| My recently purchased 280SE is not running well. The symptoms feel like it is not getting enough fuel. Strangely enough, performance picked up with more petrol in the tank. Based on that, I wanted to eliminate two fairly obvious things before I started troubleshooting the fuel injection system. Namely, I wanted to make sure the various fuel filters installed on the car were not plugged up, and that I eliminated bad fuel. Mercedes-Benz vehicles of this era are fitted with three fuel filters. There is a fine mesh fuel strainer in the bottom of the petrol tank, next there is the main fuel filter after the fuel pump. Finally, there is another small strainer just before the fuel distributor. The two fuel strainers are rarely inspected and replaced. I decided that I would drain the fuel, and replace the two rear filters. I have been wanting to buy a waste oil drain tank. I’m always making a mess doing oil and other fluid changes, and I was able to find a good deal on one. This felt like a good opportunity to use it to drain the petrol before I ever use it for oil. It’s not designed for this use, but it felt like the cleanest and safest way of dealing with 30L of petrol.  Draining the fuel was pretty easy. I disconnected the hose from the exit point of the tank. It connects to a device that I think is some kind of vibration damper. I used a hose clamp so I could control the volume exiting the tank and avoid splashing. As can be seen from the photo above, I used a cloth to see how much debris I was catching, but overall the fuel was very clean.
The fuel came out very fast at first, although it slowed down after a while. I suspect the slow down was related to when the level went below the swirl pot. The flow even stopped for a couple of seconds at one point. Regardless, I didn’t see anything that would make me think the pump can’t draw enough fuel from the tank. To get the fuel strainer out, first the hose needs to be removed from the bottom. This isn’t particularly difficult, but there is very little room to get the spanner in, so you’re turning the hose 1/8 of a turn each time. Once that hose is off, then the strainer can be removed. The same large hex used for the fuel sender is used for the strainer. With the right tool, it is pretty simple to remove.  As can be seen above, the strainer was dirty, but not all that bad. At least from inspection, and the volume coming out of the tank, it doesn’t appear that this was the reason why the car was not getting enough fuel.
Next step was the main fuel filter. Since the tank was already drained, there was no need to block off any fuel hoses. Surprisingly, when I got it out, there was not much debris coming out. When I have changed this filter on the 300SE, it has been much dirtier and that car runs well. To do a proper inspection, I cut the filter housing open to check the element. Obviously, being a fuel filter I used hand tools only!  As can be seen, there was some debris in the housing and in the element, but no more than you would find with a routine filter change. The filter looked fairly new, so I am not sure how long it has taken to build up this amount of debris.
 I have not yet put the car back together as I ran out of time, and my new fuel strainer has not arrived yet. At least from visual inspection I don’t think I have solved my problem. I’ll put the car back together with a new fuel strainer, new hose from the tank, new filter and then perform a fuel volume test, followed by a fuel pressure test. The fuel volume test will also allow me to swap the small strainer at the fuel distributor too.
I borrowed the large hex to remove the sender and strainer. Its been a very useful tool, I may want to consider getting one for myself. The first night drive of the year was held a bit earlier than usual to avoid the Australia Day Holiday. This was actually a drive we planned for the second half of last year, but it was postponed due to the COVID lockdowns. This month, while we are no longer in lockdown, COVID cases are up in Sydney and tests are not available for love nor money. Therefore, many people are in self imposed lockdowns and the attendance of the drive was a bit smaller than normal. The planned route was a variation on a previous drive before the night drives became official. The main change was adding Galston Gorge. The meeting point was in Hornsby Heights, near the oval. For future drives, perhaps not the best spot as it was very dark. From there, we went through Galston Gorge, and then took Cattai Ridge road to Halcrows road. We had originally planned to stay on Cattai ridge road until Wisemans Ferry road, but that part of Catti ridge road floods easily and it had been very rainy of late. Once we got on to Wisemans Ferry road, we continued northwards until we hit the Old Northern Road, before returning back south to our end point at McDonalds Dural. 
I really enjoy this route. Its one I’ve done many times before we started the official night drives. The roads are quiet, the speed limits are reasonable for the road, and its a great drive on a summer night with the windows down or the roof off. I took my 560SEC again on this drive. Originally, I hoped to take the 250SE. I had recently had some work done to fix some poor running. A good drive would have been good to check it out. However, it has been a very rainy summer, and that continued this week. The rain was clearing, so instead of the 300SE, I went and got the 560SEC for its first drive of the year. It was probably a good choice as we had some minor rain at various times, but otherwise good weather.  The 560SEC performed really well on the drive. I really enjoy driving the car and the extra power is noticable when you put your foot down. Its was nice to cruise around in a pillarless coupe on a warm summer night.
