96 W124 Coupe

islanderre

Evening All,
Posting here as I think its more likely some of you will have more DIY experience with the W124.
Having debated a long time about buying a W124 Coupe or CLK; I went and bought this one.
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Its a 1996 and has been in Ireland since roughly 1999.
Good Points:
No rattles when cruising in what feels like an armchair on wheels!!!
Drives well once out of 2nd gear
Most electrics work (Mirrors, Sunroof, Aerial, Windows)
Leather in good nick for the age.
Gearbox oil is reed and does not smell burnt
Spare wheel has never been used!!!!!
Bad Points:
Car Jerks when changing from 1st to 2nd gear most of the time.
Seat belt extenders do not work
All door cards have been off and have not been put back on correctly.
Rear side trim has also been off nad not back on correctly..... prob associated with trouble shooting seat belt extenders I would think.
RUST....... she is bad in spots; have not fully investigated yet.
Speedometer lighting temper mental....... have to wiggle the dimmer to get it working!!!!
Cannot get the rear armrest to move into the vertical position
Some bits of trim missing including switch for changing from S to E on the gearbox.


Now I have the bad points written down, it does not look too good!!!!! Anyway, am driving it until the 22nd of this month then its into storage until next summer. Over the winter I hope to tidy up a few of the Bad Points above and investigate how bad the rust is.

Anyone who knows any W124 breakers in the west/midlands or someone who could diagnose the 'Gear Jurking', I'd much appreciate it. I may take it into the Independent Mercedes Garage in Galway Liosban Ind Estate; he did a good job on a 94 C180 before.

Buying one has been an itch I've been waiting to scratch for a long time!!!!

w124man

islanderre wrote: »

Evening All,
Posting here as I think its more likely some of you will have more DIY experience with the W124.
Having debated a long time about buying a W124 Coupe or CLK; I went and bought this one.

Its a 1996 and has been in Ireland since roughly 1999.
Good Points:
No rattles when cruising in what feels like an armchair on wheels!!!
Drives well once out of 2nd gear
Most electrics work (Mirrors, Sunroof, Aerial, Windows)
Leather in good nick for the age.
Gearbox oil is reed and does not smell burnt
Spare wheel has never been used!!!!!
Bad Points:
Car Jerks when changing from 1st to 2nd gear most of the time.
Seat belt extenders do not work
All door cards have been off and have not been put back on correctly.
Rear side trim has also been off nad not back on correctly..... prob associated with trouble shooting seat belt extenders I would think.
RUST....... she is bad in spots; have not fully investigated yet.
Speedometer lighting temper mental....... have to wiggle the dimmer to get it working!!!!
Cannot get the rear armrest to move into the vertical position
Some bits of trim missing including switch for changing from S to E on the gearbox.


Now I have the bad points written down, it does not look too good!!!!! Anyway, am driving it until the 22nd of this month then its into storage until next summer. Over the winter I hope to tidy up a few of the Bad Points above and investigate how bad the rust is.

Anyone who knows any W124 breakers in the west/midlands or someone who could diagnose the 'Gear Jurking', I'd much appreciate it. I may take it into the Independent Mercedes Garage in Galway Liosban Ind Estate; he did a good job on a 94 C180 before.

Buying one has been an itch I've been waiting to scratch for a long time!!!!

Good points:

Of course it does. Its a Mercedes after all and not a BMW
Thats not a good point. It should drive well in all gears
So what doesn't work?
Merc leather is among the best
Change it anyway and make sure its done properly
If it really is original, bin it as its well over six years old

Bad points:

Mercedes rarely use 1st gear unless you really plant it or are in '2'. Its more like 2nd to 3rd and shouldn't jerk unless its cold. Change fluid and filter/adjust cable
Most of them dont!
What else did its previous owner bodge?
Ditto
These cars rust on the front wheel arches and wings, jacking points, subframe mounts ...... where is yours rusting?
Dimmer switch issue is usual due to lack of use and is also an on/off switch
???
Switch for 'Standard' to 'Economy' is available from MB - as are all parts by the way!

Coupe body parts are different to saloon/estate

islanderre

Cheers for the reply W124man,

The seat belt extenders and the remote central locking from the key does not work...... the central locking from the after market alarm does work..... hope that's not too confusing. Also, the parking light stays on......prob the handbrake switch that's faulty.

With regard to the G/Box 'Jurk'...... sometimes it seamless and others you really feel it only in the lower gears......... I counted the changes and she does seem to go from 1st to 4th; that's on the presumption she is 4 speed. As I said above, I'm putting it into storage over the winter so will do the G/Box oil and filter change then. I've had a quick look underneath

So far, rust is evident on the passenger side wing, both wheel arches when viewed from the engine bay and very slight bubbles on the bootlid.

I'll tip away at getting the doorcards tidied up and will investigate the seat belt extenders too; would be very interested if anyone knows where one is scraped as I'd be interested in a few bits.

Until the 22nd, I'll continue to enjoy the comfort of it before I have to exchange places with it and my humble Honda Civic!!!!

w124man

islanderre wrote: »

Cheers for the reply W124man,

With regard to the G/Box 'Jurk'...... sometimes it seamless and others you really feel it only in the lower gears......... I counted the changes and she does seem to go from 1st to 4th; that's on the presumption she is 4 speed. As I said above, I'm putting it into storage over the winter so will do the G/Box oil and filter then.

Don't forget the oil in the torque converter as well. It's possible that the box is stuck in 'standard' mode as first gear isn't used in 'E' unless the kickdown switch is activated. Test it after the fluid is changed

iverjohnston

I have used Eric Norton at Ballinalee, Longford. He knows them nside out. He is in the phone book. Iver

islanderre

Cheers Ivor,

Depending on how the G/Box oil and Torque convertor change goes; I may venture up to him. Will be next summer anyway before shes back on the road so over the winter I'll tip away at gettin bits n pieces done myself.

Thanks for the heads up anyway

iverjohnston

No problem, Islanderre,
I had a 124 300d (1995, 300,000 miles) and the gearbox started slipping in drive. I rang Eric and he said bring it up. About 90 seconds under it and he says "there you go, I've upped the pressure on the gearbox oil pump, might last a week, might last years"
It was still going goodo when the body cracked across above the rear suspension, 2 years later. Iver