[Fonzi]

I had an underemployed friend who was borrowing my truck go take a look at this sack, and he made it sound like a reasonable purchase. I said WTF, and bout something like my 34th MB (or somewhere in that ballpark). He dragged it home for me on the Dolly. So I didn't even have to do anything other than send the seller a PayPal payment, and this arrived at my friend's house on the back of my truck. Can you believe it took me so long?

My friend with the warehouse full of all the cars has been very frustrated with his 1989 300te purchase and the fact that his mouse infested abandoned car with ~90k mile wagon still isn't running right, and looks pretty bad with peeling clearcoat over teal paint. He strongly discouraged my purchase. But in my opinion, the wheels will nearly pay for my purchase, and it doesn't appear to be an eyesore. Plus it runs and drives. Yes, it's got a big oil leak, but whatever. Either I will part it out or put a different engine in it, or just get rid of it. All fun!

So here's my new-to-me 1992 300te (fake) AMG.

And here's the type of mess it leaves behind when it's parked overnight and runs in place for a little while. The oil seems to be not too far from the oil filter. So maybe it's just a stupid leak. Then again, the coolant looks like hell and the radiator isn't strapped to the radiator support right now. Hmm...

 

[tonysmallz]

Looks great, and in better condition that current 2000+ w210s

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[humblejoe]

HA, I had to fight the urge not to jump on that one.
Wheels alone made it worth it.

Welcome to the wagon family....

 

[Fonzi]

I've always liked MB wagons, and have always been impressed with how cheaply they can be obtained.

The rear driver wheel definitely has cut marks on it and rubs making a right turn. I'm pretty sure these wheels are CLK Style I wheels, which would make the rear 8.5x17 et30. I'm guessing that with the 245 tire, that's just too much.

The muffler in the trunk with a cut section of pipe is a definite bummer since I won't be able to slap that back on there. I've obtained a used exhaust system from a parts r129 before and wonder if the w124 wagon would work for this. Then again, I probably only need a straight pipe but would prefer a quite car. I wonder why the exhaust was cut off. Hmm...

The car sputters under acceleration and low rpms. I assume this is the typical sideways distributor cap issue, but honestly haven't even checked to see if this is the same as the 1989 300te @rwd4evr has. I assume it is.

The updated interior with the power seats is pretty nice. I'm not sure that the 1989 wagon has the power seats.

Like his, the second row seat backs seem stuck. I'm looking forward to working out the kinks with this thing and making it operate the way it should. Just learning how the sunroof operates was fun.

 

[LeftCoastGeek]

its nearly exactly the same M103 engine used on all 300Es, although the 90-92's had some very minor tweakage. note that 1993 300E's are actually 3.2L with the 104.992 engine, which is very different, with electronic injection rather than CIS-E.

 

[humblejoe]

Sadly the rear wagon muffler is wagon specific, it sits horizontally across the back vs sedan's front to back set up. But if you are handy with the welder, anything's possible.

 

[Fonzi]

Sadly the rear wagon muffler is wagon specific, it sits horizontally across the back vs sedan's front to back set up. But if you are handy with the welder, anything's possible.

I'm not handy with a welder, but do have a welding setup currently at @rwd4evr 's "Shop" which I consider more of a warehouse junkyard. His muffler is off his wagon, but I don't think he cut the pipe like mine was cut only an inch or so behind the resonators. A cheap repair is definitely on order here. But honestly this is probably the least of the cars problems at the moment. First the radiator needs to be fastened back in place. Then figure out why it is missing on acceleration. Then address the oil leak. Maybe then I will address the muffler situation. Hopefully the first three items will be easy fixes.

 

[humblejoe]

Oh, and I can show you how the seatbacks are released if they are being stubborn. (guess this is the new "least of wagons problems )

Hoping 722.3 car will be ready in the next few weeks for ya.

 

[Fonzi]

I am baffled that I can't find a solution to the hood not staying open (unless I stand it up close to vertical). @rwd4evr 's wagon has the same problem. Is there a spring or hinge that has failed inside the fender?

I may have to fashion myself a broomstick if there's not an easy solution.

 

[LeftCoastGeek]

there's definitely springs involved, and I can't see where they are. all 3 of my hoods stay up, and even go up on their own when they are 75% of the way up already.

spring is shown on factory parts diagram, but certainly not visible from under the hood?