Premature failure of the Balance shaft on the Mercedes M272 engine is a known problem. Apparently the balance shafts were too soft and so they wear out quickly. This was the subject of a class action lawsuit in the United States. Over there, the shafts in affected cars were replaced by the dealer out of warranty. This wasn’t the case here in Australia, although it is possible that a handful were done for good customers. There is a service bulletin published by Mercedes-Benz that outlines the repair and the engines numbers affected by the soft M272 balance shaft. Generally those engine numbers correspond to 2005 to early 2007 production. About 5 years ago, I was in the market for an E350 Wagon for my wife. We wanted an occasional 7 seater that wasn’t an SUV. Based on the service bulletin, we purchased a 2007 rather than the 2005 we were looking at. The car we eventually purchased was well outside the known range of bad M272 balance shaft issues. About a year ago, we started getting codes from the car indicating the the timing was off in one bank. Based on the knowledge that the car was outside the affected range, we started looking at other sources for the problem. First, I tried changing the magnetic adjusters. These are a known problem also and an easy fix. After a while, the light came on again, so next I tried the sensors. This didn’t have much of an impact. I took the car in to be looked at, and it was suggested that the broken intake manifold flaps may be to blame, so I had those fixed too. Again, same problem. From there I was becoming more and more convinced that despite being outside the published range, I had a bad M272 balance shaft. I took the car to another shop who had done hundreds of these repairs to check. they took off the cam covers and were able to spot the worn balance shaft. The quote to fix is $6,000 which is in line with other good independent shops in the area. This includes 24 hours of labour and taking the engine out completely. 
As can be seen above, the part is quite innocuous, but a lot of the engine must come apart to change it. As well as what is pictured above, normally the head gaskets, timing chain and sometimes sprockets are changed. I suspect the M272 balance shafts are harder after the known range, but still fail. Our car now has almost 180,000km on the clock. It had about 170,000km when these symptoms started occurring. I suspect these issues could also affect the M273 V8. Those engines do not have a balance shaft, but they do have an idler sprocket there. That sproken was also known to be soft in the early engines. I have been thinking long and hard if I will fix the issue. I have decided to fix it. Used car prices have gone so high since COVID that the car is worth more than what we paid for it 5 years ago. Buying a different S211 would also have the balance shaft risk, plus not have the work I’ve done on this car recently such as rebuilt front end, intake manifold, rear air springs etc. With used car prices the way they are, a S212 wagon is still more expensive than we would want to spend. It will likely get booked in for the job in the first half of 2022. While the update 211 is a good car, there are a number of design flaws. Obviously there is the balance shaft issue. There is also the plastic intake manifold flaps, other plastic parts in the engine that don’t last very long, and rear air springs with a short service life. With the year coming to a close it felt like a good idea to do a 2021 fleet update. A bit of a summary of any issues I had with each car, how much I used it and any future plans. I don’t own a modern car, so these cars not only get used as a hobby, but as everyday transport – regardless of weather or traffic. My wife does own a 2007 car, but I only use that car when the whole family is going somewhere. The cars are listed in the order of how much I used them this year. Highlights and lowlights:The highlights this year are the 60th anniversary of the E-type celebration, and some of the extended drives I did while I was between jobs earlier in the year. There was also Youngtimer Sacco day and the 107 Bridge drive. The lowlight of course was crashing my 250SE Cabriolet into a Kangaroo, although that was later tempered with how well it was repaired. It was also a shame that so many events were cancelled this year due to COVID-19. I’m also happy with the purchase of the AMG wheels for my 450SLC and 560SEC. Overall I drove the cars 18,500km this year, quite high for me. Fleet Changes:I purchased the 1979 280SE, which will replace the 1986 300SE. I also purchased the 1987 420SEL parts car, and have started dismantling it. I didn’t sell any cars this year, but the 300SE will be for sale soon. 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SELThe 560SEL is a fairly recent purchase (March 2020) and I managed to use it a lot. As a one owner car that was well looked after, it had the foundation to be really nice and I’ve now done a lot of the things I need to do to get it up to the level I wanted. You really wouldn’t know it has 336,000KM on the clock. Despite no major issues, I ended up spending a fair bit on this car, but I expect it should be a lot less next year. - KM Driven: 5,200
- Spend level: High
- Availability: Excellent
- Highlight: How well this car drives now I have re-instated the self-leveling rear suspension. Youngtimer Sacco day.
