Medium Pimpin' - 1995 E300 diesel build

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

sweet build man!

Thank you!

Dang that sucks!

It's always fucking something around here.

So, AccuAir called me back almost immediately and walked me through diagnosing the system. Looks like I have a failed pressure sensor, and a new one is on the way as we speak. The gentleman in their tech support office recommended that I rotate my pressure switch 180º, because as it's oriented currently, condensation can collect in the switch, which probably froze and busted the switch. Many thanks to AccuAir for their awesome customer service!

[244Brick]

Dang that sucks!

[DinanDave]

sweet build man!

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

Arrgghh.

So, good news and bad news. I have the brackets in hand, and they're beautiful! The welder did an excellent job, and they look like they're going to work great with a bit of expected trimming. I put a coat of primer and flat black just to stave off any rust for the time being:



The brackets at top go on top of the bag, and the bottom go beneath.

Now for the bad news: for whatever reason, my compressor is not being turned on by the e-Level system. I can jumper the compressor relay and everybody turns on, but the e-Level control unit isn't powering the relay itself. I spent the morning basically tearing apart my entire install, and all my wiring is good, so the fault is either with the e-Level control unit or the pressure sensor. My car is all yarded apart at the moment, but as soon as my girl gets home, I'm going to go get a generic pressure switch from the hardware store to hold me over until AccuAir gets back to me.

Damn it all.

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

Yeah, the M103 is a very solid motor, and the rest of the car is a tank. There are a lot of things on the motor that can make sketchy noises - the smog pump is a common culprit as well on the gassers. You're lucky as well in that if you're ever going to find a W124 in a junkyard, it's a 99% chance it's got an M103. Also, if the car has sat for a while, check the flex discs on the trans and diff. They rot out and get loose, and if they let loose when the car is in motion, it's ugggggly.

IN OTHER NEWS:

MY AIR RIDE BRACKETS ARE DONE!

I'm off to the welding shop to pick them up right now! HOLY FUCK! THIS IS HAPPENING!

[Dano]

thanks for the info dude will most likely get on that Bowden Cable check up when I get mine running properly. it seems to me that it has been sitting for a really long time somewhere, it takes awhile for it to start and makes weird noises where I think is the water pump. im thinking its the pump is a goner?

I did my research before buying this thing and on the reviews people say these are pretty dependable if you treat them right.

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

heck yeah bro im down lets do it. its kicking my ass right now but ill get that wagon sitting right soon

I checked out that bowden cable adjustment video you posted before after, pretty incredible on the difference. you think i could do the same shit to my 300e?
Btw i have no freaking idea about these 300e or do i know much about Mercedes overall. Dont know what i got myself into, but am willing to learn.

In my case, adjustment of the Bowden cable made such a huge difference simply because it was SO out of adjustment. When you've got that car running, check how it shifts under full throttle. If it's shifting considerably before redline when you're pushing it hard, adjustment of the cable will allow the car to rev higher before the transmission shifts. That's pretty much all there is to it.

I'll admit I don't know tons about the M103 engine or the gassers in general, but the W124 is a relatively straight-forward car. Complex, yes, but not overly-so.

So I read through this being incredibly interested in the audio build. Then the bags and wheels were fitted...

Thank you! I'm extremely excited to have the final install completed, which should be any day now! I'm also so extremely pleased with how the audio system turned out. I find myself going on drives just to listen to the stereo system. It's far from IASCA-quality, but it's certainly the nicest I've ever owned.

Its all good, my bags are supposed to be at my house today, Ill just do a little measuring and cut something out at work tomorrow! I like the idea of having the brackets way too long, i will probably be making mine within a few weeks. Im supposed to be getting a great deal on a dual compressor/management/tank set up from a buddy of mine that owns a shop here. A customer wants to go back to stock and is looking to sell the stuff, Ive already got my offer in to him and it looks good to go. I should be done with this sooner then i expected. Keep up to good work!

When you cut your bag plates, give yourself some adjustability on where the bags attach to the plate. You're going to want to offset the bags inboard by at least half an inch, perhaps more, in order to clear the shock absorber in the rear. The front has a lot more room, so you don't need to worry about it so much, but I'd probably retain some adjustability just so you can be sure to clear the supports for the upper spring cup.

Also, if you haven't gotten one already, I strongly recommend using a Klann-style spring compressor to take out the stock springs. Especially in the rear, the chunky lower control arm gets in the way of the typical external compressors. I use [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Mercedes-Suspension-Coil-Spring-Compressor/dp/B007WKEMPA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1387466704&sr=8-3"]this one[/ame] and it works fine, though you may find you still have to loosen the LCA from the subframe in order to get the spring out.

[Ey3dol]

Glad to hear the world will soon have another W124 on air! FYI, I got nervous about clearance and I bumped the tube on the upper bag bracket to 3" long. I think I'm going to wind up with brackets that are way too long, and then I'll just trim 'em down as needed. As soon as I've got everybody together and sitting on bags, I'll post up the final tube lengths on each bracket.

