ps2cho

If your air filter is dirty, replace it. A nice clean OE filter is fine. If you can shake all the dust out and open the gaps in the filter and it looks clean then you can probably re-use. Every place in the country is different in regards to how fast a filter will last.

Saijin_Naib

I don't know how to check my crankcase ventilation system It appears to be road debris mostly. Very small pebbles and fragments of rock, dust, dirt, and a crap-ton of oil. Here are some pictures.

Picture 1:

1: Just replaced this breather hose. It had standing oil in it and had broken right by where it clamps to the engine block.
2: Shows standing oil in airbox
3: Plan on heat-wrapping this and possibly tapping into it to make dual-intake

Picture 2:

1: Thinking about trimming this bit of plastic back to allow more direct inflow of air. However, more debris might be taken in as well.

Picture 3:

1: Heard that the 400e uses a bucket behind the headlight assembly to draw in air. Does this look compatible? I can't seem to find this part on the buymbparts.biz site :\

Picture 4:

1: Want a new cover for the top of the block. Mine is cracked and ugly :\
2: Another shot of the oil in the airbox
3: You can see the general state of the airfilter at current. Has many black portions and still lets dust loose when I hit it. Also, some of the filter elements have begun to flake and crack apart.

ps2cho

Yeh looks time to replace it...

You can always remove the valve cover, tape off the white area and use paint stripper on the middle only. Lightly sand it then paint it again. Should be very easy because you can take down into the groove between the two sections so it would look very clean. Use high temp engine paint for it. Go for gloss black and possibly the badge in red?

Saijin_Naib

Thanks. I'm still torn between the K&N and the paper filter :\ For 10$ difference on the buymbparts site.....

As for the valve cover, the bump part is because it cracked in half and was held together with duct tape. I'd really like one that isn't a total mess at this point. Do they have a part number or something? Can't find it :\

Anyone know if removing the exhaust headers is an easy job? I think I'd like to take them out, sand them down, and have them ceramic coated to reduce ambient heat in the bay. This would be in conjunction with heatwrapping the intake and airbox.

Saijin_Naib

Is this Shock stop buffer a dealership item only?
Can I use it with Koni Yellows & H&R Sports?
129-323-06-44
75mm
16.5mm
Red
Hard
124 only: most Sportline, also early AMG models (.031, .051). Used up to 05/1992?
Only for certain Sportline struts? "To 124-320-1930, -3530, -3630, -4230, -5630"
$14.00

ps2cho

I would just go with OE. To date I've seen no data that shows the K+N filter does anything good for this motor. I've only ever seen bad information in regards to it's oiling and how it has clogged up MAS's.

Exhaust header removal is straightforward. Hardest part will be unbolting the exhaust. You'll need long extensions to reach them. If you go on my DIY sticky and go onto that UK site which has pics of the head gasket replacement, the first pictures involve the exhaust removal so it should give you a pretty good idea what you are looking at. Once the exhaust is disconnected from the headers, it's dead easy.

If you do it, check the condition of your precats.

Do you need that stop buffer? Unless you are heavily lowered, I don't see why you'd need it?

Saijin_Naib

What do you guys think? My dad has a lead on these for me.

RBYCC

Brett

The oil is coming from the crankcase.
Basic blow by caused more then likely by engine wear and age.

You like to do "stuff", so why not fabricate an inexpensive "oil catch can"
This will prevent any oil from entering your air filter housing.
It will collect in the "jar" and all you do is dump it when it's full.

I built my own, but I have zero blow by even with crank case boost, so far not a drop of oil has collected in the "jar"

As far as the air filter K&N won't hurt, gives good filtration and better air flow.
The CIS-E has no MAS/MAF that can be damaged by oil.
Even if you over oiled your K&N, no harm would come by it.
I've used K&N in many of my cars over the years with zero problems.
I never clean or re-oil, just buy a new one.
Not looking for long life/reusable feature as I am for air flow.

Small air compressor filter used as the "catch can"

Saijin_Naib

Alright, I can sort of see where you put this jar in, but I'm still not 100% clear on what is going on.

Can you label the crank-case for me and where the two lines came from?

Also, is this going to be pressurized and what kind of temperatures will it be under? I'm assuming that only Oil + Air are going to enter into this jar, right?

I want to be certain I use the proper materials and that I don't mess anything up.
Sorry, I'm not very mechanically inclined :\

Saijin_Naib

Thanks dude. I've ordered the K&N. I figure I might as well test it out as I've never run one before and I live in a relatively low-dust area. We get mostly snow more than anything.

