rr69h
Part of things
Posts: 313
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Sept 25, 2011 12:05:00 GMT
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Time for an update. As we're approaching the end of the season and I'm really desperate to turn this pile of parts into an operating car again. Time to crack on. So one last drive with the knackered engine onto the car lift then. And would you believe it: I got rather emotional at this point. This engine took me across Europe and was always the one thing I could rely on when everything in life was changing. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. But now it's time to look forward. First up: bonnet off. Then we continiued with the business of disconnecting the cooling system, the air filter housing, the fuel system, the gearbox and all other various bits and bobs. And then this happened: Couple of things I shall remember next time I'm doing something like this: 1. check if the engine crane will actually be able to lift the engine up high enaugh to clear the the car. Of course it didn the first time. So I had to lower the engine back into the car neatly bending the centre track rod in the progress. 2. remove the water pump and its fan before lifting the engine out and... 3. ...have a thorough breakfast before trying to push the hovering engine back enaugh to clear the slam panel. That diesel lump really is as heavy as it looks! With the engine out this is what I was greeted with: Eww, filthy. I was wondering if the car had any surprises for me and now was the best time to check for some hidden rust holes. Problem was: between me and the potential rust lay another coat of 40 year old crud and grime. So I took a deep breath and broke out the cleaning goods: Since I couldn't use the jet washer on the ramp I settled on hot soap water carefully applied with a sponge and then going over it with NevrDull polishing cotton. Works a treat. Three full days of scrubbing resulted in this: And the best part: absolutely no rust! So after the bay was clean it was now time to plonk the engine in. Meet the characters of the following three hours: A clean engine, a six ton crane (rather handy) and a clean car awaiting anxiously what's about to happen. After much jiggling around, the use of two mates, a crow bar and some voodoo... result: Color matching Daihatsu wing guards ftw! ;D Then it was time to put it all back together. I started on the easy part: connecting the starter motor back up, connect the exhaust to the manifold and then proceeding to the alternator. Some head scratching was required to offer the loom with 4 cables up to the new alternator with 6 sockets. Hm. But we managed: Then it was time to reconned the fuel system, the glow plugs and everything else on the right side of the engine. This is where we are: And yes, you can spot polished injection lines there. Sad, isn't it? ;D So. Next up will be fitting all the stuff to the front of the engine. Namely: the radiator and oil cooler (need new brackets for these), the hoses leading up to those, throw on a fan belt and finding an adaptor for the temperature sender which at the moment doesn't fit. Fingers crossed then!
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Last Edit: Sept 25, 2011 14:20:05 GMT by rr69h
"Racing drivers never carry cash"
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Mark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,097
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Sept 26, 2011 7:40:04 GMT
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Well done, great project! I'm surprised you weren't tempted to whack a turbo on there while you were at it!
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rr69h
Part of things
Posts: 313
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Sept 26, 2011 9:09:33 GMT
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Cheers Mark! A turbo or an engine upgrade both crossed my mind, but would have meant some serious fettling that go far beyond my own abilities. The car is in such great original condition that it would be a shame to do something half-hearted to it so I took the high route towards originality. I've never owned a car like this where it even pains me to cut and re-solder the wiring loom, so the modding will be taking place under the bonnet of a MK3 Spitfire I have lost somewhere in the workshop cherish and improve over time.
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"Racing drivers never carry cash"
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rr69h
Part of things
Posts: 313
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News from the shed. The last update mainly dealt with getting the old lump out and then the new one in. Now it was time to get things back together and seeing more light at the end of the tunnel with every installment motivation was high to get cracking. In short all that was left to do was: - installing an electric temperature gauge into the instrument cluster: a straight swap from the MK2's cluster. Easy. - sourcing a radiator, engine oil cooler, oil cooler pipes and fitting all of them: sounds straight forward, but sourcing the oil cooler pipes turned out to be a bit of a pain. Mercedes supplies one of the required pipes so I had planned to get the other one custom made by a hydraulics specialist. Problem was: they either didn't want to do anything car-related or were too busy helping me out. Bummer. I was lucky to get a used one from a friend which I could borrow for now. - getting the electric temperature sender unit to work and wiring it in: this is where it got a little scary. One additional wire from the sender unit to the binnacle has to be fabbed up. Then it's a case of connecting it up to the instrument cluster. Luckily Mercedes used one combined electric plug that connects the binnacle to the wiring loom and this plug can even be modified. So it was a simple case of opening up the plug and simply switching all the cables into the correct order. Two hours of head scratching going through wiring diagrams, 10 minutes of work: job done. - refitting the bonnet: while I had the chance I cleaned its underside and glued some insulation foam to it. Cleaning away 40 years of diesel engine goo took me a while, but I got there in the end. Bolting it on and adjusting the panel gaps were fairly easy, too. No paint chipped, phew! And then I proceeded to filling it up with coolant and oil and throw the battery back in. Then something strange happened. You all know those videos of first startups after an engine swap, right? You hear the starter motor, then a single puff. Then some fiddling goes on and BANG it fires right up. My experience was a little different. Initially I wanted to turn the engine with the starter motor to get some oil pressure so I deliberately skipped the pre-glow stage and didn't bleed the fuel system. As I pulled the starter the battery signaled that it was on its way out. The starter motor did three, maybe five turns before getting really slow. And while I was thinking about where I'd left the jump leads with the starter turning slower and slower: BAM! The engine sprung into life! Uhm, huh? It took a few moments, but then I realized: THE ENGINE SPRUNG INTO LIFE!!! ;D We checked for leaks, didn't find any and spontaneously commenced into a victory dance. After topping up oil and coolant the operation was indeed finished. Ladies and Gentlemen. I present, the finished car: In the end everything went rather well and what surprised me the most: everything worked first time! So after months and months of work, it was finally time to do this: And it feels great to be back!
