W124 E320 Coupe Niggles...

[ChuChu]

Hi All,

New member here! Not sure if I'm posting in the right section or not but here goes...

So I've been dreaming of owning a W124 Coupe for many years and so I saved up a few pennies and scoured the web for a half decent example, which wasn't in Blue. Loads of Blue ones for some reason?!

Anyway, I found a Facelift '93 E320 Coupe in Silver with the wiring loom done, Immaculate Black Leather interior and Limited Slip Differential, which I am told is quite rare?

I think the fact that I had found a nice colour combo, it started first time and had a nice purrr to the engine I got overly excited, didn't ask the right questions, didn't take her on a proper test drive and paid the man £2800 which in hindsight I think was a bit too much.

I picked up the old girl the other night and drove her back home with what should have been the biggest grin on my face, but the reality was I was sh**ting myself, beads of sweat dripping down and soaking into the Immaculate Black Leather, thinking that I was gonna break down on the motorway, stranded and having to call my wife to pick me up, who by the way didn't know I was going to buy the car (thought asking for forgiveness would be better than asking for permission!)

So the issues I've been experiencing with the car so far are as follows, hoping someone can shed some light on the problem(s) and suggest a fix...

1. Driving on the motorway and getting the girl over 80mph there's a yellow triangle with exclamation mark that comes on. Slow down under 80mph and it goes off, or if I continue driving above 80mph I tap the break slightly and it goes off but flicks back on straight away. I'm pretty sure this is the ESP (Electronic Stability) light as I had it on my W204 C Class, but why would it come on whilst driving straight and over 80mph? Anyone ever experience this?

2. Acceleration is a bit dull. Over the months searching I test drove a few E320's (all blue) and most of them were quite perky in terms of take off, this one was too but when driving around 40mph on dual carriage then wanting to overtake, it feels like it takes an age to get from 40 to 50mph and sounds as the engine is working overtime to get there... Even when I floor it and engage the kickdown switch it seems a little hesitant. What could this be, MAF sensor, Injectors, Gearbox, Sparks and HT leads or all of the above??

3. Cold starts and idle. First day the car started first time every time. Second day found that she needed two tickles to start, Also on idle, she ticks over just above 1k rpm, engage in reverse or drive she comes down to around 700rpm... Is that normal??

4. The cabin smells and gives me quite a buzz! Initially I thought it was just the old car smell you get. But after a long run I get a little light headed and feel like I've just smoked some meth amphetamine! Just kidding I don't smoke meth.... I inject! Just kidding again!!! Not sure whether its exhaust fumes or fuel fumes or air con fumes but i'm guessing it could be dangerous? Any tests I can do to find out what it could be??

5. Faint whirring noise coming from nearside rear when reversing. Any ideas?

6. Loud high pitched screeching noise coming from nearside rear end and lasts 30/40 secs. Initially thought it was the antenna but I don't think it is. I think it may be something to do with the sunroof as it only happens when the sunroof is open, which by the way doesn't retract all the way back, which is another niggle I'd like to sort!

7. Rusting arches, which if anyone can recommend an experienced bodyshop around East London/Essex that would be much appreciated.

Apart from the issues the above, like my wife, I'm beginning to develop a love/hate relationship with her. I understand that she'd never be perfect and a lot of these things I can try and change or just learn to live with, but I think If I treat her to a decent service, a couple new wings, dress her up a bit, take her out and ply her with BP Ultimate, I might get lucky and get a few rides out of the old schlaaaag!! hahaha

On a serious note, advice on the above points would be very much appreciated!

Thank you.

 

[coupe addict]

A couple of questions that may help to inform suggestions:
Is it a five speed box?
Does it have Ac?

 

[Sorry Pete]

Hi ChuChu, welcome to the forum.

As you know, decent w124's are getting hard to find. At this age, any older car is likely to need a healthy annual upkeep fund, and it sounds like your new addition is no exception.

Aside from the relatively minor points you raised, the one that stood out for me with some alarm was no.4:

...
4. The cabin smells and gives me quite a buzz! Initially I thought it was just the old car smell you get. But after a long run I get a little light headed and feel like I've just smoked some meth amphetamine! Just kidding I don't smoke meth.... I inject! Just kidding again!!! Not sure whether its exhaust fumes or fuel fumes or air con fumes but i'm guessing it could be dangerous? Any tests I can do to find out what it could be??

