OWNER OWNER - Glen (744)

[Glen]

Incidently, mileage as of today is 123,000 exactly. In almost 14 years (May), I've only driven this car 34,xxx miles. I'm not sure whether to be proud or sad about that...

 

[Stevester 500E]

If you the deal falls through, I am interested in purchasing from you also.

PM sent.

 

[8899]

Installed the Feind Stage 1 rear sway bar today.

Did you stick with the poly bushings supplied with the bar? If so, any squeeking?

 

[gsxr]

Glen's photos show the orange poly bushings, can't tell if he opted for the "greasable" option. May take a little while before any squeaks may appear, usually can test by rolling slowly over a speed bump in a parking lot, with the driver window down. At least that's how I could duplicate the squeaks from my old K-Mac kits (now removed from the cars).

 

[8899]

Glen's photos show the orange poly bushings, can't tell if he opted for the "greasable" option.

Oh yea, you're right. This photo does show the poly bushing installed:

Thanks.

 

[Glen]

Correct, I used the supplied poly bushings and silicone grease. I opted not to get zerk fittings. So far, in my very limited use, no squeaking that I can hear.

 

[gerryvz]

I have had the larger rear bar on my SEC for the past 18+ months. I opted for the silicone bushings WITH Zerk fittings.

My experience is that the bushings don't squeak, UNLESS the ambient temperatures are cold ... in the 40F range and below. When temps are higher, the bushings do not make any noise.

 

[gsxr]

With fresh grease applied they should be quiet. The question is, how many miles/months will it remain that way, before re-greasing is needed (if ever).

 

[Glen]

Once again, it's time for California's biennial emissions test for both this car and my '03 M5, so off I went to the test station. This car has never had an issue with smog tests in the 14 years I've owned it and this year was no exception. Today's results were significantly better than 2 years ago (see above) and I'm thinking the main reason is that it was a warmer day to begin with plus I got the car fully warmed up with a blast or two to redline before the test.

My M5 has never failed either, however, at my last test the HC reading was at the max so I was a little concerned. I remember it was a cold, wet morning last time I had it tested, so I was hoping today would result in lower numbers. The great and funny thing though is that the newest test protocol doesn't even require the car to be tested at the tail pipe! They just connect to the OBDII connector and ensure there are no not-ready codes and that the computer says everything is working correctly. I like OBDII for the ease of diagnosing problems, the code readers are inexpensive and make troubleshooting significantly easier. But today, I'm thrilled with it. I feel that OBD has made a significant improvement to the whole emissions testing process.

 

[gerryvz]

Glen, is that a recent thing where California went to the OBD-reading emissions tests? I know that "for sure" since we've lived here in Texas, for the past 6.5 years, that's how they do tests on all post-1995 cars. I think Oregon was the same in the years before I moved. The just plug them in, read the computer, record the information in THEIR computer, and you're off and running (none of my cars, of course, work that way).

So I am surprised to hear that, if you confirm it, the OBD-plug tests are new to California.

 

[Glen]

I'm not sure exactly when they started doing it, but two years ago they did a tail pipe test on the BMW.

 

[Glen]

A quick search online shows that it changed on September 1, 2013.

 

[8899]

Installed the Feind Stage 1 rear sway bar today.

Just want to follow-up with Glen's sway bar installation in post #48 above. I also installed the Feind rear sway bar and, in an attempt to avoid using the supplied poly bushings, tried to fit the rubber W210 E55 rear sway bar bushing/bracket. It is essentially a no-go swap. As the photos below indicate, the bracket bolt holes are too narrow on the E55 bracket despite the bracket being able to fit over the bar. I should also add that the E55 rubber bushing will not fit into the Feind bracket.

 

[Glen]

That's a cool looking bracket, too bad it doesn't work. It would be awesome if Feind or someone else made a custom bracket that would work. Probably a small market but it would be a nice customization.

 

[Glen]

I haven't driven this car in a few months so I thought I'd take it out this morning to give it a little exercise. As I sat down in the seat l noticed some parts laying by the shift lever...


I look up and sure enough, my rear view mirror has exploded.

Here are the parts and pieces:


Anyone ever seen this before?

 

[Glen]

I should add that the car has been in my garage not exposed to temperature extremes for the last 15 years. Weird.

 

[nocfn]

I had one crumble much the same way, perhaps 2phast has one left.

 

[Glen]

I have a spare that I've already installed. It just seems odd that it would just go "boing" randomly.

 

[gsxr]

Never seen that before, or even heard of it. Crazy!

 

[Glen]

After putting in the replacement mirror I went for a drive to let the car breath a little. Only went about 50 miles but it was fun and the car enjoyed it as much as I did. Here's a quick shot with UC San Diego's cool Geisel Library in the background. It's a beautiful SoCal day.