Good to know about the exhaust headers, I have to see if I can find a local shop that will do the ceramic coating for me. I've found an online service but the turn around time is about 5 business days and that is a long time to be without the car. Also, I'm not certain I'd be able to seal off the exhaust header ports on the block properly for that long. Something tells me painters tape won't cut it and I don't want adhesive from duct tape there either :\

It was my understanding that the stop buffer is supposed to be on every suspension, this one is just a harder material and a bit beefier. AMGDave told me about it previously.. I'd like to have it with my Koni Yellow + H&R Sports when I get those installed.

ps2cho

Are you hitting the top of your wheel arch or something? You install ones that are harder to prevent wheel travel upward when you are sitting low. It's a good idea though if you want to be on the safe side. If you are replacing your shocks soon, then by all means go for it

RBYCC

Completely reversible, cost under $50.00

You remove the hose that goes from the crankcase to the air filter housing

Attach the removed end to this filter housing.

Home Dept, Lowes or Auto Supply may carry this...used on small air compressors

http://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/...2121/p418.html

Run a new length of hose from the exit of the filter housing to the air cleaner.

The operational theory is basic...oil is heavier then air, so the oil mist laden air or blow by enters the new separator/catch can, the oil drops out and goes into the "jar" and the drier air to the air filter housing.

RBYCC

Brett

The ceramic coating is just for show...

Save money !!!!

Do it yourself if you have an airbrush..

http://www.eastwood.com/tlc-cast-iro...ating-4oz.html

Or better yet, don't even have to remove your headers...just brush on what you can get to which will be visible..

http://www.eastwood.com/exhaust-deta...ess-steel.html

You're asking for a great deal of problems along with additional labor and cost by taking your exhaust manifolds off....

I used the "detailing kit" on my turbo manifolds and touch up when need..

Ed A.

RBYCC

Brett

Cheap fix to keep oil out of your air intake..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/RED-O...Q5fAccessories

Ed A.

Saijin_Naib

Really? I mean, the idea behind it is sound and ceramics can certainly insulate a ton of heat.. I don't expect massive gains but I do think that it wouldn't hurt. I was planning on doing the exhaust manifolds and the downpipes through to the precats which should keep most of the heat outside of the engine bay.

On top of that, I was thinking I might wrap these pieces in the fiberglass heatwrap from DEI while insulating the intake tubing with reflective heatwrap (ala HVAC stock).

I was thinking this would drop underhood temps a few degress, no? I might be able to get my hands on a thermal camera to test before/after if I do go this route.

Saijin_Naib

Thanks, ordered

AMGDave

That is correct. All 124's have these, but the length & firmness varies. If they are original, they're usually shot and need replacement anyway. The stock 1990 300CE specifies one of the 83mm versions with standard suspension, or the 75mm with Sportline suspension. In general, if you are lowering the car, go with the 75mm stop buffer.

Side note, re: the 400E headlight "bucket" not found on buymbparts... many of those parts are dealer-only. Rusty can get them for you, but they will not show up on his website. For any serious part lookup capability, you really need to use the EPC. It takes a little while to learn but it's well worth the effort. It's available free online from MB, or some Russian online sites have an HTML version, or you can buy a DVD version to install on your computer (no internet required that way). Once you get the part numbers, then send the number to Rusty to order.







Here's the headlight air intake scoops used on the W124 V8 as shown in the EPC (the part numbers are shown in the EPC, this is just the diagram) :

RBYCC

A stock M103/M104 I6 has enough room in the C124 engine bay to dissipate any heat it can produce.

You might as well wrap with dollar bills as you'll get the same effect...

Mercedes has done a great job in isolating components that would suffer from heat degradation by placing them in the areas created by the "fire wall"

I generate a great deal of heat with my twin turbos and so far only insulated under the turbo heat shields to keep the compressors "hot".
I'm installing heat extractors on the hood just to allow the heat soak in the engine bay to escape after the engine is shut down.

As long as the cooling system stays around 90C, then there are no heat related problems.
If in a stock car you run "hot", then problem is in the cooling loop, not in the "heat generators" !!!

You say you're not "mechanically inclined"...so why not spend your time and money on things like quality tools that will last a life time...

Learn to do generic maintenance and forget about highly technical stuff until you master the basics.

Familiarize yourself with all the systems in your vehicle...
You need to know what they are and how they should work before any attempt at re-engineering for performance.

Saijin_Naib

Sweet, did not know the EPC was free/legal to use now. Good to know. I will get after these buffers just to have in advance of getting the new suspension parts when they come.

