Quote:
Originally Posted by DudeWithaFiat
Yes, the headlights upgrade and alloys are in the pipeline, but not too soon since I had to stretch my budget to get this beauty. But in a few months, the W124 is getting clear lens headlights and alloys.
And that blue coloured W124, is it KL-07.xx.7xx7 ? |
From the owner and driver of more than one 124, well done. It would last for the rest of your life so you could be laid in it at your funeral, providing you maintain it correctly and keep any rust in check!
Keep the car as original as possible and fit OE MB parts wherever possible, its value would increase more with retro-fitment of headlamp wipers and washer rather than Chinese-made projector lenses. The originals work well, especially if clean. But it is yours, so you can do what you like!
The suspension will last longer if you don't fit larger diameter, lower profile tyres. They won't make it go better, anyway, the bumps would just shock everything more. Some people swear by the extra cushioning with 205/65/15s' deeper sidewalls over the standard 195/65/15s (sidewalls which will also be more compliant because of the different tyre to rim width ratio), others find they don't help.
The car is the last Mercedes made to be as good as its engineers could manage - they were real old-school engineers back in the 70s and early 80s when this car was developed, didn't listen to the salesmen when engineering it. Which is why as the years go by, the cars' virtues become ever more apparent.
Enjoy the car! If it has the OM605 engine, the plastic fuel lines to and from the pump have a daft design which allows air in every few years. They're not expensive to buy and fairly easy to fit, well worth doing since air in the fuel is about the only thing which would stop the car from starting - the original two valve/cylinder OM602/3 didn't have this problem.
I'd also recommend dropping the fuel tank pickup at some point, to make sure there isn't an accumulation of muck in the bottom. Not a bad job to do and could save a lot of heartache and bother down the line.
When changing the fuel filter, always fill it to the brim rather than churning the starter motor to prime it. Mercedes workshops had a special air tool to re-prime the fuel lines but filling the filter right up is just as good, you need a steady hand though! Have a cloth ready to wipe any spills off the auxiliary drivebelt straight away.
Change the engine oil regularly, every 8000km I would suggest. Although the main engine bits survive old oil reasonably well, the timing chains and tensioners like clean oil, as do the hydraulic tappets and the injector pump. Replacing things is so much more expensive than changing the oil a little more frequently than if you were intending scrapping a car after a few years and 200,000 km. 1,000,000 km is quite possible for this engine with nothing more than regular oil and filter changes (remember air and fuel filter changes are as important as oil filter changes for the longevity of the engine) and maybe a injector pump vacuum cut off part.
Have the injectors checked and rebuilt if necessary with German-made internals, this isn't an expensive job and will improve the engine's economy and performance no end. Glow plugs can seize in on the later engines, they are the modern small ones and will easily snap off if stuck, so replace them and use a small amount of copper grease on the threads.
Don't forget to change the differential oil, it's easy to overlook!