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Jan 19, 2011 11:08:31 GMT
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When I bought the E200, approx 3 months ago, the car drove without a fault. However, commuting along some pot holed roads has taken its toll on the front suspension, which started knocking over bumps. I had a look at all the bushes and all seemed fine. The knocking was bothering me, so I took the E200 to a local Merc specialist. He diagnosed worn anti-roll bar bushes x4, which looked absolutely fine to me! Replacement, including parts, labour and VAT came to just over £50 and the work was carried out within the hour. Silence has been restored. I really do love my E200. It is perfect for my commute and feels like it will keep going for another 17 years! The mileage is only 103k, so there's plenty of life left in the old Benz.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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Jan 23, 2011 16:35:57 GMT
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I have completed the scuttle and floorpan repairs and reassembled the interior. I have left the carpets out to enable ongoing monitoring of future water ingress, of which, hopefully, there won't be any! The nearside floorpan is original and in perfect condition. The offside floorpan is now well protected if future water ingress occurs. I have also painted the inner wing, alongside the bulkhead, which I previously cleaned up and coated with primer. Whilst undertaking the repairs I didn't use the car for 2 weeks. When I tried to move it the front offside wheel wouldn't budge. I reversed off the drive with a stuck front wheel for approx 3m before something let go with a clunk, allowing the wheel to turn. I removed the wheel to inspect the pads and disc and all seems fine. The caliper looks ok and does not bind. The wheel bearing turns smoothly. The car drives fine but under heavy braking there is slight wheel wobble and I can feel pulsing through the brake pedal. I suspect that a brake pad had fused itself with the brake disc and upon release the disc suffered damage and is now slightly warped. If the situation does not improve within the next few hundred miles I'll stick a new disc on there. Shame really, as the car had a new set of discs and pads approx 7k miles ago. Speaking of mileage, the odometer currently reads 99,890 miles. There is something special about the moment when the mileage goes over 100k. As far as the W124 is concerned, since having the new anti-roll bar bushes fitted the car drives like new.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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Jan 28, 2011 19:24:44 GMT
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The W123 has reached a milestone. With a bit of maintenance and the odd repair the car should be good for another 100k!
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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A couple of pics of the W123 taken yesterday, whilst parked next to Maidenhead bridge, in Berkshire. The dilapidated shed in the second photograph is an old timber framed boat house, which dates back to the 1880s. I am a chareted surveyor and work takes me to some special places, mostly within the counties of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. Such a pretty car!
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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Feb 12, 2011 11:19:18 GMT
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It certainly is. Hellelfenbein?
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194? Willys Jeep MB 1965 Volvo 544 Special 1968 Opel Rekord 1975 Opel Kadett Estate 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E 1985 Datsun 720 King Cab 4x4 diesel 1997 Volvo S70 2.5SE (ex. "Volvo544special65" - changed to more reader friendly username. )
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It certainly is light ivory! The W123's main role in life influenced my colour choice: Part of my family lived in Berlin in the 1990s and whenever I went to visit I admired rows of W123 taxis. I love that last photograph. I would be happy to spend all day sitting behind that dash, with the diesel engine chugging away and the meter clock ticking. I remember on one occasion, after spending an evening with my (female) cousin, her two german male friends and some vodka, being driven home very fast through back streets of Berlin in the back of a W123 230TE.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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A few more photographs for you: I bought a 1:18 scale model of a W123. Note the number plate! My W123 parked outside the Ace Cafe. I think this was April or May, whilst attending the classic car evening soiree. My W123 parked alongside a friend's R107.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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Feb 13, 2011 12:04:02 GMT
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Thank you for the pics! Hellelfenbein is a nice color...almost wish mine was painted that way...Astralsilber is hopeless to touch up.
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194? Willys Jeep MB 1965 Volvo 544 Special 1968 Opel Rekord 1975 Opel Kadett Estate 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E 1985 Datsun 720 King Cab 4x4 diesel 1997 Volvo S70 2.5SE (ex. "Volvo544special65" - changed to more reader friendly username. )
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Feb 19, 2011 16:17:14 GMT
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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Feb 19, 2011 16:22:11 GMT
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Hearse:
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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Feb 19, 2011 16:24:13 GMT
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Going back to taxis, how about this lang version?
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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Feb 22, 2011 13:17:08 GMT
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A quick update on the W123:
Since applying sealant around the front screen seal, the interior has remained completely dry. There is no evidence of any further water ingress and floorpans on both sides of the car are dry. Result.
Despite the problem with the sticking brake pad, the brakes are working well and very slight judder only occurs under heavy braking. I suspect the problem will go away completely once I clock up a few more miles.
Despite the curse word winter weather I try to use the W123 at least once or twice a week. Trouble is, each time I take it for a drive it comes home dirty, which for me is the main problem of living in a rural location.
My wife and son will be going away in a couple of weeks time, allowing me to spend 2 weekends tinkering with the car. Can't wait!