I'll look into the headlight intakes a bit more. I'm still not certain how I would link that to the current intake tube without having it run close to the block and getting warmed up. Defeats the whole purpose IMO.

Saijin_Naib

Yes, there is a lot of empty room for heat to dissipate but I can't help but think that even a little bit more heat insulation would not hurt.

I don't have any cooling issues since the round of maintenance I had done over my Spring break and everything seems to be doing well. I've not had the valve guide seals done yet, nor have I done any sort of compression/vac tests. I'm afraid of what I might find out. However, those are on my list to have done eventually. My car is certainly not performing exactly to spec in terms of acceleration but I can't say I am surprised given its age and what I've put it through.

No, not very mechanically inclined. I mostly tinker with electronics,, computers, cameras and simple mechanical things. Basically, I just like to disassemble stuff and try and figure out how it all works. I'm afraid of messing with the car because it is A) large B) complex C) expensive D) able to kill me if I do something really stupid.

I guess what I am trying to do now is to explore the systems in the car and apply what knowledge I have and see if I can effect any changes in the car for the better.

There seems to be ample support (subjective and anecdotal, slight on empirical right now) for ceramic/fiberglass heatwrapping of the exhaust and intake components. Granted, much of this info/support comes from the JDM tuning scene but if they can coax 500+hp out of Lancers and such, I have to tip my hat to them and assume that they may be onto something.

AMGDave

Here is a link to official EPC - it's free for USA data, and if you want access to the worldwide EPC (to look up Euro-only parts) it costs a whopping $12 per year:
http://epc.startekinfo.com/epc/



There's enough airflow through the tube that you shouldn't need to worry about heat soak. Either way the performance change is miniscule. I'd try to raid the parts from a junkyard 400E. You have to pull the headlights to extract the plastic buckets. The rear portion with the round tube connection slides on from the rear/top.

Saijin_Naib

Yeah, that 12$ is really going to take some justification and investigation. Big stuff afoot there :P

I am starting to feel like zach here lol. I guess maybe I should just re-focus on suspension work for now and just forget intake/exhaust work. Seems like everyone is telling me its a dead end :C

RBYCC

Brett

With all due respect...

The vehicles that you refer to are using custom long or short tubular headers.
Boost levels common 2 bar +...which equates to high engine bay temps.
Be they stainless or carbon steel tube construction, they don't have the heat retention that cast iron has.
A ceramic coating may give slight power gains with a tubular header as the retention of heat tends to increase the exhaust gas velocity.
Even so the power gain is within the +/- % error tolerance of a dyno.

To coat cast iron will afford no increase...
As I stated more for show then go...
Just brush paint them with a VHT...

You're trying to squeeze power where there is nothing to squeeze...
Your money can be better spent getting your engine, ignition, and fuel delivery systems to factory spec...

Ed A.

Saijin_Naib

Sigh, alright Ed You win again this round.
Don't worry about "all due respect" with me. I'm not due any lol. You're more knowledgeable so I do truly appreciate all the info that you, dave, p2scho, and everyone else has given me throughout the course of this thread.

I guess I will leave them be in terms of ceramic coating, but I would still like to remove them and de-rust them and seal them with something. They really do look something quite awful right now.

I have my new air filter on the way and will hopefully get the rear swaybar and subframe bushings installed shortly. After that, I'm looking at the Koni Yellow + H&R Sports + new strut towers (Meyle HD? RDMtek?) I think mine are worn, there is some cracking in the rubber. I'll post photos tomorrow.

After the suspension parts, I'd like to tackle the steering box and then maybe just the rear diff to 3.69 to start.

Thanks for all the help so far guys, keep it coming if you may

RBYCC

Brett

Just don't want you spending hard to come by bucks and not get much result from it....

There has been a great deal of sophistication in the control of modern engines, but the principal of the internal combustion engine is as it was when invented.

You don't like how the center of the cam cover looks...
So remove it and underneath you'll find your spark plugs...

Remove the plugs, noting the cylinders they were in..
Learn to "read" the plugs as they are the one thing that doesn't lie about the condition of the engine and it's tune.

Post what you see and I'll help you to "read' them...

While the cover is off, sand it down and paint it with a good quality engine paint...

This alone will give you a bit of "bling' and a whole lot of knowledge about your motor !!!

You're doing okay..not as easy as it was when I was young...
Carbs and distributors allow a great tune and ability to increase performance with minimal cost..
ECU's with EFI not so easy..

Ed a.