 

[sheward]

Re: OWNER - Glen

I was just told by Quicksilver about the same thing happening. Your car looks great, Glen. Library is also very interesting.

drew

 

[Glen]

Re: OWNER - Glen

I was just told by Quicksilver about the same thing happening. Your car looks great, Glen. Library is also very interesting.

drew

Thanks Drew.

So Quicksilver's mirror did the same thing? Interesting. I literally have no explanation for it.

 

[quicksilver500]

Yep, happened to me when I went to flip the mirror up. Jono said it was a thing that happens. It was like the plastic was turning back into oil on the inside.

 

[Glen]

Ah, yes I had to clean up a few drops of oil by the shifter. So the plastic deteriorated, looks like another thing we'll have to watch out for.

 

[mbzchip]

My '94 did the exact same thing about 8 months ago. I chalked it up to Las Vegas extreme temperatures. But it was odd because it had been in this city for a short time and rarely left "outside" in the extreme heat. But apparently, from reading the posts, heat does not seem to be the primary antagonist.

 

[makemann]

Wow! Those wheels are a work of art.

I had my mirror crumble in my hand as I made an adjustment to it, so I replaced it with 2phast's Homelink version.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Klink]

I haven't driven this car in a few months so I thought I'd take it out this morning to give it a little exercise. As I sat down in the seat l noticed some parts laying by the shift lever...
View attachment 44701

I look up and sure enough, my rear view mirror has exploded.

Here are the parts and pieces:
View attachment 44702

Anyone ever seen this before?

Yep. The plastic disintegrates and the force of the spring blasts that handle through the plastic. I also think that the small amount of grease applied to that pivot point during manufacture hastens the material disintegration in that area. And yes, the hotter the climate and/or the more direct the solar exposure, the more frequently it occurs.

In central Florida this would sometimes occur when the car was still in warranty. The customers would swear that they didn't do anything ham-fisted, and that they just "found it that way" We wondered what they could have possibly been doing to cause this, then it started happening on our own cars.

You could simply find a pile of parts on the console, or it will come apart as you flip the lever. I have often wondered how many unfortunate valets, spouses, children, etc. were blamed for this over the years...

 

[mbzchip]

Can we expect the replacement part to act in a similar "explosive fashion" or has it been modified to eliminate the problem?

 

[gsxr]

Not sure how many people will shell out for a brand new mirror... p/n B66818602, USA MSRP is $226 if anyone is interested. Guess I should keep those spares I have instead of selling 'em!

 

[Glen]

For quite sometime I've had a slight flare in the 2 - 3 shift which I had learned to mitigate with gentle application of the throttle. I had also increased modulator pressure a bit in the past which also helped. Since I don't drive this car that much, I've lived with it for several years. Well, I finally decided it was time to do something about it so I ordered the K1 accumulator spring kit and installed it today. Sorry, no pictures but there are several good DIY posts on the various MB forums and it's very straight forward if you've done a transmission service. Anyway, I installed the K1 spring kit, fresh fluid, a new filter and of course a new OE pan seal.

Success! The 2 - 3 shift is now perfect

 

[Glen]

Getting ready to install metal oil tubes. I pulled this set from a W140 over a year ago but only now am I installing them. I cleaned all the oil varnish by soaking them in a citrus degreaser and then to remove the o-rings, I soaked them in acetone for a couple hours.



I'm waiting for new chain guides to get here so it'll be a couple more days before they go in.

The o-rings swell and can be removed easily by hand.

 

[Glen]

All new o-rings...

 

[Glen]

Hit a little snag. When I pulled the right valve cover, I noticed the oil separator was broken and the funnel was fossilized. I've ordered new parts which won't be here until next week. Will post pix later.

 

[Glen]

So, I was able to get the oil separator pieces out of the head...here's what I fished out.

Edit: the oil separator broke into those pieces when I tried to remove it. And then several of those pieces fell into a hole, making extraction difficult. Hence the shop vac attachment.



And here's what I used connected to my shop vac to do it.



New parts coming from MB Classic Center on Tuesday.

 

[Glen]

Right side

Before:


After:


New chain guides too but my old ones actually came out intact. They are about 15 years old but only about 30,000 miles...same with the plastic oil tubes as I had both changed at the dealer shortly after I bought the car.

 

[Glen]

Here's the new oil separator and funnel...not installed yet due to last minute Christmas madness [emoji4]


The new funnel is soft and supple, the old one was hard as a rock!

 

[Glen]

Here's where the oil separator goes...



Passenger side done and almost done with the driver side:

 

[Glen]

Job done and while there isn't any noticeable difference from a performance standpoint, I think replacing the plastic oil tubes with aluminum tubes adds a measure of long term reliability. At least that's what I'm telling myself!

