OWNER JC220

[Stegel]

Currently in Southampton? If it is the car I’m thinking, I looked at the advert and thought it looked pretty good and had potential. Good luck!

 

[JC220]

Correct sound like the one alright! Just seen the add today and couldn't resist after a long talk with the vendor who did seem genuine.

More to come guys- 60 odd photos too and more info on its story and what work has been done - by mechanics that had no clue by the sounds of things

I will post a new thread within 48 hours- I'd rather not link the add at this stage. All in good time

 

[JC220]

OK so I’ll come clean a little – the latest project is a 1995 C140 CL500 Coupe – 73k miles and full service history + MOT’s to back it up. Caveat is that this poor girl has not started up for 4 years+ So i bought it as a “trade sale” no returns – sight unseen. Oops. In my defence it was a decent price – these CL500 140 coupes command strong values over here and this one was priced just decently enough that it sparked my interest even being dead essentially. I think ill save a few K overall and have a very nice example if all goes to plan.

This is only to start generating the thoughts of the board which I would really appreciate – as to how I tackle this when the car reaches me. It has to be collected by lorry, taken to ferry in England and over to N Ireland to my home. I am told I will have the car Friday next week or Saturday at latest. So about 10 days out let’s say – many sleepless nights ahead!

The seller is a car dealer and to be honest he sounded genuine enough describing the car. He has owned it for 4 years himself and decided to move it on now due to having to fork out labour rates to diagnose since he can’t work at it himself. Here is what he told me about the car in summary:

• Past owner had it 10 years. It was garaged the whole time and they were selling the property snd at this stage it’s battery was flat. They got the AA out and the car would not jump start at all – so they ended up selling it on as it was due to having to move home. And this dealer had bought it - he may well have knew these people I'm not sure (It did not see a garage at this point – only the AA)
• This dealer bought the car for himself as a project and after a few months entrusted it to a local mechanic to take it on and get it running.
• This mechanic diagnosed initially the eco wiring. So the engine loom (I presume upper only... not sure) was sent to Poland and pro re-wired. The mechanic installed that and no difference. Cost £800
• Then the ETA was suspect ECO. So it was removed and sent for rebuilding in UK – for £170. No difference.
• 8 new Fuel injectors were obtained also – possibly fitted too not entirely sure but 8x new fuel injectors are involved somewhere for sure. Either they will be already installed in the motor or laying in the trunk.....
• Then he said it needed a new starter motor because it sounded “too slow”. New starter fitted to the car – cost £380. Then he said oh- the battery is dead too – we need one of them.
• At this stage the dealer started to ask simple things like – “did you drain the fuel tank and check filters etc?”. Mechanic said he had not done that yet – and the dealer realised he was less than ideal to be working at it and basically had no ability to repair these era Mercedes.

So it was taken back to the dealer’s private lot and stayed there with other projects – and sat for a total of 4 years. He realised he had too mmay projects and would not be likely to get this car sorted any time soon. Very recently he had the car sent for pro repaint / rust repair of both front fenders and he offered the car for trade sale “as is” basis. Still not a peep to start up.

NOW – I am paraphrasing here. Joining up and summarising tit bits of info I was given and receipts emailed to me. Do I take all this info as gospel? No but I can only consider what he has told me in good faith. I will not know the full extent of what the mechanic disturbed or worked at for myself until the car gets here. Hopefully they did not mess with much as that will add work for me.

What I am wondering is what would cause a m119.970 to go stone dead overnight? I want to be ready and hit the car hard as soon as it gets here so to speak. My plan of attack is:

• Drain old petrol. Drop tank strainer and check condition. Fit new fuel filter. Re-fill with 4 – 6 gallon fresh super unleaded.
• Install all new fuses and clean the contacts – including the base module.
• Install new battery
• Clean battery terminals and check smaller + wire to base modules for tightness
• Hook up fuel pressure test gauge
• Fit a injector noid test lamp
• Crank it over and see for myself how the car is behaving.
• Check with a timing lamp for spark at the plug lead(s)
• Does this sound logical – any additional steps I should do?