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Last Edit: Oct 25, 2011 9:46:05 GMT by rr69h
"Racing drivers never carry cash"
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mirafioriman
Posted a lot
My next project.......
Posts: 1,361
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Congratulations. Nice looking car. The engine bay looked in great condition after the clean up.
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dbdb
Part of things
Posts: 821
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Oct 25, 2011 16:08:10 GMT
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What a beautiful car. I love the patina of an original car in superb condition. It is wonderful and cannot be manufactured.
David
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djefk
Part of things
Posts: 844
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Oct 29, 2011 21:37:20 GMT
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How does it drive??!
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Oct 29, 2011 22:32:30 GMT
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Woo! Bet you'r well chuffed I too want a diesel. THey have justso much character to them, lovely machines! Cheers, Jan
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rr69h
Part of things
Posts: 313
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Oct 30, 2011 13:57:13 GMT
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Cheers for all your comments guys, much appreciated! So the car is currently sitting at my house and we've put the first couple of miles onto the new configuration. The first trip of course was quite unnerving keeping a close eye on all the gauges, listening for strange noises and watching the rear view mirror for flying off parts and such. We got home in one piece without any problems at all and I was a very happy bunny indeed. I took a route through the mountains and slowly got to know the new engine. Let's have a look at the stats: | Old engine | New engine | Engine code: | OM615 D20 | OM615 D22 | Displacement: | 2.0 litres | 2.2 litres | bore x stroke: | 87x83.6mm | 87x92.4mm | Max hp: | 55 | 60 | Max torque: | 113Nm | 126Nm |
Although the increase in power and torque seem laughable the result is this: we've got 10% more of everything and this really makes a huge difference. The new engine doesn't need to be worked as hard as the old one making for a much more relaxed driving sensation. I can now fully understand why the 220D was the most popular diesel-option for this very car. So in short: - I can now easily cruise through the mountains. The situations where I have to shift down a gear to make it up the hill have drastically been reduced. - We always have an indicated oil pressure of 3 bar at idle, even when coming right off the Autobahn. The car now has an engine oil cooler which seems to work very well. - The electric temperature gauge works much more direct compared to the old thermometer-system. Now I know that the engine warms up much faster and you can watch the thermostat working while on the move. ;D - The insulation foam quietens down the engine pretty effectively. Much less noise in the cabin although the (slightly) bigger displacement should account for a louder engine. If anyone is wondering, this is the stuff I used: www.stevens-shop.de/shop/Auto-Daemmstoffe/Daemm-Matte-fuer-Motorhaube-und-Motorraum::43.html?XTCsid=f70cae1a1f252609a99f73f00fe39d79It's easy to work with and sticks right to oil-free surfaces. I took it to work the other day and had a closer look at the engine bay once I forced my way through some enormous traffic jams: It seems we have a small oil leak from the lower oil pan which I stupidly caused myself by over-tightening one or two screws. I've tried to bend it back in shape, but I feel a replacement pan is due. Luckily it's quite affordable through my local Mercedes dealer. Still need to: - adjust the valve clearances - adjust the throttle linkage But other than that: it seems we're in the clear. It pains me to put it into storage over the winter next week, but I've already made some plans as to where I should be taking it next year. Did anyone say "Goodwood"?
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"Racing drivers never carry cash"
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rr69h
Part of things
Posts: 313
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I haven't seen the car in what feels like years and after returning to the shed I felt somewhat relieved that the engine-swap was really done and the car was very close to being pushed back into regular service. Yesterday's operations started by throwing one of these under the bonnet: The old battery hadn't survived the harsh winter and surprisingly the cheapest 100Ah-battery I could find came from Mercedes themselves at around 80 Euros. I then moved on to installing a new oil pan. Mercedes being Mercedes the new part came not with one parts-number sticker, but four of them: Getting the old one off the car was a doddle and when I saw what I did to it by over-tightening a couple of screws I was quite shocked, really. It was bent pretty much everywhere. Here's the new one in place and torqued down PROPERLY this time: Ok, I'll admit this update wasn't that much of a shocker. BUT: these were the last jobs on my rather long list that had to be done immediately. Which means: we're back on the road! It feels ĂĽber-good to be back behind the wheel and knowing that now I can just take the car out for a spin whenever I feel like it. Life is good on days like these.