On the other hand, while I was waiting for the oil separator and funnel, I finally took the time to replace the engine mounts. Another bit of deferred maintenance that I was putting off because I don't drive this car that much. Unlike the oil tubes, new engine mounts make an immediate and noticeable difference, even if the old ones aren't really that bad.

Went for a nice 30 minute drive after buttoning everything up and I can report no leaks from the valve covers and no chassis vibration at idle in park or drive.

Merry Christmas all!

 

[need2speed]

And a Happy New Year, Glen

 

[Glen]

Copied from another thread (http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9227), adding this for interest:

[h=2]Re: Why do you like the 500e?[/h]

I've been a car enthusiast my whole life. At my 1 year birthday, one of my gifts was a wooden garage structure with wood blocks shaped like cars. Throughout my child hood, I had Hotwheels, Sizzlers (remember those?) and of course Aurora AFX slot cars as well as a fleet of Tonka trucks. My older brother also had 1/24 scale slot cars, we had a cool track setup in our basement. Fun times.

My family bought a new '69 Datsun 510 for my older brother and I helped him modify it throughout the '70's. I eventually inherited it and continued modifying and upgrading it. Being into "sport" sedans, when the 190E 2.3-16 came out I was in lust. It was everything I wished my 510 was but better, unfortunately, it would be years before I could afford one. I started looking semi-seriously for one in mid-1990, drove a few but couldn't quite pull the trigger. Around that same time, I saw a review of the 500E and knew I would have one someday but obviously, it was way out of my price range at the time. I eventually found and bought a 16V in December of 1996, but not before finding a high mileage '86 300E with 5-speed manual. So, for about 5 years I had both a 300E and 190E. During that time, I came to love both sedans but appreciated the better build quality of the W124 as well as the more usable space. I realized that the 500E was "my" perfect sport sedan.

Everything about the 500E intrigued me. The 5.0 liter, all alloy, DOHC V8, the 4-place Recaro seats, the lowered suspension, 4-piston front brakes, ABS, ASR, SLS and of course the beautiful flared fenders. And the build quality was second to none. It was (and is) a technical marvel with both brawn and beauty. For me, the epitome of sport sedans.

Today's cars are quicker, faster, handle better, blah, blah, blah, but there isn't another sedan that fully embodies the overall satisfaction that these cars give me. I've had my silver E500 for almost 15 years and I have no intention of ever selling it!​

 

[Glen]

I've been anticipating taking this picture for a few days now and almost missed it. Luckily, I remembered to glance at the odometer this evening before leaving the office parking structure. Nothing major but a fun milestone [emoji3]

 

[nocfn]

Pretty Kool catch

 

[Hi-Power]

Glen, when you give attention to details make sure excellence will come!

 

[Glen]

This month marks 15 years of my ownership of this car! I filled the tank for the first time on May 11, 2001 with 20.47 gallons of fuel at $2.149 per gallon. Mileage at the time: 88,973

Anyway, during the month I will be posting miscellaneous pictures highlighting some of it's features and modifications.

 

[gerryvz]

Congrats! I'm coming up on 13 years for my E500 in August. Time flies when you're having fun. Looking forward to your listing of mods and such. GSXR has one in his OWNER thread that I copied and used in my own thread for my cars.

 

[Glen]

We've had some rain the last couple days with more expected so I haven't had time to take pictures. So, I'll start with a mod list, which is actually quite short. When I got the car, 15 years ago, it was basically stock. the only thing non-factory were dealer installed chrome 16 x 8, 8-hole wheels. Over the years, I have added/modified the car with the following:
Front tag delete, purchased through a dealer, pre-painted
Bergwerks FGS with sport and security options
Modified shifter panel with E and S
E500 euro lenses with Lamin-X on euro housings with level control
RENNtech Monolite wheels
MB R129 upper strut mounts
MB S210 alloy thrust arms
Adjustable camber arms with OE bushings, not heim joints
Removed factory phone and replaced header panel with mini-visor
G2 painted front and rear calipers with custom vinyl MB stars
Porsche/Becker CDR-210 HU with Solisto iPod and aux-in adapter
Custom Beru ignition wires in red
Bilstein Sport struts
Feind rear sway bar
Alloy cam oiler tubes

Recent (within the last couple years) maintenance items that have been replaced:
Lower engine harness (upper was done about 14 years ago)
MAFS
T-stat
Distributor caps/rotors/plugs
Fuel pressure regulator
Both rear hydrostruts
Engine and trans mounts (Lemforder and OE, respectively)
Passenger-side heater hose

 

[Glen]

Here are some pix of a couple of my favorite mods:

 

[Maui]

I want a set of those wheels.

 

[Glen]

It's emissions test time again and being a cooler morning, 65F, I took the car for a 40 minute freeway drive before going to the test facility. Car is running fantastic, I really should drive this car more! Anyway, results were great:

 

[nocfn]

Excellent, must be that clean CA air!