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Neither can I  But it's still a lot of work... Btw, I hope I can get this to work again,would look very nice and at home in the Merc It's a Blaupunkt Dortmund de Luxe from my Grand Dad's (may herest in peace ) Opel. A Manta A I believe...  |
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Mar 10, 2011 12:43:15 GMT
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So, the head's off... But it was stuck so tight, I had to use the chain hoist to lift the head - and it just lifted the whole car  Bumped thesuspension a bit and off it was   Can you spot it allready...?  Yes. My initial suspicion was right. Major head gasket failure...  Going to order a new gasket now. Cheers, Jan |
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Mar 10, 2011 13:52:54 GMT
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Wow, that's well and truly gone! Nice Blaupunkt you have there. |
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Mar 10, 2011 18:22:40 GMT
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Yes. Makes you wonder why it did still run and idle... So, off I went to my mate's place today. we ripped the heads off two spare W124 230E engines. They have hydraulic valve adjusters which makes it quite tempting to use them on the W123...   Hmm - that's what a Smart's boot is made for! ;D  They look very similar at first, but there are quite some differences... I'm not sure if I can realy put one of them on the 2.0l engine... What makes me wonder is that one of the 230's heads has a much larger combustion chamber than the other. The one in the middle was from a engine with dishd pistons, the one on the right had flat top pistons. My W123 engine too has flat tops... Uh er uhm - Idon't know... Maybe I can just make use of the hydraulic valve adjusters on the original head.  On the other hand, adjusting valves is no nightmare after all... Cheers, Jan |
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Mar 12, 2011 13:25:00 GMT
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Hi! Well - I knew it was a bad idea was soon as I started... I wantedto investigate why the rear quarter was covered in red oxide primer...  Bit more digging and scrubbing...   And more, trying to see how far it reaches, as I doscovered that the guywho welded in the patch ground away paint thatwas allready OVER some older filler... Neatly smoothed in with new filler and red oxy primer....  Ok, looking at the whole picture; it looks like the bottom part of the rear quarter panel had been professionaly painted once. There's a fine masking line under the trim. The car probably got a new wheel arch once...  Why the PO welded in that patch - I have no clue. But it's not been done well and I'm in two minds wheter I should cut it out and do again, or dress it up better and use tin to fill. Anyway, I'mgoing to buy a lot of paint stripping discs and clean the whole bottom quarter panel, I can't live with that much filler on blank metal. Also found out that the patches on the rear had just been put over crusty metal,they didn't even bother with cutting away the rot... Oh dear oh dear, worry worry... At least the other parts of the car seem to be OK-ish and the driver's side rear quarter is my main problem area. Damn, I hate when POs have bodged MY cars! ;D Mojo's a bit down after that discovery - but it'll be back on soon I hope. Cheers, Jan |
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Mar 20, 2011 16:18:49 GMT
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Oh the gosh darnage! Cracked fanimold...  Lookslike this is very common for the M102 fanimolds to happen - 2nd hand replacements are scarce, especiallythose for the W123 - W124 manis don't fit (the don't clear the suspension dome). ARRGH!  Anyway, the engine runs again. Even without a manifold. Ooops. ;D I hope I can find a manifold soon or get it welded from someone who's capable of doing it. But I guess it will not be exacetely cheap to repair... I ditchedthe idea of using the hydro tappets - the heads are too different and the oil ways are different too. And the 230E heads don't fit the 200 carb engine, some drillings & waterways are different. Maybe I'll try to convert to hydros if I cen get hold of a cheap 2.0 head as a spare Cheers, Jan |
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Mar 22, 2011 18:06:17 GMT
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Update time. Put everthing together today. The manifold has to wait a bit for fixation, I need to manouver the car frequently in the next weeks (fixing the W124 and giving the Mini a proper service for the coming season). My neighbours don't like engines runing without manifold ;D I wanted to try something with the manifold. Home-skimming. I took a 1o or 12mm aluminium plate, checked for straightness. Put some sanding paper over it and skimmed the manifold by pushing it fore and back. Quite exhausting (get it? ;D) - but did work much better then expected! After the first skimming session, it was evident that the manifold was a bit warped - which is probably why it cracked in the first place....  And the end result. I could've skimmed it further, but after welding it will need a skim anyway. So left it like that. Quite a surprisingly good result! Took about 10 minutes. Rough grind with 80 grid and smoothing with 120 grid paper  Test fit on the head confirmed it's straightness. Cool! And then - it was time to... Attack the brakes. They needed freeing up and removal of a bit rust on the discs... And speaking of rust; I discovered this:  Shouldn't be too hard to do, but it's a bit annoying. lol. Ok, then it was time to - fire her up! ;D Filled her up with anti-freeze & water, checked everything -and she fired after a fewtimes of the starter. Runs smooth as a nut! Very nice! But it burns a bit of oil, which isn't nice... I suspect valve guides and/or valvestem seals. Should've done them whilst I was at it. But - that's not a concern right now - as I drover her for the first time under her own steam! And it is AWESOME!!! ;D  Very, very nice to drive!   Much smoother than the W124. I've not driven far, just some meters - but I think I can say; I LOVE IT! That was a major mojo boost ona warm, very nice and very sunny day! Woooo! I love that car allready to bits!! It's still a lot of work, though. But I have time. Cheers, Jan |
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Mar 22, 2011 20:17:35 GMT
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Epic thread! Epic car!
I wanted a W123, but the W124 I ended up with seemed a better option at the time!
I love the paint!
