DD-ization, Part 2

The Mercedes been in the shop for 2,5 weeks now. As you would expect they started at the top of the list; timing chain and guide rails. Unfortunately the job of getting the guide rails changed wasn't as much of a breeze as I'd hoped. To get access to the bottom guide rails, you of course have to take off the timing cover. However, to do that, you need to disassemble pretty much everything there is in between the engine and the radiator grille, and that's not all, you need to work the underside of the engine as well.

I was glad I decided to have them changed though, one of the upper guide rails had already snapped clean in 2. I was really worried the other rails were beginning to go as well. Gives me tremendous peace of mind to know the chain & rails are brand new.

This is the bare minimum amount of disassembling you need to do to change the timing chain. You can just feed the new chain in through the exposed sprocket at the end of the camshaft. For this the bulk of disassembly was the airbox & inlet pipes.

Both cam covers removed. At this point you can check the upper guide rails for wear & damage.

Most of the front now disassembled, some work still left to do before the timing cover will come off.

Fruit of all that disassembling labour: timing cover is off as is the old chain. All of the guide rails can now be replaced; what a great time to notice one of them was not shipped! A few days' wait for a very cheap, but crucial part.

New chain is installed, the red guide rail is the one that was missing.

While doing this I'll be replacing almost all of the seals that are involved, including water & oil pump seals, cam cover seals, etc. Next week the timing cover should be going back on and the engine bay slowly back together.

A pic from under the plastic side paneling, as you can see there's very little corrosion, which is a relief.

The shop will treat the inside with anti-corrosion gel and reinstall the side paneling with proper fasteners.

Pipe Dreamin'

Today, the Magnaflows arrived.

Left: twin Magnapacks, which will act as resonators. Right: rear muffler.

I was glad to hear the same place where I'm getting the rest of the work done can do full stainless steel exhaust work. They get to do this later on.

Overall look of the current almost stock exhaust. The Magnapacks will be installed right after the cat, and pipes fabricated to the rear, where the big muffler will go just like you'd expect.

Corner Light Woes

I've been thinking about the rear light clusters with clear indicators and I'm drifting more and more towards getting rid of them, and in search of options for the front indicators. Well, I was on the internet and I found this! A mint W124 500E with some interesting looking front indicators.

I think those would look great with the OEM rear light clusters and orange wing indicators, while still making the front look awesome head-on. However, I've no idea where to get those orange-strip ones. If anyone has seen them somewhere for the W126, please let me know. Otherwise I'm even verging towards buying some new clear indicators (15 euros a pop or something to that effect) and having a similar amber strip painted, if that's in any way possible.

Planning the Exhaust

I've been pondering on the exhaust. Needless to say, Magnaflow - however, I was never quite sure what size stuff to get and what parts I actually want/need. Was actually even thinking of a freeflow cat but since they didn't really have a fitting dual in - dual out product with correct dimensions, and because I worry about emissions, I chose to again leave the original cat to its own devices.

All became much clearer when I got a chance to view the underside of the car, and the exhaust that's currently on it. Turns out the OEM resonators have been deleted and there's some non-OEM looking pipe for a catback, with the OEM muffler. Judging from the attachment hooks, it has also been removed at some point but has since been re-installed.

Looking back from the catalytic converter which was still original.

Looking towards the front.

Is that not the simplest exhaust you've ever seen on a Merc? Makes it a lot easier to convert to a new Magnaflow catback.

Here's what I settled on: OEM cat -> twin 14445 magnapacks -> single 12468 dual in - dual out muffler -> dual exit pipes as close visually to the ones on my E Coupe as possible. Pipe diameter will be 2.5".

The mufflers will arrive the week after next.

Also, as a point of reference, here's how the current non-Magnaflow setup sounds:

The car sounds somewhat trouser-accidenty already, but it's actually nothing like that inside the car, you can't hear anything in there. Want more sound!

DD-ization, Part 1

I was able to source some used center console switches (air con, cabin air recirculation) to replace worn ones, and when those are installed (assuming they fit), the temperature knob lighting bulbs will be replaced. This should improve the overall look of the cockpit, currently it all looks a bit broken...

This car is equipped with what Merc call orthopaedic front seats, meaning there are air bubbles inside the backrest which you can adjust to your desired hardness and vertical position. So front seats with lumbar support, basically. The air cushions are controlled by a control unit attached to the seatbelt lock. The air goes from the vehicle's pressure system to the cushions via air hoses, meaning as far as I can tell it's all completely mechanical. Problem with mine was, the driver's side control unit was leaking, so there was a constant hissing at regular intervals inside the car, like someone was breathing heavy all the time next to you. Yes, I checked the trunk and there were no FBI informants to be seen, so I concluded it was the lumbar support controller hissing away.

A new one would've been 220 euros at the very least, at a finnish website selling OEM Merc parts, but again I was able to source a used one for next to nothing. Worked fine, installed easy and now there is some beautiful silence!

I mentioned some "necessary services to make an old M117 into a realiable everyday powerplant". Well, actually there are things related to the engine, and some that aren't. Here's a list I cobbled up for me ol' trusty mechanic.

Engine:
- Timing chain & guide rails replacement
- Oil & filter change
- Fuel mixture optimization
- Engine idle speed too high when warm, need to find out why (probably an air leak somewhere)
- Install block pre-heater
- Check coolant

Powertrain:
- Check transmission fluid and flush if necessary.
- Need to adjust kickdown, it's a bit too sensitive currently
- Check diff oil

Center console:
- Switches and bulbs, mentioned above

Etc:
- New headlight wiper blades (wanna guess how much these were at the stealership? Correct answer: 80+ euros a pop, no I didn't buy)
- Blower motor replacement
- The plastic panels running the length of the car need to be removed and the metal underneath cleaned up & derusted if there's rust 

The timing chain & blower motor were the most expensive parts at about 120 and 300 eur. There will be labor of course but in the end it's necessary that all the stuff there gets taken care of.

Pictured here: headlight wiper blades, oil filter, timing chain and guide rails, Defa block pre-heater, center console switches, blower motor

After this maintenance visit (went in today, hopefully finishes early next week) I'll start working on getting the car rustproofed. Again a bit expensive but should pay for itself in mental wellbeing and fewer rust repair jobs in the future.

Money

Surprisingly, the vast majority of expenditures with a car like this aren't actually gas or insurance. Having now lived with the car for a while, I've got some fuel economy figures and they aren't that terrible. I get 12 litres per 100 highway km's at mixed 80/100kph speeds, and as low as 15-16 l/100km cruising in the city. For this kind of engine/tranny, that's pretty good, no?

Also, insurance costs LESS (about 25% less) than the E 320 Coupe insurance. What a difference 5 years and a popular boyracer chassis (W124) makes.

But you don't want to know about prices of spare parts, or labour...