Restoration of '86 W123

[russmellor@tiscali.co.uk]

Hi there folks in Mercedes land!

I'm assisting my Dad in a restoration of his '86 W123 280TE, we have a full history and she?s due her 120K service. We were considering using the local dealer for the service and checks to bring her up to date and get the book stamped, thereafter we?d hope to perform all servicing and maintenance ourselves. They?ve quoted up to £400 for the job.

Looking at the service schedule there would appear to be a bunch of stuff (lubricating hinges and locks etc) that we could do ourselves, what I?d be grateful for advice on is:

1.Is there any specialist work, which absolutely should not be overlooked whilst at the dealer (things we could not do ourselves later that may need specialist tools or diagnostic equipment etc)?

2.Is there anything that can be done with the older air-con systems, we?ve been told that R12 is now illegal and the only option is to replace most of the system at a prohibitive cost of circa £2K.

Thanks for your advice, happy motoring!

Russ.

 

[guydewdney]

1) take to an indy like andy gale in brum or george fraser in london (there are many such peopel) who will charge a LOT less than 400 quid for a service.

2) nothing really springs to mind as specialist - any good bosch agent will be able to check such a system

3) sorry - crap - talk to a decent air con specialist - i used (iirc) stiff nipples - make sure a lubricant is added to the air con fluid.

take note that a 123 TE isnt worth THAT much - and wont ever be collectable, so dotn go mad. buy a ahaynes and do it yourself (excep replacing roadsprings which is a nightmare and requires V expensive specialist tools)

guy