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Mar 26, 2012 20:03:08 GMT
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Budget's tight! So wheels are not the priority, how's your silver one? And if you're doing something with your car's wheels - don't suppose you've got proper SLK rims with usable tyres on you'd consider selling, have you? 21K... wow. That's going to be like a new car, surely... this shape and 230K? The one I was watching only went for £6 or something, I was SO gutted I didn't find another one but I was really reluctant to buy it in case the SLK fell through - Paul's a star for his patience and getting this up to me, as I doubt anyone else would have done so without deposits and so forth. Did you get the Maisto silver with the folding hardtop? That's the model I had in '96, when the car was launched and my (now very much ex) wife wanted one 'cause SLK were her married initials. I treat the real car like that fridge door picture. Every time my leg's sore and the sun's out, I open the garage and look at the SLK. It is ALL about the yellow. I did look at the other colours, but for me, it HAD to be this one, this colour. Can't wait to see yours, hope you get it!
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Today's investigation has been the cruise control/limiter. Everything I can find goes UK CARS HAVE SPEEDTRONIC!
Except for one reference to a guy with a '98 and a broken cruise control stalk wondering if the one with the limiter would fit as a replacement.
I like speed limiters. For tedious 50mph average sections, they are wonderful, even if the rest of the time my speed limit is my right left foot.
So I cannot find where this function is hidden, or how it's configured - but has anyone else come across this in a '90s Merc and tried simply fitting a Limiter control stalk?
Got a copy of the MOT today, so I can finally get my private plate on it - though now I'm dithering between German-style pressed and thoroughly illegal plates, or good quality acrylic ones. Trying to avoid those cheap sticky on flat plastic ones, the ones on the Voyager have peeling off letters.
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Sorry for not getting back sooner mate, I've had the car just over a week now and this is my first day off from work to play with it. I unblocked the drain holes at the back of the engine bay, the 2 outer ones were jammed solid and bone dry underneath but luckily it had been kept in a garage so no nastys were found. The arches are solid, the roof works well and the engine.... Dear me for a 4 pot it sounds great! I totally agree with you about the handling, it's by no means a Mx5 but it's not as stodgy as people make out as long as your slow in, no silly braking and fast out. I've got the usual centre console peeling problem so I'm debating either repaint it with the eBay stuff or strip it all off and just leave it black. I've already made it worse in places and I've been careful, don't wear jewellery or have nails?! How the ladies do it, I don't know! I'm off into the Huddersfield mountains for a quick razz and hopefully get some half decent pictures of it so I'll post them up later. .....in other news it did pass a very big personal test yesterday. I passed a R129 SL on the carriageway and when I saw it I panicked as I got closer I began to realise as much as I LOVE that shape SL I don't regret getting the SLK instead of it I will have a SL one day though as they are cool and make me warm on the inside
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97' silver Mercedes 230 Slk.... charged 94' bronze Hiace custom ... daily drinker 92' white Eunos roadster....... sold 91' grey Mercedes 500 SL .... sexyful 82' white Mercedes 200......... needs lows
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Looking forward to pics! Make sure your roof fluid is topped up - to check, open the roof but stop at the point the boot is open and the roof still closed, then check the level. Topping it up is apparently accomplished with a syringe, a boot raised AND opened (I am terrified of this step!) and a lot of potential swearing at an easily-lost brass fill plug. Mine's low, but works okay, so I'll be topping it up before it stops.
My centre console is a bit ratty, but it's black under black, so ignoring it.
SLs are so different - I think I prefer the SLK in some ways. Solution? Have both, clearly.
Next job on mine is changing the supercharger oil (and still need to do belts. check bearings, and do the boot struts). Again with the syringes! I think I can get to the oil plug without totally stripping the engine...
