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Hi everyone,
so following my other threads about my mercedes restorations and modifications, npw im gonna start a new project which is a w202
I have done other retrofitting projects with W124 and W210 (check my threads), now I got a barn find 2000 C240 which is still in decent condition
So the plan is :
1. Normal restorations upto daily usable
2. Upgrade to US version sport package
3. Retroftting a few parts from newer mercedes
and ultimately,
4. M113 S500 engine swap and tranny ( I got the engine and tranny from a 2000 S500)
5. C43 diff swap
So this is going to be an ongoing thread.
Please check the pictures
Electrical gremlins everywhere, oil mixing with coolant, front bumper busted, collapsed front suspensions, no start, EIS locked etc etc, we are going a longgg way here
A quick update, the mixing oil turn out to be the oil cooler, after replacing it, the coolant starts to get cleaner but still look lile peanut butter, I was thinking to replace the head gasket but i doubt it.
replace the radiator since its cracked anyway. All clear now
I moved the oil tranny cooler from the old radiator tp the new one since the old radiator still has the brass material cooler which is much corrosion prove than aluminum
i also sorted out some of the no start, EIS was replaced and recoded, new fuel pump, engine start with bad idle but at least it fires.
ac and blower not working at all, check the fuse, the blower fuse look burned.
And the wire has copper oxidation which explain why its not blowing anything, i connect the blower directly to the battery and its working, the blower module is fine as well
Alternator not charging though, i guess it has something to do with the random flashing lights on the instrument cluster.
Aux fan blowing at max speed, ESG busted, so i replaced the ESG 600 fo ESG40, little different capacity but still compatible with slight modification on the socket
Few picture from the progress
I also got a good deal for a US sport package wheels, but this set is made by ronal, germany, same design but its staggered 16*7 and 16*8, so surprising, i also need to find a stock w202 springs snd do some body repair soon since the is running now
Replaced 6 all ignition coils, replace 4 injectors and seals, calibrate the injectors, oil change, engine idle almost perfectly smooth, change the oil, new battery, new transmission oil, rebuilt starter motor
Out of nowhere, i have a new problem now, suddenly it wont crank!!!
just a click when i try to start the car!
Try shorting starter relay, just a solenoid sound clicking, starter motor not turning
Take down the motor, benchtest, allgood, test with multimeter allgood
Turn the engine manually, all good.
Try using external starter cable and another new battery, still no go
this is going to be tricky
Any ideas??
I got the no crank issue resolved, i take down the starter motor and found that the pinion gear was hitting the flex disc, somehow it didnt slide through the gear, suspected a bad solenoid but its not when bench testing. So i dismantle the solenoid and gears and found the motor servicing shop puts grease inside the gear!!!
at firat i wonder could this be the problem, but i just cleaned it well, spray with carb cleaner and after it dries spray it with silicone spray.
Assemble them together and installed it.
Right away it crankssss!!!
Wow what a surprise, never thought grease would cause such a problem
Now the engine and transmission is running, I move it to a paint shop to repair some of the paint job, since it was kept in a garage for sooo long, it has scratches and dinks everywhere
after bodyshop ill think ill start to make it look nicer with the oem springs and sport wheels and some other tweaks and fix
Got the front and rear bumper done, heavy scratches and dink fixed. So for the next step i still need to fix the suspension, engine tune up, wiring issues, suction fan blowing at full speed, ac intermittent problem and few other electrical fault.
Car looking much better now, still need to do few more steps, hood grill is busted, idle problem still there, ac not cold yet, door latch busted, long way to do, but its getting closer now
I refreshed the front suspension and install the OEM front and rear springs with 5 dot on the front and 3 dots spring pads on the rear
next i have to change the wheels and tires and start doing some retrofit and cosmetical work
Also the suction fan is blowing at full speed, replaced the ESG, still same result
still electeical gremlins here, ac blower not blowing any air too, i suspect its the climate control unit
I scanned using star and it shows refrigerant pressure too high while actually the compressor is not even on
I cant wait to install the US sport version wheels, so I ignored all the other problems and just go to a tires shop Wow it looks much better compare to the previous wheels Do some allignment Fix the ripped front seats Fix the front seat rear pockets
Car looking much better now, leta get back to the engine and AC now
Hi,
just found out about this thread, very nice Indeed..
