Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.

Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed

« Prev
1
Next »

Splitty456 Part of things Posts: 181	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed Splitty456 @splitty456
	Jan 19, 2015 20:49:16 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Hello and welcome to my new retro daily/van/shed! After driving silly retro cars for all of my adult life, last summer I graduated and got a 'propper' job, with a real commute and decided I needed a sensibly, modern, comfy car with a full interior and a normal engine for said commute. This is not where the Merc comes in. Nope, first I must bore you with a tale of woe and expense and a good reason to avoid anything modern or electrical! I viewed a 2000 E46 330CI with M3 interior, coilovers and 19" rimz m8!! - Comfy? Probably used to be. - Modern? ...ish... - Sensible? Almost! Content that it pretty consistently didn't meet my requirements, I bought it (naturally). It's a high miler, but it drove really rather well and the engine made no untoward noises, so into daily service it went. And all was well, I changed some bulbs, serviced it and enjoyed my fancy new automobile. Until about 6 months later when a rather faint but ominous knocking noise started emanating from the engine. hmmmm. Some thicker oil quietened it down abit, and I started looking at rebuilding the engine. Realised that was a bloody expensive game and decided my money was better spend buying an M3 lump (in for a penny!).... And then rebuilding that (in for a pound!!!). THIS is where the Merc comes in! I realised that my knockety BMW wouldn't go on forever, and that I had a number of rather large heavy bits of engine that needed transporting to a machine shop. This, I'm sure you'll agree, is a ~~perfect excuse~~ legitimate reason to buy another car! An so the hunt was on! The parameters of my new car? - Less than £500 - MOT'd - Estate - Not boring My searches turned up a few possibilities (mostly volvos), I missed out on a good looking E34, then this Merc popped up a few miles from work, so I headed round to have a look. Owned by the same guy since 2001 and used for ferrying his kids around (it has 7 seats) until they grew up, then used to ferry the dog around, until he passed away 18 months ago. Since then it has just kinda sat, he didn't even wash for the advert! But anyway, with a passing comment about only 1 glow plug working, he fired it up: pud ... pud ... pud ... pudda ... pud ... pudda ... pudda . KNOCK . pud ... pudda . KNOCK . pudda . knock knock . puddapuddapuddapudda - as the good plug fired it and the other 5 pots caught up. We went for a good drive in it - rode well, interior is amazingly good for 200 thousand odd miles ('the odometer broke about 12 years ago' he tells me), slushbox is again surprisingly smooth, windscreen wiper is slow, much of the electronics still work, and its got a months MOT. We get back, I check for rust (nearside wing and a couple of bits on the rear arches) but can't really find anything to knock him down on and buy the thing, leaving only my £10 lunch money as deposit and agreeing to collect it at the weekend. Anyway, fast forward a few days and it sat on my drive, then 4 buckets of water and most of sunday later it was sort of clean! Note the clean interior and quirky asymmetrical mirrors! Also I don't know why, but I really like the roof bars and windbrake, hence the picture Not so good bits? rust: Also numerous little quirks and annoyances: - Only 1 glow plug - Drivers window doesn't work - regulator teeth worn by the sounds of it - Sunroof doesn't work - cable stretched? 'park' switch broken? motor gone? drive wheel worn? - no idea and it's winter anyway; it can stay shut! - Passenger mirror doesn't seem to adjust - probably gunked up linkage - Driver mirror doesn't adjust - knob broken! combined with the window not working this was a pain to adjust! - Windscreen wiper very slow - needs linkage greasing (apparently quite a big job) - Boot struts knackered - man that thing is heavy! - It has a Laserline alarm with 2 fobs, neither of which work. The alarm remains off for now, happily the central locking works fine! - Got some crazy nose down/ass up stance going on, not sure if the front has collapsed, the SLS has taken off or, more likely, both. So the plan of action then: - Clean the interior: it's covered in dog hair in the back and the mats are mouldy. - Glow plugs - Alarm fob - Boot struts - Drivers window - BMW E36 coilovers - Much lowness - 17 or 18 inch BBS RS reps - Turbo engine conversion NO, NO, NO, THIS WILL BE A SENSIBLE DAILY!!! IT WILL!! (somebody help me)
	1984 Honda Civic - 1.6 16v Swap Sold 1979 BMW E21 320 - S54 Project 1988 Mitsubishi Starion 2000EX - Sensible Daily Sold