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Apr 11, 2012 18:31:50 GMT
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A new thing to check out - apparently SLKs and other Mercs have fan-cooled ECU boxes! And, with age, these fans wear out. So pop the lid off, and right at the front of the box, at the bottom, there's the fan blades in a little ducted assembly. UNDER ALL THE WIRES So, lets get those wires and modules out of the way. Before doing this, I checked 12v at the plug on the ECU. Yep. First, lift the loom grommets out of the sides. Then, unclip the metal hook at the front outer edge of the main module. This lifts up, tilts back towards the windscreen, and with a wiggle, comes out and can be rested on the battery. I didn't disconnect -ve as I wanted power for diags, but I also have the plastic cover on my +ve terminal, so check that if yours is missing. The middle module has a screw, conveniently angled, under the loom at the rear (bulkhead). Undo that, it's captive, and the sandwiched module lifts out. You will want to slide the multi connectors and 50A fuse holder off the ECU housing too. Finally the relay/fuse module has another clip, clearly visible with the others removed. It lifts out easily, revealing the plastic duct that stops you from just lifting the motor out. You can vaguely see the duct there - the black plastic bit on the black plastic bit. You know, In the black plastic box. Unclip the metal clip holding the fan in, rotate the fan module towards the bulkhead, and lift out. It's almost certainly full of carbon crud from the brushes. Mine got my hands, car and iPhone filthy. I blasted contact cleaner with lubricant in it, and yeay, it began to work. A bit. Annoyingly I had to put it all back as disconnecting the fan cable from the module was really quite awkward - so no removing to strip down. I'll figure that out later, when I have a new fan to see how it's clipped in. For now, it works most of the time, sometimes sticks, so it does need rebuilding or replacement. Left, it'll probably be fine, but might hasten the demise of the K40 relay or other modules in the box.
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Last Edit: Apr 11, 2012 18:42:34 GMT by Deleted
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Apr 26, 2012 16:11:56 GMT
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Ordered a new motor from eBay for the fan - when I have time, I'll do the "fixing" posts. Finally got out for a proper run though. Annoyingly I'd been glaring at the rain, and it was sunny when I set off, as I've been protecting it from being out in grotty weather - of course, the weather turned grotty. The SLK's more comfortable than I thought, though that's partly because I can put my broken leg forward when cruise is on and just relax, traffic permitting. A little stiff on the ride for my taste, no doubt helped by the 17" rims. The downside is that I think it's down on power sometimes. Takes off quickly on occasion, yet same speed, same throttle, and much less oomph - going to investigate SC belt and clutch operation, as gut feeling says "it's not boosting". Googling will follow. Amusingly, I think I'd be perfectly happy without the supercharger, it's the "is it playing up" aspect that will bug me. And this is why I HAD to have yellow. Sod off, grey Leicester Forest East services. It's a bloody good looking car, I think. Private plate going on, now I've driven it a bit and am most assuredly fond of it now.
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Last Edit: Apr 26, 2012 16:15:40 GMT by Deleted
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Apr 27, 2012 15:09:16 GMT
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And for anyone who knows the car's source and history - I gotta say that a call this morning from Paul to check on the supercharger behaviour is a very different attitude to the usual "sold a used car" sort of approach - obviously I am totally cool with whatever the car throws at me even if it falls apart, it's 14 years old! Going to check the flaps and sensors, but I think one drive in foul weather is not sufficient a sample to base any concern on. Come on sunshine! Want to get out with the roof down! Need to sort those wheels, too. The back ones are so obviously too far into the arches... anyone fancy them on a C-class or similar if I can find some SLK ones? (And a quick plug for Paul's Focus. I feel positively guilty having deprived him of a lovely auto Merc right before he needed a self-shifter too!)
