W124 Repair Blog

[Guest calp]

Hi guys,

Last Friday my engine coolant warning light went up; I kept driving (big mistake :banghead:) and was thinking "what the h..ll is this light about!?" ??? I drove for abt 10 more mins and stopped. Checked the water tank, empty :death: Waited for 1 hour and topped up water; informed Ah Yong. He asked me to bring the car to mbm. I did... They found out that the heater hose was broken and the water was leaking from there... THey replaced it; flushed the old coolant, filled new coolant. I drove back home. Everything seemed ok..

I was wrong; things started to get worse each time I turned on the key; and drove around at weekend...

Finally today the car started to vibrate even when waiting at traffic lights... rpm fooling ard 500. (misfire misfire!)

I barely made it to MBM and handed the keys to Ah Yong. He opened the spark plug area; unscrewed the plugs, put 4 screw drivers into the slots and waited for 30 secs... He pulled up the screwdrivers one by one; it's like 4D... One of them had water on it :death: The preliminary diagnosis: Blown Head Gasket... The coolant level was also much lower than the last Friday's top up... Water seeping into the engine...

I have to leave the car for at least 4 days so that they can sort it out; and it won't be cheap...

So sad... Didn't expect this car to give me so much headache/heart pain. :'(

[g8crasher]

Calp hang in there. The initial expense is usually harsher than expected but once you get all your problems solved, it'll reward you with a great many years to come. Blown head gaskets and such are very difficult to trace until the symptoms start appearing one by one. I know how it feels to have your bank account pinched and I trust that the initial expense will even itself out over the entire length of your ownership.

[keltanky]

I have a minor but uncomfort problem suspect is from the valve body thingy.

When I drive off quick, I will experience a jerk (A back kick feel from below the rear seat area). If I drive off gentle, I don't really feel it. Do you guys experience it on a 16V W124 ?

drive with S mode best!

some times these jerkyness could be gearsbox problems.. i.e if changing gears keep on jerking!!

have a light foot, sure smooth!!,

anyway power will only come in on half throttle as in our car la! practise makes perfect!! ala Initial D style!! if you watch Initial D, you will know what i mean when the elder bro teaching the younger bro(driving the yellow RX7) esp on stepping the gases!! its very very true!!!

think some bros will slam dunk me with these words!!!! :bboyspin: :bboyspin:

[keltanky]

Hi guys,

Last Friday my engine coolant warning light went up; I kept driving (big mistake :banghead:) and was thinking "what the h..ll is this light about!?" ??? I drove for abt 10 more mins and stopped. Checked the water tank, empty :death: Waited for 1 hour and topped up water; informed Ah Yong. He asked me to bring the car to mbm. I did... They found out that the heater hose was broken and the water was leaking from there... THey replaced it; flushed the old coolant, filled new coolant. I drove back home. Everything seemed ok..

I was wrong; things started to get worse each time I turned on the key; and drove around at weekend...

Finally today the car started to vibrate even when waiting at traffic lights... rpm fooling ard 500. (misfire misfire!)

I barely made it to MBM and handed the keys to Ah Yong. He opened the spark plug area; unscrewed the plugs, put 4 screw drivers into the slots and waited for 30 secs... He pulled up the screwdrivers one by one; it's like 4D... One of them had water on it :death: The preliminary diagnosis: Blown Head Gasket... The coolant level was also much lower than the last Friday's top up... Water seeping into the engine...

I have to leave the car for at least 4 days so that they can sort it out; and it won't be cheap...

So sad... Didn't expect this car to give me so much headache/heart pain. :'(

bro, like what g8crasher said, hang in there!! I also was in that situation before!!! spent more that the cost of the car i had bought! just to get the car to now condition! now car serving well!! touch wood!!

just a word, how come they never check the reservoir when they flushed the coolant, whether its damn oily?!? its the indication that the gasket had broke?!!

oh by the way, were you beside your car when they were doing it?? is it the young malay guy who done your car? or Ah Yong??

worst case, its that your engine block is leaking!! but should not be la, its 1 out of every 250K cars that will have engine block leaking!! hai... mine was the unlucky one!! :angry3:

if this happens you can uprate your engine liao!!! upgrade to 230 (16V)!!! :devil2: :devil2: :censored: :censored:

[keltanky]

:banghead: :banghead: hai, never drive for 2 weeks, family members drove, now got small problem!!

lock/unlock car, don't have the beep beep sound!! car can lock and unlock no problem! , not sure if the buzzer or siren faulty.

test it by searching car, using the search for car function, ok lei, got siren sound... damn... either buzzer or box liao..

hmmm think will get a workshop to wire the sound to my horn?? just like most toyotas which are done?

should i ?? :banghead: :banghead:

[Guest calp]

Thanks for the encouragement guys...

just a word, how come they never check the reservoir when they flushed the coolant, whether its damn oily?!? its the indication that the gasket had broke?!!