- Lowlight: Front suspension rebuild was more expensive than I was hoping. The sway bar mounts required the fuse box and brake booster to be removed. Took a couple of goes to get the alignment right.
- Work this year: I had the B pillar trim and sagging seat fixed, as well as the front suspension rebuilt, new brake hoses and oil level sender. I also changed the wheels out for a refurbished set.
- Plan for 2022: After doing a lot in 2020 and 2021, just routine maintenance. I’ll see if I can hit 340,000.
1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SECI’ve now owned this car for three years and it’s getting better and better with more use. This year, I did a fair few things to this car, but they were mostly upgrades rather than mechanical work. I’m really happy with the Cocomats, stainless steel exhaust and the AMG wheels. It may not be next year, but at some point I plan to fix the rust under the rear window and fit an upgraded A/C condenser. I’m glad I bought a 560SEC when I did as prices have started to climb. - KM Driven: 4,300
- Spend level: High
- Availability: V. Good. Was out of commission for about a month while I waited to do brake hoses. The car had a spongy pedal.
- Highlight: Some of the longer drives I did and how well the AMG Aero I wheels came out after refinishing.
- Lowlight: None.
- Work this year: After driving the car on a hot day and experiencing a very spongy pedal, I had all the brake hoses changed. I fixed the in-dash outside temperature display, purchased, refinished and fitted the AMG Aero I wheels and had a new stainless steel exhaust system installed. The A/C was also recharged. There is a minor leak from the compressor. The A/C is really cold when freshly recharged on this car. For some reason it is much better than the 560SEL.
- Plan for 2022: Oil level sender is leaking.
1986 Mercedes-Benz 300SEI originally purchased the 300SE as a daily driver. These days, with my children a bit older so they don’t require fitted child seats, and regular working from home, I don’t have the same need for a daily driver as I once did. The 300SE went on club rego and still got used when I needed to run errands or take the children to and from daycare and school. Now owning the 560SEL, I found I didn’t drive it as much as last year. I also had the strange issue of the oil pump catastrophically failing. I was lucky I noticed the low oil pressure and was able to troubleshoot this and have the pump replaced before any damage to the engine. This car will be for sale early in the new year with an asking price of $11,000. - KM Driven: 2,500
- Spend level: Medium
- Availability: Good. Was unavailable for about a month while I waited to have the oil pump replaced.
- Highlight: Its a great car to drive around town. Its far more nimble than the V8 models. I also really like the Signal Red.
- Lowlight: The failure of the oil pump.
- Work this year: Replaced the oil pump, changed the brake hoses and bled the brakes. I also changed the fuel pump, adjusted the self-leveling rear suspension and changed the passengers window regulator. The car now has a USB port in the dash too.
- Plan for 2022: Sell the car. I’ll miss the car, but I’ve got two other W126 models and have never owned a W116.
1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SLCI ended up doing a lot of work to the 450SLC, most of it not planned. I discovered rust in two places that I addressed – on the passengers floor from the A/C condenser and under the rear screen. The floor I tackled myself, but the rear screen needed a fair amount of work to be done. Due to COVID, the car sat without a rear screen for months, meaning that I probably only had access to it for about half the year. The driving experience had become progressively worse over the last couple of years, so this year I had the subframe mounts changed. - KM Driven: 2,200
- Spend level: Very High
- Availability: Poor. I wasn’t able to use it for extended periods of time and it wasn’t running or handling well for much of that.
- Highlight: The MBCNSW 107 drive over the bridge. We had 47 cars, which which was pretty cool.
- Lowlight: Finding rust under the rear screen and having to spend a lot of money to get it right. I am very happy with the outcome.
- Work this year: Replaced fuel accumulator, drive shaft flex discs and centre support, installed a new foglight lens, replaced the rear screen, fixed the rust and had that part of the car repainted, purchased AMG ‘Penta’ wheels and tyres, fixed the A/C rust, replaced subframe mounts, fixed sticking odometer, new plugs three new suppressors.
