I've had this car for a few months now and I figure it's about time I started a thread for it. It's a completely standard Merc 190e 2.0 auto, apart from the nasty stereo! It's my second 190e, the first one met it's end as a result of the head gasket going bang and not having the facilities/time/money to fix it. I really like these cars, they're nice to work on and the build quality and attention to detail is a lot better than on some of the Peugeots I've had. It's also surprisingly cheap to insure for a younger driver - far less than a smaller engined E30, for example.
I found this one on eBay and bought it sight unseen (silly, I know). It was advertised as having a 'slight misfire', which I thought probably meant trouble with the K-Jetronic. Anyway, I got a lift down to Exeter with a mate and managed to drive her back, even though she'd been standing for a few months. I made the amateur mistake of testing the electric windows before making the return trip, so I enjoyed Exeter - Southampton with a back window wide open. Southampton - Reading was done with a carrier bag taped over the door as it was raining heavily!
The misfire turned out to be a bit of a funny problem - the car would run perfectly when cold, but when it warmed up it would stutter and miss. I stripped down the injection system, cleaned it up and put it back to spec to no avail. Eventually, the problem got so bad that the car just wouldn't run once it had warmed up. I changed the ECU temperature sensor, which actually made things worse, before deciding that the best thing to do would be to try to source a complete injection system off another car. I found one from a 75,000 mile car, which I fitted along with new injector seals, spark plugs and thermostat... Result! It runs beautifully now, apart from the first cold start of the day which takes a few turns of the key. It's so much smoother now and it's much more powerful than it was before, making it a rather lovely thing to waft about in.
Work done so far:
-Transmission & torque converter drained and refilled with new ATF and filter
-Power steering fluid & filter change
-Coolant flush
-Injection system, spark plugs, dizzy cap, rotor arm, thermostat
-Rocker cover gasket
-New pressed plates as the old ones had naff Mercedes badges on them!
-Welding to rear subframe mounting for MOT, had a rusty jacking point welded up as well.
Anyway, time for some (fairly poor) pictures. I'll take some better ones soon!
I had a bit of a go at it with some boiled linseed oil, this is the only 'after' pic I took but it works really well, I was quite surprised.
These are the plugs that came out before I swapped the injection over:
So there you have it. I'm pleased with the progress so far, which has mostly just been getting it up to standard. Plans for the future?
-Lower on 40mm springs and maybe thinner spring pads to try to keep the comfortable ride.
-Tighten up the drivetrain with new propshaft couplings, engine mounts and gearbox mount.
-Find a nice set of Mercedes alloys. At the moment I'd really like a set of these, found on SLK's:
Or maybe some 15-holes, which were a factory option on 190e's:
If you spot any of the SLK wheels at a breaker's or know of a set for sale I'd really appreciate a heads up, I missed a set on eBay not long ago but they don't seem to come up for sale very often.
Any opinions on wheel choice are welcome!
I found this one on eBay and bought it sight unseen (silly, I know). It was advertised as having a 'slight misfire', which I thought probably meant trouble with the K-Jetronic. Anyway, I got a lift down to Exeter with a mate and managed to drive her back, even though she'd been standing for a few months. I made the amateur mistake of testing the electric windows before making the return trip, so I enjoyed Exeter - Southampton with a back window wide open. Southampton - Reading was done with a carrier bag taped over the door as it was raining heavily!
The misfire turned out to be a bit of a funny problem - the car would run perfectly when cold, but when it warmed up it would stutter and miss. I stripped down the injection system, cleaned it up and put it back to spec to no avail. Eventually, the problem got so bad that the car just wouldn't run once it had warmed up. I changed the ECU temperature sensor, which actually made things worse, before deciding that the best thing to do would be to try to source a complete injection system off another car. I found one from a 75,000 mile car, which I fitted along with new injector seals, spark plugs and thermostat... Result! It runs beautifully now, apart from the first cold start of the day which takes a few turns of the key. It's so much smoother now and it's much more powerful than it was before, making it a rather lovely thing to waft about in.
Work done so far:
-Transmission & torque converter drained and refilled with new ATF and filter
-Power steering fluid & filter change
-Coolant flush
-Injection system, spark plugs, dizzy cap, rotor arm, thermostat
-Rocker cover gasket
-New pressed plates as the old ones had naff Mercedes badges on them!
-Welding to rear subframe mounting for MOT, had a rusty jacking point welded up as well.
Anyway, time for some (fairly poor) pictures. I'll take some better ones soon!
I had a bit of a go at it with some boiled linseed oil, this is the only 'after' pic I took but it works really well, I was quite surprised.
These are the plugs that came out before I swapped the injection over:
So there you have it. I'm pleased with the progress so far, which has mostly just been getting it up to standard. Plans for the future?
-Lower on 40mm springs and maybe thinner spring pads to try to keep the comfortable ride.
-Tighten up the drivetrain with new propshaft couplings, engine mounts and gearbox mount.
-Find a nice set of Mercedes alloys. At the moment I'd really like a set of these, found on SLK's:
Or maybe some 15-holes, which were a factory option on 190e's:
If you spot any of the SLK wheels at a breaker's or know of a set for sale I'd really appreciate a heads up, I missed a set on eBay not long ago but they don't seem to come up for sale very often.
Any opinions on wheel choice are welcome!
