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OWNER a777fan (E420)
- Thread starter a777fan
- Start date
Your car looks very sharp Jon!
Thanks Tim!!!
Its been a little while since I have updated things here, but over the last two weekends I’ve actually gotten a chance to address a couple of little things that I’ve been meaning to get done for awhile.
First up, a ‘new’ headliner. I picked up the car from California, so naturally the headliner was sagging. I’ve owned the car for almost two years now, and over this time the sag has gotten worse and worse. Surprise, right? A little over a year ago our local Mercedes hero SG-Motorsports was parting out a facelift e420, and it happened to have a gray interior. The headliner was in good enough shape so I nabbed it. Its been in my greenhouse/parts storage shed since. The gray headliner doesn’t photograph very well, so not too much to visualize here. Besides I am noticing that I didn’t take any overview shots anyway! Trust me the ‘new’ liner is in and lookin great.
Second: rear reading lights. I picked up a set of these a awhile back now, and the headliner installation was the perfect time to attack the C-pillar panels since they’d be out anyway. I was all prepared to do some awesome soldering after doing some ETM research, wanting to make the install look as ‘factory’ as possible. We’ll turns out MB made it easy for us. The harness is just plug and play off the rear dome light!
I fished the harness around to the right locations and grounded it out in the right c-pillar defrost connection (just like the ETM!
). I used a dremel and an exacto to punch the holes in the c-pillar and they came out good enough.
The whole install was pretty straightforward until i went to install the lights themselves and they weren’t fitting correctly. I couldn’t figure out why until i noticed the part number:
Soooo...i’ll be ordering two more light units. They look to be available still luckily! Unfortunatley, this probably means I have a 126 harness in my 124!!! I know! The horrors!!! What am I to do?
Annoyingly I did snap off one of the clips on the right rear c-pillar trim when disassembling. I epoxied it back, but saw today that the repair has failed. I’m on the lookout for one now. If anyone has one for sale, please let me know. I’ll be posting a WTB ad soon.
Thirdly, the right rear door Sacco Board was loose, and had been since I purchased the car. A short poorly shot video to illustrate:
Loose Sacco Board
I had gone to a junk yard that was parting out a 744 e420 a year and a half ago and ended up buying the entire right rear door, as they wouldn’t sell me just the board. I was a little annoyed by this at the time, but it proved fortuitous. For when I pulled the board off I found this:
At first I thought the masking tape was just misplaced trim tape, but then realized it was some sort of hack repair job!
Talk about a sh*tty repair! If you know body work, please comment on the level of competence here, as I am not educated on the subject. Regardless, the holes they punched in the door were slowly rusting away and would continue to do so here in the wet PNW. Queue the ‘new’ door, and about 6 additional hours of work I hadn’t planned on.
The ‘new’ doors old car had had a rough life, so I went about swapping out all the window hardware (regulator, glass, seals etc) sone pics:
They label the window switch connector just for this specific purpose! (You need to pull the connector to pull the harness out of the door)
Pulled all the old glass and hardware. The fixed window is a neat little piece of engineering. Its basically just a little ‘plug’ window that you can pull out.
One of the reasons for pulling the glass was the ‘new’ doors Radio sticker condition:
Small defects, but they would have bugged the crap out of me!
And the final product:
The new door will likely need a respray, if I want it to be perfect. Darn Brill Sil is tough to match! But overall a big improvement, and i like the fact that there arent any holes in my door any longer.
Hope everyone had a great 4th!
First up, a ‘new’ headliner. I picked up the car from California, so naturally the headliner was sagging. I’ve owned the car for almost two years now, and over this time the sag has gotten worse and worse. Surprise, right? A little over a year ago our local Mercedes hero SG-Motorsports was parting out a facelift e420, and it happened to have a gray interior. The headliner was in good enough shape so I nabbed it. Its been in my greenhouse/parts storage shed since. The gray headliner doesn’t photograph very well, so not too much to visualize here. Besides I am noticing that I didn’t take any overview shots anyway! Trust me the ‘new’ liner is in and lookin great.
Second: rear reading lights. I picked up a set of these a awhile back now, and the headliner installation was the perfect time to attack the C-pillar panels since they’d be out anyway. I was all prepared to do some awesome soldering after doing some ETM research, wanting to make the install look as ‘factory’ as possible. We’ll turns out MB made it easy for us. The harness is just plug and play off the rear dome light!
I fished the harness around to the right locations and grounded it out in the right c-pillar defrost connection (just like the ETM!