I am wondering if the fault might be:

• Dead EZL or other module– due to AA jump start
• Failing diodes in LH module - non running fuel pump
• Failed fuel pump relay or FPR
• Bad crank sensor
• Distributer cap, insulator, moisture or other ignition system failure
• It has IR remote - possible problem with immobiliser or other electrical gremlin

I will use instinct and experience on my 500E m119 to listen for the ETA powering up, fuel pump running and check for spark etc etc. I have a wealth of M119 spares, ETAs (w140 cable), modules, MAF etc and I could borrow the dist caps and coils off my 500E just to test. I am tempted to buy a new spare crank sensor and have it on hand.

PS a full and proper introduction thread will come soon on the CL500 with pics etc – just some initial feedback and opinions on the potential cause of a non starter early m119 c140 for now.

 

[gsxr]

Joe, the main issue here is the engine will crank, but not fire up - correct?

Simple test: Squirt starting fluid down the MAF (1-2 seconds is plenty). Crank it over, if it fires up and dies after a couple of seconds, you know the issue is lack of fuel. If it STILL does not fire up, you know the problem is no ignition.

Once you have that data (plus codes from SDS for grins) you'll know what to focus on.

 

[JC220]

Joe, the main issue here is the engine will crank, but not fire up - correct?

Simple test: Squirt starting fluid down the MAF (1-2 seconds is plenty). Crank it over, if it fires up and dies after a couple of seconds, you know the issue is lack of fuel. If it STILL does not fire up, you know the problem is no ignition.

Once you have that data (plus codes from SDS for grins) you'll know what to focus on.

Hi Dave – thanks for the suggestions and yes that is my understanding. That the car turns over fine on the starter motor but does not fire up and run. At least - I hope to heck it's not seized after 4 years standing. Alloy block though - gives me hope.

Thats a good idea on the squirt in the intake. In my mind I want to drain the old fuel out too before trying to start so the rail isn’t potentially getting pumped with more stale fuel.

Yes I have Star and could pull codes too and for sure I will provide the forum with plenty info when the car arrives and I can get working on it.

 

[gsxr]

Nah, I've had engines sit for years that fired right up, even on old stale gas. Starting fluid will tell you right away if it's fuel or ignition. At this point, it isn't going to hurt anything either way. 4 years isn't too bad. I'd be a lot more concerned if it were 10+ years.

 

[JC220]

If I am to believe or understand what I have been told by the dealer it should be 4 years as non runner. But It could be longer who knows. It has not had MOT since year 2009 may be related or unrelated to the running issue. Hopefully the latter

 

[Stegel]

I don’t know if you saw it, but he tried to sell it (at a far higher price) on eBay early this year, and at that point the front wings were holed by rust (and, IIRC, replacement wings were supplied), so the “recent wings” are very recent indeed. As before, I think it looks good and at that price there’s scope for making it all good for a fair overall price.

Will a 119 of this age have a distributor or had they switched to coil pack on plug by then? My same age E320 cabrio doesn’t have a distributor and I would think the 140 would lead on tech.

 

[gsxr]

Stegel, this one should still have distributors, unless it is a very late 1995 build with the 119.980 engine. Over here in the colonies, we have model years which don't match production dates, and USA 1995 model year would have distributors/LH injection. But in Europe, a 1995 production date could possibly be an ME 1.0 system with coil packs.

Joe, it's an "early" 1995 car with LH injection, correct?

Edit - I also assumed since it had the harness replaced, it's likely LH, as the ME / .980 engines didn't have the engine harness problems.

 

[JC220]

I don’t know if you saw it, but he tried to sell it (at a far higher price) on eBay early this year, and at that point the front wings were holed by rust (and, IIRC, replacement wings were supplied), so the “recent wings” are very recent indeed. As before, I think it looks good and at that price there’s scope for making it all good for a fair overall price.

Will a 119 of this age have a distributor or had they switched to coil pack on plug by then? My same age E320 cabrio doesn’t have a distributor and I would think the 140 would lead on tech.

Thanks for the info - I had not seen the prior Ebay add myself. Do you recall roughly what he wanted then?

