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W124 Repair Blog


g8crasher

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The old lady didn't feel quite right in the gearbox department. It was about 2 months ago when the gearbox started slipping when upshifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. Initially it was just a momentary lapse of about 1 second before 3rd gear would engage successfully. Then on my way home just 3 days ago, I lost the use of 4th gear completely (on the ECP at peak hour I might add) and cruised home on a very much strained 3rd gear running @3500rpm 70km/h.

Took it to my regular mechanic the following day and overhauled the gearbox. After some 7 litres of transmission fluid, a few grand, a valve body, new seals and plates, the car should cruise to the end of it's paper lifespan in 2011.

Took the in law's W203 out for a few errands whilst the car was in the workshop and (to the dismay of all you W203 owners) it made me appreciate the old lady even more. I found the lightweight accelerator pedal rather annoying!! Yes it was a tad bit quicker with the supercharger but I'd say I'm rather resistant to the other changes. In all honesty I think the current crop of cars are too reliant on fancy electronics. I guess fellow member didjitgarcons and I are a little bit old school in that respect.

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Guest millionmilebenz

Bro, I salute you!

This is an excellent thread - among all our members, we can surely accumulate a rich archive of "repair experience" that members can search and learn from.

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Guest mr w124

Yup, mine cost abt a couple of k too. a month back. mine was slipping into first n sometimes totally slip if i floor it. much better now. but the rpm still fluctuates when i let go of the accelarator n cruise. will go from 20 to 10 to 20 to 10...... slight engine brake effect. still dont know what causes that.

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Guest millionmilebenz

I think the transmission overhaul for my W126 is also "akan datang"... The shifts are getting more jerky and hesitant, and I also feel the engine braking effect sometimes.

Better sayang the wallet now, sure to be a painful one! :'(

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Yikes. I experienced those jerky symptoms aplenty before the transmission overhaul. I suppose we cannot avoid wear and tear issues! :)

A W202's transmission was getting overhauled on the same day I booked the car in. It was a C200 equipped with an electronic 5 speed box. Brand new valve body for the gearbox was about $1,700.00 and general overhaul (replacement of plates, seals and fluid) cost approx $2,500.00

After 2 days of gentle driving to bed-in the transmission (serves to pacify my psyche, you don't have to do it), I put my foot down whilst travelling on the CTE this morning and everything seemed okay. Very smooth gear changes which I have not experienced in quite awhile. Certainly a refreshing experience driving the car again! There is still some bloody noise coming from the engine bay (kank-kank-kank) during hard acceleration from 2nd gear, 3500rpm upwards with the A/C turned on.

Gremlins.

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Guest mr w124

Thats quite bad kel. mine went up to 115 occasionally. so i checked n realised the radiator fan not working n radiator cracked. st me bak quite a bit of money. but its better than waiting it out n letting something worse happen to the engine. Just my opinion.

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yup monday was at MBM and saw Ben(SGLAKSA) there.

well yong found my thermostat a bit clogged and its cover cracked and more, its return pipe partial choke and harden.

so change all. so now monitoring it lor...

hai just last month my fan switch gone, so ownself change it lor. quite easy to buy it and change the fan switch.

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  • 1 month later...

It's funny how you never know how good you've had it till it's gone (for a few days).

I've had a dent the size of a fist just round the corner of the driver's rear tail light for the longest time. (I've been procrastinating sending it to the panel shop, believe me) About 2 Sundays ago, yours truly trashed the passengers side rear door in a moment of mis-judgement!

To cut a long story short, I had to shell out $500.00 on a decent repair job and the old lady is looking every bit distinguished again!

I had a W210 to punt around in for the few days and it quickly made me realise why I loved the W124. The W210 suspension is setup just waaaaaay too soft and the steering is almost devoid of feel. I guess the best solution to correct that would be a set of H&R Touring Cup Kit Suspension as well as uprated swaybars.

Am I'm glad to have the car back again.

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Guest millionmilebenz

Hi Leon! Sorry to hear about the dent...

Agree with you that, for an older car, the W124 still offers a great balance between firmness and composure. But it's also this characteristic that make us "abuse" it by driving it too hard sometimes, haha!

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Guest mr w124

This is going to sound weird but i'll just go ahead n say it. a while back i had to get a new radiator and a new fan. as my existing fan was a modified electric one, the mech sourced and installed a volvo 960 fan. after doing the wiring my mech told me that the wiring had some issues and the ac fan might give eway soon. It lasted 2 weeks then it gave way.