 

[Fonzi]

Now that I own a w124, I will take a real interest in learning them. I recently had a friend bust a w126 hood hinge, and I had to get inside the fender to replace the nuts for the hinge. I could certainly see how it's possible that the springs are in there too. I was searching and found a weak thread on another forum saying springs are behind the "wings".

 

[humblejoe]

Yep, its behind the fender. Search for fender removal, bet you'll see the hinge on a pic.

 

[[email protected]]

After finding a picture showing what to look for, remove the fender liner and I think you can get to the spring without removing the fender.

 

[Fonzi]

Thank you all!

Is the hood spring failure a pretty common occurrence in w124? Or just a fluke that the two w124 I've interacted with?

 

[magicbigdaddy]

Thank you all!

Is the hood spring failure a pretty common occurrence in w124? Or just a fluke that the two w124 I've interacted with?

First I have heard of hood spring issues. I've had over 10 w/124's over the years. :nerd

 

[gatorblue92]

I'm glad someone on here got that one. I was VERY tempted but have too much going on with my current cars to deal with at the moment. Text me if you need a hand and I can come take a look at the rear seats. I'm pretty certain I have a pair of the later W124 turn signals since that car looks like it needs them and I need to get you the headlights for the other wagon.

 

[Fonzi]

I looked up the lenses and see I can get a pair on eBay for only about $25-30, or maybe a single from Lithuania or Latvia for about $14-18. I should probably just order something to decrease the eye-sore factor of this car that's currently on the city street. I do happen to have a really nice MB wagon car cover that was too nice to keep over @rwd4evr 's green w124, but man it fits a w124 wagon well. All the MB car covers on the street sure look a little conspicuous though. LOL. I'm probably one of the only people to pick up the trash on that street though. So I don't feel bad about parking all my parts-car-quality vehicles out there. Some are actually even registered.
@gatorblue92 That would be awesome if you want to come take a look. There's no rush on this thing though, and I haven't even pulled the junk out of the back to check and see if the third row seat is there/functional.

I am surprised by the moisture level that must have been present to cause what seems like rusty hinges on both of these wagons. I think I saw rust around the hinges of the third row seat or the storage area at the back that I tried to open.

The spare tire and tool storage areas on the side were messy and a little surface-rusty, but I was pleased to find so many lug bolts, a first aid kit, good spare, etc, all in addition to the MB tool kit laying on the passenger front floor. That's the kind if stuff I never leave in a car if selling as cheaply as I bought this wagon. And I sure would not have left on the CLK AMG wheels.

Speaking of which, it seems like the rear wheels are 8.5x17 et30 with the CLK sizing 245/40/17. They really poke, and the driver rear is definitely rubbing around corners which may point to an issue. But I seem to recall @ccrelan telling me that 8x16 et34 (early r129 stock) is really about as stuffed as you can go on a w124.

I'm thinking about taking the wheels off before the tires are true garbage. That is probably going to be pretty high on the priority list. Or I could just try the baseball bat thing on the rear wheel wells. The paint is already all cracked up there. Perhaps that rear fender is bent in from some type of accident.

Anyone know if the 245/40/17 on 8.5x17 et30 should rub on the rear?

 

[Fonzi]

Ok. I took a few minutes this morning to mess with the back seats a bit. The toughest part was figuring out how to remove the rear headrests, but I got it. I discovered that the 3rd row seat bottom had just come disconnected, and l snapped it back in no problem.

There's tons of white calcium looking stuff, maybe baking soda? mold? Either way, I need to vacuum it out. The tan carpets are losing all the black rubber bottom and making a huge mess too. Fortunately the car came with a set of rubber MB mats too. Nice!

The trim for that rear driver side door is in the trunk, along with what look like two hood seals. I keep getting these scissor jack's from non-mb cars in my cheap purchases. I'm not sure why, but they are handy for other stuff. I just want to get them out of my MB cars.

And here are a few pics of the rubbing tire issue. I really don't want to trash that rear tire, as they look like they've got plenty of life in them.

And finally. Here's a video driving it around the block.

 

[gatorblue92]

I love that you are jamming to Adele lol

 

[Fonzi]

I love that you are jamming to Adele lol

I was a little worried about the perception of that. But I'm comfortable in my sexuality and music tastes. In my defense, the antenna is broken. So rather than hunting stations, I left it on one that comes in well. I put what's left of the antenna back in to see how it works, but didn't try other stations yet.