). I used a dremel and an exacto to punch the holes in the c-pillar and they came out good enough. The whole install was pretty straightforward until i went to install the lights themselves and they weren’t fitting correctly. I couldn’t figure out why until i noticed the part number:
Soooo...i’ll be ordering two more light units. They look to be available still luckily! Unfortunatley, this probably means I have a 126 harness in my 124!!! I know! The horrors!!! What am I to do?
Annoyingly I did snap off one of the clips on the right rear c-pillar trim when disassembling. I epoxied it back, but saw today that the repair has failed. I’m on the lookout for one now. If anyone has one for sale, please let me know. I’ll be posting a WTB ad soon.
Thirdly, the right rear door Sacco Board was loose, and had been since I purchased the car. A short poorly shot video to illustrate:
Loose Sacco Board
I had gone to a junk yard that was parting out a 744 e420 a year and a half ago and ended up buying the entire right rear door, as they wouldn’t sell me just the board. I was a little annoyed by this at the time, but it proved fortuitous. For when I pulled the board off I found this:
At first I thought the masking tape was just misplaced trim tape, but then realized it was some sort of hack repair job!
Talk about a sh*tty repair! If you know body work, please comment on the level of competence here, as I am not educated on the subject. Regardless, the holes they punched in the door were slowly rusting away and would continue to do so here in the wet PNW. Queue the ‘new’ door, and about 6 additional hours of work I hadn’t planned on.
The ‘new’ doors old car had had a rough life, so I went about swapping out all the window hardware (regulator, glass, seals etc) sone pics:
They label the window switch connector just for this specific purpose! (You need to pull the connector to pull the harness out of the door)
Pulled all the old glass and hardware. The fixed window is a neat little piece of engineering. Its basically just a little ‘plug’ window that you can pull out.
One of the reasons for pulling the glass was the ‘new’ doors Radio sticker condition:
Small defects, but they would have bugged the crap out of me!
And the final product:
The new door will likely need a respray, if I want it to be perfect. Darn Brill Sil is tough to match! But overall a big improvement, and i like the fact that there arent any holes in my door any longer.
Hope everyone had a great 4th!
Hi kiev!
I think it was the distributor caps. I have not had any problems with that issue since replacing them several months ago!
Jon, do you know the age of the "bad" caps...?
I don't Dave, but by the look of them, they miiiiight be original? (Not sure how possible that is...)
Whew. That is what I was hoping. I couldn't remember if you had replaced them, and had a failure in a short period of time.
Just curious, what brand caps/rotors did you install? (You may have already mentioned in this but I missed it.)
Whew. That is what I was hoping. I couldn't remember if you had replaced them, and had a failure in a short period of time.
Just curious, what brand caps/rotors did you install? (You may have already mentioned in this but I missed it.)
hehe! no problem. The OE who*re in me went with OE.
The boxes smell like burnt cash btw....
Thanks terry! Much appreciated.
A few shots from RADwood PNW this AM.
Minty minty minty MKI GTI
Euro import M3 in a lovely purple (which one of you color nerds out there knows the real name?
)
Jonie13’s amazing 124 coupe
Üter of course!
A tidy little E30 M3 (in hellrot?)
The unibiquitous Chrysler LeBaron convertible, complete with wood paneling wrap (they were ahead of their time!!!) and rich corinthian leather!
A nice cozzi (this one is for lowman)
One of the neat things was that your RADwood ticket got you into the LeMay car museum. I hadn’t been before, and overall I thought it was pretty good. My automotive tastes and interests tend to be pretty focused toward the last half of the last half of the 20th century, so while neat, I only found a couple of points of interest.
A Starion for Jlaa...
And one of the mustangs used in ‘Bullitt’
Overall a pretty sweet day, and some awesome weather here in the PNW!
Minty minty minty MKI GTI
Euro import M3 in a lovely purple (which one of you color nerds out there knows the real name?
)Jonie13’s amazing 124 coupe
Üter of course!
A tidy little E30 M3 (in hellrot?)
The unibiquitous Chrysler LeBaron convertible, complete with wood paneling wrap (they were ahead of their time!!!) and rich corinthian leather!
A nice cozzi (this one is for lowman)
One of the neat things was that your RADwood ticket got you into the LeMay car museum. I hadn’t been before, and overall I thought it was pretty good. My automotive tastes and interests tend to be pretty focused toward the last half of the last half of the 20th century, so while neat, I only found a couple of points of interest.
A Starion for Jlaa...
