brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108 
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I can't believe that it's been so long since I've posted on this thread, but you know what happens with life.... So late last year I had an issue with the INJ circuit on the MS2 relay board. After many hours looking for the culprit, I ended up sending the relay board and MS2 to a guy down in Virginia to check them out, Nothing wrong found. I eventually tracked down the problem to the O2 sensor. It had melted the wires as it was too close to the exhaust and small repair ensued. I've been working hard on our house and the W108 got slightly neglected to be honest. I didn't even get it inspected (MOT'd) until the beginning of June. The old one ran out in Feb. I just didn't have the time to check it over and was driving a E39 530 BMW meanwhile. I missed the old girl and hated just leaving it standing for that time. I sent it for the inspection and it passed no problems. Since then I've repaired a small fuel leak from a rubber line to hard line join, and also noticed that somehow the vacuum line between the two throttle bodies had become disconnected. These two items improved fuel economy greatly! Also today I experienced what total break failure is like! Effing scary that's what. Coming down a hill I was intending to turn left at the light at the bottom and when I pressed the break pedal coming up the stopped cars waiting for the red light, the pedal went to the floor. I pumped the pedal and not a lot was happening, bar the proximity of the cars in front. I ended up yanking the handbrake and putting the car in neutral while pumping the pedal in the vague hope that something would happen. I aimed for the pavement to the right and narrowly missed the stopped police car in the right lane. That wouldn't have ended well for me if I had rear ended the cruiser... It looks like I had the hard line go right in the middle of the car running to the rear. The one thing that bothers me, apart from the fact that it was inspected 3 weeks ago, was that this car has dual circuit brakes. It should have just retained fronts if that line had sprung a leak. I think as well as the hard lines I should replace the MC? does that sound right? Have a picture of the incident!  Also we are having our garage knocked down, sounds counter-intuitive, however we are replacing it with a 3 car garage, 24' x 36' with someplace for me to work and also keep the cars inside this winter. The old garage was down in 20 min. It was rotten throughout and had 7 layers of roof shingles. That's not legal here, or "not to code" in local speak.  Have a video of the lack of fight it put up! |
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Last Edit: Jun 30, 2017 4:59:41 GMT by brc76
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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I have to use a better camera than the one on my phone.
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Jun 30, 2017 11:53:32 GMT
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The hard line also failed on my range rover just after I bought it, there were barely any brakes left on that either, just a small amount at the very bottom of the pedal travel (fortunately it has a pretty good 4 wheel handbrake)
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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Jul 24, 2017 19:53:12 GMT
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Upon further investigation, the brake lines in general needed an overhaul, but most worryingly was that the pressure reducer for the rear brakes was also leaking decently. This could explain a few things.
This week I have replaced 90% of hard lines, not 100% as I ran out of time (and the patience of my parents where the car was located, specifically my father). The rear pressure reducer has been binned, replacements cost $300+ so I have made use of a "Tee" more typically used in VW's of 60's, 70's and early 80's. I've added in a willwood proportioning valve at the MC side of the rear line so I can dial in the rear brakes should I need to. I've also replaced the MC with the one used on late 1966 and on W108's as the unit in my car was early, and the same as used in fintail Mercedes. It also has the tap on the side for when I get around to swapping engines and need a clutch reservoir. Much better. less death potential. yeah me.
Also rebuilt the power steering pump and box. I'm totally amazed how nice power steering is, I've been driving it for a few years now with none. I think that I will have to revisit it again, but rebuilding the box also removed the 2 inch of play at the wheel.