I think I still owe you measurements on the bag plates from Slam Specialties, but they're off at the fab shop for the moment... sorry dude

Its all good, my bags are supposed to be at my house today, Ill just do a little measuring and cut something out at work tomorrow! I like the idea of having the brackets way too long, i will probably be making mine within a few weeks. Im supposed to be getting a great deal on a dual compressor/management/tank set up from a buddy of mine that owns a shop here. A customer wants to go back to stock and is looking to sell the stuff, Ive already got my offer in to him and it looks good to go. I should be done with this sooner then i expected. Keep up to good work!

[NeilP]

So I read through this being incredibly interested in the audio build. Then the bags and wheels were fitted...

[Dano]

heck yeah bro im down lets do it. its kicking my ass right now but ill get that wagon sitting right soon

I checked out that bowden cable adjustment video you posted before after, pretty incredible on the difference. you think i could do the same shit to my 300e?
Btw i have no freaking idea about these 300e or do i know much about Mercedes overall. Dont know what i got myself into, but am willing to learn.

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

^ maybe we should make a joint appearance once you've got that rad-ass little wagon sitting where you like it

So, I filled the tank today, and other than the usual bullshit with convincing the attendant that my car does indeed take diesel (a constant fight around here), I noticed something interesting about my fuel economy. Namely, the Bowden cable adjustment seems to have helped dramatically:

Before adjustment: 23.3 MPG average
After adjustment: 27.9 MPG

Now, this is just one tank I'm comparing here, and it had a little highway driving on it whereas I usually only put city miles on the car, but still, that's pretty rad. I figure that with the car shifting at 3k all the time, I was basically lugging the motor everywhere and into the throttle way more than I needed to be.

So there ya go. This might just be turning into a Celli bullshit thread. STANCE WILL BE HAPPENING SOON, I SWEAR.

[Dano]

Thank you both!



That looks like an awesome project! I've been wanting to do a shoot after mine's on the ground, and it would be cool to have a pre-facelift like yours to shoot with!

I haven't made it to any of the RDM meets yet. When I lived in Seattle, I was heavily into the show / meet scene up there, helped organize some of the old Golden Gardens meets, was involved with a fairly well-known (and now defunct) team, that kind of stuff. Circa 2005 or so, I kinda swore it all off on account of all the fucking drama, and I've avoided the "scene" ever since. Still, the RDM thing sounds pretty low-key, so who knows, I might make an appearance at some point. The old Merc has a long way to go before I'm willing to put it on public display, though

Thanks bro, I just had to have it even though im running another complete opposite project right now. Civic wagon which I love gets killer mpg. Lol. But the benz shit im in love hoping to get to it next year maybe bring if not earlier it would be awesome to do a shoot with yours man but I dont think it will be soon, hope you'll still have yours by the time I get my bitch running.

I see understood. I freaking **** the car drama bullshit myself to the core when people get all fired up whos make model is the shit. Like some hardcore jdm people no offense but it's old, I have the love and passion for all car builds.
It seems to me that this RDM meet is alright so far not a drama scene everyone comes out here from american low riders to imports and german cars. Pretty packed at times. So far so good. Havent been their in a while though busting ass to get my project done!
You should definitely let that black benz roll up sometime and appear in public

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

awesome, i was waiting for an update on this. My build thread will be starting shortly!

Glad to hear the world will soon have another W124 on air! FYI, I got nervous about clearance and I bumped the tube on the upper bag bracket to 3" long. I think I'm going to wind up with brackets that are way too long, and then I'll just trim 'em down as needed. As soon as I've got everybody together and sitting on bags, I'll post up the final tube lengths on each bracket.

I think I still owe you measurements on the bag plates from Slam Specialties, but they're off at the fab shop for the moment... sorry dude

[Ey3dol]

awesome, i was waiting for an update on this. My build thread will be starting shortly!

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

Great build! Subscribed.

nice attention to detail. can't wait to see more

Thank you both!

I picked this up last week for $640 has some rear end damage and starting issues. But with time ill get at it.
Thanks for the support bro im gona need it later down the road when i get deeper into this 300e build. But for now it sits at my dads place until i get the resources and time.
And i read some of your stuff on here about that black benz definitely liking it. Good stuff man keep it coming.
Why i ask cause i saw ur "PDX" was wondering if you ever come up to RDM meets on sundays?
Maybe when i get mine running we could go for a shoot or something would love to see that boat in person
Im from se portland so its pretty exciting to see another 300e local

That looks like an awesome project! I've been wanting to do a shoot after mine's on the ground, and it would be cool to have a pre-facelift like yours to shoot with!

I haven't made it to any of the RDM meets yet. When I lived in Seattle, I was heavily into the show / meet scene up there, helped organize some of the old Golden Gardens meets, was involved with a fairly well-known (and now defunct) team, that kind of stuff. Circa 2005 or so, I kinda swore it all off on account of all the fucking drama, and I've avoided the "scene" ever since. Still, the RDM thing sounds pretty low-key, so who knows, I might make an appearance at some point. The old Merc has a long way to go before I'm willing to put it on public display, though