- Plan for 2022: I am planning to drive this car to the Mercedes-Benz clubs national rally in Adelaide, April 2022. At some point, I would like to install a Nardi steering wheel and a set of cocomats. I’ve also got a noise from one of the rear wheels I need to sort out. I think it is caused by a lug bolt touching the parking brake spring.
1965 Mercedes-Benz 250SE CabrioletThe main occurrence this year was the crash. I was also chasing some rough running issues. I really enjoy driving this car and am glad I was able to have it repaired so well. - KM Driven: 2,100
- Spend level: Medium
- Availability: Poor: Was off the road for months due to the ‘Roo incident.
- Highlight: Having the car fixed after the ‘Roo incident better than ever.
- Lowlight: Hitting the ‘Roo.
- Work this year: Repairing the car after the ‘Roo. I also fitted a new battery, had rear seatbelts installed and addressed some running issues.
- Plan for 2022: Nothing major, drive the car. Apparently the Mercedes Club are planning a Paul Bracq day next year. I’m still getting some strange issues with the radio I need to sort out.
1965 Jaguar E-TypeI was able to take the E-Type on a few really good extended drives, where its in its element. One of them went down to Oberon and then back up to Bathurst. The other was also to Bathurst, but with the Jaguar Drivers club for the 60 years of the E-Type celebration. The car was also featured in the November edition of the JDCA Jaguar Driver magazine. I really enjoy driving the E-Type but its not the sort of car you use for errands, so it does slightly lower mileage than some of the other cars. For all the stories about classic Jaguar reliability – I find it to be a very reliable car. - KM Driven: 1,300
- Spend level: Low
- Availability: Good. Just a minor electrical problem in one of the tail lights.
- Highlight: 60 years of the Jaguar E-Type celebration.
- Lowlight: None.
- Work this year: Preparing the car for the 60th anniversary drive by fixing a minor electrical problem.
- Plan for 2022: None, just drive the car.
1970 Citroen DS21I only used the DS a couple of times this year. There were a series of minor issues that kept me from using it and COVID lockdowns exacerbated the time taken to get them fixed. I started out with a very leaky hydraulic pump that was sent off for a rebuild. There were a few issues getting it fitted, as at first it wouldn’t prime. Once that got sorted out, I had two further problems. One of them sounded like an engine knock. Turned out it was just a broken air cleaner bracket. engine vibrations were causing it to tap against the exhaust manifold. I also had increasingly poor running. This was caused by one of the idle jets working its way out of the carburetor. Finally, I had a bad LHM leak from the brake accumulator. The good news is that none of this was particularly expensive. - KM Driven: 900
- Spend level: Low
- Availability: Terrible. A series of small issues have kept me from using the car much.
- Highlight: None really. The one decent drive I had the car kept stalling as the idle jet had fallen out.
- Lowlight: Not being able to use the car much.
- Work this year: Rebuilt Hydraulic pump, broken air cleaner bracket, carburettor idle jet and leaking brake accumulator.
- Plan for 2022: Drive the car more. At some point it will need a clutch, but not immediately.
2021 Fleet Update SummaryIt was a an odd year in that I got to use the cars a lot in the first six months, due to being between jobs. In the second half of the year we had lockdown for about four months and I had a new job that kept me very busy. For most of the year, the fleet didn’t change much other than a parts car, but I was able to do some nice upgrades on a few cars, and managed to crash and repair my 250SE. I’ve also started a change with the introduction of the 280SE. Last night was the final night drive (and last official drive overall) for the Mercedes Club in 2021. Since the lockdown was lifted, we’ve really struggled with the weather for these night drives. Finally, the weather held up and we had a great turn out of 17 cars on the night. It started out hot and humid but cooled off and proved to be a great night for the open topped cars. I had originally planned to bring my 250SE, but hadn’t had a chance to get the club registration signed off in time. Given the route we took, I’m glad I took the 560SEC as I’m not quite sure the 250SE could have kept up with the pace set by the AMG cars. 
The route had us start in Camden, drive down near Thirlmere and then take Picton road to join the M1 near Wollongong before heading up to meet at Heathcote McDonalds. We end a lot of the night drives at McDonalds as they are open 24 hours, have clean toilets and allow people to buy a drink or snack. Even better, one of the people on the route was a local who helped us vary the route a bit around Camden on some better driving roads. We also took a short detour to Bald head lookout before the final meeting point. Some people peeled off before the Picton road section and headed back to Sydney via the M31. This worked quite well as it allowed them to come for a shorter drive and the main group to do the full route. 
