After reading the multiple posts on other blogs about the M116 and M117 engines, I decided that the best approach to tuning the engine was to have it almost perfectly sealed, No vacuum leaks. These engines are notorious for not having massive amounts of vacuum to start off , so any vacuum leak will not help.
With the help of a vacuum gauge, and lots of patience I isolated a couple of vacuum leaks that were minor, and the gauge went from 14 to 18 Inches of mercury. That is a good start, but I was still having a nasty cutout every time I accelerated the car, If I accelerated it slowly, it would do fine. If I mashed it, it would stumble, vacuum would drop to alomst zero, and try to die. I was thinking that I might have a very tired engine, with worn rings....
Out comes the compression test. I had done this when I bought the car years ago, but hey, a ring could have let gom, or another not so nice episode could have happened. So In I go to check compression on all 8 cilinders. While I was at it, I used my spark plug gauge to make sure that the plugs were gapped correctly, and saw that my spark plugs were rather blackish, showing a very rich running.
I went ahead a tested the compression in all cilinders. The high was 170, the low 165. That is not bad for a 8.0 CR engine built in 1976! So, after that I went and gapped the spark plugs. There were 2 that were way off, , and all of them were too narrow. I also retorqued the intake manifold bolts, as the engine has had time to expand a couple of times. The oil was changed about a month ago, so that should be OK as well.
I plugged my laptop into MS, and turned the engine on. It was still missing, but not as bad. I went through the sequence a couple of times, playing mostly with the MAF tables, and the engine gradually got better. Found that the best running was developign 200 HP at 4750 RPM and 250 Torque at 3000 RPM, but still that damn miss when I mashed the throttle.
Again went through the configuration wizard, and got to the acceleratin enrichment table. Played around with it, as there really is only one side of it, the MAF side, as I do not have a TPS. I enriched the top end, for 200 Pascals, and the engine got worse!. So, I leaned the top end, to 5, and the engine not only did not miss, it ran beautifully. It was missing because it was over enriched!.
Now I can get back to getting this on the road again!. Doing brakes and Exhaust next!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Let there be lights!!!!
Last year one of the HIGHLY recommended modifications was to install "Euro" headlights on the car. I found a good set on eBay that was reasonable, i.e less than 4 digits...
I also bought the instructions to install them with the appropriate plugs. The old lights worked so, so, and I was not thrilled with them. I installed the "euro" headlights, but after much finagling, and trying to get them to work, I realized that there was something very wrong. I traced the wrongness to the switch, and left the lights sort of kinda working the best way I could.
Yesterday I went through probably the most painful repair ever in the SLC. Replacing the (*&(*&(* headlight switch. The manual says that you just take it out with one screw,and lower it into the lower cavity.... There is no such thing. I had to work through the speaker opening, and there is a small amount of give from the cables. I managed after hours of work to replace the switch. And NO, MB did not use a plug, they used spaded connectors with screws, and they used one per circuit. MB also separated the left and right position lights so that you can put them in "park" mode. That means that there are a whole bunch of connectors. But after finally plugging everything in, I got a semblance of normality, with position, low and nothing....
So, off come the euros again... And tester in hand troubleshot all the connections. Finally I figured out that I had 2 position lights connected to the high beams, when it should be connected to the light under the bumper, so I finally got the lights working. I also soldered new connections that I bought on-line, that are supposedly used by the new MB, and they worked pretty nicely. No high power here, so, new connectors work.
Now I have position lights, corner lights, blinker lights, driving, and high beams. It all works!
Next step... Brakes. No ABS, so this is not rocket science. Will take off the booster, to clean, paint, and make pretty, and then replace the master cylinder. Monday, front calipers, pads and disks.
I also bought the instructions to install them with the appropriate plugs. The old lights worked so, so, and I was not thrilled with them. I installed the "euro" headlights, but after much finagling, and trying to get them to work, I realized that there was something very wrong. I traced the wrongness to the switch, and left the lights sort of kinda working the best way I could.
Yesterday I went through probably the most painful repair ever in the SLC. Replacing the (*&(*&(* headlight switch. The manual says that you just take it out with one screw,and lower it into the lower cavity.... There is no such thing. I had to work through the speaker opening, and there is a small amount of give from the cables. I managed after hours of work to replace the switch. And NO, MB did not use a plug, they used spaded connectors with screws, and they used one per circuit. MB also separated the left and right position lights so that you can put them in "park" mode. That means that there are a whole bunch of connectors. But after finally plugging everything in, I got a semblance of normality, with position, low and nothing....
So, off come the euros again... And tester in hand troubleshot all the connections. Finally I figured out that I had 2 position lights connected to the high beams, when it should be connected to the light under the bumper, so I finally got the lights working. I also soldered new connections that I bought on-line, that are supposedly used by the new MB, and they worked pretty nicely. No high power here, so, new connectors work.
Now I have position lights, corner lights, blinker lights, driving, and high beams. It all works!
