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OWNER TimL
- Thread starter TimL
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Yeah, I hate it when that happens. You're stuck between sprinting to that light at the end of the tunnel ("once this is done, I'll be all set"), the wallet and fun drain, the time spent at the shop (I'm in that place with the Allroad right now, just back from the shop, knowing it has to go again when they have time), and the nagging feeling that it'll never, ever be set.I’m getting increasingly annoyed with the unexpected outflow of money to fix ever new issues that rear their head just when I thought I was getting there... I will just give the whole thing a bit of a rest. Too much shop time, too little wheel time and way too much open wallet surgery
But boy, when it's set it's damned fun!!
maw
Parts Are Gone. Everything is a wild goose chase. And like the E5E, tons of 4.2 specific parts on this car. Almost anything 4.2 specific is NLA.
Luckily (1) the stuff that matters is VERY hearty; (2) the whole car is overbuilt, so used OEM parts are just fine; and how dare I forget (3) I've replaced tons of parts when they were available because I saw this coming.
That's just a long way of saying I love my dedicated ebay sellers, carpart.com, and my long time shops who will even touch the car. Most won't, again similar to the E5E (and the S55 for that matter). The M3 is the one car where they made tons of them and almost anyone will work on it.
maw
EDIT... recent eBay find attached, brand new... something tells me I'll need it, or appreciate it at bare minimum.
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Agree with Terry. You may even find if you go to a local auto parts store and ask about calipers for the proper year SL, that used that size, they may have them available and for surprisingly cheap. I found this to be the case with the Silver Arrow setup some years back when I inquired. I have high confidence in rebuilt calipers, surprisingly.
@TimLThanks Terry and Drew, you guys have a lot more experience than me, so I trust your opinion. Just was shocked how crusty those E500 calipers from the wrecking yard were when I opened the box
Just take your time and clean them up. Once you get the pistons out hopefully nothing to bad in the cylinders. From what I remember you will get a new sealing ring for the piston and a new dust cover.
I get the pistons out by putting the caliper in a vice facing the piston down with some rags in front of it and apply air pressure from my compressor to the brake line hole and the piston comes out with a loud POP!
Be careful removing the bleeder valves. The spring can be reused. Once apart clean it really well and repaint it and reassemble with the new seals. Chances are that whatever paint you use will come off with brake fluid so some touch up will be required once it’s back on the car.
PS: By now maybe they have some better paint than I used. I just used a brake paint from the auto store. It held up well but will come off with spilled brake fluid.
Give it a shot it’s not a hard job. A few pics of my RF Brake after installed. Now it's probably time for a refurbish.
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They are crusty externally, but that will clean up nicely with media blasting. The concern is if the pistons move smoothly... they may be fine, but the rebuilder will verify. If the bores are not corroded (which is unlikely) they should be fine to rebuild.
Thank you for the info Dave. Considering how bad the calipers look makes me wonder about the rest of that car. Must have been neglected and put away wet
Here you go @maw1124, two highway pulls, accelerating in gear with everything stock, except for the Fließen front end with cats.
Wow, that is a flieben front section w airtek catalysts and stock resonator and rear exhaust? Was this recorded using ample throttle? It sounds GREAT and I suppose it is still nearly silent at light / part throttle.
Sounds like what stock should have been to me. Had they all sounded like this no one would have touched their exhausts, LOL.
I'm thinking his throttle was to the kick down resistance but not past it. But that's just a guess.
maw
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. Isn’t this the same “front of the cabin” sound produced by a 100% totally stock setup, except somewhat louder? Different strokes for different folks I guess - I love that faint all-stock growl at large throttle openings on the hwy —- this sounds somewhat louder (which is good) I think. I kind of like that this sound only occurs at large throttle openings under load, and that the stock exhaust in the rear is nearly silent.
The brake refurb place here in the Seattle area (Goldline Brakes) just notified me that they are done with resuscitating the crusty e500 320mm calipers I had sent them. They actually had them sent out for plating (instead of painting or powder coating), as I had asked them to match the finish of the new 300mm rear calipers that I had just purchased from MB.Thanks Terry and Drew, you guys have a lot more experience than me, so I trust your opinion. Just was shocked how crusty those E500 calipers from the wrecking yard were when I opened the box
According to Goldline the bores were not corroded and actually in very good shape. Hard to believe when considering how beat these looked. I'm in Germany for a while but Goldline just sent over some pictures. I will try to get them put on the car in October when I'm back and then hopefully no more Brembo Honk
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Returning to the U.S. in a few days after a month in Germany. Was lucky to find some MB new old stock parts that I will be taking home with me:
Almost all of these items will go onto the parts shelf except for the fluid tank. Hoping to have that installed when the refurbished front brake calipers go on sometime in Nov. We'll see.
