Shoomakan

Some more pics I took today. Hey Chlippo, recognize the location?

chlippo

of course i did! you should have taken some pictures next to airplanes lol

Shoomakan

Just thought it might be interesting to note that my car weighed in at exactly 1520 kilograms, with a full tank of gas and a subwoofer in the back.

Subwoofer weighs exactly 18 kilograms.

Shoomakan

More info in case people are interested in their car weights as well:

Car has no power seats, cloth not leather, manual transmission, and the 3.0 M104 24V.

Saijin_Naib

One suggestion? Paint the pull-handle on the hood release black. I can see it through your grille & its driving me nuts

Shoomakan

Good point! I'll get it done as soon as I replace the grill. I don't like how it looks slanted so I'm buying it another one.



It really IS all the little details that make a car perfect, you know.... Good eye!

190E 16V

Shoomie,
Nice photos. Your car looks great! Very clean, and the Evo's make it !!

Saijin_Naib

Secret time, okay? I put that grille in my dad's 500e and forgot to paint the handle >_< Years later it still bugs me.

Shoomakan

Come on, it's a 30 minute job to remove it and paint it!

Shoomakan

Old pic I found which looks kinda cool. This was before the paintjob and wheels.

Shoomakan

Got a new steering wheel. Will post pics.

Also, took the car in for the full bushing replacement yesterday. Should be done by Saturday noon. I'll post my impressions. I opted for the Sportline bushings. Hope it firms the car up the way I want. Also going to re-tune my shift linkages since my 2nd and reverse gear are slightly off.

Shoomakan

Ok, a little update:

My mechanic has taken it upon himself to replace EVERY component that was showing signs of wear and tear in my car.

I had taken it in for a bushing replacement and shift linkage recalibration, and so far he's done that along with front and rear shock absorber replacement, control arms, and... dammit, I forgot what they're called in English. Knuckles, maybe?

While I love the incentive he's showing, the smartass picked a month where I don't have much money on me. So far this month, 250$ on a steering wheel, 100$ on some oil, air filter, and 2 plastic trim mouldings.

Now I've paid 600$ in advance already and I think I'll owe that much when he's done between labour and paying in full for the parts.

God daminit.

Also, he mentioned the shocks he purchased were Bilstein shocks. I don't know if they're Sportlines or something else, so as soon as I see the car again I'll post the part number here in a new thread and see if you guys know.

Cheers all, Shooma

jayrasheed

looking gooood

RHW

That is how my preferred mechanic usually works.
Do it once, do it right, deal w costs, enjoy the ride.

And from your description, you are in for quite a treat.

Saijin_Naib

Amen. Good luck dude!

190E 16V

Ohh, boy,

Gonna be thr Beirut Beauty!!!

Shoomakan

Fun fact: Knuckles are called "Baydat" here in Lebanon. Translate "Baydat" back into English and it means, I **** you not, *********. :P

Shoomakan

Alright, got the car back. My first impressions so far are excellent.

That little jolt when I take my foot off the gas is totally gone, the car tracks over bumps and dips MUCH better, and the shocks are also better.

I'm taking it in for an oil change tomorrow or Monday, and I'll check the shocks then. See what they are. My first guess is that they're Bilstein B4's, since it's not MUCH stiffer. I'll double check them asap.

No more squeaking and vibrations, either... I'm amazed bushings have that much of an effect.

watut

Looking good. Yeah I had a chuckle when I overheard a mechanic talking about baydat last time I was down there!

Shoomakan

I'm thinking of pulling apart my head and giving it a refresher. The chain sounds like it's tired, there's a constant grind at low RPMs and it's been ticking for a while.

I'm thinking of replacing the valve guides, chain, cleaning the injectors, and re-aligning the valves. Anything else I should/should not do?

chlippo

my advice is rebuild all the engine or dont rebuild it at all to keep the balance. fresh top needs a fresh buttom.

Injectors on M103/M104 cant be cleaned. You have to simply change it. I suggest you test your injectors before deciding if they need replacing or not since they are expensive (i think around 25$ each)

Quicksilver500

This isn't true. M103/104 heads are refreshed all the time as part of "head gasket maintenance". M103 valve geometry is bad for valve guides, but if its not burning oil then don't worry about it. Also, the chains don't wear out on the I6's. Unless you have 500k on it I wouldn't worry about it, you probably just need a chain tensioner.

All injectors can be cleaned and flowed. http://www.deatschwerks.com/ go there, they clean and send you a flow print out for each injector. If one is off a lot (10% or so) replace it. MB uses BG additives and I have seen significant MPG increase from just that additive in my I6 and V8 MB's.

Just know that the difference between a fresh top end and the one you have now isn't going to be that much. MB didn't leave a lot on the table when they built these motors, save for a turbo or a big bore kit

If I was going to freshen it up, new cap/rotor, the right plugs and wires, injectors cleaned/flowed. That will get you 85% there.

-Mike

chlippo

i did say this coz i know the cost difference in Lebanon, between a complete job and a and upper engine rebuild, and the difference wont be much really! so while on it...do it all one time.

I stand by the fact that M103 and early M104 injectors cant be cleaned (i mean it can but its not worth it, not the same result you get when you clean regular EFI injectors) they are a lot different from the injectors you got on a later M104 (HFM) or on a 500E.
Here is the injector in question

Shoomakan

So Chlippo, instead of doing that do you recommend just installing a 3.2 M104?

chlippo

The feel and the response of an HFM M104 is very different from our cars, but swapping one would cost some $ since you need all the electronic stuff as we all know