The amazing thing is that during the 2 weeks when i had both the ac fan and the new radiator fan working properly, the temp never went above 80. even in the hottest jam in jb. and there was a lot more power. after the ac fan gave out, loss of power, and worsening fc. funny how one fan can cause so many changes. will have to get the fan done next month when the wallet is thicker. any idea how much the ac fan would cost? FYI the modified volvo 960 fan alone cost abt 200. n i heard the AC fan could cost more. plus i need to get the covering done for the ac fan as well (think the mech called it the cowling??). plus i need to fix the brakes plus upholster the sagging front seats plus fix the suspension setup because my front was lowered by the previous owner. plus lots of creaking coming from the interior. think the centre console box was poorly fitted and about ready to drop off.... SIGH. so many things to do. Sorry for making this entry sound like an essay.

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This is going to sound weird but i'll just go ahead n say it. a while back i had to get a new radiator and a new fan. as my existing fan was a modified electric one, the mech sourced and installed a volvo 960 fan. after doing the wiring my mech told me that the wiring had some issues and the ac fan might give eway soon. It lasted 2 weeks then it gave way.

The amazing thing is that during the 2 weeks when i had both the ac fan and the new radiator fan working properly, the temp never went above 80. even in the hottest jam in jb. and there was a lot more power. after the ac fan gave out, loss of power, and worsening fc. funny how one fan can cause so many changes. will have to get the fan done next month when the wallet is thicker. any idea how much the ac fan would cost? FYI the modified volvo 960 fan alone cost abt 200. n i heard the AC fan could cost more. plus i need to get the covering done for the ac fan as well (think the mech called it the cowling??). plus i need to fix the brakes plus upholster the sagging front seats plus fix the suspension setup because my front was lowered by the previous owner. plus lots of creaking coming from the interior. think the centre console box was poorly fitted and about ready to drop off.... SIGH. so many things to do. Sorry for making this entry sound like an essay.

if i can remember, this 960 fan, has 2 speed right?

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Guest mr w124

Yup but its set at just high. got to go back n finish the rewiring. trying to find the time now. anyway this co thing that you guys keep talking about. what is it and can i modify it on my own or do i need to go see a mech? been wanting to come to the monthly meetups but its just so hard to find the time with all the errands that i got to run. hope to come down in march.

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Guest millionmilebenz

mr w124 ]

The amazing thing is that during the 2 weeks when i had both the ac fan and the new radiator fan working properly, the temp never went above 80. even in the hottest jam in jb. and there was a lot more power. after the ac fan gave out, loss of power, and worsening fc. funny how one fan can cause so many changes.

I second that observation. My W124 has the wiring harness problem that is common among our cars. For a long time, one of the symptoms was that the fan was always on HIGH, loudly announcing the presence of the Merc everywhere it went. During that time, I was able to achieve great FC of up to 10 km/l. Now that the fan has gone back to normal (don' wrote:

will have to get the fan done next month when the wallet is thicker. any idea how much the ac fan would cost? FYI the modified volvo 960 fan alone cost abt 200. n i heard the AC fan could cost more. plus i need to get the covering done for the ac fan as well (think the mech called it the cowling??). plus i need to fix the brakes plus upholster the sagging front seats plus fix the suspension setup because my front was lowered by the previous owner. plus lots of creaking coming from the interior. think the centre console box was poorly fitted and about ready to drop off.... SIGH. so many things to do. Sorry for making this entry sound like an essay.

Don't worry bro. The W124 is no sissy, this tank will continue running even with niggling problems here and there. Do the repairs one by one, starting with the safety-critical ones first. Take care of it and it will serve you for a looooooong time. :) :) :)

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A/C fan - Propel should have one. Maybe you just need to swap out the motor in the fan. $100 odd $200 odd job.

Brakes - Hmm, probably just re-machining your discs to get 'em flat again ? Can't think of any other problem with the brakes. $100 odd for front discs to swap them out I think.

Suspension - Probably can sort this out using stock springs. Your shocks may have been shot by now though. 4 x Bilstein comforts shouldn't set you back more than $400-500. Ring around to check.

Ctr Console - probably just a few missing screws securing entire console.

