New Member...1st Merc, advice required

[dunchayton]

Hi Guys,

Taken the plunge and bought my first merc, an 85 S class with the 2.8litre. Although I am a competent (home) mechanic I know nothing about Mercedes. Mine seems to be mechanically sound with a poor interior.
What are the first steps I should take as an owner of an old merc?

1) are the cd's (workshop manuals) on ebay worth buying?...they seem to list every S class with the exception of mine in their description.

2) any common mechanical niggles to watch out for.

3) I have a leaking roof (water coming from top of windscreen pillar when I brake..(sunroof drainage pipes?)

4) Is my engine exactly the same as that in the 280E...(seen haynes manual for one of them)

5) My driver side seat spring has broken and torn on the side of the squab..are green interiors common? (my car is a light peppermint metalic with a darker green interior).. or should I look for another interior and dashboard (mine has cracked) from a breaker...?

all help/advice greatfully appreciated

D

 

[jaques2k]

Hi! Nice to hear that you have got yourself a really nice Mercedes! =) The S-class W126 is one of the most beutiful models I think! I am a great fan of that model though they aren´t a lot around here... =)

1. I´ve got my workshop manuals from a member on this forum, Jaz, his e-mail is: jazmacintyre@aol.com (or search on this forum for more details), and those manuals are just great (thanks, Jaz)!! They cover all the W126 models including yours and is detailed. I can recommend that you check with him if he has the one´s you want.
2. I guess someone else with a bit more experience has to answere that, but rust in the rear bonnet (under the rear window) is a common problem, so be sure you take care of that even before it has started to rust. I had to rebuild my engine right after I bought mine, but that was because of an idiot who owned it before and didn´t realize that a engine would not run without oil or something like that...
3. I also have the same problem, I thought at first it came from the window, but after reading this forum it seems as it would be the sunroof drainage pipes. Haven´t checked it out (not neccessary right now, we have -10 degrees celsius and A LOT of snow here in Finland).
4. My front seats are like a sponge and will be fixed to the summer. Don´t know more about the interior.

Good luck with your Mercedes!

 

[dunchayton]

Hi Jaques,

Thanks for the reply... I had a couple of days off work, so I had a look to investigate where the water is coming in. To my surprise the drain holes for the sunroof are free, but the metal pipe in the corner of the webasto sunroof tray has rusted through... I have repaired it with some garden hose and silicon sealant (I hope). I also found a 2cm hole in the front scuttle above the passenger footwell. It is allowing the water swept of the windscreen by the wipers to enter the cabin of the car, via the box at the bulkhead, wetting the passenger carpet. I'll have to use some P40 or Davids fastglass to plug this leak I think... Hopefully when this is done the interior will be much dryer. This morning I had ice on both the inside and outside of the glass!

Regards

Duncan