	Reply Quote

village Part of things Always carries a toolbox. Because Volkswagen....... Posts: 567	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed village @village
	Jan 19, 2015 22:10:37 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Jan 19, 2015 20:49:16 GMT Splitty456 said: (somebody help me) You're posting threads on RR. You're beyond help........
	"The White Van is strong with this one...." Chris "Chesney" Allen 1976-2005 RIP

	Reply Quote

georgeb Posted hell of a lot Posts: 7,864	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed georgeb @georgeb
	Jan 20, 2015 7:57:35 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Excellent and, for some unknown reason, bookmarked!
	1995 Range Rover P38 4.6 HSE Letter from Manila

	Reply Quote

william123 Part of things Posts: 161	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed william123 @william123
	Jan 20, 2015 15:04:41 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Always fancied one of these instead of a van for work, will follow with interest, lot of car for under £500 !!
	1994 Mercedes e220 petrol estate, daily driver. 1998 Peugeot 406 Coupe 3.0 v6, shopping car.

	Reply Quote

Splitty456 Part of things Posts: 181	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed Splitty456 @splitty456
	Jan 20, 2015 21:29:55 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Jan 19, 2015 22:10:37 GMT village said: Jan 19, 2015 20:49:16 GMT Splitty456 said: (somebody help me) You're posting threads on RR. You're beyond help........ Nooo don't say that! There's still hope, right? right?? Anyway, I was hoping to come on here with a sensible update on how i'd fixed the Laserline alarm/central locking and that I was the master of old central locking units and that 'I don't know what all the fuss is about!'. But alas, twas not to be. Although my new remote did turn up, I couldn't for the life of me get it to communicate with the car! I'm not sure if it's because I have a key barrel in the car instead of a 2/3 pin fob thingy, or if i just need to dig out the receiver and fiddle with that. Either way, I spent an hour or so at it, got cold and went in. I did change the battery in one of the old remotes, however, which at least proved that the system works, apart from the drivers door that won't unlock via remote (sigh). Also the lock/unlock button is broken on the remote in question, and tends to go off at random. After setting the alarm off twice, I decided this could get tiresome, so removed the battery again. The other old remote apparently took a trip to the bottom of the river trent and strangely never worked again... Certainly, I couldn't get any signs of life out of it. Also my new glow plugs turned up (at 7PM, good ol' euro car parts! ). I've heard it said that you have to remove the inlet manifold to change the glow plugs on this engine.... Challenge accepted. Aaaand I missed out on a tasty wooden steering wheel on ebay because I was too busy reading about TurboDieselWeasel's gold W124 coupe... such is life.
	1984 Honda Civic - 1.6 16v Swap Sold 1979 BMW E21 320 - S54 Project 1988 Mitsubishi Starion 2000EX - Sensible Daily Sold

	Reply Quote

düdo Part of things wide as house Posts: 770	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed düdo @dudo
	Jan 20, 2015 22:01:53 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Yeah, good one. Luxury interior! My uncle had one in the same colour which was like his best mate. Hope you win.


	Reply Quote

village Part of things Always carries a toolbox. Because Volkswagen....... Posts: 567	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed village @village
	Jan 21, 2015 9:45:01 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	would it be possible to use the shell of the dead remote and the guts of the working one to make one good one? I know that this is possible on VW stuff. that might get around the sticking button issue
	"The White Van is strong with this one...." Chris "Chesney" Allen 1976-2005 RIP

	Reply Quote

tdk Part of things Posts: 958	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed tdk @tdk
	Jan 21, 2015 9:52:18 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Looking good! Does the soft close thing work on the boot? The loom chafes and fritzes the rear electrics, apparently, rear wiper and lights are on the same loom I think. Do these all have self-leveling rear suspension? That might explain the odd stance if it is kaput. Any rust underneath? I've got my eye open for a good W124, they look great. Keep up updated!
	SUPER - a series of books about old, odd, interesting, obscure and abandoned filling stations.

