124 rusty jack point

[David124T]

The attached pic is of the rear offside jacking point on my 1990 124 estate. The only reason that I have decided to post this is because I also have a 1993 estate (don't ask why I have two) and I discovered exactly the same rust/rot about six months ago.
I hope that it is just coincidence that my two cars have the same problem (the other three jack points seem OK) but if it is a common problem then from a safety point of view I felt that I should share what I have found so that other owners can check their vehicles.
It wasn't until I removed the plastic sill cover that I found this and even then I had to be a bit brutal to find the full extent. It just looks like a bit of minor surface rust at first.
I would be interested if anyone has come across this before and is it a common problem?

David

 

[anyweb]

i've seen lots of 124's with that problem and i don't know if it was a design defect or bad welding on some 124's or.... the result of way to many jacking up/down of the car at that particular point (weakening the welds).

I had a 190d (W201) with this exact problem especially on the front two jacking points, it was so bad in the end that i simply never used the mercedes jack (one legged one) and had to use a hydraulic jack instead with a piece of wood between it and the underside jacking point to avoid damaging the contact point.

You can see the rust doing it's damage on the jacking points here >

http://www.niallbrady.com/mycar/190d/mycar (9).html

please note that that car I bought second hand and therefore I've no idea how badly the previous 18 owners treated it.


Since then, i've always jacked using hydralic jacks.

 

[David124T]

The car in the picture does seem to have seen better days. The odd thing in my case is that I am only the second owner of the 1993 E220 (almost 10 years) and it has gone in the same spot. The other jacking points on both cars are sound. I can't tell if the holes started from the inside or outside of the panel. The only access is to remove the large plastic plug that attaches to the underside. It may just be on estates or as I said originally, just on my cars. Maybe someone else has seen this before.

David

 

[television]

Yes, I have seen this befor,its all made worse by the plastic sill cover that allow water to enter but hard to dry out. treated earlier in life it could have been saved,but not seen and thats what happens. The cill is an MOT failure point,but the jacking point is not.

malcolm

 

[Ade W124]

Of the 6 W124s I looked at before buying mine, all but 2 had rusty rear jacking points.. all the cars were well maintained and had a credible history... would appear to be a common problem.

The 2 that didn't were both from '90, '91 - is this before MB went off solvent based paints?

Ade