And one of the mustangs used in ‘Bullitt’
Overall a pretty sweet day, and some awesome weather here in the PNW!
A few shots from RADwood PNW this AM.
Minty minty minty MKI GTI
View attachment 85817
Euro import M3 in a lovely purple (which one of you color nerds out there knows the real name?
View attachment 85818
Jonie13’s amazing 124 coupe
View attachment 85819
Üter of course!
View attachment 85820
A tidy little E30 M3 (in hellrot?)
View attachment 85821
The unibiquitous Chrysler LeBaron convertible, complete with wood paneling wrap (they were ahead of their time!!!) and rich corinthian leather!
View attachment 85822
A nice cozzi (this one is for lowman)
View attachment 85823
One of the neat things was that your RADwood ticket got you into the LeMay car museum. I hadn’t been before, and overall I thought it was pretty good. My automotive tastes and interests tend to be pretty focused toward the last half of the last half of the 20th century, so while neat, I only found a couple of points of interest.
A Starion for Jlaa...
View attachment 85824
And one of the mustangs used in ‘Bullitt’
View attachment 85826
Overall a pretty sweet day, and some awesome weather here in the PNW!
Awesome!!! Love the Lebaron K-car. And the staaaaaaarion turbo. And needs more 1984 Toyota Celica notchback.
. Uter is looking fine - and the e36m3 is done in Daytona Violet Btw I spy a Mk2 Scirocco and a Lancia Delta Integrale and a NX2000 (world’s quickest ovoid was the C&D title review) and a Dodge Omni 024?
Awesome!!! Love the Lebaron K-car. And the staaaaaaarion turbo. And needs more 1984 Toyota Celica notchback.
Btw I spy a Mk2 Scirocco and a Lancia Delta Integrale and a NX2000 (world’s quickest ovoid was the C&D title review) and a Dodge Omni 024?
Wonderful eyes my friend! Sometimes I wish i had more time to dig into the obscurities you noted in the background. I find too many of my loves are driven by my personal experiences over the years which makes me think I should branch out a bit.
PS- you were one of the color nerds I thought might respond!
Thanks for the pics. Looks like a nice show and museum. I to had an 87 Starion. It was an awesome car. Mine was stock (no 563rhp).
The GTI is OK but I’m more interested in Mercedes these days. The grey 124 coupe and the awesome silver E420 with the handsome young guy in the black “Wolf im Shafpelz” shirt.
BTW did you see the blue AMG Euro 300e that is featured on BaT?
lol
The GTI is OK but I’m more interested in Mercedes these days. The grey 124 coupe and the awesome silver E420 with the handsome young guy in the black “Wolf im Shafpelz” shirt.
BTW did you see the blue AMG Euro 300e that is featured on BaT?
lol
The LeMay Museum near the Tacoma Dome is nice -- it's very focused on American cars though. Short drive from where I grew up in Federal Way (and where my mom still lives, in the house I grew up in !) I prefer the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles more, as well as a few of the Museums in Europe such as the Schlumpf Museum in Mulhouse, France (near the German border), and the Technik Museum in Speyer, Germany (which I visited last month for the fourth time in my life).
The white Rabbit GTI brings back a flood of memories. My very first "real" car, which I had from 1987-1992, was a red 1984 Rabbit GTI which was heavily tweaked. Rabbit/Mark 1 Golfs and Mark 1/2 Sciroccos are exceedingly rare here in the US -- very few have survived. So it is nice to see them, particularly in nice condition.
Did you guys visit Griot's Garage Galactic HQ, on S 38th St. in Tacoma, while you were at the LeMay?
The white Rabbit GTI brings back a flood of memories. My very first "real" car, which I had from 1987-1992, was a red 1984 Rabbit GTI which was heavily tweaked. Rabbit/Mark 1 Golfs and Mark 1/2 Sciroccos are exceedingly rare here in the US -- very few have survived. So it is nice to see them, particularly in nice condition.
Did you guys visit Griot's Garage Galactic HQ, on S 38th St. in Tacoma, while you were at the LeMay?
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Thanks Terry! And it sounds like we’ve got a Starion collective started!
I did see the 300E. I can’t say I am a huge fan of the overall look, but I think most of that has to do with the color choice. I’m not a huge black car fan, and even in the bright sunlight that sucker didn’t really scream blue to me at all. Additionally, I wasn’t super blown away by the condition either. The interior seemed a bit musty smelling to me, but maybe I was just imagining it.
Hey Honch!
