OWNER Alphasud40 (400E)

[Alphasud40]

I thought I would introduce myself to the forum after getting a newly acquired 400E running and driving. This was somewhat of an unplanned purchase after getting into a accident with my 86 300E a month ago which is still not resolved BTW. A few years ago I discovered classic Mercedes ownership with the purchase of a 87 560 SEL as a parts donor of all things. I purchased it to harvest the powertrain but since it was running and driving i figured what the heck I will daily the car until I’m ready to take it apart. That started a 2 year relationship where I became quite fond of classic car ownership. She was quite a thirsty girl which led me to selling it on and buying the 86 300E. That relationship ended early when another motorist crossed traffic to introduce herself.

Owning the 300E was pleasant silky smooth 6 good chassis and a good looker in smoke silver with med red leather. I really liked the W124 chassis so I knew I was going to own another one. Question is which model. I started reading posts about the 400/500 cars and in doing so realized how much I missed the sound of a V8 and the torque delivery. Initially had my eye on a 93 400E with the AMG body kit in Canada but I soon realized the insurance company was not going to give me a fair settlement so I focused on a old Craigslist ad in Seattle for a 92 400E in distress. Car had been sitting since August so last week y friend and I went to look and retrieve the car. The seller was awesome BTW and she realized this would not be the right car for her daughter going to college.

I had a chance to diagnose it this past weekend and yes it needed a base module to bring it back to life. I was happy to see the underside of the car looked good. Nice and clean with no mods. Minimal oil leaks from the engine unlike the leaky M103 which was taken care of in the other car. Changed the oil and decided to run it to the nearest gas station to fill it with premium. Car ran great to the station felt good no unusual noises transmission shifted good albeit somewhat firm due mostly to old fluid. However once I got to the station I felt one large misfire. Not from one cylinder but from multiple cylinders like one bank. I knew then I was dealing with the dreaded distributor cap issue. Barely managed to get the car home pulled the right bank cap and lo and behold arcage. So here is a list I compiled to keep me busy for a while.

Ignition overhaul with new plugs, cap, rotor, shields, seals
blower fan that screams when it’s turned on
new exhaust
drivers window regulator repair. Window stalls as it’s raised like a damaged gear.
transmission and rear diff. service
reseal the power steering pump
replace trans cooler line
eventually replace front struts and rear shocks
enjoy V8 goodness.

 

[gerryvz]

Please start an OWNER thread to document your experiences with the car. You should find everything you need informationally to take care of your issues with the car. Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[gsxr]

Forum admins can move this post to an OWNER thread if you'd like...

 

[Alphasud40]

Sounds good. I was on the fence between owners forum and repair.

 

[Alphasud40]

I received my new ignition parts last night from Autohaus AZ. Just a habit of mine but I always look at the production dates of the new parts. I was surprised to see the caps (Bosch) were made in 1996. This leads me to believe once they are gone they are gone Unless there is a large demand to make another run (doubtful). As it turned out it was only the passenger side cap that had the severe arcing issue. Water was trapped behind both shields though. I suspect if a cam seal is leaking oil it could very easily be leaking PCV gasses into the distributors.
So today was my first real drive in my 400E. The road to the DMV in my county is one of the most fun roads to drive. A lot of elevation change with a bunch of technical corners. I drive pretty much the speed limit when I’m on a 4 lane highway but once I get on a twisty 2 lane all bets are off. All I can say is it’s been a long time that a car has checked all the boxes for me. I have owned many in the past that when driven gives you a sense of satisfaction on many levels. This car really talks to you. Really makes me want to experience a 500E to see how they compare. I can only imagine it’s yet on another level like when I moved from a 80’s 911 to a 993. I really can’t see the need for any other car right now that can replace this as the perfect daily driver. My 300E was a good car but this is on a completely different level and I have not even come close to the limit given todays road conditions.

 

[gsxr]

I received my new ignition parts last night from Autohaus AZ. Just a habit of mine but I always look at the production dates of the new parts. I was surprised to see the caps (Bosch) were made in 1996. This leads me to believe once they are gone they are gone Unless there is a large demand to make another run (doubtful).

Can you post a photo? Either that's a tool/casting date, or you got some very old stock somehow. Back in 2015 the Bosch caps I purchased were dated Dec-2011, photos are on my website.

As it turned out it was only the passenger side cap that had the severe arcing issue. Water was trapped behind both shields though. I suspect if a cam seal is leaking oil it could very easily be leaking PCV gasses into the distributors.

Per years of discussion on this topic, the liquid on the back side of the shields is likely not water - let it sit for days and it probably won't evaporate. Crankcase vapors is one of the running theories but it's difficult to see how this would happen with good seals that show no sign of oil leakage.

So today was my first real drive in my 400E. The road to the DMV in my county is one of the most fun roads to drive. A lot of elevation change with a bunch of technical corners. I drive pretty much the speed limit when I’m on a 4 lane highway but once I get on a twisty 2 lane all bets are off. All I can say is it’s been a long time that a car has checked all the boxes for me. I have owned many in the past that when driven gives you a sense of satisfaction on many levels. This car really talks to you. Really makes me want to experience a 500E to see how they compare. I can only imagine it’s yet on another level like when I moved from a 80’s 911 to a 993. I really can’t see the need for any other car right now that can replace this as the perfect daily driver. My 300E was a good car but this is on a completely different level and I have not even come close to the limit given todays road conditions.

Welcome to the club! To get closer to the 500E experience you can swap in a 2.65 or 2.82 diff and perk up the acceleration off the line. You now understand why I say the .034 chassis is the best W124 for a daily driver sedan. There's almost zero downside vs the 6-cyl versions, other than being harder to find a nice 034 these days since there were fewer imported.

 

[sheward]

The car looks to be well cared for and unmolested. Not an easy find lately.

 

[Alphasud40]

Yes, I will post a photo of a cap and rotor. The rotor is kind of hard to see.

 

[Alphasud40]

I really lucked out. Car was apparently sitting since August with no takers. Turned out to be a real gem. Fortunately it fell into enthusiasts hands.

 

[gsxr]

My photos of the Bosch rotor also show a 1996 date on the back side, but I think that is a casting / tooling date, not production.

The Bosch cap has a date+month indicator which I believe is production date.

 

[Alphasud40]

Dave,
here are a couple pictures of the ignition components. I was wrong on the cap looks like a 2019 production date. The rotor is 96 unless that is a casting number.

 

[gsxr]

Aug-2018 on the cap! And yes, I believe the rotor only shows the casting date. I've never seen one with a newer date, and we know they didn't cease rotor production 25 years ago.

 

[Alphasud40]

Weekend update. Serviced the transmission and was happy to see no clutch material in the pan. Fluid was orange/red and clear but had a oxidized smell to it like it was forever since the last service. Replaced the leaking drivers side cooler line. Also replaced the thermostat and did a coolant service as well. Funny how some of the thermostats I change show a clear failure yet others are closed but are not regulating the temperature. I was running 55 degrees on the gauge. Now a happy 80-85C and I have heat! At least while driving. Auxi pump is running but the impeller must have gone by by. As soon as I come to a stop fan speed rams up and cold air. Raise the idle and all happy again.

 

[Alphasud40]

 

[Alphasud40]

I finally received a invoice from Fox exhaust in Germany. I ordered a new rear muffler and resonator delete pipe. Now I have to impatiently wait for it to be made and shipped. i will get some sound clips for those who might be interested. Also with shipping the 2 pieces were $960 US delivered.