- Shorty sportline gear lever
- Horizontal chrome strips for the grille (old style strips without the flimsy plastic tabs)
- Rubber covers for the pedals
- Seal for the sunroof
- 16 x Bosch F7 DC 0 sparkplugs for the 6 liter engine
- 15 oiler tubes (unfortunately missing 1 - also intended for the bigger engine)
- driver side door pocket
- wiper fluid tank - had a new tank installed not even 18 months ago to replace the original discolored one only to discover that the new tank started leaking recently so this is the second attempt
- 1 injector (bought 7 new old stock injectors a little while ago, so this one will complete the set, also intended for the bigger engine)
Almost all of these items will go onto the parts shelf except for the fluid tank. Hoping to have that installed when the refurbished front brake calipers go on sometime in Nov. We'll see.
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That’s a great haul! Did you need to be physically in Europe to order the euro non-catted Section 1? I don’t see that from here.
FWIW, ‘92 cars not in CA don’t need cats at all, quite frankly, as I learned when I did my exhaust. FL guys were like “why are you putting cats in?? You won’t get a CEL and checks aren’t required.” Because I’m a tree hugger. Please put them in. I don’t want to smell a bunch of gas fumes and since I installed race cats, the smell is already strong enough. So a factory catless Section 1 could let me install cats further downstream to finalize the clean.
maw
FWIW, ‘92 cars not in CA don’t need cats at all, quite frankly, as I learned when I did my exhaust. FL guys were like “why are you putting cats in?? You won’t get a CEL and checks aren’t required.” Because I’m a tree hugger. Please put them in. I don’t want to smell a bunch of gas fumes and since I installed race cats, the smell is already strong enough. So a factory catless Section 1 could let me install cats further downstream to finalize the clean.
maw
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Tim, the washer fluid reservoir itself rarely, if ever, leaks. What I've found to be the leak point is most often the grommet for the pumps, and second most common (and mis-diagnosed) is leaking pumps. I chased a couple of these leaks and couldn't figure out why new grommets didn't cure it, until I discovered that old pumps can leak from the pump body. If your pumps are original, check this out first...
+1 w/ gsxr in regards to the pumps leaking at the seals. I kept finding water under the right front end of the car. It turned out to be the rubber grommets at the pumps. I changed out the pumps and the seals about 10 years ago.
Then I promptly plugged the line to the headlight wipers. To be honest the WS washer worked when I tested it at the time but I haven’t been in the rain since.
@maw1124, the front section without cat is blocked for the U.S. market so you can’t order it through the U.S. dealership. I walked up to the local MB dealer here in Marburg and ordered it. Shipping will be a bit of a mess, as I learned when trying to ship the low mileage cat section I bought in Germany two months ago. Seller of that unit doesn’t seem to have much international shipping experience so it’s taking a while
I don’t intend to put the non-cat version on the car. Only if there is something wrong with the catted version I bought. It’s a last resort, if you will
Hmmm. The last possibility is a poor connection between the hoses and the pump. The tank itself cannot leak unless there is a crack or hole in it, and I've never heard of that happening over the past 25 years reading MB forums. Especially not a brand new tank.Thank you for the advice! Alas, the grommets and pumps were all changed to new at the same time as the tank
FYI: The last I saw, the new tanks did not have the original diameter protrusion at the bottom which plugs into the chassis bracket. This results in the new tank sitting a half-inch higher than normal, and it doesn't seat properly at the upper bracket. Hopefully nothing was distorted when tightened down. There's prior discussion/photos of this on the forum somewhere.
The summer tire selection for the stock wheels is next to none, so I wanted to see if I could make a 225/50/R16 tire work. I ordered a single Kumho Ecsta V730 and had it installed on my spare wheel and installed on the car.
As much as I wanted it to work, I just can’t get over the fender gap that the shorter sidewall leaves
I will look into getting tires over here from Europe but I don’t think that is an article that customs allows to enter.
I might talk myself into another 18” wheel but I just hate the weight 18” wheels add. Yeah NEEZ, etc. just not happy that you have zero tire choice anymore when it comes to the stock wheels
Fender gap on the stock setup with the E60 replica springs is 13.8” in the front and 13.9” in the back
As much as I wanted it to work, I just can’t get over the fender gap that the shorter sidewall leaves
I will look into getting tires over here from Europe but I don’t think that is an article that customs allows to enter.
I might talk myself into another 18” wheel but I just hate the weight 18” wheels add. Yeah NEEZ, etc. just not happy that you have zero tire choice anymore when it comes to the stock wheels
Fender gap on the stock setup with the E60 replica springs is 13.8” in the front and 13.9” in the back
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Tim, is that from fender lip to wheel center (which eliminates tire diameter variance)? High 13's is just about perfect, IMO...