Yes he said the wings were pro repainted only 2 weeks or so ago so that aligns.

Joe, it's an "early" 1995 car with LH injection, correct?

Edit - I also assumed since it had the harness replaced, it's likely LH, as the ME / .980 engines didn't have the engine harness problems.

It is a M119.970 engine so early M119 with coils and caps.( I havent seen a pic of the engine bay but 60+ pics everywhere else) That is from checking its VIN. Build date is March 1995

 

[JC220]

My thoughts or fears are also that whatever the original issue was 4 years ago could now be made worse by numpty mechanic(s) working on it.

Aka I'll have to also check and consider their work on top of normal troubleshooting.

If I am lucky it could be as simple as a blown EZL. Or it could be a serious electrical wiring issue deep in the car that will take weeks to investigate and repair..... however I can do this all myself hopefully so perhaps the car is ideal for me in that respect. It is a gamble but I think the price was too tempting and the seller appears genuine.

 

[Stegel]

GSXR, thanks for the update on 119 development - I probably underappreciate how many variants for global consumption MB are producing at any one time (although sometimes identifying part numbers gives a clue!).

JC, it appeared twice, once it was bid up to over £4k (I imagine by someone who thought a wave of an oily rag would make it pristine and chickened out when they saw it in the flesh) and I think once as a classified ad again north of £4K.

 

[Hakie]

As long as there no timing chain, bearings are involved you might get it fixed/running for not too much money. Fingers crossed, nice find and challenge. Good luck!
Curious of what you will find.

 

[JC220]

JC, it appeared twice, once it was bid up to over £4k (I imagine by someone who thought a wave of an oily rag would make it pristine and chickened out when they saw it in the flesh) and I think once as a classified ad again north of £4K.

£4k is about where this car should really be now ... so I think I did OK then. Who knows why the “buyer” backed out – the country is full of time wasters / tyre kickers too! Or they were smarter than me and got eyes on it before making payment

As long as there no timing chain, bearings are involved you might get it fixed/running for not too much money. Fingers crossed, nice find and challenge. Good luck!
Curious of what you will find.

Thankyou! I am curious what’s wrong with it too. Thing is that if the engine is somehow toast I could always buy a full used motor for around £500 and fit that myself. But as we know the m119 is a tough motor so it’s highly likely to be an electrical gremlin or similar that no-one capable have worked at yet. Here’s hoping. What I do know is since I DIY and the price was right – I don’t think I’ll lose money even if fitting a motor.

I belive this car when repaired, running and MOT’d again is worth around £8k and these will only go up in value each year. I am very excited about the car and I am looking forward to it arriving and getting started on diagnosing it. I was looking for one of these for some time now but each one I have seen is £6k or over and with higher miles. The condition of this car in the photos also looks very nice / above average and the miles are low at 73k which is what also drew my attention.

 

[Stegel]

If it was on a lorry heading in my direction, at near the price it was advertised for, I’d certainly be happy (although my wife would be less enthusiastic!).

 

[JC220]

If it was on a lorry heading in my direction, at near the price it was advertised for, I’d certainly be happy (although my wife would be less enthusiastic!).

No such luck for me - a lorry to collect it and bring to me is £450! My GF still requires convincing about this one - hard to argue it's case when there are 12 cars at my house already. In my defence 2 of those are parts cars and going soon

 

[Stegel]

Depending on where you are in Ireland, that doesn’t sound too bad / sounds good value. I collect no 8 tomorrow, but “that’s ok” as it’s a Golf for daughter no.2.

 

[Hakie]

My GF still requires convincing about this one - hard to argue it's case when there are 12 cars at my house....In my defence 2 of those are parts cars and going soon

Great! There is always a worse case... . Similar situation here but I had “only” 6. One sold a few weeks back.
Last impulsive buy was 2 cars from an auction. A CLS 350 and a CLK 200 kompressor. The CLS is already sold. Wonderful car. Can’t tell much about it because they were confiscated by the government from what i believe criminal owners. Have my reasons to know. I made a bid on the cars and didn’t expect to have both. Government send me an invoice to pay the cars short after my bid. Oops. Turns out as a good deal but will take some time.
So only 4 driveable cars and one project left. Lack of space is holding me back to buy other project cars.