Next step... Brakes. No ABS, so this is not rocket science. Will take off the booster, to clean, paint, and make pretty, and then replace the master cylinder. Monday, front calipers, pads and disks.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
450SLC cleaning
After sort of abandoning the SLC in favor of the W124, today I took the cover off, and proceeded to clean it out. I took out everything that I had removed and some other parts. I took out the interior carpets (still amazed at how intact they look), vacuumed, and in the process got 28 cents richer!... :-) Took out all the stuff from the trunk, and vacuumed all the little pieces out. Then I connected the third brake light (some PO had it installed in the deck lid, and it is not a bad idea as it is an original w107 part), so now all 3 brake lights work. Tomorrow, some more cleaning, and start on the brakes. I have new front rotors, calipers, and pads, new rear pads, new pump.... I want to stop this beast. Once that is done, to the exhaust shop for a new exhaust system, and O2 bong welded in, to fine tune the mega squirt. Coming along.. :-)
The other thing I need to check, as the floor on the driver's side was a bit damp is those damn sunroof drains, same as in the w124. Small things, but hopefully it will be on the road for the summer!!!!
The other thing I need to check, as the floor on the driver's side was a bit damp is those damn sunroof drains, same as in the w124. Small things, but hopefully it will be on the road for the summer!!!!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
300E leaks (looking to get a DRY w124)
About 18 months ago, we purchased a 1987 w124 300E for my wife to drive....
Well, I have been using it most of the time. :-)
Last summer we were driving north, and a nice summer squall hit us, and it was pouring. About 10 minutes later, it started raining inside as well. It was so bad, that I had to stop and get a towel. After the experience, I took it to a body shop friend of mine, where they proceeded to blow out the 4 corners of the sunroof drains.
2 weeks later, on another squall..... Pouring again. Desperate, I took the front sun visors off, and the front sunvisor cover, and I saw that the drains were badly rusted. I took out my handy Dremel, and proceeded to clean up all the rust, and then to repaint, and finally seal the pipe with some silicone, and most importantly... a zip tie.
MB never put in the zip ties there, and what happens is that humidity and moisture get trapped, and rust the outside of the drain, creating a way for the water to come back at you. After fixing this. the front never ever leaked again, and my floors are mostly nice and dry, except for me getting in and out.
Last week, we noticed a very troubling development, and we saw that the rear carpets were wet. The rear, is not nearly as easy as the front.
So, today, being in MA, winter and all, and the temperature is above freezing, I decided to risk it.
I started by taking the seats out, finding that the vacuum pump for the doors was missing altogether.... No wonder why they did not work! hmmmm. this might not be a new development! The pump happens to live in the same spot that was flooding. After removing both c pillar panels, I took down the rear part of the headliner. That was quite a chore. It has a nice build but it took a bit to figure it out.
Once the headliner was down, I could clearly see that the downspout was wet, but not too rusted. I took the rubber drains off, and with some pressurized air I cleared them, and proceeded to sand, primer and paint the spouts. I waited until the spouts were nice and dry, and applied some silicone on them, and then reconnected the downspout hoses, and tied them with zip ties. Hopefully this will last as long as the car has so far, or 23 years. :-)
So, if you have a very humid w124, and can't figure out where the *&*(^^ the water is coming in, check the downspouts! If they are rusting, or even with old age the rubber is not as supple as it used to be, and water will find a way back into the car.
Well, I have been using it most of the time. :-)
Last summer we were driving north, and a nice summer squall hit us, and it was pouring. About 10 minutes later, it started raining inside as well. It was so bad, that I had to stop and get a towel. After the experience, I took it to a body shop friend of mine, where they proceeded to blow out the 4 corners of the sunroof drains.
2 weeks later, on another squall..... Pouring again. Desperate, I took the front sun visors off, and the front sunvisor cover, and I saw that the drains were badly rusted. I took out my handy Dremel, and proceeded to clean up all the rust, and then to repaint, and finally seal the pipe with some silicone, and most importantly... a zip tie.
MB never put in the zip ties there, and what happens is that humidity and moisture get trapped, and rust the outside of the drain, creating a way for the water to come back at you. After fixing this. the front never ever leaked again, and my floors are mostly nice and dry, except for me getting in and out.
Last week, we noticed a very troubling development, and we saw that the rear carpets were wet. The rear, is not nearly as easy as the front.
So, today, being in MA, winter and all, and the temperature is above freezing, I decided to risk it.
I started by taking the seats out, finding that the vacuum pump for the doors was missing altogether.... No wonder why they did not work! hmmmm. this might not be a new development! The pump happens to live in the same spot that was flooding. After removing both c pillar panels, I took down the rear part of the headliner. That was quite a chore. It has a nice build but it took a bit to figure it out.
Once the headliner was down, I could clearly see that the downspout was wet, but not too rusted. I took the rubber drains off, and with some pressurized air I cleared them, and proceeded to sand, primer and paint the spouts. I waited until the spouts were nice and dry, and applied some silicone on them, and then reconnected the downspout hoses, and tied them with zip ties. Hopefully this will last as long as the car has so far, or 23 years. :-)
So, if you have a very humid w124, and can't figure out where the *&*(^^ the water is coming in, check the downspouts! If they are rusting, or even with old age the rubber is not as supple as it used to be, and water will find a way back into the car.
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