The summer tire selection for the stock wheels is next to none, so I wanted to see if I could make a 225/50/R16 tire work. I ordered a single Kumho Ecsta V730 and had it installed on my spare wheel and installed on the car.
As much as I wanted it to work, I just can’t get over the fender gap that the shorter sidewall leaves
I will look into getting tires over here from Europe but I don’t think that is an article that customs allows to enter.
I might talk myself into another 18” wheel but I just hate the weight 18” wheels add. Yeah NEEZ, etc. just not happy that you have zero tire choice anymore when it comes to the stock wheels
Fender gap on the stock setup with the E60 replica springs is 13.8” in the front and 13.9” in the back
How about summer tires Yokohama Fleva Advan V701? From Amazon.
<--- here is the link
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Is the correct size Continental Premium Contact available in the US?
I switched insurance from Hagerty to Grundy this week and with identical parameters (mileage, agreed value, coverage) Grundy is 1/4th of the price of Hagerty. As much as Hagerty got their marketing spiel down with their good quality magazine, sleek website and events, they are smoking crack cocaine if they think that this justifies that kind of price difference. Before switching I had called Hagerty to see if they were willing to get within 20% of the Grundy price, as they were the incumbent and since I had no complaints about them. They declined to lower their price in any way, shape or form, so I sent off the Grundy papers and am now insured with those guys. Fingers crossed I won’t need their services so I don’t ever have to buy $15k fenders or $500 zoom tubes from the NLA parts scalpers well meaning enthusiasts who serve the 036 community.
1/4! That's cray-cray. You're making me want to check into Grundy... then I remember their weasel wording about not being able to drive your car when/where you want (link). Last I checked Grundy has a hard "no" for any racing use, which never made sense to me... Hagerty's policy did make sense (the vehicle is covered anywhere except ON the track, link).
Have an appointment at MB on the 27th to remove the Fliessen exhaust and to put on a stock front section I bought from Germany. Let's hope it survived the transport and that there is no damage to the cats.
While the car is there I will also get a leak from the rear of the car checked out. When I walked up to the car a couple of weeks ago I noticed that there was a puddle of oil/fluid by the trunk area. It seemed to have come from the rear differential which was just redone, so it will be interesting to see what's going on there.
I'll also try to get the E/S switch functionality installed that Steve had prepared for install when the remanufactured gearbox was swapped several months ago. At that time the NOS gear shift lever will also go in. If they have time I'll also get the refurbished 320mm front calipers and discs installed, but I doubt they will be able to do that this go around - they seem to be slammed in the service department these days
While the car is there I will also get a leak from the rear of the car checked out. When I walked up to the car a couple of weeks ago I noticed that there was a puddle of oil/fluid by the trunk area. It seemed to have come from the rear differential which was just redone, so it will be interesting to see what's going on there.
I'll also try to get the E/S switch functionality installed that Steve had prepared for install when the remanufactured gearbox was swapped several months ago. At that time the NOS gear shift lever will also go in. If they have time I'll also get the refurbished 320mm front calipers and discs installed, but I doubt they will be able to do that this go around - they seem to be slammed in the service department these days
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Tim, someone did a really nice packing job on that exhaust pipe! For the fluid leak at the rear, does it reek of gear oil? If so, that's the diff. If there's no odor, it may be SLS fluid. Less likely is a brake fluid leak.
I assume you've read this thread about the E/S switch by now:
I assume you've read this thread about the E/S switch by now:
That mysterious European E/S shifter switch | Technology Topics
You've probably seen that E/S shift program selector switch on most European 124 models, also used on a number of other chassis. There's some debate as to the exact meaning of the letters but it's basically "Economy" vs "Sport/Standard". Now, I always thought the USA cars without this fancy...
www.500eboard.co
Yes, I read it a long time ago and am nevertheless fully determined to get that E/S switch installed. For me the center console looks weird without it 
There was no odor at all with that fluid. Wouldn't a break fluid leak show up immediately in a less firm brake pedal? Kind of hope it isn't the diff, as Steve was "dinking" with that for a long time
There was no odor at all with that fluid. Wouldn't a break fluid leak show up immediately in a less firm brake pedal? Kind of hope it isn't the diff, as Steve was "dinking" with that for a long time
Until the fluid level gets low enough to introduce air in the system, the brake pedal may feel normal despite the leak. Check fluid level for grins, and make sure the front & rear compartments of the reservoir are the same level. Also check SLS fluid level while you're at it...
My exhaust shipment from Germany has been stuck in customs for a week now so unfortunately I won’t have that installed this go around. Kind of wondering if it ends up getting sent back to Germany at this point.
Instead the refurbished 320mm front calipers and new brake discs and heat shields will get installed, as well as the E/S functionality.