Actually I'm also restoring my C230 1997 (1st-hand from my mom) for my daughter as her 1st car.
I started the project from December 2023..
The project is restored all section needed (HVAC done, drivetrain done, engine & trans done, weathershield rubber done, electrical issues caused by degraded harness done.), sport package suspension upgrade (sport spring, sport shock, wheels and tire done, just waiting for the sway bars), sport trim interior package...
right now the car is running on spec.
im doing body restoration right now..
And having fastener and clips issues (some are waiting for shipping from UK to Indo)
Looking forward to you project for the power mod ..
I do have some questions,
1. Did you removed your side skirts during paint job?
Start restoring some small items, the right headlight is totally cloudy, re chrome the whole thing would take so much effort, so i disamble it and do some deep cleaning
also sanded the reflector and repaint it with chrome spray can
I tried spraying with a few brands but only one brand give a shiny effect, the other is not chrome, its silver
The right signal reflector is also unrestorable, so i bought a US version Depo brand.
Not so bad, but much cheaper than the bosch
I also removed the tow cover and cut the bumper grill out so it look like the US sport version bumber
The tow cover is still on process clearning up the side grills
i also replace the busted so called "avantgarde grill" with the original grill
Much better looking now
Engine idle is much better now, i found some vacuum leak on the intake pipe, plug it with some epoxy glue, idle still a little bit shaky, i wont say its rough, it has that little shake which might take time to find
meanwhile i did some retrofit, changed the accelerator pedal with 203 version
Not so complicated to do, removed the old pedal, extend some wires, make a mounting tab for the pedal
Now the car feels much more responsive and the kickdown feels not as deep as the old pedal
Checkout the pictures
Hi,
just found out about this thread, very nice Indeed..
Actually I'm also restoring my C230 1997 (1st-hand from my mom) for my daughter as her 1st car.
I started the project from December 2023..
The project is restored all section needed (HVAC done, drivetrain done, engine & trans done, weathershield rubber done, electrical issues caused by degraded harness done.), sport package suspension upgrade (sport spring, sport shock, wheels and tire done, just waiting for the sway bars), sport trim interior package...
right now the car is running on spec.
im doing body restoration right now..
And having fastener and clips issues (some are waiting for shipping from UK to Indo)
Looking forward to you project for the power mod ..
I do have some questions,
1. Did you removed your side skirts during paint job?
So apparently the previous owner has removed the catalyc coverter and replace with a new cat back system (which is fake remus), so I ordered a new resonator, and install it in between the middle resonator and rear muffler
IT helps a little bit with the noise, but the exhaust sound is a deeper, i still dont like it, i gotta find a stock spec rear muffler
Here we go again, out of nowhere, the Fuel pump wouldnt turn on, its a new pump i just replace it few weeks ago
Try to replace the relay on the trunk, sometimes its on, sometimes its off
Replace the fuse, same thing
if i move around the relay connector, it randomly turn on and off
Try to clean it with contact cleaner, still same symthomp, connector all good, wires all good, no green corrosion
try to use jumper on the relay socket, 30 to 87, same result
Its gotta be wiring issue aroung the relay
Update, found the problem with the fuel pump issue, maybe other w202 might experinced the same problem
so i trace the fuel pump wiring starting from the fuse inside the trunk and upto the relay, all the way to the fuel pump connector, so mercedes actually use quite a long cable from the relay to the fuel pump, the color is red/green and somehow becuae the wire is quite long, they fold the cable i side the wiring loom
that becomes an issue
i sraigthen the cable and cut around 50 cm, from the fuel lump connector all the way to the fuel pump relay, resolder everything, problem solved
No matter how hard I play with the cable, the fuel puml will stay on
Ok, so this week was quite productive, i tackled the fuel pump issue and also the suction fan
the suction fan was blowing at full speed was caused by a faulty climatw control.unit, which send a wrong refrigerant pressure reading.
So i got a used climate control unit and replace it, the suction is just quiet, Ac blower working, AC cold
So i replace the drier, seals and refrigerant, vacuum the system for 45 mins, and inject a better quality cans.
The factory specs for the refrigerant is 850grams, but with 680grams, i got a very cold AC with 13-15 bar pressure, so i stop adding freon.
Ac is blowing ice cold now