 

[JC220]

Depending on where you are in Ireland, that doesn’t sound too bad / sounds good value. I collect no 8 tomorrow, but “that’s ok” as it’s a Golf for daughter no.2.

It's nearly 500 miles by road and a Ferry trip also so not bad when you look at it that way.

Here are some photos of the beast in question. (I had 70 ish photos in all from the seller)

 

[JC220]

The car was loaded today and is officially on the road! I don't know how direct the lorry route will be but it should be here in the next couple of days - possibly as late a Friday or Saturday but I am just glad that all went as planned and it is loaded AOK.

 

[JC220]

In preparation for diagnosing this S500C I am doing a lot of research and compiling an easy to read checklist of the most common failure components and their symptoms. This is essentially for me to laminate and pin to the garage wall to deal with any M119 patient in my care in a strategic / planned way put in the order of most likely reasons and how to test / rule out where appropriate.

I will share this info here when I am done. As an example draft item:

EZL: They have 2 failure modes – complete failure to start up / run OR the engine runs on one bank of cylinders only. EZL failure is normally sudden, one day the car will run and without warning it dies, will not start or will run on 4 cylinders only. Check for ignition spark and ideally a spare good used EZL should be swapped in for testing purposes.

 

[gerryvz]

That is correct most all of the time with EZLs on the M119. It can be even more sudden (as it was for me) with regard to failure. As in parking the car in a lot running fine, and coming out 10 minutes later to only running on four cylinders.

 

[JC220]

I am told my coupe is available for pickup at a yard less than ten miles away tomorrow!

Since I am at work I have to get another tow company go lift it and take to my home. So tomorrow night I'll know just what I've brought home.... nervous as heck now!

Troubleshooting will begin in ernest and see why this girl has been dead for so many years

 

[JC220]

So this is not good! Car turned up - and long story short the motor appears seized! Yep not good. The price of the car was too good to be true.

I think it had some other fault and possibly the mechanics kept trying to start and locked the engine with fuel....

I will start a new thread on this- but how to determine the reason for a m119 locked up? Pull cam covers? Try oil in bores? Something blocking the flywheel from turning?

Already checked the front belt and no accessories appear jammed. Crank certainly is jammed! Minor detail

 

[gsxr]

Joe, try turning the crank bolt in both directions with a 3/4" drive, and/or cheater bar. Also try using a prybar to get the flywheel to move slightly in either direction. A seized engine would be awfully rare.

Next up I'd pull the valve covers and see if anything interesting appears...

 

[Stegel]

Oh dear, that’s a shame. Good luck with the investigations - hopefully it’s an issue caused by numpty mechanics who failed to rectify the issue which stopped it running in the first place. Jumped timing chain, jammed flywheel - perhaps strip off ancillaries and see what results?

 

[JC220]

Thanks guys - it is what it is. The car was priced well below market value and I did expect there to be issues to rectify. Body is straight and no major rust or problems.

One thing is for certain- I am fixing the car. There is plenty of meat on the bone in the purchase price even for a replacement motor. Sucks - but here I am.

I am thinking that it has sat too long and the engine has stuck due to that. Allow me to create a new thread in the next hour or so to describe the situation and get people thinking / offering insight as to how I determine what is up here.

New thread coming so let's pick this issue up there for maximum exposure. Really hoping Klink might chime in too.

 

[gsxr]

While possible... I think it's very unlikely the pistons (or rings) have stuck to the cylinder walls enough to prevent turning. If you think that is the case you could squirt penetrating oil down each plug hole and let it soak.

 

[JC220]

A small update on the S500 Coupe. These are HUGE cars especially with the long coupe doors. So it was really too tight to work on it in my carport. (Since all garages are full) So I moved it to a clear space of my yard, washed it and fitted a tailored outdoor cover to keep the rain off it. It was an epic task to move around 10 cars and use 3 of them to tow the S500 and turn it suitably to get it around back – but it all went exactly to plan!