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"Racing drivers never carry cash"
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dapper
Part of things
Posts: 293
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Great to see another one saved and what a great job. Being late to the thread, I've no idea how it started though. Any chance of one pic from back at the start?
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rr69h
Part of things
Posts: 313
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After the first few hundred miles with the new engine I can report: almost all is well. We still have an oil leak coming from the vacuum pump, but that should be an easy fix. A new seal and a more liberal use of hylomar should do the trick. There was an idea I had in mind for quite some time now. The big engined Benzes used to wear two seperate badges on the back indicating their model and their displacement. Exhibit A: Exhibit B: Exhibit C: I quite like that idea since it adds some symmetry to the back view of those cars. So take one mangled 220 D badge and a dremel to receive this: A bit of adhesive tape and hey presto: I'm not quite sure, but I think I like it. Opinions?
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"Racing drivers never carry cash"
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May 15, 2012 10:32:40 GMT
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I like it! And I'm thinking about doing something similar to my S123, to indicate the egine swap (once it's swapped). Looks like it's a factory badge.
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Onne
Part of things
Posts: 822
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May 15, 2012 11:28:52 GMT
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I think it's great!
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1990 Mercedes W126 300SE 1997 Mercedes W140 S320L
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mclellanmac
Posted a lot
Hand me the hammer and the WD40
Posts: 1,178
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May 15, 2012 11:32:54 GMT
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That's a really lovely car, I like the badge idea too!
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Mercedes 190e, Lovely
MK4 Golf GTi 20v Turbo, Dull, but always works!
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jakone
Part of things
Posts: 48
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May 15, 2012 21:30:41 GMT
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Love the badge.....and the car. Congrats!
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1974 Datsun 180b 1990 Mercedes 190E 2.6
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rr69h
Part of things
Posts: 313
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Thank you! The badge is still in prototype-stage, but I'm glad you like where this is going. It was indeed my aim to get something that looks like factory-finish so it will require some tinkering. At the moment you can clearly see where the cuts have been made up close, but all of that's about to change. I'm planning a mayor road trip next week to join the biggest(*) gathering of classic Mercedeses in southern Germany to give the new engine its first proper workout. I'll keep you posted! (* I'm not sure if it's really the biggest gathering, but it's pretty huge)
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"Racing drivers never carry cash"
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May 16, 2012 19:43:54 GMT
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Are you going to Ornbau? That's next week already??? Bu@ er... I thought it's months away. Hmm - yeah, I think I thought that in January when I last thought about it... ;D Ah well. Next year.
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rr69h
Part of things
Posts: 313
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"Racing drivers never carry cash"
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rr69h
Part of things
Posts: 313
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Evening, let me take you on a little road trip with me. 1.500 Kms of Germany's finest roads awaited us eagerly. Destination: Ornbau, where once a year a gathering of hundreds of old Mercs takes place. Think of Woodstock, but with three-pointed stars. ;D I was under the impression that the car would need a thorough inspection before setting off so I took two extra days off work checking it over and having the credit card at bay for those extra horrifingly expensive parts that usually disintegrate just after you've finished fitting all the luggage. I did find something: the air-pressure in my spare was low. So I filled it with two and half atmospheres and I was good to go. Free of charge! ;D So everything that was left to do was to get going: The 500 Km journey went on rather smoothly and I arrived safely at the camp site: After I met my mates and had some great laughs there was an urge to get back into the car and enjoy the scenery. Yes, I've just spent 6 hours on those vinyl seats. But still. I parked just outside the town and took a moment to reflect. Had we just completed the maiden voyage without any troubles? Indeed we had: We're back on the road. With a new engine. Half a day of Autobahn in the summer heat and still: this car urges you to make some more miles. Just a few more. And more. There's just a bit of 1973 around the corner so let's go and find it: ...but there's more: Back at the camp site it was time to settle down for the night: ...and wait for the moon to rise: On the next day I was planning to take some pictures for once which don't show my car. I took some, but my mate Johannes is clearly better at it: Here's even more: schloerb.smugmug.com/Cars/Stammtische-und-Treffen/VdH-Jahrestreffen-Ornbau-2012/23239311_mMBwrG#!i=1885156326&k=RNDbccL The sensation of Ornbau is that there's a whole town filled with nothing but old Mercs. My idea of an ideal city! We went back home with lots of memories and a few spares which will be the subject of my next update.
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"Racing drivers never carry cash"
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