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2009 Jaguar X-Type
2010 Volvo C30
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Mar 22, 2011 20:51:50 GMT
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Thanks! Yes, W124s are very nice too! And I'm going to miss the diseasel... But it can't keep them both... And the W123 earned a 'little' bit more of my love Cheers, Jan |
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Mar 22, 2011 22:12:09 GMT
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I'd swap it for a W123 any day, but they seem to command a much higher price!
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2009 Jaguar X-Type
2010 Volvo C30
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Mar 22, 2011 22:50:59 GMT
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Well done Jan! Very satisfying update.
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Mar 23, 2011 13:01:57 GMT
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Gave her a wash today, to see what's hiding under all the dirt... Well - it's looking good! Can you see the difference...?    And to proof it moves... A short video of me driving her back into the carport As you can see, it's a bit smokey... I hope it's only the stem seals. Going to replace them and then see. The positive thing is that it isn't a head-off job Cheers, Jan PS: I'm somewhat relieved thatthe power steering works flawlessly. Also almost no play in the steering |
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Mar 23, 2011 13:48:11 GMT
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Nice - I do rather like W123s, especially the Touring version. I liked your road trip as well.
That looks a lot like stem seals to me - a puff of smoke at start up, but nothing much more. You might get a puff of smoke when accelerating again after a long downhill run using engine braking. I hope the replacement goes well.
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Mar 23, 2011 14:10:00 GMT
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These w123's Mercedes are just amazing cars and even selling prices for decent examples reflect that.
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Mar 23, 2011 14:14:26 GMT
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Nice - I do rather like W123s, especially the Touring version. I liked your road trip as well. That looks a lot like stem seals to me - a puff of smoke at start up, but nothing much more. You might get a puff of smoke when accelerating again after a long downhill run using engine braking. I hope the replacement goes well. Thanks! Yes, I hope so. Resp. think so too. as the bores did still show the factory honing marks Had a little play with photoshop... What do you guys think?  Opel Sportstahl wheels from a Commodore GSE...? Wrong PCD, but at least five stud (5x120 vs. 5x112). Ordered a tinning/solder kit (what's I called in english, when you apply tin/solder instead of filler to sort out dents etc.??) to sort the bodywork. Unfortunately I've left the gas bottle open - all my precious welding gas is 'gone with the wind'. jolly pain in the backside. It was still 95% full...  Cheers, Jan |
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Mar 23, 2011 14:51:30 GMT
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Ordered a tinning/solder kit (what's I called in english, when you apply tin/solder instead of filler to sort out dents etc.??) to sort the bodywork. Lead loading (although presumably the modern stuff contains no lead) I've also heard it called Tinning too. It's a skill I would love to learn. I'm doing my door bottoms but having to use regular filler for this job. Maybe I'll try out lead loading on my Mercedes. Shame about the welding gas, I've lost precious CO2 gas due to a sticking valve in the torch before. Very frustrating! |
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Mar 23, 2011 15:20:50 GMT
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Lead loading (although presumably the modern stuff contains no lead) I've also heard it called Tinning too. It's a skill I would love to learn. I'm doing my door bottoms but having to use regular filler for this job. Maybe I'll try out lead loading on my Mercedes. Shame about the welding gas, I've lost precious CO2 gas due to a sticking valve in the torch before. Very frustrating! Lead loading. Thanks! I'm not saying I'm mastering it - but I'm going to try it. And I had a good look over the shoulders of someone who definately does know his way around lead loading. You can still get the leaded stuff, but there's unleaded one about, yes. I 'think' the biggest problem is the hydrochloric acid that builds up from the flux. Also heat distortion can be a problem on thin metal. I'll see... The Merc is going to be my test-mule ;D Do you use 100% CO²? I'm using Argon with 18% CO². Not the cheapest...  Cheers, Jan |
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Mar 23, 2011 16:25:08 GMT
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Yeah I just use CO2. It doesn't make for tidy welds (splatter!) but it seems to last longer than CO2 / Argon mix - maybe the Argon mix requires more gas or something. I really want to move on to a big gas bottle, as I'm stuck using the expensive disposable ones presently.
Interested to see the results of the lead loading, it's a very useful skill to master I think!
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Mar 23, 2011 18:07:50 GMT
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Exchange gas bottles are nice. Bring the empty, take a full one back home. The problem is, that the next dealership for my bottle is 50km (30 miles) away... And a new one from a closer supplier would cost at least 125€ (£108). I'm going to report my experiences with lead loading here... Oh and btw: the central locking IS broken And only one of the three door locks is working... Cheers, Jan |
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Mar 24, 2011 16:47:36 GMT
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Ok, if you don't like the modern-ish stuff, look away now. It's going off topic now... . . . . . . . . . Since my lead loading stuff didn't arrive today, I thought I'd do something I've promised my mom for a long time... Repair her Smart CDi cabrio. I made it kaputt a few years ago when I crash-parked my parent's Renault Scenic into it...  Anyway, my mom managed to get some free rear arches for the Smart - today I've putthem on. How easy is that!? ;D Two screws, a few clips - took no 10 minutes to change them. The wash & polish after took a few hours, though... It's not been washed for ages. Before:  Between...  After:  Yes, I'm bored... But thought I post it, as this is the only car I can currently use (legaly) on the road... Cheers, Jan |
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But it's still a lot of work...
Bumped thesuspension a bit and off it was 
Lookslike this is very common for the M102 fanimolds to happen - 2nd hand replacements are scarce, especiallythose for the W123 - W124 manis don't fit (the don't clear the suspension dome). ARRGH!
Very, very nice to drive!
