My European Spec. 1984 300TD came to me with inoperable aftermarket Stanley (A Japanese brand) 55 watt Halogen back up lamps mounted just below the rear bumper in the stock position ~
They never worked and I've been remiss (lax) about some little things on this car and have been working on it diligently the last week as we're going to take it on a long Desert drive soon .
To - day was the day I finally dismounted both chrome lamps, took them apart and began polishing the dirty and rusty chrome housings, the bulbs tested out O.K. so I looked at the fuses and they were O.K. so I figured the combination reverse lamp / neutral safety switch had died from the 55 watt load, broke out my test lamp and began testing ~ discovered power to the right side and so repaired the poorly adapted lamp's pig tails to match the perfect undamaged original wagon's harness, the right side lamp shone brightly but no joy on the left one so remembering it's a _European_ Spec. grey market car I turned on the for lamps and them gently pulled the light switch out it's full two detents ~ Lo ! I now have a working rear FOG LAMP ~ it's too bright and clear not red or yellow so I'll have to begin beating the bushes for yellow bulbs or maybe a junked Wagon with the correct red left rear lamp on it's bumper .
I actually have seen these in the Self - Service Junk Yards I patronize but didn't own a wagon at that time and so didn't grab them .
The 'K.I.S.S.' comment means " Keep It Simple Stupid " ~ good advice for both Mechanics and DIY'ers who often dive way too far into a problem before properly diagnosing it .
I suspected the trouble would be fond near the lamps just because they weren't original, I expect to find burnt out bulbs but instead found old, mediocre wiring patches that simply died of old age .
So, in the last week I have :
Replaced the air cleaner rubber mounts
Replaced the HVAC fan with a low mileage one from a 190,000 300D sedan
Rustled up some correct slightly larger size Metric screws to hold the ash tray firmly in place ~ the original self tapping screws were striped out by some DPM/DPO so it rattled and bothered me .
Replaced the right rear window lift mechanism with a brandy new one from Germany via The M- Classic Center in Irvine, Ca. it's a W116 part and I'd tried using several used ones, all were bent and failed in short order . almost $400 ! (gasp) and I had to re use the old electric motor, good thing it still works fine .
I replaced the lower door trim that had come loose thanx to a long ago body repair, once again the Classic Center came though with all the necessary fiddly bits, fasteners and special nut etc.
I doubt it'll ever bother me again .
Bled the rakes once again, they're working fine now but still too soft for my liking ~ the W123 TD and W116 Sedans both use a different brake booster so maybe the different 'feel' is normal . I'll prolly bleed them again in a while when I have some spare time (or MAKE some) .
Certainly the car now stops authoritatively .
Replaced the firewall throttle linkage support pivot, I bet this is bad on 90 + % of all the old Mercedes out there, I'm going to order up another one for my Diesel Sports Coupe shortly .
Replaced oil, oil and air filters cold adjusted the valves and replaced the rockerbox rubber gasket with a Mercedes one ~ Victor Reinze makes good ones but not the same quality rubber as the Mercedes supplied ones .
The only oil leak I'm aware of now is coming out the bell housing and might be a tranny leak, might be a rear main seal, I'll have to do more cleaning and watch closely to ascertain which . less than a 3MM drip on my clean drip tray so I'm not overly concerned .
Corrected the rear speaker fader connection so now I have 'Concert Hall' sound, all I need is to find a vintage reverb unit to complete the effect =8-) .
Flushed and replaced the power steering's ATF, it's still smelling slightly burnt so I'll change it again until it remains translucent and sweet smelling as the pump doesn't leak behind the pulley as so many do nor does it make an groaning/buzzing sounds so getting the entire P.S. system clean is well worth the effort . I replaced the old damaged reservoir cap nut with a nice one too .
Replaced a burnt out license plate lamp festoon bulb,
Washed all four 15" wheels and hub caps, new brake pads are on order ~ I'm supposed to pick them up to - morrow morning .
Thanx to Bills service links I tried a toothed Hirschman antenna mast to - day and it's working fine again so I cleaned the dirt 'round the antenna hole and in the rubber seals, re mounted and adjusted it , all is well there for now .
Scrubbed the front seats and some door panels with Meguiar's #40 Plastic/Leather Cleaner/Conditioner, this is a Professional use product that's amazing ~ you won't believe it until you've tried it .
I'm sure there's more I forgot as I like to tinker and replace gone missing or incorrect hardware as I go along .
I believe you shouldn't be able to tell a Mechanic has touched your vehicle by looking at it .
Of course it's not perfect yet but it's very nice, people always ask to buy it wherever it goes .
I'm beat and sore but happy .
I hope to get it washed and will maybe wax it ere long .
-Nate
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Posted by: Nate <vwnate1@yahoo.com>
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