Mercedes-Benz
Yesterday, I posted an update on my 240D showing how I had changed the petrol filters. A friend pointed out that my filter was full of algae. My 240D was from a deceased estate and it’s condition and mileage make me think it didn’t get a lot of use in recent years. Algae seems more prevalent in cars that have sat around for a...
Since I purchased my 240D, I had planned to use ‘Diesel Purge’ to clean the injectors and injection pump. The car runs well, but it is a bit rough at idle and I figured this would probably help. This was part of my plan to clean the fuel system for the entire car. I have a suspicion that the strainer in the bottom of...
Recently I had noticed the 560SEC running hotter than usual in traffic. This was during winter when it was quite cold outside. I suspected that the original viscous fan coupling was starting to fail. I was able to spin the fan quite easily just after I turned off the engine while it was hot. Back in 2020, I had a similar issue on...
My 1981 Mercedes 240D still has the original Becker Europa 596 Radio. This is one of the last of the analogue radios before the cars moved to the digital radio with the Becker Grand prix 612. The main issue with the Becker is that it does not stay in tune. I’m constantly having to adjust it to stay on an FM station. In addition,...
Recently the odometer stopped working on my 1987 560SEL, just before the car hit 340,000km. This is a pretty common problem on the W126. I had to repair both my old 300SE and my 560SEC. The issue is the small gears that turn the odometer. They are made of a very soft plastic and after 30+ years, the teeth break off. This repair is...
I just got my 240D back from having the motor mounts changed. When I purchased the 240D, the motor mounts were one of the few obvious things that needed attending to on the car. They looked pretty bad and the engine was shaking at idle. On a W123 or W126, normally I would go with the Lemforder motor mounts, which are excellent. I...
The under bonnet insulation was starting to reach the end of its use by date. Bits of it in the air filter were a pretty good indicator of this. I’m not sure how long it had been on, but it pre dated my ownership of the car. Looking more carefully, I could see the main insulation mat, which was falling apart. However, I could...
The under bonnet insulation on my W123 240D had started to crumble on the edges. While it had only just started happening, it also appeared that the car didn’t have a proper insulation mat. I’m not sure if it was an older aftermarket option, or something cut to size but it looked like some thin light coloured foam. Since I was doing this...
Like a lot of modern cars, the S211 E350 my wife drives has a ‘shark fin’ antenna on the roof. There are generally maintenance free, in contrast with telescopic power antennas. However, in our case, when the antenna was broken after hitting a garage door, the fix was not obvious. The proper fix would be to replace the antenna with a new Mercedes-Benz unit. ...
Yesterday I did my first proper drive in my 1981 Mercedes 240D. More information about the car can be found here. My overall impression is that the people who talk about the performance of the 240D automatic on the internet have clearly never driven one. I’m used to driving fairly powerful cars like my 220KW 560SEC but I didn’t find the 240D especially slow...
With the 240D now registered and in the garage, there were a few simple jobs to undertake. The first was a set of floor mats. The original carpets were in such nice shape I wanted to protect them. I though the ideal floor mats for the 240D are the dealer fitted thick rubber mats from that era. Its likely what the car had...
Sometimes you don’t go looking for classic cars – they find you. While I have always wanted to try a W123 diesel, I wasn’t specifically looking for one. However, when I saw this 1981 Mercedes-Benz 240D, I thought it was something special. I was able to secure it for what I thought was a very good price. The main thing that appealed...
Late last year the power window on my 1987 Mercedes 560SEL stuck in the down position. I lowered the window to exit a parking station and the window would not go back up. The first test I did was to check the switch. This would have been the easiest and simplest repair. It is very easy to swap the plug on the front and...
A few months ago, I started replacing the blower on my W124. I figured this would be a simple job and I would be back up and running a few days later. Little did I know that that the car would be off the road for months. In part one, I removed the old W124 blower motor. I was not able to install my...
I’m back in the USA for an annual conference I attend. I normally have a free day before it starts, to get acclimatized to the time zone and to allow a buffer for flight delays. The conference is in Las Vegas, which has become really expensive. I’m not all that interested in spending money on overpriced entertainment, or gambling when I could...
I just got my 450SLC back from having the timing chain, tensioner, camshaft oiler tubes and valve stem seals replaced. These are all jobs that any owner of a Mercedes V8 of this era will need to undertake at some point. The primary driver behind this was the need to replace the valve stem seals. A couple of my sparkplugs, #1 in particular, would...
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