You might be feeling the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning and yes, it is as dangerous as it sounds.

Inspect the exhaust from front to back, the manifolds, the gaskets off the block, and all joints. If you hear a blow, you know you'll need to get it looked at anyway.

If it's fuel leaking and giving you a buzz, ditto, you'll have a bad day if the vapours decide to congregate in an enclosed area where, I dunno, thousands of sparks are going off every minute.

 

[ChuChu]

It's got a 4 speed and it does have AC

 

[ChuChu]

Thanks Sorry Pete. I'll stick a couple rags in her pipe and see if she blows...

Maybe I'll take her to an indy to check for fuel leaks.

 

[Sorry Pete]

Good luck getting it sorted. A good w124 is a very special place to see the world go by.

The more technically minded will be able to help on your other points.

 

[d w124]

Good luck getting it sorted. A good w124 is a very special place to see the world go by.

Good to see you're still about Pete

 

[d w124]

1)That's normal on hard acceleration and the triangle will go off once it changes gear
2)You need the car looked at
3)That's normal,the revs do drop after a few seconds
4)Again needs checking
5)That's normal
6)Might be the fuel pump and you hear it more with the sunroof open or at least that's all I can think of

 

[coupe addict]

An E320 coupe should be a constant delight when driving. However, diagnosis can be tricky with so many possibilities: but, looking on the bright side, it tends to be the problems of diagnosis, rather than the cost of rectification, that leads to owners selling - which may well have been the case here.
The hesitant starting, and the reluctance to pull away in top, may suggest a coil pack/lead/plug issue. If so, the on board diagnostics will confirm it. Unless you have a friend or handy indy, you are going to need a blink code tester. These are cheap but rare: you may need to get one made up - I once had one made by my local hifi repair man - the components cost pence, and there are plenty of instructions available on line.
The blink code tester uses a socket located in the bay with the brake fluid reservoir, and is easy to use if quite tedious. Lisits of codes are also online - my guess is you will find a fault indicated in the engine management which will be identified by the pair of cylinders served by a particular coil pack/pair of leads/pair of plugs. DIY repair is the relatively cheap and easy - assuming ( I think fairly ) that you are going to love this car, and want to spend time on it.
Fumes in the cabin is an odd one. You need to learn how all the heating, ventilation, and ac controls work, so check them out using the owners handbook, and try to identify if fumes are coming in all the time, or just with heating or ac. If the former, check exhaust and petrol lines asap, but if the latter then fumes are more likely from the engine bay - has the previous owner painted over a problem? Or is the pollen filter stinking? Some serious issues here, but not necessarily expensive.
This is a car that will amply reward tlc, so persevere, and good luck.

 

[ChuChu]

I stuck a battery powered carbon monoxide alarm in the car today and ran the engine for 10 minutes, no alarm sounded so that rules that out. Going to put it into an indy to run some checks as now there is an oil leak coming from somewhere underneath! Think it may be the Hydraulic pipes. Will start another thread to get some pointers.

 

[hrg207]

Re No. 6, it could possibly be the sunroof switch is sticking in the open position, even though you've released it, making the opening mechanism (located on the nearside in the boot) keep running. When it happened on my 320 coupe the noise really made me jump, it sounded serious! Removing and cleaning the switch solved the problem. I've experienced No. 2 and have No. 7 also!

 

[WDB124066]

Chu-Chu, meet Kent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR8kHMxiemw

Yellow triangle could possibly be abs sensor related, often the sensors [and the toothed sensor wheel] at the road wheel get clogged, or it could be a loose wire that is agitated buy the wind.

4 - get the car tested inside you have no idea what may have happened inside and it could be covered with drug derivative = very nasty for children especially.

Faint whirring noise from rear could be the plastic seals that prevent debris getting into the bearings, sometimes that seal can split in two and rub on the static part of the assembly. You'll hear this as you drive slowly 10 Mph along a driveway with concrete walls is really good to hear it. It will be at the same frequency as one wheel rotation.

There are a lot of good 124 people on here that can assist, so hang in there, once the niggles are sorted the 124 is a nice car to be in - especially an otherwise decent once.

 

[WDB124066]

6] Isn't the sunroof motor in the left rear boot behind some paneling where the antenna is, would match with the other issues....