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May 13, 2012 20:53:17 GMT
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Went out to Snibston to go look at old cars - saw some very nice Triumphs, pre-war Renaults, a remarkably short Mini and a couple of others - and more to the point, got to give the SLK a run again. It's definitely down on power - in fact, many of the horses appear to have escaped - so it's time to get cracking and find out why. Can't hear or feel it boosting, so into the basic diags. 1: K40 relay box, since I'd been in there. Can't see any damage to solder or dry joints, all wires reseated, all fuses checked. Blast of contact cleaner on the relays, but basically no physical reasons to suspect it. 2: Is the supercharger working, at all? Well, it should be pretty obvious. Open bonnet, car in park, give the end of the throttle cable a prod. 2,000 rpm up, the clutch should engage and the supercharger noise (plus decidedly visibly spinning pulley) should leave you in no doubt. "REVREVREV". No noise, no spinning. Except when there was a couple of times. Hmmm. At this point I'm a bit depressed. It was a very cheap car, and it's just randomly decided to do this - it's still drivable but runs out of steam around 100, and has lost the sparky overtaking response; I could live with a non-supercharged SLK, but I hate broken things. So I think what I need to do is get a code reader on it. My gut feeling is the cam sensor/magnet thing, it just seems so breathless. Going to check the bypass flap and so forth, but I think that they'd be an issue if I had a working supercharger and then no power - whereas I either have a clutch not being told to engage or a clutch that isn't engaging when it's told to, and an intermittent fault at that. Frustrating that this is when work is slow, as I'd totally just throw money at the problem otherwise - really like the car
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May 13, 2012 23:29:35 GMT
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Ahh only just noticed you've updated this thread Lol, I've sent you a PM about your charger problems but it looks like you've got it sussed anyway
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97' silver Mercedes 230 Slk.... charged 94' bronze Hiace custom ... daily drinker 92' white Eunos roadster....... sold 91' grey Mercedes 500 SL .... sexyful 82' white Mercedes 200......... needs lows
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I'm going to check the flap regardless - may as well, and the throttle actuator (at the other end) is humming all the time when in position 2, which implies the throttle body needs a good clean apparently (the humming is because it can't fully close as far as I can tell). But that needs new gaskets, which means a trip to the Merc dealer, which means I'll also order the bits of trim and perished hose I want to replace.
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May 14, 2012 13:39:21 GMT
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Decided to go have a prod before I can get a code reader (going to get a U518 from eBay and 38-pin adaptor for the SLK). This is a common issue: It's more of a problem on later ones - 2001 on I think - as they have a connector which 'wicks' the oil into the rest of the wiring loom. A 'recall' type fix was done in the US, but British people have to cough up £18 for a six inch bit of wire to prevent it. Typical. So I cleaned it up, annoyingly I broke a clip on the connector (it joins fine, but it was so brittle!). The plug was full of oil, so cleaned it all up inside and sprayed some contact cleaner in. When I restarted the car, guess what. The supercharger worked right away. At least long enough for me to get the iPhone and make a video of it. Upon which, it stopped, and wiggling the connector/loom and trying to clean the contacts more did nothing to bring it back. Still. I am fairly sure it's something to do with the cam magnet or wiring. More investigation... the wires to the SC and flap don't look factory, I can't tell - there's a folded over bit held in a metal clip. Checked the cam position sensor - a bit of oil on it (no difference when wiped clean) but a yellow dot painted on it. The sort of yellow dot that I'm used to seeing on bits from a scrapyard. So if that's been replaced and wasn't a new one... maybe. Need that code reader.
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Last Edit: May 14, 2012 19:03:51 GMT by Deleted
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May 23, 2012 19:43:24 GMT
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I put it back together before getting the bits, for VERY obvious reasons! What a great day. Quick run down the M69 with Information Society on the radio. And I saw a red Ford Capri when heading out this morning (Barwell has some interesting VWs including a Mk 2 Golf with what I think is an Audi TT dash, a red SAAB C900 Cabrio lives a couple of doors up... there are also some stupid boy racers, of course, but I think more than a fair share of cool cars here. Even the Ford dealer has an immaculate Mk 1 Fiesta).