Yep, that GTI was quite nice. The overall condition was just WOW. I do rememember you mentioning your old GTI a while back. Isn’t there a pic of you with it somewhere on here?
We didn’t get to griots, but they were at the show with a nice E30 wagon and a 190E 2.5-16.
After the show, we did take a quick spin around Tacoma, as I hadn’t been down there in a good 15-20 years. I started as a youngin in the late ‘90s at the University of Puget Sound, and really hadn’t been back since, even though its only 30 miles away. I was pretty impressed by how some parts of downtown have transformed themselves, while other blocks are still fenced off wastelands. It seems like ‘The City of Destiny’ has faired better than her sister to the north Everett.
A little more car work today. My right side reading light came in and I popped it in. It fits much better than the 126 PN! 
So classy! Pretty much the Grey Poupon Express now.
I still need the left side reading light since it is NLA (even though the classic parts website shows a price on it still!). Please let me know if you have one or know someone who does!
So classy! Pretty much the Grey Poupon Express now.
I still need the left side reading light since it is NLA (even though the classic parts website shows a price on it still!). Please let me know if you have one or know someone who does!
Lookin' fine! Are the reading lamps really handed? Such needless complexity (which is exactly why we find these machines charming).
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I know right? I’m sure the differences are so subtle only a dedicated teutonic engineer would notice!Lookin' fine! Are the reading lamps really handed? Such needless complexity (which is exactly why we find these machines charming).
Right Interior Lights 1-5 Bulbs for sale | eBay
Shop Right Car & Truck Interior Light Assemblies 1-5 Bulbs with eBay Guaranteed Fit. Great deals. Massive selection from top brands on eBay.comwww.ebay.com
Genuine Mercedes Benz E-Class W124 interior reading light 1248200201 | OEM | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Genuine Mercedes Benz E-Class W124 interior reading light 1248200201 | OEM at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
Genuine Mercedes W124 interior reading light A1248200201 RH | eBay.de
Part number: A1248200201.www.ebay.de
Thanks for the links!!!
Little bit of searching found this: PWNER - gerryvz
Funny that I took this photo exactly 30 years ago, almost to this exact week.
My dad and I bought the car from Pete Lovely Volkswagen in Fife (a PNW icon dealership) in the summer of 1987; the car was 3 years old and probably was a trade-in. I was heading into my junior year at Oregon State in Corvallis. The old Pete Lovely dealership (on the east side of I-5) is now a Volvo stealership I believe.
A Logger, eh? Lol!
I have never spent much time in Tacoma, but in recent years I’ve been there more when I am with my mom. She’s much more familiar with Tacoma than Seattle as we lived in Lakewood when I was born (when I was a year old we moved to Mississippi) and we moved from Miss. back to Federal Way (my dad worked for Weyerhaeuser his entire career) when I was 6 yrs old. I visit my mom when I’m in Seattle on business (4-5 times a year) and it always seems we end up going out somewhere in Tacoma. They have done a lot over the past 10-20 years to fix it up, I agree. I think things like the LeMay and companies like Griot’s are part of the renaissance there. Tacoma is still a work in progress, but an increasingly attractive and perhaps affordable alternative to Seattle if one likes the area.
I haven't lived in the Seattle area since 1992 (I last lived in Kirkland after graduating university & going back to Seattle for not quite two years), and don't know if I could ever live there again. It's changed so much. The level of change in downtown Seattle is downright crazy. But then again, I say that about the SF Bay Area, Portland, and Houston too ... I would/will never go back to any of those places, though I'm glad I lived in all of them.
I've no idea where life will bring us next -- at the rate I keep moving eastward, the next residence for us seems like it could be the island of Bermuda. We are planning our first visit there for later this year....it's only a two-hour flight from the East Coast.
Sweet! That's a sign. It is time to buy the behemoth - w140. Please buy one so that I can live vicariously through you, and then subtly influence my own decision making to acquire one for myself as well.
Its reached that point in the winter where the car looks disgusting, but it won’t stop raining long enough to do anything about it. So you just keep driving a vehicle that embarrases you with regards to its current condition. Sunnier days ahead I am sure!
Üter is still running in tip top shape and not missing a beat. I sent my head unit into becker for a refurb and to add blue tooth. Very impressed with the results.