As usual, we had a good variety of cars. This included four 107s, three 124s, two 126s, a 108 for the classics. For the moderns, we had an S class V12 as well as some other AMG cars including two C63s, a CLS and a CLA45S.  It was a really great drive to end the year on, and most people seemed to enjoy it. I’m looking forward to the 2022 night drives. There are still a bunch of drives we planned for 2021 but could not do because of lockdown.
My 1987 560SEL is in very nice cosmetic condition for its age and mileage. The only thing that really let it down was the condition of the alloy wheels. It was clear that they had been cleaned with harsh wheel cleaners many times over the years. The paint was badly discolored. I had some spare Gullideckel wheels that I could have sent away to be refurbished. However, I also had a lovely set of refurbished alloy wheels on my 450SLC that were correct for the SEL. That got me thinking that it might be better to get a different set of wheels for the SLC and put those refurbished Gullideckel wheels on the SEL. The reason why I had the Gullideckel wheels on my 450SLC goes back to late 2018 when I purchased my 560SEC. At the time, it came with a set of Simmons wheels. They are a high quality Australian made wheel that are very popular on Fords. I didn’t think they looked right on the SEC. At the time, I was able to buy a lovely set of refurbished Gullideckel wheels from MB Spares and Service. I originally planned to put them on the SEC, but in the end I decided to put the 8 hole replica wheels on the SEC and put the Gullideckel on the SLC. The 8 holes rubbed slighly on the SLC and didn’t look quite right. Based on all this, I purchased the Penta wheels for the 450SLC which I am very happy with. I originally planned to wait a year or so to put the refurbished Gullideckel wheels on the 560SEL. That was because the ratty wheels had good Michelin tyres from 2016 and the refurbished wheels had cheap tyres I didn’t like the feel of. Two things changed that. Firstly, a Black Friday sale for 50% off Pirelli tyres. Secondly, I noticed that one of the Michelins had worn down on one of the edges from the alignment being slightly out. I had recently had the front suspension rebuilt on my 560SEL. My mechanic took it to be aligned, but I don’t think the alignment shop used the right specs as the handling was downright scary after the change. I really noticed that driving in the wet for the Youngtimer Sacco Day. I took the car back, and it took my Mechanic a few goes back to the alignment shop for them to get it right. At the same time they wanted the castor bushings changed, which were slightly worn, but not that bad. At least now I had a good alignment to start with for my fresh tyres. The Black Friday sale meant that the tyres were only $270 fitted. A great deal that also included some fuel discount cards. I also kept the Goodride tyres, as they have tread left and I should be able to get $100-$200 for those. They are currently for sale! To take advantage of the deal, I fitted the nice wheels to the car a couple of days before. While I was at it, I cleaned the wheel wells like I have for the SEC and SLC. They were just as dirty and grimy as those cars. I had the new tyres fitted the other day and the look of the car is transformed. Its also much nicer to drive as well.
A nice set of wheels really make the car. The Gullideckel were always an attractive style of wheel. In my opinion, much more so than the previous set of available alloys. The change also allows me to use the old wheels as spares in the various cars. Three of the four Michelins are in good shape and from 2016. This gives me a spare in the SEL, SEC and SLC. The spares in all of those cars were well over 10 years old and not something to be relied on for long trips. This was especially important for the 450SLC, as I plan to drive it to Adelaide in 2022 for the Mercedes Benz Clubs national rally. I may even take a second spare in the boot. One of the things I noticed right away when I got my new 280SE was that it wasn’t running well. It was very hard to start and keep running. Eventually, if I warmed it up a bit it would idle, but giving it much throttle would have it stutter and die. I was able to get it off the tow truck and into the warehouse, but not easily. Getting it to run properly is my first priority as it will also confirm that the drivetrain is good. My first attempt was to check the spark plugs. I thought that perhaps they may have been all fouled up from getting on and off the tow truck and at the auction site. The nice thing about the M110 is that they are so easy and accessible. Given that, it made sense just to change them. This would allow me to see if it made any difference and check the condition of the existing plugs. To more easily get at the plugs I removed the air cleaner assembly. I was very happy to see a near new Mann filter inside. The breather hose was also nice and supple. Another sign that the car has been properly taken care of. I changed out all the plugs and they looked pretty good. This ruled out fouled plugs or the car running really really rich.  I took the car for another drive around my warehouse unit carpark. There really wasn’t any change. It felt like the car was not getting enough fuel. I noticed the gauge was sitting between 1/4 and empty. Old car gauges are not always the most accurate. I thought the easiest thing to do would be to make sure there was actually fuel in the tank. Perhaps my 280SE running issues was simply a lack of fuel?