W124:
Absolutely nothing to report. The car is 100% reliable.
On another forum (autoshite), my E200 has been criticised for being underpowered. Ok, I'll be the first to agree that I won't win many traffic light grand-prixs in the E200, but for normal everyday use the 136BHP on offer is perfectly adequate.
The E200 will happily cruise between 65-80MPH (why go faster?) and on one occasion the speedo went past 120MPH. I get high 20s MPG on a commute and mid to high 30s on a run. Can't be bad!
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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Ok, I took advantage of the dry and sunny weather and spent a few hours cleaning and fiddling with the Mercs this weekend. Firstly, the W123. When I bought the car the offside bottom corner of the front valance had a bit of filler where the panel was dented. Despite a crack in the filler, for the first 12 months of my ownership the repair looked tidy, however, more recently brown (rust) stains have started extending down from the crack. The valance also picked up a couple of stonechips. As soon as the weather permits, I propose to hack off the cracked filler, clean up the metal beneath and re-fill to make good any imperfections. However, in the meantime, to prevent further rust stains I painted over parts of the valance.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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Next up was the W124. As I haven't washed the car for weeks, it was absolutely bloody filthy. Whilst washing it, I noticed that what was a bit of rust along the front part of the offside front wing, has in the past few months got a lot worse. This is it after I scraped off the bubbly paint. The metal was solid so I adopted the same method of repair as I did on the bootlid (see above). As before, the black Hammerite has blended in well with the adjoining gloss black paintwork. From six foot away you'd never know the panel was partially brush painted and once the car gets dirty again, I won't know about it either.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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W123 update: The throttle pedal has always had a bit too much free play. The dead travel hinders smooth (manual gearbox) gear changes. I removed the air filter housing to reveal the throttle linkage: The problem is that the linkage works like a domino effect. The cable has a little slack, then the first part of the linkage operates the throttle position switch, then, once the switch has clicked, the next part of the linkage moves, which in turn operates the throttle butterfly. All the ball joints are well lubricated and in good condition. I have posted a question on the Mercedes forum asking what can be done to improve matters. Apparently, the arrangement can be adjusted. Does anyone know how? I have fitted a pair of Bush Arena rear shelf speakers, which date back to the 1980s(?). I have tucked the cables beneath the rear bench and carpets, extending to the back of the stereo. This is very easy on a W123, as the rear bench unclips and the front and rear carpets just lift out. The speakers work ok but the sound is a bit tinny. I suspect that the head unit is at fault. Turning the bass knob from min to max makes absolutely no difference to the quality of the sound. The head unit is an old Blaupunkt. I say old, but it is not old enough to have been fitted new to the (1985) car. Does anyone have a decent suitable replacement stereo I could purchase at a reasonable price? I need one with FM radio, a cassette player and a facility to opetrate an electric aerial.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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Mar 13, 2011 15:57:41 GMT
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Some great work there!
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Remember the days when sex was safe and motorsport was dangerous. Vintage bling always attracts pussy.
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Due to professional and family commitments I haven't had a chance to update you guys on recent progress. A lot has happened in the past few weeks. I'll start with the W123. Probably due to a few weeks of relative inactivity, the front nearside brake had started to bind. When coming to a standstill, at sub 5MPH speeds the car would stop by itself, even on an incline. I removed the caliper and found one of two pistons to be seized. A squirt of WD40 and a push on the piston (using a G-clamp) freed the stuck piston. The brakes have been fine since. I had to replace the front speakers. I listen to my MP3 player via a tape adaptor, which highlighted the speakers' shortcomings. A pair of two way Alpine 4 inch speakers did the trick. Sound quality is excellent, I can even hear a little bit of bass on certain tracks! The speakers needed minor tweaks to fit and are concealed beneath the original speaker grilles.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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I couldn't bare to look at the front valance any more. It was time to take action! I started by removing the bumper, which comes off by undoing two 17mm nuts. So far so good! I removed the offside bumper fixing bracket to find a nasty surprise. After a bit of poking with a screwdriver , I found this. The bumper bracket didn't look that great either. I removed the loose rust and coated the bracket with Kurust. Once dry, I painted the bracket with Hammerite. At some point in its life, the Merc suffered a bump that dented the bottom section of the offside front wing. There is a very small crease in the wheel arch to confirm this. Although the repair looked ok, over time two sections of filler cracked, resulting in the horrible rust staining that's been bugging me since I bought the car. There was no point in bodging the big rust hole, especially as it's concealed by the bumper bracket. I treated the rust with Kurust and filled the sections of the wing that will be on show with the bumper re-attached. I had a rattle tin made up with the correct shade of ivory. I painted the exposed metal with Hammerite. Once everything was dry, I re-assembled the bumper. The colour match is perfect and the repair looks good. I promise to have the rust hole welded up next time the car goes to see a professional bodywork specialist.
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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