	Reply Quote

Splitty456 Part of things Posts: 181	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed Splitty456 @splitty456
	Jan 21, 2015 13:17:53 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Jan 21, 2015 9:52:18 GMT tdk said: Looking good! Does the soft close thing work on the boot? The loom chafes and fritzes the rear electrics, apparently, rear wiper and lights are on the same loom I think. Do these all have self-leveling rear suspension? That might explain the odd stance if it is kaput. Any rust underneath? I've got my eye open for a good W124, they look great. Keep up updated! Surprisingly, yes! I mean, the boot struts are knackered so it wont stay open, but it closes just lovely! Yep, self leveling suspension was standard on T models I think. Looking at it from a distance in the petrol station this morning, it looks like the front coils have collapsed but the SLS has kept the rear at standard ride height. Unfortunately the hard pipes to the shocks are looking pretty rotten, and will probably fail the MOT anyway, at which point I expect i'll remove the system rather than trying to fix it, but we shall see... Aside from that, the underside looks pretty solid! @tvillage said: would it be possible to use the shell of the dead remote and the guts of the working one to make one good one? I know that this is possible on VW stuff. that might get around the sticking button issue I did try that, but unfortunately it's the button on the circuit board that's gone... I'll have another look at some point, but since the drivers door doesn't unlock with the remote, I should probably fix that first (pointless having remote central locking if it doesn't unlock the one door I use!)
	1984 Honda Civic - 1.6 16v Swap Sold 1979 BMW E21 320 - S54 Project 1988 Mitsubishi Starion 2000EX - Sensible Daily Sold

	Reply Quote

hario Part of things S202 C300STD Posts: 421	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed hario @hario
	Feb 6, 2015 15:59:18 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Awesome write up man. It's a twin cam OM606 non-turbo right? Manifold and turbo from OM606.962 are a direct fit, just saying.. Got to keep roofbars because racecar, and that interor looks super comfy!
	S202 C300TD Wagon Installed: OM606 & 722.6, Evo6 IC, S600AMG callipers & 345mm rotors. No catz. Leatherish seats.. Rust.. Future: DIY manifolds & turbo compound build. Built IP, & some kind of software. Less rust..

	Reply Quote

8tee8 Part of things Posts: 288	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed 8tee8 @8tee8
	Feb 6, 2015 16:50:56 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	It'll be a single cam engine at this age. Before you spend any money on it have a look at the rear ARB mounts. Roy around here kills lots of them; I had to sell mine as an mot failure for this reason, as repairing it is difficult if you are a good welder and more than the car is worth if you're not!


	Reply Quote

8tee8 Part of things Posts: 288	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed 8tee8 @8tee8
	Feb 6, 2015 16:51:16 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	*rust not Roy


	Reply Quote

skoda_norman Global Moderator Posts: 8,449	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed skoda_norman @skodanorman
	Feb 6, 2015 17:42:59 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Nice buy - what a bargain!