I bought 25 litres of fuel and the car started running better. It took a bit of time before this happened. It was also able to cold start far more easily. There could of course be other issues, but there were two possible issues I could do some simple tests to rule out. Firstly, that the fuel strainer or swirl pot at the bottom of the tank was clogged. If this was the case, raising the fuel level made it easier for the pump to suck more fuel and hence allow the car to run better. Alternatively, the fuel in the tank was so old or contaminated that putting in 25 litres of fresh fuel allowed the car to run much better. The test for both of these would be to drain the tank, and inspect the strainer. Before I did this, I thought it was probably worth trying to look into the tank to see its general condition. I borrowed a 48mm hex socket from a friend to remove the tank sender. This would allow to have a bit of a look inside the tank and also see how dirty the sender unit was. If the tank and sender unit was obviously filthy, then it would make sense to remove the entire tank and have it cleaned. Some information on the internet says you can get the sender out with a pipe wrench or similar. I found I could not get a good grip on it. The right 48mm socket had it out in seconds. The good news is that the tank looked very good. Unlike the flat tank of the W111, the W116 tank is much taller, so it is harder to see into it from the sender hole. You can’t see the swirl pot for example. From what I could see, there was no reason to remove the tank. The sender unit was quite clean, and there was minimal debris coming out of it. 
My next step will be to drain the fuel, inspect the strainer and change the filter. Even if this does not fix the problem, they are service items and it makes sense to be able to rule them out before starting to look at the fuel injection and the engine itself. I am hopeful that it is one of these things that is causing my 280SE running issues. If not, I’ll move on to things like fuel pressure tests.
I would like to get this sorted out by mid January so I can sell the 300SE and have a bit of time to drive this car before I hopefully sell it to buy the 450SE. Machines and Macchiatos is another local cars and coffee event I’ve been meaning to check out. I finally made it today, at their new location in Belrose. This location is very convenient to for me. Its on the second sunday of the month from 7am to 9am. Between the St Ives event, Eastern Suburbs and this event I could be going to an event almost every Sunday. Turnout was quite good, although a lot smaller than the St Ives event. I’m not sure if this is normal, as the weather had been wet all week and looked quite iffy in the morning. In any case, the Machines and Macchiatos show has a small fee to attend, which goes to Charity. I had originally planned to take the Citroen DS to this event, or if not that, my Jaguar. In the end I took my 560SEC. I had a very busy week at work so didn’t have time to have the rebuilt brake accumulator fitted. With the iffy weather, I also decided to leave the E-Type at home. It was the first event with the new AMG Aero I wheels, which look great – even if a bit muddy from the rain. The Mercedes Club had an official event within an event at the show, so there was a nice lineup of Mercedes cars. I wasn’t part of this as I wasn’t originally planning on bringing a Mercedes, or even 100% sure I would come. It was good to see some of the members and their cars at the event. Probably the most common cars there were American cars – in particular Mustangs. There were also a few nice full size American luxury cars like an Imperial and a Lincoln Continental. I must be odd as I was more excited about seeing an original condition Landcrab than the McLaren that was on display. This is a pretty good event. I was home by 9am and it was easy to get in and out. I would certainly attend again if i’m free on a Sunday morning. Last night was the first of two planned December night drives with the Mercedes Club. This was now the 3rd time we’ve run the drive to Bilpin. We did the route in May 2021 and November 2020. The drive is pretty simple. We meet at Windsor McDonalds and drive up to the Apple Pie Cottage at Bilpin. The Apple Pie Cottage is run by a club member who puts on coffees, apple pie and this time Pizza as well. Not only that but he is quite the comedian.  We’ve had some really wet and wild weather in Sydney of late and last night did not disappoint. It was absolutely bucketing down. Not surprisingly, the almost 20 registrations whittled down to about half that number.