Note that the original motor had scored bores as I found with a borescope. I believe they re-commisioned the car and ran it without coolant by mistake - thus trashing the motor.

I detailed the door jambs and under the doors. So far very good – no rust on this coupe. Very pleased with the condition of the body it has clearly been garaged most of its life. I did not have much time to delve into the electronics yet. Initially I pulled the PSE Pump today and tested the motor. Sure enough, as is common with these the little electrical pump motor was dead. I do have several new spare motors in my hoard so I soldered than in place and carefully cleaned all of the black carbon dust off the circuit board. I also tested the ribbon cable and all connections are good. No signs of damage or corrosion on the circuit board either.



However, as a noob move when testing the relays I somehoe popped a chip on the circuit board. Oops. It was a B57345 Chip – readily available new on ebay for about £1 each. New ones ordered and I de-soldered the old chip from the board successfully using desolding wire and a solder sucker. When the new chip gets here I will solder it in and test the PSE pump in the car. Fingers crossed SOME of the systems start to operate again in the coming weeks. This week if all goes to plan I should have a replacement motor purchased also. Then get together a shopping list of new oil sender O rings, pickup tube, gaskets, engine mounts etc from the dealer in anticipation of getting the replacement motor installed and taking care of all items as is reasonable “whilst in there”.

 

[JC220]

PS I realise I need to get some cars on the road again! S430 is to be completed and MOTs this month all being well. Then the w140 S280 and S320 prepped for MOT also. The 300E-24 MOT expired to so I'll add that to my never ending to do list.

After that the E220 Coupe needs the welding completed, undercarriage completed and taken out of the garage, so the 500E get's it's prime garage spot back.

In reality I simply want to get the S500 coupe running again and later in the year return to it and prep for MOT hopefully. Running 10 cars is not easy. For example it's 40 Tyres to air up and check - about 70 - 80 L of engine oil required for one fleet oil change. I have 84 wheels including spare sets etc. Combined I have 34.5L of engines (Excluding spare engines). Yes it's getting out of hand now!

I need to return to and finish older projects I know that - watch this space things will improve

 

[JC220]

It has been a looonnnggg day and its nearly midnight. Just home with a 119.970 from Dublin which I purchased as a replacement motor for my S500 Coupe.

I borescoped each cylinder before buying the engine and the bores are very nice - perfect condition not a mark on them. Also pulled a cam cover and all looks very nice and no marks on cams at all. It is a great engine! Relief

 

[JC220]

Some progress today on the S500 Coupe’s replacement motor. This is a 1992 motor with 8 rub belts. So I took off all the parts I do not need – all ancillaries and intake manifolds from the original S500 Engine will be cleaned, refurbished as needed and swapped over. All new seals and sundries as needed. The original motor will give up it’s new starter motor, new upper and lower wiring looms, new Beru caps & rotors and the rewired ETA.

Early m119 spares taken off and going into my hoard:



Giving the engine a bath. Do not fear – I taped off all openings as if Gixer himself was looking over my shoulder! Some bolts have to go back in too at the front of the motor since they are open to the oil galleries. Fully sealed – it was time to let rip tater chip with my steam cleaner and Meguires Degreaser at strong 1.1 dilution. Detail brushes, lots of scrubbing and 3 passes took the grim off and left a nice basis to get started.







The timing cover may be coming off too and renew all timing guides...... do it right when I have the opportunity. All pulleys and bolts will be zinc plated etc etc. The coupe will be the cleanest engine bay around when done - hopefully by Autumn

 

[Duh_Vinci]

I see you waste no time!!!

 

[JC220]

I see you waste no time!!!

Yes I try to use any minute I have spare and get things done. Next weekend my GF is off shopping abroad so I will be getting some major S500 work done!

In the meantime I did the new chip for my coupe PSE pump arrived yesterday so I got it soldered in place. To recap the PSE pump was stone dead and the motor has been renewed also. On trying it in the car - success! Sort of. It operates now- as do the little parking aid antennas. The central locking buttons however do not respond. When operating the dash lock button the pump comes on etc but there appears to be a leak.