Actually they noticed that, I did too.. It was like murky water. But Ah yong didn't elaborate further then, so I didn't bother.

oh by the way, were you beside your car when they were doing it?? is it the young malay guy who done your car? or Ah Yong??

It was a young chinese guy... Ah Yong occasionally came and told them 'do this; do that' stuff. Overall Ah yong was there 70% of time. Why do you ask? Does it make any difference when mec A or mech B attends my car in MBM? :-\

worst case, its that your engine block is leaking!! but should not be la, its 1 out of every 250K cars that will have engine block leaking!! hai... mine was the unlucky one!!

'scarily optimistic' are you

if this happens you can uprate your engine liao!!! upgrade to 230 (16V)!!!

I think I've read this somewhere else also; in that case isn't it illegal? Road Tax according to engine capacity, right? then how? :death:

[keltanky]

calp ]

Actually they noticed that, I did too.. It was like murky water. But Ah yong didn' wrote:

hai...

It was a young chinese guy... Ah Yong occasionally came and told them 'do this; do that' stuff. Overall Ah yong was there 70% of time. Why do you ask? Does it make any difference when mec A or mech B attends my car in MBM? :-\

this nothing, just want to see who do it la, i always kena the young malay chap!

'scarily optimistic' are you

don't worry bro. i'm sure yours will be ok! :thumbsup:

I think I've read this somewhere else also; in that case isn't it illegal? Road Tax according to engine capacity, right? then how? :death:

either declare :police: or :devil2: :censored: :devil2: :censored: :devil2: :censored:

[Guest mr w124]

g8crasher, u were spot on abt the valve body. had mine replaced as well as the right front signal lamp cover which decided to fall off today while i was driving. the only prob is that my mech had a 16valve valve body n used that. so far so good but am not v used to the gear starting off in 1st. plus think pressure is too high cos shifts r happening at 3k rpm as opposed to my usual 2.5k. will sort that out.

Just want to check if 850 total for the valve body, atf n labour is reasonable. cos i remember u saying that it was abt 400.

[Guest mercw124]

Yup! I do get it sometimes when I floor the pedal hard once the lights turn green.

If the car's in a good mood then I get a nice smooth acceleration, otherwise I get the exact same scenario you had depicted :3some:

It isnt much of an issue though - usually stick to standard mode as economy mode apparently gives me a terrible fuel economy...anyone having the same thing? Or is my car abnormal... :la:

[Guest sirBenz]

:banghead: :banghead: hai, never drive for 2 weeks, family members drove, now got small problem!!

lock/unlock car, don't have the beep beep sound!! car can lock and unlock no problem! , not sure if the buzzer or siren faulty.

test it by searching car, using the search for car function, ok lei, got siren sound... damn... either buzzer or box liao..

hmmm think will get a workshop to wire the sound to my horn?? just like most toyotas which are done?

should i ?? :banghead: :banghead:

Bro, happened to me before. I accidentally switched to silent mode by pressing a combination of switches on the remote, trying pressing lock/unlock together, or press lock or unlock longer then usual.

[g8crasher]

Just want to check if 850 total for the valve body, atf n labour is reasonable. cos i remember u saying that it was abt 400.

Hey mr w124, glad to hear that you got your problem almost solved! My valve body cost $400 coz it was a used one they pulled off some wreck. Original ATF is quite pricey... uhm.. $75 bucks or more if I can remember correctly. Considering they have to drop the gearbox before fitting the valve body, I would say the labour charge would be around 2-3 hours worth ?

Assuming the valve body $500ish-600ish (this one is a variable factor) + fluid $80 + labour $, I think it's quite plausible to arrive at your $850 bill. :thumbsup:

[Guest calp]

me again...

Just wanna check with seniors: Regarding the blown head gasket; Ah yong says "These engines are very delicate in terms of overheating; so be careful, and don't let the engine overheat. If it happens, stop immediately."

