New Toys:
+ w124 Limo/w124 Cabrio Front Swaybar & Bushings
+ w124 500e Rear Swaybar & Bushing
+ w140 Warning Triangle Bracket
+ w124 Shifter Linkage Bushings/Clips
+ w202 Shifter/Shift Rod + Bushing (thanks Jse420!)

 

Hoarding info again, don't mind me

 

It's definitely not just hype. However, next time, I would recommend Mobil-1 5W-40 (aka "Turbo Diesel Truck" formula). The 0W-40 is just a bit too thin, and is used by the factory for fuel economy reasons, not for engine protection/longevity. The good news is, you can extend your drain intervals with the M-1 in there... at least 5k between changes, maybe 10k or beyond if you do lots of freeway commuting. I'd swap out the thin stuff at 5k though. Just my $0.02.

For the record... I use the 5W-40 in all my vehicles, both gas & diesel, and get oil analysis at each change.

 

Would I need to do another flush when I switch up to 5w-40 Mobil 1 Synthetic, or will it be okay?

 

Eeep! You did an engine flush? Like, pour in a can of cleaner and let the car idle for 10 minutes, then drain? If so, pleeeeease don't do that again - you were lucky nothing bad happened. Do some Googling about that. Good synthetics have a cleaning action all by themselves, it just takes a long time to fully clean internals (like, 5-10kmi, maybe more). The only cleaning product that is truly safe is Auto-RX, although most cars aren't sludged up enough to benefit from this, and based on my testing it doesn't do particularly well removing the brown varnish from M119 internals. Sure doesn't hurt anything though. Bottom line - no worries just switching to 5W-40 at your next oil change.

 

I'm not sure. I had the techs at Jiffy Lube do it, so whatever method they used is what went down.

Good to know, I'll start buying up quarts of 5w-40 to keep in the trunk.

Do you know if the Mercedes Sanctioned Background Oil Consumption Rate of about 1 QT per 1000mi is still true of the synthetic?

Also, Bucky is in the shop today getting Swaybars put on, Ed's braided steel brake lines, brake fluid flush, brake fluid replaced with Castrol GTR DOT4, trans flush + filter, diff flush + filter, radiator flush + fill, Power Steering flush + fill.

I'm not sure I'm ready for how different it is going to be :P

 

*cringe* Oh boy... you're brave. The Iffy Boob chains (or similar) are a risky place to take any vehicle you care about. I think they mostly specialize in stripping oil pan drain plug threads. If you don't have the time (or place) to do it yourself, I'd find a local German car shop and pay the additional cost. Or invest in a Topsider, where you don't even need to remove the drain plug! (Changing the filter is still messy on models with spin-on filters though, but I think yours has a cartridge filter).



Most likely the flush-in-a-can.... it's a quart of strong solvents, but you risk breaking piston rings, scoring cylinder walls, or damaging bearings. Those kind of failures are rare, but I sure wouldn't take the risk. That's why the instructions say in big capital letters to not drive the car with the flush in the engine, and not to increase RPM's above idle.



Bah! The official MB line is that a quart per 600 miles is acceptable, or some other ridiculous BS like that, so they don't have to pay for replacement engines under warranty. In the real world, a good engine will go 5kmi or more per quart. In the 2-3k range isn't great but it's not bad. At 1kmi per quart, you either have some serious leaks, or it's consuming it somehow (valve guides or seals). Consumption may get worse simply by using thin oil... in general, if the engine uses oil, you want to run a thicker oil, like a 10W-40, 15W-40, or 15W-50. The thicker viscosity can help slow down the consumption, but the proper fix is to replace the worn seals / guides / etc.



Ooooo, cool! I can't find any info on Castrol GTR... are you sure that is the correct name? Replacing fluids is always a good idea. You should definitely notice a difference with the swaybars - much less body roll.

 

Well, my father trusts this specific Jiffy Lube because he knows some of the people who work there.

I know I need valve guides/seals, but I was going to save the kind of engine R&R for such a time as when I can afford to have it built to the AMG 3.6l specification.

Castrol GTR is source misattribution, it is Castrol LMA fluid. DOT4+ I'd call it. Higher boiling point than DOT4 mandates, etc.
http://www.castrol.com/castrol/secti...tentId=7024043

Turns out the lines I got from Ed don't fit and the shop decided that I needed new lines so OEM lines have been purchased for 40$ a pop. Pisses me off because that is about what a set of braided steel lines would have run me. Oh well.

They also decided water pump needed replacing especially since they were doing the serpentine belt at the same time. Reduced labor cost :\

 

Ah, ok, that's better, if you know a particular place has good techs. I still wouldn't let them do another engine flush though.



It would be much cheaper to just buy a good used C36 engine, refresh the seals/gaskets/etc on the engine stand, then swap it in. Actually converting your engine to 3.6L would cost a fortune!




Got it - neat stuff, I hadn't seen that before. It's in between the Valvoline synthetic and Ate Super.



$40 EACH? Ouch, ouch, ouch. Next time, order a set of the WRXtra s/s braided hoses, $100 shipped for all four, and they fit properly. I have 'em on my cars - just make sure you specify the 17mm hex fitting on the front hoses. When you do the big brake kit, swap the hoses too.



Good idea - preventive maintenance is smart. Better to fix it now than get stranded on the side of the road in middle of summer...