Only after looking back through my photos do I notice that there are 3x broken pump nipples. (2x I knew of already since red silicone tubing was fitted by a PO) And one of them is related to the central locking system. So I hope that If I use a small section of hose to make good that bad air connection the door locks will then operate. Fingers crossed!


On a side note my hoard grew by 10 more of these w140 PSE motors today - to cater for future purchases These are no longer made and a direct "bolt in" motor ideal for the application. I have the email of a Guy in USA who still has some left if anyone is interested!



I did get the passenger door window to work with the door handle! (Dropping and going up again) Minor victory. Pretty cool system and nice to see a proper seal on that door now. To recap - the front left and rear right power windows operate just fine. As does the feature to drop the glass on the front left door when opening it.

However – the right front power window and rear left power windows are both dead. So initially I tried to swap in not 1 but 2x good used window motors – no difference. It’s as if the fault lies within a relay in the convenience module. I DO have another exact matching realy coming in the post from Qatar. Which should fix it – but I do not like to waste w140 parts since they are getting rare. Hence I am interested to repair this original unit myself and retain it as a spare.

On opening up my original unit it is very nice and clean inside. Zero corrosion or issues that I can see. Note the 4x large relays inside..... those have to be for the 4x power windows – correct? These are a standard relay which can be bought new on ebay for only a few £.

I will trawl diagrams now and locate the 2x of these relays that are of interest. Then de-solder them and order up 2x new ones. Worth a try I think!! What do you guys think – has anyone ever repaired on of these in this way or do you just junk them? Note that the Coupe specific convenience modules are getting harder to find. Sedan versions are readily available and cheap.

 

[JC220]

It has been a busy weekend on the CL500! I have been prepping the engine for removal with the transmission. This included vacing all fluids and taping up the openings to prevent dirt ingress. I put thick cardboard in the trunk and very carefully removed all trim, rad pack etc and set them away safe. Working slowly and carefully not a single bolt was rounded and not a single clip or plastic trim cracked – pleased with that. C140 parts are HARD to find so I must be careful not to break anything! All bolts were bagged and tagged, many photos taken, all vacuum lines photographed and labelled too..... you get the point. Entire exhaust came off and per this thread I think the melted cats may explain why the original motor seized. (Due to overfuelling)

Progress so far:



The engine is now ready to lift out with the transmission. I need to drop it back down onto the ground, pull it back and then I’ll have enough space to use an engine crane and load leveller to carefully extract the huge powertrain

 

[mikeym]

It is soooo nice to see someone else that shares my illness. I'm not alone!

Did you put the front end of the car on the red ramp by jacking up on each side? I didn’t think of using my ramps as holders instead of just driving up on them (which does not work because they slip on garage and driveway).

Edit ( I meant to quote the last post with the pics in it but accidentally quoted another thread).

 

[JC220]

Did you put the front end of the car on the red ramp by jacking up on each side? I didn’t think of using my ramps as holders instead of just driving up on them (which does not work because they slip on garage and driveway).

Hi, yes I did jack it up with 2x 3 tonne jacks and jack stands incase it tried to jump off the jacks at that height. Then got it high enough to slip the red ramps under the wheels at their lowest setting. I like having 2no matching jacks to lift the car evenly. Note that normally I drive them up on the ramps but this car is a non runner at present

 

[JC220]

This was a couple of night ago – the old motor was lifted out and with some extreme spannering I reached all of TC ring gear bolts. (Even with the motor seized) So the original Torque Converter etc is removed without having to pull the heads and knock out pistons etc! That seized motor will be stripped of the parts I need to swap onto the replacement engine and then rolled under a garage rack for any future spares to be taken from. (Such as cams / heads / Oil pump / crank etc)



This weekend the bare engine bay will be steam cleaned and detailed plus some painting carried out for very minor spots of rust. Basically to make the most of this free access

 

[JC220]

Sunday Coupe update 1 of 3. Electrical

I have been busy this weekend so these updates will be broken into 3 parts to keep things organised!

