Thanks, Wilton! On Feb 25, 2013, at 9:46 AM, WILTON <wilt...@nc.rr.com> wrote:
> 'Nother ATTABOY! > > Wilton > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Penoff" <d...@penoff.com> > To: "Mercedes List" <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > Sent: Monday, February 25, 2013 8:39 AM > Subject: [MBZ] Weekend Report (long) > > >> All in all a very productive weekend with the S500. Saturday started with >> the construction of a set of ramps. >> I couldn't bear to part with $40 or $50 for the metal Harbor Freight models, >> so I went to Lowe's and bought a couple of 2x10x12s and made my own by >> cutting progressively longer pieces that I stacked on top of each other to >> form a ramp. A pass on the end of each board with a 45 degree angle, plenty >> of glue and deck screws between each layer and a pair of very functional >> ramps were now ready for my car. >> Next I took on my Craftsman floor jack that has been acting up for some >> time. The "speed lift" function hasn't been working, and it has been lifting >> less and less as time goes on. I had done some research as far as >> adjustments and repairs, but these yielded no results. I suspect I might >> have been low on fluid, but for the life of me I couldn't find a place to >> fill it. Finally, after a very thorough inspection, I found a plastic plug >> in the side of the hydraulic cylinder. I pried the plug out and realized >> that this was the fill port. After I put almost 6 ounces of hydraulic fluid >> in it, it was once again lifting as it had in the past. I still don't have >> the "speed lift" function, but I'll compromise in order to have full lifting >> capabilities again. >> And now to the car.... Previous inspection had shown that the front flex >> disc had some hairline cracks in it, but the rear was starting to fail with >> tears and cracks readily apparent. Not having done a flex disc since a W126 >> I was in for a surprise. The W140 has 8 bolts rather than 6, and the flex >> disc in front is a lot more difficult to access than ones in earlier models. >> Thank goodness for pry bars and magnetic pickups. >> The rear flex disc was far more accessible, especially after the "guard" or >> strap was removed. It appears that on this chassis there is a metal strap >> that wraps around the drive shaft to prevent it from lashing around should >> it break loose. While you can work around this, it's fairly easy to unbolt >> one end and bend it out of the way to better access the bolts on the rear >> flex disc. Again, lots of brute force and use of a pry bar to get everything >> apart. >> It goes without saying that I have not been on a creeper for such a long >> time in a great while. When I woke up Sunday morning I was hurting in places >> I didn't even know I had. Fortunately, I had saved the simpler tasks for >> Sunday. >> First order of business was the fuel filter. Since I had removed the cover >> that protects the fuel pump and filter to access the nut that holds the >> strap around the driveshaft yesterday, access was a simple matter. With the >> judicious use of rubber plugs and caps I was able to swap the fuel filter >> with a minimum of fuel loss. A pretty simple operation. With cover back in >> place I was ready to move on... >> Next was a flush and fill of the SLS system. I had noted that the fluid was >> very dark and there was some sort of black crud in the screen, but I hadn't >> looked much beyond that. >> I put some clear tubing on the return line and ran it into a clear bottle. I >> removed the cap and screen and proceeded to run the engine to pump the >> reservoir down to the bottom. I found a bit of black crud in the bottom and >> sides of the reservoir, which I was able to clean out using a dust-free >> cloth wrapped around the end of a piece of coat hanger. I would have liked >> to remove the reservoir and cleaned it more thoroughly, but my Mercedes >> Martha Stewart-ness was on the ebb by this time. >> After a liter or so of fresh fluid I was getting clear fluid out of the >> system. I shut it off and topped up the reservoir. Now to the filter/screen. >> There was a large slug of the black crud in the bottom of the filter screen. >> When I separated the screen from the cap, imagine my surprise when I saw >> what appeared to be the remains of a large rubber O-ring in the bottom of >> the screen! This was the source of the black crud in the system - the O-ring >> was apparently not something that should have been in contact with hydraulic >> fluid, as it was breaking down and was soft and falling apart. I had >> mistakenly ordered a replacement screen/filter, thinking that this system >> was like earlier SLS systems that had the small pleated paper filter >> elements in them, but in this case my lack of attention worked in my favor. >> The SLS system in the W140 has a fine mesh screen that filters the hydraulic >> fluid, and it's not a consumable item like the older pleated paper filters >> are. I could have cleaned the old screen and it would have been perfectly >> passable, but since it was covered with the remains of the broken down >> rubber part that was lodged in the base of it, I elected to put the new >> screen on and leave the old one to the rubbish. Reassembled the screen and >> cap, put it back on the reservoir, attached the return line and checked the >> level. All is well. >> Lastly, I wanted to clean the connections on the instrument cluster, as the >> coolant temperature gauge was flakey. It might read accurately for a few >> seconds, then flip to full scale, then down, then back etc. While I knew >> that coolant temperature was within operating limits, if you're trained to >> watch your instruments, scanning them on a regular basis and seeing one at >> full scale catches your eye immediately, even if you know it's an aberrant >> reading. >> I had tested the sender and wiring, so I knew it had to be an issue in the >> cluster. Getting my handy home made instrument cluster pullers out, the >> cluster came out easily. >> Unlike earlier models, the W140 has four connectors, two large round >> octal-like sockets, one on each side, and two small black rectangular >> sockets, each located near the larger sockets. These came apart with some >> effort and the cluster was free. >> With the cluster safely located on top of a towel on the kitchen table, I >> removed the back cover (secured with some small Torx screws) and was faced >> with a circuit board of a complexity I have never seen in a Mercedes. Yikes! >> Further inspection showed that this board was held on to the cluster with >> only three small Torx screw, after which were removed left nothing but the >> pin and socket connectors for the various cluster elements. With the circuit >> board removed I got out my Kaig DeOxIt and some Q-Tips and went to work. I >> cleaned all of the pins along with a skinny contact strip that provided >> connection to the board from the cluster. I cleaned the sockets on the board >> as well. >> Once reassembled, the cluster went back in after each connector in the car >> received a good shot of Kaig DeOxIt. I reconnected the battery, turned the >> key, and everything lit up and appeared to work. I then set out to reprogram >> the radio and reset the power windows and sunroof. >> The drive to work this morning revealed a working coolant temperature gauge >> which now reflects the proper reading and doesn't make me panic when I scan >> the gauges... >> A postscript: For those who read the posts about my experiences with this >> car, please do not construe my near obsessive behaviors as an indication >> that there are defects with the car or that I am somehow unhappy with it. >> For some twisted reason some members of the list have interpreted my >> questions about it and the work I have done as such and have been suggesting >> to the former owner that I have been experiencing a myriad of problems and >> am unhappy with the car. This is not the case, and never has been. I would >> suggest that those of you who have taken it upon yourselves to interpret my >> experiences as such and then "tattle" to the former owner get your shorts >> out of a knot and mind your own business. >> Those of you who know me well understand that I am borderline obsessive >> about my cars and as a result go to great lengths to understand them as well >> as keep them in near perfect condition. The excessive questions I have >> posted are merely a result of my lack of knowledge of this particular model, >> and an effort to understand how it works and resolve those questions or >> concerns that I have. >> I have an ongoing discussion with the former owner who has been a great >> resource in helping me understand how this very complex car works. I am very >> pleased with the car and the purchase. >> 'nuf said. >> Dan >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