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May 25, 2012 20:03:42 GMT
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Quick wash... and a surprise! I pretty much assumed the inside of the rear wheelarches should be black. I guess not! Washed the usual mud out from under all four arches, carefully checking, need to replace the cracked arch liner on the nearside front which is a job to save for winter when the car's off the road - along with cleaning and rustproofing those areas. But now, I am going to take the back wheels off, and carefully wash under there, make sure it's as clean as possible, and repair any damage to the factory underseal as soon as I've got both legs working. This is about the only place an SLK will rust that is worth worrying about - looks good to me! May have a theme going on...
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May 26, 2012 16:12:09 GMT
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It just popped! I think these are just rubber seals on the body to the bumper, but they were curiously bulgy. Prodded one and it burst, spewing grey goop that looked like battery leakage. Ew. Anyone seen that before, or have I got an alien race hibernating in my rear wheelarches?
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May 26, 2012 19:40:46 GMT
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Ewwww I'm not even checking to see if mines got that! I'll be happily ignorant thanks
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97' silver Mercedes 230 Slk.... charged 94' bronze Hiace custom ... daily drinker 92' white Eunos roadster....... sold 91' grey Mercedes 500 SL .... sexyful 82' white Mercedes 200......... needs lows
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May 31, 2012 16:03:30 GMT
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Thanks to Dangermouse's Eagle eBay Eyes!
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Jun 14, 2012 18:23:34 GMT
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There's not much to do with the SLK right now, as it's doing that thing I hoped it would and behaving - still want to replace the camshaft magnet, but on the latest drives it seems have behaved properly. So much so that we took it out for a run last Sunday purely to get out for a drive, and I put my foot down on the M69 to discover it was... rapid. Much more rapid than I had expected in the space covered. Which made the next trip out I took even more worrying - because, at 40mph on the bypass, the back end suddenly went 'odd'. I pulled over, and the nsr tyre was flat. Got the compressor out of boot and inflated it - no hissing, just inflated. Left it overnight, checked it - same pressure. WTF? My tyre mysteries did not end there, and it's time for the SLK's stablemate to show up. Ilia, the Voyager. I'd been driving this to a couple of dealers in search of smaller, undesireable thirsty cars and finding piles of curse word; somewhere around these places it made a new friend, which I spotted when going to check the SLK... This wasn't welcome. THIS, however, was even less welcome. I think that's a McGard Open Nut. I'm going to try and obtain a new key. So the SLK gets a visitor. And in the meantime, I've decided to change the sparkplugs, oil, filter and try to get those wheels looking a bit smarter. A little cramped... Somewhat better! For the SLK I am still very keen to lose the XTR alloys (which are in great shape, with good tyres, so it's annoying in some ways) and get proper staggered ones on. And the wormhole? I can only assume that's how my tyre went flat. I took the car to the tyre place, they checked the wheel very thoroughly (and carefully), and could find nothing wrong with the tyre, sealing, rim or valve - certainly nothing that would explain the disappearance of 20+psi whilst driving!
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Jun 14, 2012 18:44:36 GMT
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Suggestion re: tyre. Check that the valve core is screwed in properly. If it's loose it can cause leaks at random times.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Jun 14, 2012 23:10:38 GMT
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Iffy valves have caught me out on a number of occasions .
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Jun 20, 2012 14:20:21 GMT
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The garage checked the valve... I am not trusting it at the moment, but I am sure it'll be fine.
The Voyager has been rescued by of all places, a main dealer - Listers in Cov - when I bought the service parts (correct plugs were cheaper there than online, and buying a pollen filter online got me the wrong bit several times) they loaned me the master key set and were incredibly helpful. I am impressed.
And now the Voyager purrs like a kitten, the old plugs were the wrong kind and looked really rough, and I've removed the McGard locknuts and fitted the new set that was in the car. Still have to change the oil, but I anticipate that being pretty straightforward - they even gave me a new sump plug as it's got the sealing gasket built in (I guess most garages change with the hose/pump now).
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