Creaking - Probably the springs in your front seats are giving out the noise. The wood pieces in the doors tend to creak a little sometimes. Maybe you can change out the door panels. Propel.

Interior Upholstery - If you redo the seats and headline, better prepare $1k plus.

Just realized I used probably so many times!

Thanks Yen! Car good as new now. Went to do soundproofing on my doors yesterday and installed new tweeter pods. Massive difference in sonic quality even for our heavy car doors! Think I'll not touch anything now for the time being. Already chalked up $1k worth of spending in less than 2 weeks and the bloody markets are not returning much back to me!!!! Haha

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Guest mr w124

Thanks for the advice homerripper and MMB. I will prob start doing the things slowly. abt 3 yrs left to go for coe. would really like to buy another coe for the car. got to keep my fingers crossed that there are no more major hurdles to cross....

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Guest benzw124

Hi! Bilstein comfort shocks were less 300 when i changed mine last year and installation was minimal. For the creaking wood on the doors, you can easily tighten them by removing the panel and using the smallest spanner available in your tool kit in the spare wheel well. The door comes off easily (Just lift and pull away frm the door)after removing the triangle pieces by the mirror.(Pull out the top and turn the triangle anti clockwise) However the clips tend to break off from the door, so be prepared to glue them back with some epoxy or elephant glue. This should help you save some money. Good luck!

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  • 1 month later...
Guest mr w124

Just an update on the stuff that i've done for my 124. power has always been sluggish on my 8valve model. but as of late it started getting worse. so i decided to install this power core system from nology. at first just felt a slight difference. but after a few days, i feel that there's more power at low rpm. plus, my fc is getting better. used to get abt 220 km at half tank. now getting about 273. will post further updates.

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i feel that there's more power at low rpm. plus, my fc is getting better. used to get abt 220 km at half tank. now getting about 273. will post further updates.

Damn your FC is just fantastic!! Seriously!! I'm currently on 95RON and am happy to grab 200kms at the halfway mark (65%City/35%Hwy). I've also just installed some ignition booster (I can't remember the name of it for the love of God). Slightly more responsive in the 2,000rpm - 3,000rpm band.

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Guest mr w124

Well i shift at abt 2.5k sometimes 3 k rpm. start off slowly without rush. but expressway abt 100-110. Mine is not so good. got a friend who manages to get like 350km for half tank. dont know how he does it....

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Guest mr w124

Went to do servicing today and told mech abt a sharp squeak noise i hear everytime i on the aircon while travelling. told to change belt, tensioner and the damper. feels better now. dont know if its related but got a bit more power and the car doesn't jerk when the ac comes on. any comments? didnt really want to change it but guess its better than waiting for the belt to snap and having other things go wrong.

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Guest millionmilebenz

Went to do servicing today and told mech abt a sharp squeak noise i hear everytime i on the aircon while travelling. told to change belt, tensioner and the damper. feels better now. dont know if its related but got a bit more power and the car doesn't jerk when the ac comes on. any comments? didnt really want to change it but guess its better than waiting for the belt to snap and having other things go wrong.

Hi! Yes the tensioner is the problem causing the belt to squeak, as well as jerk. For a "teenage" car the tensioner may already be adjusted to the max tension but still cannot keep the belts taut enough - hencing the squeaking. My W126 is also due to replace the tensioner.

How much did you pay? Hope the wallet damage was not too severe. :)

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Went to do servicing today and told mech abt a sharp squeak noise i hear everytime i on the aircon while travelling. told to change belt, tensioner and the damper. feels better now. dont know if its related but got a bit more power and the car doesn't jerk when the ac comes on. any comments? didnt really want to change it but guess its better than waiting for the belt to snap and having other things go wrong.

I think your mech had it spot on. I swapped out the tensioner a couple of years ago when I heard some squeaking. You made the right decision to swap it out I reckon. I'd hate for myself to drive around with squeaky noises coz I'd know it would bug me even if I'd pretend not to hear it!

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Guest sirBenz

Just an update on the stuff that i've done for my 124. power has always been sluggish on my 8valve model. but as of late it started getting worse. so i decided to install this power core system from nology. at first just felt a slight difference. but after a few days, i feel that there's more power at low rpm. plus, my fc is getting better. used to get abt 220 km at half tank. now getting about 273. will post further updates.

Hi mr w124,

where did u get nology stuff from and how much was the damage?

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