When the front brakes go on, the front wheel bearings will also be done, so that they are new all around (the rears where done when the bigger rear caliper were installed a few months ago). Very much hoping that with the refurbished calipers the honking noise of the smaller brembo aluminum calipers will be gone, as that was really getting on my nerves.
No word yet on what the cause for the oil leak is. Fingers crossed it’s not the diff.
Instead the refurbished 320mm front calipers and new brake discs and heat shields will get installed, as well as the E/S functionality.
When the front brakes go on, the front wheel bearings will also be done, so that they are new all around (the rears where done when the bigger rear caliper were installed a few months ago). Very much hoping that with the refurbished calipers the honking noise of the smaller brembo aluminum calipers will be gone, as that was really getting on my nerves.
No word yet on what the cause for the oil leak is. Fingers crossed it’s not the diff.
Steve just called and had strange news. Everything under the car is bone dry and all fluid levels are where they need to be. Only exception to that is the remanufactured MB tranny. Which is leaking in the same spot that he tried to fix twice already. His recommendation is to put in another remanufactured MB tranny. This would be the third(!) MB tranny he is putting in. First two had weird shifting patterns with flaring in between shifts that couldn’t be dialed out. This one is leaking. According to him there are only two remanufactured units left in the world and both are in New Jersey.
So another remanufactured tranny will go in and with that the E/S piece. My warranty on the tranny is up in Feb 2024, so this will be the last MB warranty attempt and I guess after that it’s Sun Valley. Really disappointed that MB can’t get their remanufactured trannies right
Brake rotors are handed and one side is NLA, so I’ll have to drive around with two left hand rotors which means that the rotor vanes on the right hand side will be incorrect but that shouldn’t be too big of a deal. Just another NLA defeat that MB hands people
I guess keeping the cars running with genuine parts is successively becoming more and more challenging
So another remanufactured tranny will go in and with that the E/S piece. My warranty on the tranny is up in Feb 2024, so this will be the last MB warranty attempt and I guess after that it’s Sun Valley. Really disappointed that MB can’t get their remanufactured trannies right
Brake rotors are handed and one side is NLA, so I’ll have to drive around with two left hand rotors which means that the rotor vanes on the right hand side will be incorrect but that shouldn’t be too big of a deal. Just another NLA defeat that MB hands people
I guess keeping the cars running with genuine parts is successively becoming more and more challenging
Any reason you're de-Fleiben-ing? I quite like mine although it is admittedly more rorty than stock.
Sorry if I missed something ---- are you 100% against using ATE or Zimmerman rotors? If not and you want to keep everything MB branded, I understand. You are the ne plus ultra of originality!Brake rotors are handed and one side is NLA, so I’ll have to drive around with two left hand rotors which means that the rotor vanes on the right hand side will be incorrect but that shouldn’t be too big of a deal. Just another NLA defeat that MB hands people
I guess keeping the cars running with genuine parts is successively becoming more and more challenging
For reference... the 320 rotors are 129-421-17-12 left, 129-421-18-12 right.
Zimmerpersons appear to be NLA everywhere, but the rotors are still available from Ate and in stock at FCP/RME/AHAZ for $80-$100 each. FCP claims they are made in Grrmany. I don't know who the OEM is for the Genuine rotors.
Ugh, guess I should get a spare pair (not square) before Ate changes their mind. I wish there was an affordable source to get them cryo treated, shipping heavy rotors both ways to a freezer isn't cheap. And, the places that sell pre-frozen rotors typically sell cheap Chinese rotors, not name-brand stuff.
Zimmerpersons appear to be NLA everywhere, but the rotors are still available from Ate and in stock at FCP/RME/AHAZ for $80-$100 each. FCP claims they are made in Grrmany. I don't know who the OEM is for the Genuine rotors.
Ugh, guess I should get a spare pair (not square) before Ate changes their mind. I wish there was an affordable source to get them cryo treated, shipping heavy rotors both ways to a freezer isn't cheap. And, the places that sell pre-frozen rotors typically sell cheap Chinese rotors, not name-brand stuff.
FWIW I just bought rotors for my w210 and I was somewhat disappointed to discover this:For reference... the 320 rotors are 129-421-17-12 left, 129-421-18-12 right.
Zimmerpersons appear to be NLA everywhere, but the rotors are still available from Ate and in stock at FCP/RME/AHAZ for $80-$100 each. FCP claims they are made in Grrmany. I don't know who the OEM is for the Genuine rotors.
Ugh, guess I should get a spare pair (not square) before Ate changes their mind. I wish there was an affordable source to get them cryo treated, shipping heavy rotors both ways to a freezer isn't cheap. And, the places that sell pre-frozen rotors typically sell cheap Chinese rotors, not name-brand stuff.