The unit looks great cosmetically, and the bluetooth sounds really great. The deck as a whole just sounds better
When I had previously called becker about the BT add on they advertised that it replaced the tape deck function. I was a little bummed that you’d have to have a tape loaded in order to get it to work, but I got over it, and sent it in. To my surprise, when I got the unit back, they have changed tactics and the BT now works through the FM radio function. With no device connected the radio works normally. Connect your phone and bluetooth starts functioning. Pretty neat! And no tape required
Üter is still running in tip top shape and not missing a beat. I sent my head unit into becker for a refurb and to add blue tooth. Very impressed with the results.
The unit looks great cosmetically, and the bluetooth sounds really great. The deck as a whole just sounds better
When I had previously called becker about the BT add on they advertised that it replaced the tape deck function. I was a little bummed that you’d have to have a tape loaded in order to get it to work, but I got over it, and sent it in. To my surprise, when I got the unit back, they have changed tactics and the BT now works through the FM radio function. With no device connected the radio works normally. Connect your phone and bluetooth starts functioning. Pretty neat! And no tape required
Indeed Gerry, although different Becker models still use different methods. Some are still stuck in tape-ville. I'll have to take a look at the fact sheet the sent me and report back.
Hello friends!
I just reacted to the governors extension of the 'stay at home' order in Washington State by re-upping my ISPee-Pee subscription, and going with a full on Sportline suspension refresh order from mboemparts! Woot!
Noticed that the 500epromo is now only 50% off shipping... have the good days come to an end?!
I just reacted to the governors extension of the 'stay at home' order in Washington State by re-upping my ISPee-Pee subscription, and going with a full on Sportline suspension refresh order from mboemparts! Woot!
Noticed that the 500epromo is now only 50% off shipping... have the good days come to an end?!
Triple Trouble !
Been waiting for an update to this thread. Yes, the mboemparts folks halved the shipping discount through the dark times. It may have been discussed here on another thread recently. I believe they are also short staffed, and parts orders may take a week or longer to receive.
They are also upset that this forum had members sending in numerous tiny ($5-20) orders in short intervals, feeling that folks were taking advantage of the free shipping generosity. I cannot blame them, if they are getting three $10 orders from the same person in the space of two weeks (as an example). It would be frustrating. I had some personal correspondence with them on this topic, so this is not just heresay.
Good luck with your order and I hope you get it quickly !
Been waiting for an update to this thread. Yes, the mboemparts folks halved the shipping discount through the dark times. It may have been discussed here on another thread recently. I believe they are also short staffed, and parts orders may take a week or longer to receive.
They are also upset that this forum had members sending in numerous tiny ($5-20) orders in short intervals, feeling that folks were taking advantage of the free shipping generosity. I cannot blame them, if they are getting three $10 orders from the same person in the space of two weeks (as an example). It would be frustrating. I had some personal correspondence with them on this topic, so this is not just heresay.
Good luck with your order and I hope you get it quickly !
Read from here onward.
FYI - Parts orders from MB Naperville - Free shipping with code 500EPROMO | Off-Topic Discussions
Even under beSt circumstance, an order placed on a friday after 12 cdt has little chance of shipping out by monday unless it is in stock. Best chance in usa ship tuesday or germany ship in 7 bIz days.
www.500eboard.co
Gerry! good to hear from you. Hope you are doing well and 'staying safe'. I have thoroughly enjoyed your 'top end adventures'. Speaking of, I will be headed over there after clicking 'Post reply' here to catch up. Hopefully you have achieved, or are closer to that first turn of the key.
Thanks for the link. Even at 50% its still a good deal IMHO. Over on the dark side *cough cough*, there isn't dealer offering anything close to this for OE parts. Its also interesting to note on the dark side, no one is as fastidious about OE parts as those of us here in the MB fold. I am a lone outlier, but happy to do so.
Will post back when parts are received, and the adventure begins!
Jon, could you post a list of the parts you have on the way? Just curious how far you are taking the upgrade! I assume you have already found the rear E420 "Sportline" swaybar (which is an 036 bar) is NLA. You'll need to hit up BlueRidgeMB for a larger rear bar if you want one.
Jon, could you post a list of the parts you have on the way? Just curious how far you are taking the upgrade! I assume you have already found the rear E420 "Sportline" swaybar (which is an 036 bar) is NLA. You'll need to hit up BlueRidgeMB for a larger rear bar if you want one.