What was surprising was the number of classics in attendance far outnumbered the modern cars.  In attendance we had two W116 cars – an anthracite 450SE and an astral silver 450SEL; three W126 cars, My signal red 300SE, a smoke silver 420SEL and a lapis blue 380SEC; and two W124 cars, a white E280 and a diamond blue 230E. The W116 is starting to build in popularity again and its nice to see them regularly at club events. For the moderns, there was a W211 E55, an E400 cabriolet and a CLA45S.
The drive up to the apple pie cottage at Bilpin was a bit slower than usual given the conditions. Most of the cars have no driver aids of any kind. Sadly we lost the E280 and the 420SEL. The E280 had a flat bettery at McDonalds and the 420SEL had the low coolant light come on. Better to be safe than sorry and overheat the aluminium V8. It is great to see the classics out in conditions like this. They are meant to be driven and enjoyed and this drive certainly allowed that.  I took my 300SE on this drive. This was because its good in the wet and I wanted to get one last club drive in before I sell it. Even in the 300SE I lost traction on a roundabout on the way to the meeting point.
After a feast of pizza and apple pie, we proceeded back to Sydney. There was an unmarked speed camera hiding in one of the zones where the speed limit drops from 80 to 60. The tolerances have been recently reduced in NSW, so I hope nobody was pinged by the camera for doing 65km/h. I didn’t get home until 1;30am, but the drive was well worth it. I didn’t take any photos at the Apple pie cottage as its too dark for them to come out properly. The final night drive of 2021 is the week before Christmas, starting in Camden. 
The second generation W126 controls ignition timing from the EZL. In most countries, Mercedes-Benz provided a knob to adjust the timing based on the petrol that was available in your area. This knob is present on my UK delivery 560SEC. I immediately turned the knob up to 98 octane petrol, as that is what I use in the car. In markets like Australia and the USA, they did not provide this knob. Instead, they provided a fixed resistor for that market. That allowed them to optimize for the petrol available in that market and focus emissions testing on that. That resistor is known as the R16 resistor, from the wiring diagram. There are countless threads on the various Mercedes forums like BenzWorld and PeachParts about this resistor and various attempts at changing it. Most of these attempts are for the W124 and nearly all of them concern the USA version. This made me think about what this might mean for the Australian version. The Australian version has slightly more power than the USA version. However, it has no EGR, no smog pump, and a far less restrictive exhaust system. The other difference is that the USA version is set up for 95 Octane petrol and the Australian version for 91. For more details on all these differences, please see this article. Its not possible to use 91 Octane petrol in a W126 in Australia anymore because it has been contaminated with Ethanol. Real petrol is only available in 95 and 98 Octane. That made me think it would probably make sense to optimise the 560SEL for 95 petrol since that is what I use. Based on that, I started my research. Most of this data comes from the 1987 technical data book. The values here are focused on the V8s, but the M103 is very similar. This was a project I did during the COVID19 lockdowns earlier this year. The first thing was to map the values of the switch provided in most cars to the fixed resistance values found in Australian, USA and Japanese cars. In these tables, the S position corresponds to premium petrol and N regular petrol. As these versions are all catalyst cars, we can see that the USA and Japanese versions correspond to the premium (95) position, and the Australian version to the regular (91) version. The ECE version is set up for 98 if on premium, which is what I use on my car. From there, we can then look at what these settings actually do to ignition timing. In the table above, we can see that the main difference is that the timing without vacuum is lower. I’m not really sure what impact this has in the real world. The other thing we see is that the same switch position can lead to different timing maps depending on the version of the car. To see what this meant, I cross referenced the EZL part numbers for these versions. These are the numbers for the M117.968. The main outcome of this was that the USA and Australian versions seemed to use the same EZL. This meant that in theory, I should be able to replace my 220 Ohm R16 resistor for the 750 Ohm R16 resistor. I tried to buy one new, but like a lot of W126 parts, they are now NLA. In the end I found one on USA eBay to try.  I drove the car around after the swap and I really couldn’t tell any difference. A better test would be to do a back to back run up a long freeway onramp to see if I felt any difference at higher rev ranges. By modern standards, a 560SEL is not a particularly powerful car. It is powerful enough that it is hard to use the higher rev ranges safely on most roads.
I’m not sure of the end outcome of this. Best case, I have optimized the car for 95 octane petrol. Worst case, I’ve not really made any difference. | |
