The Timing chain replacement is almost finished on the 560SEC. The new chain is installed, guides fitted and valve stem seals replaced. I stopped by the workshop to pick something up that I had left in the car and I was able to see it almost done. The photo shows the new chain in place with all new guides. They are a much...
The 560 is the ultimate M117 engine. This family of engines was introduced in 1969 with the 3.5l M116 and was followed in 1972 with the 4.5 M117. The M117 is a longer stroke version of the M116. Both engines share a SOHC design, 2 valves per cylinder and always had fuel injection. These engines evolved over time with the final iteration coming between...
Most Mercedes from the mid 50s to the late 60s had a similar set of controls for the heater. There are four horizontal levers controlling the amount of heat and the direction of the air flow. At least on the W111, the lever on the top left controls the amount of outside airflow. The top right controls the direction of the airflow. The two...
When I last used my 560SEC before Xmas, I noticed a rather large puddle of petrol underneath it. I’ve not driven the car since as it is rather dangerous to drive with such a leak. I had assumed it was probably fuel hoses. Many cars run on E10 rot their hoses. I purchased a few of the relevant hoses so I would only have...
I’ve been preparing for the next round of improvement projects for the 560SEC. The most important is the Timing Chain and Valve Stem seals. I’m not going to do this job myself and am hoping to save a little labour cost by having both the stem seals and the chain done at the same time. I had previously checked the Timing chain and...
The W126 range was in production from 1979-1991. I’ve never seen a comprehensive table of W126 differential ratios, so I have attempted to create my own. Not only did they vary between models and years, but in some cases countries too. It is possible I have missed a few more country specific ratios. Please indicate in the comments below if I have. The data...
My two biggest concerns buying this 560SEC was the potential for rust being a UK car, and the condition of the timing chain. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked underneath the 560SEC and found that it was not a rusty car. The other common W126 rust area is under the rear windscreen. This is also an issue in Australian delivered cars as it’s...
The Mercedes-Benz club run an annual drive aimed a convertibles. It is better for everyone that the topless drive is referring to the cars, not the drivers. I last attended the drive back in 2014. I had planned to take the 250SE on this drive. The forecast was for rain, which makes it hard in a convey as putting the top up on...
My 560SEC came with a set of Simmons wheels. These wheels are not to my taste and were too wide for the car. The wheels had been mounted with spacers which I do not like. On Thursday, I secured a great set of 15×7 Mercedes wheels which I fitted to the 450SLC. This meant that the ASA Type 8 wheels I had on...
My 450SLC was originally sold with 14″ alloy wheels. This style of wheel was the standard Mercedes alloy wheel from the late 60s to 1985. It has a few nicknames such as Bundt Cake, Baroque, Fuchs etc. On the V8s it is 6.5″ wide but narrower versions (5.5″ & 6″) were available. The challenge with these wheels is that good tyres for a heavy...
My 560SEC came with a set of aftermarket wheels from Simmons. The Simmons wheels are a locally made wheel, and this set are two piece 16″ variants. They are shod with 245mm tyres so the fronts rub on sweeping corners and the backs on higher speed bumps. I prefer a more stock look so the plan is to remove and sell the...
Today I continued working on the 560SEC. I gave the car a quick wash to get a better sense of the condition of the paint. Overall it is pretty good for its age, with the usual minor chips and scrapes here and there. The worst is a small amount of damage on the passengers side in front of the door (behind the plastic lower...
I spent the afternoon going over the 560SEC, making small improvements and evaluating the car. The first order of business was to look at the original factory wheels that came with it. As was the norm back in 1987, there are five factory alloy wheels. They were in a really sorry state when I removed them from the boot of the car. They...
I recently purchased a Mercedes-Benz 560SEC at auction. The auction was in Queensland, so the cheapest way to get the car was to have it shipped to a depot in Bathurst. My brother and I went up to Bathurst to pick up the car in his E63 BMW 650i. The trip presented a great opportunity to drive two v8’s around the Mount Panorama racetrack. This...
In the space of about ten years, the Sydney German Auto-fest has grown from a couple of cars in a small Canada Bay carpark to one of the biggest car shows on the calendar. I attended that first show, unfortunately I did not take any photos. What a contrast to the 2018 show. This was the biggest one yet. The show has now outgrown...
Back in early 2017 I fixed my broken odometer. The 300SE odometer repair was successful, but there were two things I needed to follow up on. The odometer was reading 10% low. I could hear the gears, especially in cold weather. In addition, some time after I repaired the odometer, one of the bulbs that illuminates the instrument cluster at night failed. The fix...
The OzBenz forum is one of the online resources I use to maintain my Mercedes-Benz’s. The forum has evolved over a 15 year period, starting with the Mercedes Veterans mailing list, branching off to the OzVets mailing list. This became the OzVets forum and then later the OzBenz forum. I joined very early on and found this a great set of resources to...
I like to fit a battery disconnect switch to all my cars. It ensures the batteries don’t run down and prevents fires. Fires are a real risk from cars with old wiring. I had put one of those cheap on terminal switches on the 250SE when I got it a few years ago. Of late it had been playing up and was difficult...
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