Sure thing Dave. Since this was a bit of a long term 'impulse' buy, I am going to be piecing this together. For now, I have started with the Struts and Springs.
| 124-321-42-04 | Front Spring | 2 |
| 124-320-50-30-64 | Suspension Strut | 2 |
| 129-323-07-44 | Bumper | 2 |
| 129-323-01-92 | Boot | 2 |
| 124-320-14-44-64 | Upper Mount | 2 |
| 124-990-01-99 | Repair Kit | 2 |
| 124-324-28-04 | Coil Spring | 2 |
| 124-326-27-00 | Shock Absorber | 2 |
| 124-990-03-99 | Repair Kit | 2 |
I've got the 500E front sway laying around, which I purchased off Jonie13 quite awhile ago. I didn't know that the rear sway was NLA, so I guess I'll have to keep my peepers peeled for that if I want to go that far. I've got standard front control arms in the parts stash, which will probably go in if the current ones are worn. I purchased them prior to understanding that there is a sportline option for the bushings etc, so those will remain 'normal'.
What else should I think about picking up???
After all the parts, might be better to just be the only bid on flipper E500E
oh don't i know! but hey... work with what you got. Especially with the way the 'family' has grown.
I installed EXACTLY this same list of parts 6 months ago on my 420, with 8mm shims and E500E ASBs on 7.5 x 16s with 215/55s.
I’m pleased, but I’m also retired.
I would add the 400/420 Sportline steering box if one actually existed, but not the stiffer LCA and rear subframe bushings even though I’ve got ‘em.
I’m pleased, but I’m also retired.
I would add the 400/420 Sportline steering box if one actually existed, but not the stiffer LCA and rear subframe bushings even though I’ve got ‘em.
Excellent to hear. The one thing I really like about the 420 is the way it currently soaks up the bumps in our terrible city roads. Can you share your impressions of how much stiffer/jarring the sportline setup is? I'm hopeful it skirts a nice balance between comfort and sport.
This is a gray area... early Sportlines had stiffer LCA bushings, late Sportline went back to standard/stock LCA's/bushings. The Sportline LCA's are available, but bloody expensive. I'd only recommend them if your goal is ultimate handling at the expense of some ride comfort.
Springs & dampers are the main items. You can tweak ride height via the rubber shims/pads to suit personal preference. Probably the remaining items to look for would be a larger sway bar (not fun to R&R), and maybe a Sportline sway bar. The steering box is made of pure unobtanium. Oh, a Sportline shift knob would be nice if you can find one at tolerable cost. I wonder if the fender badges are still available?
They exist, but are extremely rare and difficult to find. This option was not available in USA. I've never seen one for sale, that was confirmed via VIN to really be a true .034 Sportline box. I've always wanted one, thought it would be a sweet upgrade for an 036.
The LCA's will make the ride a tad stiffer. Not terrible, but those Sportline bushings feel like poly, they are so stiff. The rear subframe bushings are NLA, which is a real disappointment, as they are stantard equipment on all 036. Can't get 'em anymore Thanks a lot, MB.
I thought some of the nerdier amongst us might enjoy this post that I created for one of Üter’s siblings over on a different forum:
MB plastics in gray interiors don’t seem to be similarly affected, but perhaps there are other machines out there that we all love that are.
Some of my stay at home boredom has been slaked by digging through the depths of youtube for interesting content. Years ago, my first childhood computer was a Mac Classic, and I’ve had a fondness for them ever since. While working my way through classic mac videos I stumbled upon ‘the 8-bit guy’ and while trolling through his content found this video on retro-brighting.
It took me a bit, but I finally connected the dots and thought that the same technique might be applicable to those of us who are afflicted with the dreaded silbergrau-hell ‘yellowing’ of various plastic components in the car. There are several pieces that are particularly sensitive: seat belt buckle surrounds in the rear, the front seat trim plastics, the bins in the front door cards, etc. This is even more annoying as some of the pieces are NLA, and used pieces are always similarly yellowed. Anyway, a junk yard run last weekend gave me two rear seatbelt trims to practice on.
I decided to use the stove method with standard 3% hydrogen peroxide.
Before shot.
It took a little bit to get the heat on the stove right, and I had a ‘whoopsie’ you can see that in the final results:
The first piece (left) was too large to fit into the pan with the lid on. This resulted in the H2O2 boiling off and eventually melting the plastic. Whoops! I trimmed down the second piece so I could try again with the lid on.
You can see that the second piece still has a line where the trim was hidden under the seat cushion for years, but all in all it looks MUCH better.
Here is another shot next to another spare which is similarly affected.
Not bad! I’ll probably try again with a higher concentrate if H2O2, and a larger pot so I don’t need to trim down the pieces to keep the lid on.
MB plastics in gray interiors don’t seem to be similarly affected, but perhaps there are other machines out there that we all love that are.