	Reply Quote

Splitty456 Part of things Posts: 181	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed Splitty456 @splitty456
	Feb 7, 2015 22:09:38 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Feb 6, 2015 15:59:18 GMT hario said: Awesome write up man. It's a twin cam OM606 non-turbo right? Manifold and turbo from OM606.962 are a direct fit, just saying.. Got to keep roofbars because racecar, and that interor looks super comfy! Thanks! As 8tee8 states, it's the single cam 603 non turbo. I would have thought the turbo and manifold(s) from a turbo 603 would fit, but then I think there would be nowhere to route the downpipe... But anyways, 1 engine build at a time please!! And of course the roof bars are staying! 8tee8 said: It'll be a single cam engine at this age. Before you spend any money on it have a look at the rear ARB mounts. Roy around here kills lots of them; I had to sell mine as an mot failure for this reason, as repairing it is difficult if you are a good welder and more than the car is worth if you're not! Thanks for the tip, I was under there t'other day adjusting the handbrake and all looked well (and it's just passed an MOT) but I will keep an eye out for rust, I guess it would be a subframe out job to repair them if they do go. I'll keep an eye out for Roy too while i'm at it! Anyway, I have actually been doing stuff to the car. I've driven it up to shropshire, for which it performed flawlessly: this thing is just built to cruise. I also finally changed the glow plugs last weekend, AND i did so without removing the manifold. I didn't, however, manage to get any pics as I was far too busy cursing/scraping knuckles/dropping tools/retrieving tools/dropping the torch etc. I do have a pic of the assortment of glow plugs I removed as consolation: I lubed the wiper linkage as well last weekend, again forgetting to take pics (although it would have just been shots of me removing endless pieces of scuttle trim just to get to the damn thing!). In the end i only sprayed it with WD40 as it was barely above freezing and far too cold to strip and re-grease the mechanism properly! Seems to have done the job for now though. Last night I adjusted the handbrake so that it now holds the car against the creep in reverse, and this morning took it for an MOT which it passed! Couple of advisories for handbrake, rear brake lines and a few trivial ones for washers not great and seat difficult to adjust (now part of the test apparently!) The rest of today I have spent replacing the tailgate struts, as get stuff in and out of the boot is really quite difficult when you're battling a rather heavy tailgate. Obviously for a task such as this you need a second person to assist you..... I used a broom.... In what is quite a nice piece of engineering and packaging (as is generally the case for this old Merc), the boot struts are held in the roof. This of course means a large amount of interior trim must be removed to access them. They are actually quite easy to remove: you remove the rearmost pin while your broom/helper holds the boot near completely open, then close the boot and pull back the dust cover to access the front pin. The strut then slides out backwards (I found it easier to pull the headlining down a bit for this) Installation is, as always, the reversal of removal, and after some time has passed and you've broken the broom.... Look Ma! No hands! Then you just have to re-fit all the interior trim! (the headlining and D pillar trims tuck under the window seals, which is a pain in the ) With that done, I set about the task at the top of the priority list in my first post and cleaned the interior. Here it is before (the dirty patch in the corner is where i have removed the CD changer - the Sony USB head unit from my Civic is taking care of the tunes now) Under the seats was especially manky, and there is a suspicious looking yellow wire that looks like it should do something... I then attacked it all with the hoover and to be honest it doesn't look much better, but there is less dog hair and pine needles now, so i'm calling that a success! During my adventures in the boot i've found a few things; Some ATF, some very old diesel additive, some leather 'nourisher and feed', some wheel cleaner in a window cleaner bottle but by far the most interesting was the complete original first aid kit, warning triangle, tool kit, and some touch up paint! Finally, to celebrate all my sensible hard work, I bought some wheels...
	1984 Honda Civic - 1.6 16v Swap Sold 1979 BMW E21 320 - S54 Project 1988 Mitsubishi Starion 2000EX - Sensible Daily Sold

	Reply Quote

THE_Liam Yorkshire and The Humber If at first you don't succeed... HAMMERS. Posts: 1,363	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed THE_Liam @pugman
	Feb 8, 2015 21:14:13 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	That is a massive bargain!
	Volvo 740GL 2.3 saloon retrorides.proboards.com/thread/196885/volvo-740-thebrick

	Reply Quote

Battles Scotland Posts: 1,568	Mercedes W124 300TD - New Daily Shed Battles @1001ab
	Feb 8, 2015 21:50:47 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Total bargain. How did you get on with the front coils? Don't worry about the front wings and arches, they're all like that. The rear load area windows kill a lot of cars though. Are you taking in water there? Try "Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure" if you are. I know that the "official" method for greasing the wiper looks intimidating but have you considered just drilling a tiny hole and spraying the grease in that way? That's what I did to one I sold a while back. I put a little plastic screw in to seal the hole. Does your driver's door open on the central locking using the key? If so, it'll just be the alarm interface for the locking. They usually fit them in the space under the set of electric window switches between the front seats. It's an easy piece to get out, worth checking.


	jacques405 likes this Reply Quote

Retro Rides Privacy Statement