OWNER dreaming.haze

[dreaming.haze]

Another issue that has cropped up is the dust shield is making minor contact on the new SL600 rear rotors and making a hell of a racket. On one side it is more pronounced, but both are making a bit of noise. I was looking back through various threads and found a consistent mention of "trimming" needed for the rear early shields. I had some trimming needed to mount up the calipers, but didn't do anything around the whole shield.

OWNER - imdbui | Owners and Their Cars - this post shows a quite hefty trim job, is this in line with expectations/needs for these?

 

[gsxr]

You MUST cut the rear dust shield to clear the upgraded 300mm rear rotors. If this wasn't done, you either need to cut the shield, or replace it with a new larger shield (this requires pulling the rear axles AND replacing the rear wheel bearings). I don't recall needing to trim the shield to clear the caliper but I've never installed the large brakes with small shield.

 

[dreaming.haze]

@gsxr - Understood. I'll get the shield trimmed down and properly sorted. With fresh bolts / bits back there, it should come apart real quick. If the rotors are damaged from the mileage so far - I'll likely enact the FCP lifetime warranty a bit early on them.

Don't feel like replacing to the larger shields just yet due to the compounding jobs you noted.

 

[dreaming.haze]

An update on progress. Still haven't gotten the alignment looked at since the Mercedes alignment. Hoping that a friend working at BMW will help me out on a Saturday with an alignment check and let me get under the car and see what we can judge with our own eyes.

From a drivability stand point - car feels so much tighter with all the fresh suspension + brakes. Much more confident driving it around and enjoying things. As others have mentioned, the Sportline bushings in the LCAs up front do feel a bit harsher, but that works fine for me.

One thing I did note after getting the car upwards in the triple digits of speeds as traffic permitted was the sunroof lifting. I've already noticed I needed to fiddle with the lift of the sunroof to hit a sweet spot of no wind noise, but this lift occurring at speed let a good amount of air in. Does anyone know what the fix for this sunroof lift would be? Was thinking first off a new seal would help + looking at the current adjustment of how the panel itself is sitting into it's slot. The sunroof itself is a bit of a mystery to me.

 

[gsxr]

Are you having issues with sunroof noise when fully closed, or when popped up, or fully opened?

If fully closed, something may be awry with the alignment. Check the leading & trailing edges for proper depth per FSM specs.

 

[dreaming.haze]

Dave, Good question, I'll have to test when the noise is occurring tomorrow in the AM on the way to the office.

From memory, when fully closed, there is noise that is occurring. I have to give it a bit of lift to get it back to proper "no noise" at day to day speeds.

I was just reading @JC220 's thread over sunroof refurbishment and the adjustment notes he has in part 5 seem solid: HOW-TO: Complete W124 Sunroof Refurbishment | "HOW-TO" Tutorial Articles

 

[dreaming.haze]

Based on the morning drive in, wind noise isn't heard until 40-45mph. It is coming from the front of the sunroof panel area when the tilt is at its lowest point. Also noticed a subtle rattle at the rear of the panel when at bottom rest for the tilt function. Will take a look more into adjusting things this weekend.

 

[dreaming.haze]

Odd one here - Trying to figure out if the rear carpets in a 300E 4Matic would fit into a 500E just fine. I can see they have a different part number, but I was thinking the diff being bigger would then allude to a shared sizing.

Trying to potentially buy a 300E 4Matic that has a brown interior to swap things over to my 500E. Will still be more stuff to buy that are 500E specific, but if I didn't have to mess with getting 500E specific carpet it would be appreciated.

Any one have clues on this or have tried to source 500E specific carpet?

 

[nocfn]

The carpet is one molded piece that really is just for the short sides up front partially, and all of the rear, creeping up just under the rear seat 4-6". Is that the part you are speaking of? Or are you speaking of the floor matts?

 

[gsxr]

Odd one here - Trying to figure out if the rear carpets in a 300E 4Matic would fit into a 500E just fine. I can see they have a different part number, but I was thinking the diff being bigger would then allude to a shared sizing.

Trying to potentially buy a 300E 4Matic that has a brown interior to swap things over to my 500E. Will still be more stuff to buy that are 500E specific, but if I didn't have to mess with getting 500E specific carpet it would be appreciated. Any one have clues on this or have tried to source 500E specific carpet?

Despite the internet claiming otherwise, it isn't the diff size... the diff sits below the fuel tank, well behind the rear seats and carpet.

The difference is the center tunnel, widened for the twin catalysts. The front seat bases are ~1" narrower in the 034/036 to accommodate this, and the molded carpet (and, floor mats) are slightly different as well.

I don't know if the 6-cyl carpet will fit, or if it can be modified to fit. Any chance of dying the original 036 carpet to the new color?

 

[dreaming.haze]

@nocfn - I would be replacing all the carpet, so molded front carpet with the foam inserts + full tray that goes over hump, etc.

@gsxr - Ahh, this does make more sense from what would be the reason for the shift in sizing. Based on your notes then most of the carpet would have to be sourced from a V8 model - which Brazil in a 400E/500E is quite rare to find.

Good question on dying the original carpets. Unsure what that would entail or look like, but I'll start researching that a bit. Would be coming from a Black interior color, so unsure if that'd be better or worse.

 

[nocfn]

In my c126, I took out all of my carpets to remove all the original fire protections and sound deadening for newer era products. I used Duplicolor in Medium Grey for the redye of the carpets, plastic and vinyl bits. That would match 268 grey, so just several even light coats on the carpets will do the trick. They must be clean, degreased and oil free, just like the plastic and vinyl stuff. Came out wonderful and its been almost a decade since I did this - still looks great. The carpet gets a bit stiff, but a gentle combing will soften it up after the unit drys properly.

 

[dreaming.haze]

@nocfn - I was researching that a bit today and came across these guys: Mercedes Benz Vintage Leather Vinyl Dye Colors / Looks like they have 453 Brazil listed out as a color option. Could likely do some testing on another W124 part before fully committing on the 500E specific parts.

 

[nocfn]

Just remember that whatever option you take - the actual color is going to be more vivid than your reference. All of the pieces in the car are not the same based on plastic/vinyl/leather. Just want to stress prep matters, and just trust that when you start, you will need to do it all. Sun exposed items seem to need more light coats than others and longer cure time YMMV but let the coats dry completely, in effect get hard and bond. I did not "dye" leather seats, I bought new.

 

[luckymike]

I’ve found that brushing the carpet while the paint is still wet helps prevent the stiffness.

 

[dreaming.haze]

Thank you for the notes above. I was planning to get new leather from GAT or similar. Would rather the leather itself be dyed by professionals.

The next thoughts I had were towards material like the B-Pillar vertical trim - should the aim to be trying to find Brazil vinyl material or get better condition B-pillar's in any color and dye those?

 

[sheward]

The covering on the B pillars is thin vinyl and they are easy to recover. I suggest sourcing some appropriately colored leather and recover. Same for the C pillars. It's not that much more cost/work and makes a big difference. Alcantara would be a great choice if you can source a good color match.

On plastic parts, sand or steel wool the surface until gloss is gone. Use adhesion promoter before paint. It's something like Acetone in a spray can that softens the plastic.

I was quite concerned about the carpet during my restoration, which was old and stained. It turns out very little of the carpet shows in the 124 after the mats are placed as nocfn noted.