Come to think about it... within the last 2 months of my ownership, I'd see the engine temp going up and down in slightest heavy traffic (stop/go) situation... But at highways, it would go below 80 degrees Celcius...

Frequent fluctuation...

Is it how the engine temp supposed to behave in a w124?

I drove two Nissans before, and I don't know how they manage to do it, but I HAVE NEVER SEEN engine temp to go beyond the optimal degree. NOT even once... It wouldn't move a budge, neither up nor down. Heavy traffic, or highway cruise... wouldn't matter at all.

How do these japs get it, man?

Btw, Is there a way to boost up the fan speed or adjust it to kick in earlier than it normally does in E200s?

[keltanky]

yup, what ah yong said is true, if overheats, best to stop immediately! our these engine are quite delicate internally but overall its very bullet-proof!

for the ways,

there are many ways, most will direct the fan, meaning fan will on when start engine, some change the fan to different brands which have different speed according to your car speed.

must also check your fan switch contacts!, for after all these years, the cable lug could be so rusty, contacts issue sure one of the causes.!!

[Guest calp]

I see...

So in general the engine temp shouldn't move much regardless of the traffic conditions IF the cooling system and everything else is doing their job.?

I guess my blown gasket is due to that sudden loss of coolant 'thanks :censored:' to the the cracked hose...

Fan should be ok: Because I would notice the fan would kick in whenever the temp went above 80-90 in other days...

[Guest 9339]

Bro...Leave the problem,Change a ENGINE :tazzie:

[g8crasher]

I guess this is the season for repairs. I stopped at the carpark of Blk 26B Jalan Membina with the intention of having a cuppa before getting into the office. Parked at the multi-storey carpark around 9am and started to fiddle with the balance knob of the head unit. I noticed my left tweeter wasn't belting out music like it should so I got itchy and before you know it, A pillar came off to check the wiring. So much for my morning teh tarik.

Bloody car didn't want to start after 45 minutes. Went to check the volt meter in the boot - the main one indicated a battery charge of 10.1v and my capacitor was indicating somewhere around 9.3v. Oooooh boy. Rang AA, got them to start the car. AA confirmed the battery was on it's way.

Routine battery swap. Ok doesn't sound too bad eh ? Right, so off to the mechanic I went. After some testing, it's not only the freaking battery that needs a swap but the alternator wasn't looking too good either! So today's list so far

- Adjustment of timing chain. Gets a tad noisy in the upper rev range.

- New alternator

- New battery

- New bumper (enquiring)

Looks like I am highly likely to drop a grand plus later today. Wish me luck.

[Guest calp]

Welcome on board the repair shuttle Leon

A thousand for all those items or w/o the bumper? :death:

I guess it's the alternator that is drilling a whole in the wallet this time...

Bro...Leave the problem,Change a ENGINE :tazzie:

I like Randy's logic; 'adorable' but not 'adoptable' for middle class citizens (sorry PRs) like me

Mike was mentioning to change the thermostat to 78 deg to prevent overheating problems in our 'tanks'; being a noob; can anyone further elaborate this part? I don't quite get it. ???

Can Ah Yong at MBM do such fan/thermostat mods as well?

[g8crasher]

Mike was mentioning to change the thermostat to 78 deg to prevent overheating problems

Easy peasy. Bcoz the thermostat is now set at a lower temp, the hi speed fan comes on much earlier as compared to say 90 deg in original setup. :thumbsup:

[Guest Mike]

alternator is not that expensive i just replaced mine about a mth ago. DIY job haha. as for the calp's question its not just the thermostat needs replacement, the temp sensor which activate the AUX fan needs replacement to a lower temperature rating as well and have to do a simple wiring mod to a relay. if u need help u can pm me.

[Guest mercw124]

Maybe could do a electric fan implant from a BMW so that it would keep running, but at the same time not strain the alternator? Fuel Consumption would be better too!

[g8crasher]

Update : Benzline has an AMG front bumper for the W124 FL. Asking $1,600.00

[keltanky]

bro faster get it. Replace your monster eaten bumper.

[Guest Mike]

wa 1.6K too poor to afford haha..

[g8crasher]

Eh brudders 1.6k can put full bodykit and respray the freakin car in cowboytown leh :yumyum:

[Guest Mike]

ya lah u wan how to custom oso can... thats y i say i too poor to afford.