First up was electrical. There was a bodge carried out by the dealer or a PO who knows. Involving a ugly hazard swith hanging out from under the steering wheel. On top of that it didn’t even work! So no turn signals nada. I proceeded to cut all that junk out and solder / heat shrink the original looms back as they were. The electrical plug was a real faf. They had it all broken and silicone covered. So it had to be taken apart and a donor pulg also split apart and carefully re-fit the original pins back. So as to aboid cutting more original wires. All went well and the replacement relay is working as are the turn signals and hazard switch etc.

Dodgy wiring: (Now gone)



Rebuilt plug:



Second big electrical fix was dealing with why most all of this coupe has been dead since arrival. Only 2x power windows worked. I thought long and hard about where to start with this diagnosis as I did not relish the idea of pulling the interior etc to inspect looms. This turned out to be a simple fix of cleaning both fuse boards and fitting all new blade fuses. Result!

The memory power seats are working, rebuilt PSE pump is working, All 4x power windows and power and folding mirrors all working again. But most important the coupe specific electrical systems are functioning again too – that had me worried most so I am glad they are back online. That is the seats moving when folded forward – both seatbelt butlers working again and the window door opening functions. Best described with my 2x brief videos below:

 

[JC220]

Sunday Coupe update 2 of 3. Underbody and engine compartment cleaning

With the engine out this is the best time to really get stuck in and steam clean the engine bay. I also took the front wheels off and made up my own strong cleaner to get in there and scrub. This was so I wouldn’t wash dirty water back into the engine bay when done. The underbody had been washed about a week ago:





Then the engine bay – a couple of before shots:



And after steam cleaning:



The engine bay will be getting a serious makeover now too – watch this space. Any / all minor rust will be treated and over painted for example.

 

[JC220]

Sunday Coupe update 3 of 3. Interior valet

I wouldn’t quite call this a full interior detail – more of a valet. It wasn’t that bad to begin with. But about 8 hours were spent cleaning the full interior. The carpets were cleaned with my extraction machine and the water was black coming out. Very impressive how well it can clean carpets! The interior is very nice now. Not a single mark or stain anywhere. I like all leather and plastics without dressing – I hate the shiny silicone crap dealers use. Which is the way the car came to me so I’m pleased to return it to properly clean.

Driver’s door card is off awaiting new clips since the originals were broken and I didn’t like it being loose. With all new clips it will be just fine.

 

[JC220]

I must admit when the car arrived with me I was disappointed in the engine being seized – as anybody would be! I was also very worried why most of the electrical systems were also dead. That just added insult to injury that not only was the car’s engine trashed but nothing else worked either.

With some elbow grease this car is really being turned around. I cannot wait to get the replacement engine built back up and re-fitted. I think this S500 Coupe is going to be one of the cleanest if not the best example in the UK when done.

After it is running again then the brakes will be re-furbished, discs replaced etc and the original alloy wheels will be professionally re-furbished with diamond cut lips. The paint is not bad on the car but none the less in the quest to bring this coupe to the best condition possible I may bring it to a local paint shop next spring and have a full repaint

 

[Stegel]

There’s no questioning your dedication and hard work. It’s great that the seized engine has not put you off the car, but that interior must be a real motivation - it looks superb!

 

[JC220]

There’s no questioning your dedication and hard work. It’s great that the seized engine has not put you off the car, but that interior must be a real motivation - it looks superb!

Thankyou! Yes the interior is very nice and cleaned up well. Even though I havent driven it yet I can say the seats are ultra comfortable so I am looking forward to being able to drive it hopefully by late September or so

 

[JC220]

There is another item I need to address - that is the fuel injectors. I am a little hesitant about which set to pick since the original S500 engine may have seized due to overfueling. Perhaps the overfueling was a result of the old bad wiring harness who knows - perhaps the injectors are not suspect in such a scenario?

Set 1: As installed in the seized motor. They are Blue colour injectors IIRC. I think these were replacement injectors since one lower seal was missing - AKA someone had been there before.

Set2: A orange set of injectors that came in the trunk of the car. Not all part numbers match I think they may be a mix from 2 other motors etc

Set 3: Came in my replacement m119 engine - also orange in colour. Unknown when they last ran - likely years.