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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So... Long time no update on this! House has been taking priority and while we now have a 3 car garage, there was a mudroom that needed to be made from scratch to connect the house and the garage. 10' x 16'. I had to learn to frame, siding, shingle the roof, insulate (spray foam for the win), sheetrock, make cabinets, install windows and doors, etc. As my GF has not yet decided what colour she would like me to paint the walls and hasn't placed the order for the floor tiles yet, I figure that I have 2 options. find other jobs to be getting on with, or get back on the Merc. what did I choose? After the power steering and general brake overhaul, the power steering slowly got less powerful and more manual steering again. 1 month after the above post, it was back to it's old self. I didn't care. I was happy being back in the Merc. The car was tired, but I'm happy with working with that. Blow-by was getting slowly worse, warm start smoking was getting worse, but it still passed the 2017 inspection like that. I probably drove it 10k miles before the 2018 inspection. That didn't go well. I went to the place that I have been going to for the last 4 years, to find that they had closed for business. I ran across town to the next nearest inspection place. The attitude of the guy should have warned me what was about to happen. I got a fail, said play in the front end, washers non-fuctioning and a headlight and a brakelight out. Drove home. checked lights working, washer was not where he thought so he admitted that he failed it on that, and I could not detect any real play in the kingpins or steering links. I went back for a retest and got failed again on the same things, and told me off on how he was doing me a favor, as he could be fined for not putting it back through another full test. I was curse word and drove home, and walked away from it until now. Promised myself that I would get the mudroom done and insulate and board out the garage before touching it. So yesterday night I started working on it again. I have a short hit list 1) Rust in P/S headlight area 2) Rust in leading edge of both sills 3) Rust in P/S Rear arch / End of sill 4) Steering wheel / Column light referb 5) Figure out steering box power issue, Replace or repair 6) Remove non-functioning AC and Heater. Look into replacing with vintage air unit 7) Door Seals 8) Trunk (boot for those watching in colour) Seal That is the minor list. Big list 1) Engine Swap. I have a 24v M104 2) 6 Speed gearbox. I have it already 3) MS3X with COP 4) Modify the M104 intake for electronic injectors 5) break rear axle, while looking for one from a 4.5 V8 or swap in rear subframe from a W126 or similar.    While taking out the engine tonight, I found the following; The trottle bodies were held in by 50% of the ideal fasteners, lock nuts should not fall off should they? The other 50% were slightly less tight than you'd really want. Air leaks? hmmm. There was a nut and bolt missing from the gearbox mount, and a stud was backing out from the gearbox tail. Also generally considered bad. Bonnet catch? 1 screw and nut where 4 should be? lets call that good. I got the column out as well, so will see what will happen there. I have this bizzare idea of converting the column shifter from the Auto to work the manual gearbox. I can visualize what would be needed to do this, but right now I think it's beyond my pay grade. I'm going to have to figure out how to do the engine mounts on the crossmember and where exactly it fits, but a trial fit will answer this shortly. |
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Last Edit: Mar 5, 2019 4:10:01 GMT by brc76
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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And no, I have no idea what the 3 random 2" holes cut in the firewall were for. One on it's own near the heater fan, the other 2 were near the thermoking A/C unit, but seem to be excessively sized.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,309
Club RR Member Number: 170
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1966 Merc 250s M104 ChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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Watching this thread with interest, given that ideas will be required  . |
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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 Ok, so it's not in, but fundamentally it fits. Bizarre as it seems the length of the engine and gearbox is almost exactly the same as the old engine and gearbox. In the image above it's sitting on the engine mounts of the old engine and then the engine mounts of the new engine, I just wanted to drop it in to see if the space was going to work at all. I think I may have clearance issues with the intake, like the battery and the master cylinder. I am very tempted to cut and join the intake to shorten it a little, but I fear this is the wrong approach to take? I have an engine mount question for you more experienced engine swappers. Should I: A) Use the r129 mounts and weld up a section onto the existing crossmember for them to drop into B) Find a r129 or w124 crossmember and cut the top off that, then weld to my w108 crossmember C) use the spare w108 crossmember, cut out the mounting locations, weld them to the one in the car and use the w108 mounts. D) OTHER Here is the r129 and the w108 mounts, the w108 mounts are dead so new would be found, but you get the general idea.  This is the spare w108 crossmember I had from the brown car.  |
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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Simple answer for the battery interference? Relocate the battery tray.
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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Decided on option A)Making new mounts from sheet steel on the existing crossmember. Started on making them this evening. I have to work out how to make them nice and strong and also I would like to keep the ability to use the R129 rubber mounts unmodified. I'll get there over the next few nights.