Some of my stay at home boredom has been slaked by digging through the depths of youtube for interesting content. Years ago, my first childhood computer was a Mac Classic, and I’ve had a fondness for them ever since. While working my way through classic mac videos I stumbled upon ‘the 8-bit guy’ and while trolling through his content found this video on retro-brighting.
It took me a bit, but I finally connected the dots and thought that the same technique might be applicable to those of us who are afflicted with the dreaded silbergrau-hell ‘yellowing’ of various plastic components in the car. There are several pieces that are particularly sensitive: seat belt buckle surrounds in the rear, the front seat trim plastics, the bins in the front door cards, etc. This is even more annoying as some of the pieces are NLA, and used pieces are always similarly yellowed. Anyway, a junk yard run last weekend gave me two rear seatbelt trims to practice on.
I decided to use the stove method with standard 3% hydrogen peroxide.
Before shot.
It took a little bit to get the heat on the stove right, and I had a ‘whoopsie’ you can see that in the final results:
The first piece (left) was too large to fit into the pan with the lid on. This resulted in the H2O2 boiling off and eventually melting the plastic. Whoops! I trimmed down the second piece so I could try again with the lid on.
You can see that the second piece still has a line where the trim was hidden under the seat cushion for years, but all in all it looks MUCH better.
Here is another shot next to another spare which is similarly affected.
Not bad! I’ll probably try again with a higher concentrate if H2O2, and a larger pot so I don’t need to trim down the pieces to keep the lid on.
I thought some of the nerdier amongst us might enjoy this post that I created for one of Üter’s siblings over on a different forum:
MB plastics in gray interiors don’t seem to be similarly affected, but perhaps there are other machines out there that we all love that are.
Some of my stay at home boredom has been slaked by digging through the depths of youtube for interesting content. Years ago, my first childhood computer was a Mac Classic, and I’ve had a fondness for them ever since. While working my way through classic mac videos I stumbled upon ‘the 8-bit guy’ and while trolling through his content found this video on retro-brighting.
It took me a bit, but I finally connected the dots and thought that the same technique might be applicable to those of us who are afflicted with the dreaded silbergrau-hell ‘yellowing’ of various plastic components in the car. There are several pieces that are particularly sensitive: seat belt buckle surrounds in the rear, the front seat trim plastics, the bins in the front door cards, etc. This is even more annoying as some of the pieces are NLA, and used pieces are always similarly yellowed. Anyway, a junk yard run last weekend gave me two rear seatbelt trims to practice on.
I decided to use the stove method with standard 3% hydrogen peroxide.
Before shot.
View attachment 104259
It took a little bit to get the heat on the stove right, and I had a ‘whoopsie’ you can see that in the final results:
View attachment 104260
The first piece (left) was too large to fit into the pan with the lid on. This resulted in the H2O2 boiling off and eventually melting the plastic. Whoops! I trimmed down the second piece so I could try again with the lid on.
You can see that the second piece still has a line where the trim was hidden under the seat cushion for years, but all in all it looks MUCH better.
Here is another shot next to another spare which is similarly affected.
View attachment 104261
Not bad! I’ll probably try again with a higher concentrate if H2O2, and a larger pot so I don’t need to trim down the pieces to keep the lid on.
Hah! Thanks for getting me totally addicted to 8bitguy, @a777fan! Between 8bitguy and project farm, who I think @JC220 got me addicted to, I am set on ultra nerdy youtube channels.
BTW I have an idea about the H2O2 heat source.... what if you used an immersion circulator used for sous-vide cooking? The temperature is very adjustable to a low degree and very stable, and it is meant to hold stuff at those set temps for hours and hours on end with no chance of burning.
BTW - my first computer was similar - it was a Macintosh! But the best part was the Kensington fan/surge suppressor thing that snapped to the top of the Macintosh, thus bolstering the inadequate convection cooling of the original Macintosh with a powered fan..... but I digress....
No prob @Jlaa! youtube is a great time sink, and sometimes actually is useful.
Great idea on the sous-vide cooker! I'll have to see if I can pick up a cheapie secondhand one.
Was your first one a 128? or a 512? or perhaps even a +? One of the retro videos i recently watched highlighted that aux fan contraption you mention. Classic form over function discussion right there
No prob @Jlaa! youtube is a great time sink, and sometimes actually is useful.
Great idea on the sous-vide cooker! I'll have to see if I can pick up a cheapie secondhand one.
