leave the car parked ...and refit to drive the car away .

Mercedes Benz star removable original W202 W203 W204 W205 W208 W210 W220 W124 | eBay

W202 W203 W204 W205 W208 W210 W211 W212 W213 W220 W221 W222 and W124 with the emblem on the bonnet. Removable system manufactured in zamak, which is an alloy of zinc, aluminum, magnesium and copper.

www.ebay.co.uk

What do you mean by having to line them up after, exactly? Does it spring back but not go in the proper upright position or something?

 

[Huzaifa]

An ‘89 W124 will have the separate grille with metal chrome frame and the star emblem mounted to that.

Facelift cars will have the emblem mounted to the bonnet directly.

Both are spring loaded.

So the emblem should be returning back once you let go regardless of where it's mounted, correct?

 

[optimusprime]

But a s they get older the ball on the base gets worn, and when they popup are never in the right place . I have had a W124 one for 15 years, and i know by use what happens to them ..Ther is a part at the base of the star itself that goes right through the fitting and a strong spring ..Then there is a small peg goes through the whole assembly to give you the pop up emblem .

 

[Huzaifa]

But a s they get older the ball on the base gets worn, and when they popup are never in the right place . I have had a W124 one for 15 years, and i know by use what happens to them ..Ther is a part at the base of the star itself that goes right through the fitting and a strong spring ..Then there is a small peg goes through the whole assembly to give you the pop up emblem .

I see, I got the emblem fitted in an aftermarket capacity. The car didn't have one when I bought it. So I guess I probably got a cheap/faulty one. Thanks for the clarification, I'll look into getting this sorted

 

[optimusprime]

I would go the extra mile , and gert one that you can remove .Youngsters y see the just yank them off if the car is left unatended ..My mate lost 3 off his W201 and he gave up buy fitting a plug in the hole after .Best to buy a genuine Mercedes emblem .The oners on Ebay are Chinesium chees .Dont go of the boxes, they come in from Ebay they are cloned also Give yours a drop of oil first ,it might help.

 

[Huzaifa]

BTW, I asked in a few subreddits too, one of which I got a response on, there I'm being told that the spring is only for safety basically for pedestrians instead of keeping the ornament upright. Anyone able to explain this discrepancy? Perhaps there's are aftermarket considering there's only one person there that definitely said that vs 2 guys here.

 

[optimusprime]

Thet are wrong i know ,,,i have operated on them ..spring is to keep them upright .it kees every thing together With no spring it will be like a wet sock and drop on the hood =bonnet ..

 

[Huzaifa]

Thet are wrong i know ,,,i have operated on them ..spring is to keep them upright .it kees every thing together With no spring it will be like a wet sock and drop on the hood =bonnet ..

I see, thanks for the clarification.

 

[optimusprime]

Not a problem ..I kept my old emblem that i removed ..It was worn ,because i had removed it so many times before to put the car cover on .I used to pull the pin out at the base that held it all together .And then fit it together in the garage ready to put back on the bonnet once the car cover was off .

 

[Huzaifa]

Also apologies, the model is a 230E, not a '250E'

 

[optimusprime]

Do you have a maual for the W124 ? i can send one , only thing is your engine wont be in it, but most other thing are like your 230 E but the 260E as 2 more cylinders .

 

[Will]

So the emblem should be returning back once you let go regardless of where it's mounted, correct?

Give or take, they’re spring loaded but they can get a little grubby/lazy when they’re older and the spring action isn’t as strong.

Shouldn’t need adjusting in normal use.

Never had one stolen in my life and I must have had 20+ Mercedes cars with the upright star emblem - OP is not from the UK though, but I think he was just asking about the emblem being a bit weak?

 

[optimusprime]

I can only talk about the W124 star emblems ..Its on a ball so the star can face other directins .

 

[Will]

I can only talk about the W124 star emblems ..Its on a ball so the star can face other directins .

Yes I’ve had a few W124s before, the same star emblem is used on several other MB models of this era though

 

[Huzaifa]

Give or take, they’re spring loaded but they can get a little grubby/lazy when they’re older and the spring action isn’t as strong.

Shouldn’t need adjusting in normal use.

Never had one stolen in my life and I must have had 20+ Mercedes cars with the upright star emblem - OP is not from the UK though, but I think he was just asking about the emblem being a bit weak?

Not just weak, the one I have right now literally just stays wherever I put it. It's rigid enough to where it doesn't fall over, but if I rotate it a bit, it'll stay that way unless I fix it myself by hand.

 

[Huzaifa]

Do you have a maual for the W124 ? i can send one , only thing is your engine wont be in it, but most other thing are like your 230 E but the 260E as 2 more cylinders .

I do not have one, I just got the car, came as is other than the legal documentation obviously, no manuals etc. it'd be great if I can get the manual, thanks.

 

[optimusprime]

Replace it ASAP if you dont like it . i recon the springs gone weak