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Last Edit: Mar 10, 2019 3:38:02 GMT by brc76
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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Mar 12, 2019 19:03:29 GMT
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Ok, I need some assistance! so there is a natural lean on the M104 to the RH side of the car. If you level the engine head, the entire engine is like 10' (so the head is offset from the crank if that makes sense. The gearbox I have is from a V6 and while they share the same bolt pattern, it seems that the gearbox expects to be level. see below.   The question is that should I work on the engine level and make up the gearbox mounts to fit the angle OR should I try to get the box level and end up with the engine upright? |
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scimjim
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,503
Club RR Member Number: 8
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1966 Merc 250s M104 scimjim
@scimjim
Club Retro Rides Member 8
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Mar 12, 2019 20:01:28 GMT
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I think you need to drop it into the engine bay to see where it needs to sit. Propshaft angles will control the gearbox output position, gearstick will affect box angle of rotation, then it can probably be tweaked a bit to suit Engine position and where you’re going to need the mounts, will the alternator etc clear, will the exhaust clear the steering column, etc.
Where is the oil pickup pipe when the head is level (high side of sump or low?) sometimes a simple fix like an extra half a litre of oil can be enough to keep it happy.
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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Mar 12, 2019 20:40:36 GMT
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Exactly, I don't think either will be a problem. Engine fits either way, but I feel is better level(ish) side to side, as the pickup is right and the intake would be quite uphill if tilted more. The gearbox mechanism is setup for the box to be level, but there is 2 ways to sort that, a BMW selector or cut and shut the mercedes one to rotate.
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Phil H
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,448
Club RR Member Number: 133
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1966 Merc 250s M104 Phil H
@philhoward
Club Retro Rides Member 133
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Mar 12, 2019 21:46:13 GMT
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Surely the bottom of the sump should be level - and that dictates the engine angle? The top of the head might or might not be meant to be level - or even makes no difference.
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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Mar 12, 2019 22:26:07 GMT
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Sump and head are parallel.
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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I fear I have the wrong transmission. Will check in the morning, but it should have been right.
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scimjim
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,503
Club RR Member Number: 8
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1966 Merc 250s M104 scimjim
@scimjim
Club Retro Rides Member 8
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Sump and head are parallel. Are they? It looks as if the sump and the top of the rocker cover are parallel? Sump angle obviously affects oil pickup but head angle can affect oil draining too (flooding the exhaust valves at the angle shown on the pallet). |
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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Mar 13, 2019 10:55:04 GMT
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Research done.
Engine is correct leant over. I knew that this was right. But the transmission made me question my mind. I have the wrong transmission. I ordered a c230k (m111) transmission, I recieved a c230 (m272) transmission. It bolts up, but lacks the matching rotation of the engine. I can get another transmission but that's a $500 - 700 mistake. I can't go back on the yard that sold me the transmission as I had to sign a waiver since I wasn't installing it in the correct vehicle, plus that was like 2 years ago.
Kinda curse word off.
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Last Edit: Mar 13, 2019 10:56:11 GMT by brc76
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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Mar 13, 2019 10:58:05 GMT
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Sump and head are parallel. Are they? It looks as if the sump and the top of the rocker cover are parallel? Sump angle obviously affects oil pickup but head angle can affect oil draining too (flooding the exhaust valves at the angle shown on the pallet). Apologies, I meant the valve cover, you are right the head is at an angle relative to the sump. |
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Last Edit: Mar 13, 2019 10:59:12 GMT by brc76
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brc76
RR Helper
Posts: 1,108
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Mar 13, 2019 13:22:51 GMT
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Found the correct transmission locally, only $350! I say "only". Atleast it's not going to be holding me up this week. I can go pick it up today.
My girlfriend worked out what I've been doing in the evenings and has ordered the floor tiles and underfloor heating for our mudroom. I have 7 days until they are ready to pick up.
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Last Edit: Mar 13, 2019 13:25:15 GMT by brc76
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