"91" mercedes s124 300te24 & "98" f**d puma

Hi, I have one of these cars languishing in a lockup after I crashed it. Unfortunately you'll find that sourcing bits for the 24v engined cars can be a bit of a pain. Most motor factors only carry parts for the M103 12v and in any event rarely hear you when you explain that it's a 24v. I've been sold incorrect spark plug before.

The 24v cars were fitted with bigger front brakes as standard and also larger rear brakes. I know some of the estates had vented rears.
There's a pdf file available here listing all different permutations of W124 brakes and helpfully including the factory part numbers.

I think you made the right choice in not selling it. The value of S124 estates seems to be going up, especially well-optioned ones such as yours. You're better off putting it right and keeping it. Aside from the increasing values, they're just a really nice car to drive and use.

At the time these cars were new, AMG was still a separate company from Mercedes. They'd supply you with whatever you wanted. Engines, suspension tuning, body kits, wheels, or any combination thereof. The 24v motor was the basis for the upgraded engine in later W124s. Intially in a stroked and bored 3.4 version of the 3.0 M104 and later in a stroked and bored version based on the 3.2 M104.

When you look up an M104 equipped W124 VIN on the Daimler EPC (Electronic Parts Catalogue) it shows up as an AMG regardless of whether it was an original AMG car or not.

I think I may have spoken to you about this car when it was for sale. I ended up buying a 320TE.
Not as well spec'd as yours but it was cheaper so I went for that one and planned to get a leather interior separately but the seller backed out so I still have the cloth in it at the moment.
It's currently undergoing gearbox surgery though, hopefully not a false economy to go for the cheaper car.

Great car, nice AMG upgrades. Have you tried to get the original data card for it?
I'd love to know the details.

Hi, Long time lurker, first time poster, just wanted to say nice car!
I have one myself and it really is a magnificent machine.
These 300-TE 24s are the most powerful standard models, with 231bhp for the non catalyst models like mine. The later 320 had less power but more torque. They do have just oodles of power and effortless speed.
I don't think yours is an AMG model. AMG engines are usually identifiable by a second intake on the rear left of the air filter, with a long hose running to the left hand side of the engine, and the engine bay will have their stickers in it. The confusion has probably arisen because as has been said above when you enter the vin for a 24v into the Mercedes EPC it comes back as "300TE-24, 300TE-24 AMG". Nevertheless it's a great car. The 7J wheels indicate that yours probably has the sports chassis option if hey are original to the car. The standard wheels were 6.5J, whether 8 or 15 hole. If you have the manual the data card at the back will have all the option codes which you can look up online. All 300TE-24s had vented rear discs, and the EPC should show this. Trouble is that Merc dealers these days are curse word so I'd recommend using a specialist instead.

I guess you need someone who knows the cars. If they are at a dealer then great. But with the software they have there's no excuse really.
About the early 90s Mercedes sacked most of their dealers and took the network over themselves. This was not a good decision. But if you find a dealer who was part of the old MB network, e.g. Hughes of Beaconsfield, then I suspect you'll get better service on the old models.

I believe that the main square key is the same as the round one but has a groove down the centre, so you might just be able to get one cut from the round key.
I think 124s are superior to any car Mercedes has built since. I'm glad there are still people like me who are prepared to spend money on them.

I must get a thread up now that I've de-lurked. Trouble is I take such rubbish photos :-)

I've found that sourcing parts through Mercedes can be a bit of a pain, partly because some of the option codes are not actually recognised by Mercede's own computer system. For example my 300TE-24 has the sport supension. But instead of the regular code for sportline, it had a different code signifying the sport suspension and light alloy wheels but without the sportline badging. Unfortunately when you pull the code up on the Daimler EPC it doesn't recognise it. So when I went to Mercedes to order replacement front springs they claimed it was the ordinary suspension.

And Mercedes also used some option codes for more than one option. The 300e-24 my wife is currently driving is Brilliant Silver, paint code 744. However when I put the VIN into the EPC, code 744 comes up as Blue Fabric Roof (clearly meaning for the Cabriolet).

So the moral of the story is - be sure to study up on your car and know what it is and isn't. I recommend subscribing to the Daimler EPC as it lets you look up part numbers, check for superseded parts etc.

The good thing about these cars is that mechanically they're pretty simple so you can work on them yourself.

There's a very comprehensive option code list here:

www.benzworld.org/forums/w126-s-se-sec-sel-sd/1661859-comprehensive-option-code-list.html

Ah, OK Because you see cars with this vital cover missing quite frequently

Maybe it was the gearbox oil-cooler which was so bl00dy steep then. But still - I think that's fairly expensive for a cooler this size.