Was your first one a 128? or a 512? or perhaps even a +? One of the retro videos i recently watched highlighted that aux fan contraption you mention. Classic form over function discussion right there
Hah! It was an original Macintosh 128K. I vaguely remember we had it upgraded to 512K, and then added another disk drive for an astounding PAIR of disk drives. Also - Apple Imagewriter.
Here was the Kensington fan. It reminds me of things like the CoolHarness, that thing that the K6JRF guy makes for the w124 to trick the coolant temp sensor into reporting higher temps such that the electric fan activates. The basic design of the Macintosh and the v8 w124 are very effective at cooling in their basic design. But true to German engineering principles, there's no tolerance for lack of maintenance. The VERY SECOND something is out of spec or some dirt hasn't been cleaned from the cooling system (either in the Macintosh or the w124), you can get cooling problems.
512K? You mean you basically converted it to a "Fat" Mac....
en.wikipedia.org
Macintosh 512K - Wikipedia
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Quite grumpy this AM. The warm misfire is back. I've had the caps and insulators off several times in the last couple weeks without an improvement. Grasping at straws ATM. Last time I checked wires were fine. Cap and rotor are only a couple thousand miles old. No 'moisture' behind the insulators...
All suggestions to avoid the parts cannon welcome!
I do have the Pico to use, just need the time to get out there and use it
All suggestions to avoid the parts cannon welcome!
I do have the Pico to use, just need the time to get out there and use it
Hey Triple Trouble,
Have you checked codes?
How bad is the misfire -- severe or just an occasional hiccup?
May be a good idea to throw a fuel pressure gauge on it to see what that does with the car running -- that would eliminate fuel supply as an issue.
Only other fuel related issue I could imagine would be an injector, but that seems far-fetched as the injectors are pretty bone-reliable and long lasting.
Lastly, and this is the real crux of my advice -- if you can put it on an old-school Sun oscillosope that can show each of the cylinders and their electrical pattern ("heartbeat"), that could identify any electrical anomalies, that would be super helpful at pinpointing which cylinder(s) is causing the misfire.
From there you can troubleshoot each of the items in the ignition chain for that specific cylinder, starting with the plug, and working your way back to the coils via the wires, distributors/cap/rotors, then the coils, and then back to the EZL computer (which is not your problem here).
I once had an stumble with my 560SEC many years ago, it was stumbling and running slightly rough. I took it into my shop in Portland, and they immediately put it on a scope and checked out each cylinder's heartbeat graph. It was instantly apparent that cylinder #4 was misfiring. It turns out that it was a ceramic insulator/suppressor in the end of the spark plug wire, where it attached to the spark plug. This was causing a direct spark to the cylinder head, instead of into the spark plug. A $20 suppressor screwed onto the end of the plug wire, and all was well with the world again.
The M119 wires are of a different design, but the troubleshooting concept remains......
Talk to Steve Geyer in Seattle (he's a member here if you don't know him) about getting your car onto a scope at his shop. If he doesn't have one, I'm sure he'll know someone who does and who can help you.
Have you checked codes?
How bad is the misfire -- severe or just an occasional hiccup?
May be a good idea to throw a fuel pressure gauge on it to see what that does with the car running -- that would eliminate fuel supply as an issue.
Only other fuel related issue I could imagine would be an injector, but that seems far-fetched as the injectors are pretty bone-reliable and long lasting.
Lastly, and this is the real crux of my advice -- if you can put it on an old-school Sun oscillosope that can show each of the cylinders and their electrical pattern ("heartbeat"), that could identify any electrical anomalies, that would be super helpful at pinpointing which cylinder(s) is causing the misfire.
From there you can troubleshoot each of the items in the ignition chain for that specific cylinder, starting with the plug, and working your way back to the coils via the wires, distributors/cap/rotors, then the coils, and then back to the EZL computer (which is not your problem here).
I once had an stumble with my 560SEC many years ago, it was stumbling and running slightly rough. I took it into my shop in Portland, and they immediately put it on a scope and checked out each cylinder's heartbeat graph. It was instantly apparent that cylinder #4 was misfiring. It turns out that it was a ceramic insulator/suppressor in the end of the spark plug wire, where it attached to the spark plug. This was causing a direct spark to the cylinder head, instead of into the spark plug. A $20 suppressor screwed onto the end of the plug wire, and all was well with the world again.
The M119 wires are of a different design, but the troubleshooting concept remains......
Talk to Steve Geyer in Seattle (he's a member here if you don't know him) about getting your car onto a scope at his shop. If he doesn't have one, I'm sure he'll know someone who does and who can help you.