 

Yeah, I think I'm done with the engine flush. I know that I've burned some oil and when checking my dipstick I kept seeing burnt oil at the very bottom so I decided that a flush and switching to a better grade Synthetic oil would not be a bad thing to do.
Really? I thought building it from parts taken from a C36 would be cheaper because I wouldn't have to change my fuel system, wiring, etc.
You mean there is better DOT4 spec fluid?
Is changing to the braided lines something that can be done in a school parking lot? I'd like to switch up to those by the time SCCA starts and keep the other set at home for my dad or maybe in my trunk tire well as extras. I like to keep parts in there in case..
Yeah, I don't mind that. I just wished they had asked me so I could have ordered the stuff from Rust @ BuyMBParts for cheaper. Oh well.

 

I think you want to do a hybrid... take the C36 long block, and try to adapt your current fuel system. Ideally you would also take all the C36 engine management (computers, etc) but that could get complicated... although it would be a better end result. Boring your existing block to 3.6L, swapping in the other pistons & crank, etc are all things you don't want to do - lots of $$$$, lots of hours in labor.



Oh, there are a number of better DOT4 spec fluids, but the cost starts to get crazy if you're not on the racetrack. The Castrol LMA or Valvoline is good stuff for street use. Ate SuperBlue or Type 200 Gold are the next step up, and are the last semi-affordable fluid. Everything after that is more of a racetrack-only luxury. I added a worksheet in my brake spreadsheet with fluid specs... just put the LMA in there last night, but haven't loaded the new version to my website yet.



Well, yes and no. With the Motive perssure bleeder and a decent hydraulic jack, it would be possible to do this in the parking lot, but it wouldn't be particularly easy... lots of raising & lowering the car as you go from one wheel to the next. Much faster & easier with a lift that gets all four tires off the ground at once.

 

Anyone know if this wheel will fit on the w124? Its really friggin nice actually.
2010 Smart ForTwo, US Market.

 

Brett..

I doubt any "modern" Merc wheel will be a direct fit to the 124 hub...

Sparco and a few other aftermarket companies make the "DTM LOOK" wheel and probably offer the hub adapter for the 124.

http://www.saferacer.com/sparco/stee...FQuB5QodTnBLNw

You will no longer have your air bag but who cares...

Ed A.
P.S.
Finally got the Black Series ...
Can't wait for the C124TTWB to be finished and do a "older brother-younger brother" photo shoot !!!

 

Hmm, alright. Thanks Ed. I'm really looking to keep the airbag for safety's sake and my own feeling of security. For that reason, I'm looking for a 95 or above wheel/bag which are supposed to (according to the MB docs) not have a limited shelf life.

The Smart wheel is really quite exceptional in feel. It has the DTM style grips, tight radius, and a really soft/grippy perforated covering.

I know I can get a w210 or w202 wheel, but I'm not sure if I can do other cars from around that year range.

 

Brett

How about a front strut brace ?

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w124...rut-brace.html

 

Incredibly tempting. I think that might be a good thing to buy eventually :P

Do you know if it would work with the RDMTek upgraded strut towers?

Also, I don't have a benzworld account, do you think you could ask him for me?

And also, I can't see his email address Can you send me it?

Thanks,
Brett

 

Forum is free..just sign up for it...
It's inhabited by a more serious group of Merc enthusiasts...

 

I have the strut brace on one of my 124's. It's a nice piece, but it's more bling than functional. The 124 chassis is already pretty stiff so the brace doesn't add much more. The effect is similar to going up one size in sway bar thickness. Mine is a Wiecher's bar, btw, and it will not work with the RDM TEK front strut mounts. I'm using it with Meyle HD strut mounts.

 

Hmm, thanks for the heads up Dave.

I guess I'll save that 200+ for the H&R Sports for now. Those will be more effective, correct?

 

Yes - do the springs, swaybars, and dampers first. The strut brace bar should be the last upgrade, not the first.

 

I finally ordered the Rear Subframe Bushing kit for my car as the shop here wouldn't touch the rear swaybar without that kit. His fear was that when we dropped the subframe to slip out the old bar the bushings would either be worn/broken or the bolts would need replacing. Basically, he didn't want to tack a Subframe Bushing replacement job atop the labor for the swaybar install.

I'm not liking having my car unbalanced right now, so I figure might as well get those worn bushings replaced and get the rear sways in so I can feel a bit more balanced.

My car feels like this now:

 

Can anyone tell me what the indicated parts are, if they are available, and whether or not I could put these on my m104 in my driveway.

I've got a pretty complete socket set and standard tools (knives, solder, hammers, wrenches) but nothing to weld with. Oh, also a breaker bar (about 3" long).

 

Intake box on the very left side...I would guess the 2nd left one points to possibly the MAS.

Bottom two are the coolant hoses that go from the radiator -> pump and pump -> head. I believe on the 103, that bottom hose is actually metal, but it seems on the 104 it is hose.

I don't own a 104 though

 

Thanks man. Interesting intake box, it is VERY different from my m104 one. Also, the far right arrow intrigues me. What is that?

Question:
Air filter has oil on it and some black areas. When I flex/shake it, crap falls out. Time to replace?

Should I bother with K&N and risk debris entering my engine at the cost of freer flow or not?

 

Brett

What M104-24V do you have...early or late...
I'm assuming early if your engine looks different then the pic you posted.
The early M104 has the Bosch KE-Jetronic III CIS-E and the intake looks exactly like the M103-12V.

The later model picture uses the Bosch HFM injection system.
Extreme right is the intake runner assembly.

Parts are not compatible.

K&N will not let any more debris into the engine then the OEM will...
Your filter should not be oil stained and nothing should fall out of it..

Appears like you're getting crankcase stuff sucked into your air filter housing...

Check your crankcase ventilation system...

Ed A.