I can choose any 1 of these injector sets to clean, rebuild and install in the replacement engine. I am thinking of getting new seal kits such as: https://mrinjectoruk.co.uk/Bosch-0280155-0280156-injector-seal-kit-28-V8-P1501225.aspx and using my ultrasonic cleaner to dunk them all in for initial clean up.

Are there any thoughts from members on this? Are the blue ones likely to be newer or do you want me to provide photos / part numbers of the sets I have?

 

[gsxr]

Joe, as you probably know, these injectors cannot be rebuilt. Any place claiming that is simply cleaning them and (hopefully) checking them on a flow tester. I don't consider new O-rings to be a "rebuild" and you can do this yourself.

The part number has been superceded multiple times, and the colors do give an idea of type/age. Blue and orange are mid-production IIRC, 1993-94 vintage. This has been discussed previously; if the info isn't posted on the forum somewhere, I can look it up tonight. From memory, the only color with multiple p/n's would be white/neutral; I believe these were the earliest used (1990-92) and a different p/n is also the latest (96-up?).

 

[JC220]

Joe, as you probably know, these injectors cannot be rebuilt. Any place claiming that is simply cleaning them and (hopefully) checking them on a flow tester. I don't consider new O-rings to be a "rebuild" and you can do this yourself.

The part number has been superceded multiple times, and the colors do give an idea of type/age. Blue and orange are mid-production IIRC, 1993-94 vintage. This has been discussed previously; if the info isn't posted on the forum somewhere, I can look it up tonight. From memory, the only color with multiple p/n's would be white/neutral; I believe these were the earliest used (1990-92) and a different p/n is also the latest (96-up?).

Thanks for that info Dave I will compile my spare m119 injector sets In a couple days and research the part numbers to see which set I might want to use.

In the meantime most of the parts needed to reseal the replacement engine are now here as of today:



I also got the spare MAF sensors cleaned and working perfectly so one of them is reserved for the S500 coupe. Its original alternator has been fully pro refurbished since it is out! Got it back too so things are looking up for the coupe. Just need to get the spare time now to prep the replacement motor to go back in

 

[JC220]

I have been sidetracked from the S500 for just a few more days completing an automated gate setup. Digging tracks, laying ducts, paving and now wiring the motors and control boards..... fun stuff!

Today I finally got my 500E for a decent run up the coast. Namely to Ballygally Castle for a Sunday Cavery (amazing food if anyone visits Ireland try to go there!) Took a snap of the view from where my 500E was parked outside



My 500E drove impeccably, the Fox exhaust sounds amazing even at low rippums

AC ice cold, not a squeak or rattle. I really need to drive this car more..... and the others for that matter. Sigh - 10 cars ain't easy. One at a time - S500 update coming this week when I start getting the new parts on the engine

 

[JC220]

This weekend has seen ultrasonic cleaning of the S500’s replacement motor. Very surprised how effective this is:





The valve covers will be powdercoated by a specialist who is familiar with Magnesium refinishing. I am seriously considering having all of the aluminium covers, brackets and the intake manifold aqua blasted in order to leave them as new condition and remove all unsightly corrosion.

Refinishing all of this stuff is time consuming but I hope to have a near to new looking M119 motor to drop back into the car.

 

[TerryA]

I have been sidetracked from the S500 for just a few more days completing an automated gate setup. Digging tracks, laying ducts, paving and now wiring the motors and control boards..... fun stuff!

Today I finally got my 500E for a decent run up the coast. Namely to Ballygally Castle for a Sunday Cavery (amazing food if anyone visits Ireland try to go there!) Took a snap of the view from where my 500E was parked outside

View attachment 85596 View attachment 85597

My 500E drove impeccably, the Fox exhaust sounds amazing even at low rippums

AC ice cold, not a squeak or rattle. I really need to drive this car more..... and the others for that matter. Sigh - 10 cars ain't easy. One at a time - S500 update coming this week when I start getting the new parts on the engine

Nice pics of the coastline but geez you could have taken at least one pic of the 500E