1990 civic wagon project/daily

[Dano]

wagon on the road

Havent been on here in a long time, well these are the latest updates on the wagon build for who ever is interested in the progress.
Was really busy the past 3 months with everything besides my project so time finally came to wrap it up and get her running
Their are a few things that i need to add like rear camber kits just the gap that i rolled needs to be closed up in the rear.
Also mounted the new lip which makes it look better in my opinion
So here are a few shots of my phone i took last week.

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

And I heard about those wiring harnesses but didn't really take it seriously, so I might even have a bad harness possibly. Ill check it out also when ill be getting some time on hand. They expensive to get brand new? Funny part is that my buddies 94 420e has the same issue

You know, upon further research, I'm not sure whether yours has the bad insulation or not. Some say that the issue doesn't apply to the M103, though others say anything from '92 'til '97 is affected. As usual, the Mercedes world thinks it knows tons and winds up contradicting itself...

Since '90-'93 were transitional years, in reality, your car could have either the M103 or the M104, though the latter is usually marked with a badge on the back reading 300E-24 to signify the 24-valve M104 engine. I'd have to see under the hood to be sure which of the two you've got. In either case, I'd strip a little wire loom back somewhere near the engine block or exhaust manifold and see what's going on in there.

The harness is unfortunately not inexpensive: it's $800 to $1000 on the couple of parts sites I've seen, but people can and do rebuild them themselves - a time-consuming job to be sure, but doable. Apparently the harness for your buddy's '94 is a bit less expensive.

[Dano]

I'll admit I don't know tons about the gassers, but the first places I'd look are the OVP relay and the IACV. On the latter, if it sticks open, it can cause stalling. You can clean it with some carb cleaner, and I think you'll be surprised at how much crap is stuck in it. As for the OVP, most seem to consider them to be wear parts, and it seems like on the gassers just about everything related to drivability is affected by an OVP failure.

Also, 1992 is the very first year of the biodegradable wiring harnesses. If your engine harness is original, it WILL go bad and require replacement, if it hasn't already. There's a date code stamped somewhere on the harness, but I'm not sure where on an M103, so check around for crispy insulation on the harness. If you can find the date code, you want anything after 1997, IIRC. If your harness is original, they can cause all kinds of drivability issues due to shorting wires.

Thanks for the info man highly appreciated, because im a noob to the benz life lots of learning to go and adapting.
Ill check my OVP and IACV, but I went through a lot of clean already with my throttle body and sensors, also my fuel lines, replaced my fuel filter, because I have no idea how long its been sitting around dead.

And I heard about those wiring harnesses but didn't really take it seriously, so I might even have a bad harness possibly. Ill check it out also when ill be getting some time on hand. They expensive to get brand new? Funny part is that my buddies 94 420e has the same issue

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

I really want to start my 300e Benz build, but I cant figure out this issue im having with it. Was wondering if you might know better then me because im new to the mercedes, and got no clue what im dealing with. So my benz is a 92 straight 6 3.0 gas eater, heard some lots of good things about these motors. But im having a problem with my idling, the benz starts right up when its cold drives fine for about 10-15 mins then when it warms up it just goes to shit, starts dying and idles. I did alot of research and lots of trouble shooting on it no luck. Thought you might know whats going on with it

I'll admit I don't know tons about the gassers, but the first places I'd look are the OVP relay and the IACV. On the latter, if it sticks open, it can cause stalling. You can clean it with some carb cleaner, and I think you'll be surprised at how much crap is stuck in it. As for the OVP, most seem to consider them to be wear parts, and it seems like on the gassers just about everything related to drivability is affected by an OVP failure.

Also, 1992 is the very first year of the biodegradable wiring harnesses. If your engine harness is original, it WILL go bad and require replacement, if it hasn't already. There's a date code stamped somewhere on the harness, but I'm not sure where on an M103, so check around for crispy insulation on the harness. If you can find the date code, you want anything after 1997, IIRC. If your harness is original, they can cause all kinds of drivability issues due to shorting wires.

[Dano]

dooooo eeeeet

EDIT: the civic's looking fresh too, didn't want to leave it out

Thanks man appreciate the love wagon is getting to the final touches.

I really want to start my 300e Benz build, but I cant figure out this issue im having with it. Was wondering if you might know better then me because im new to the mercedes, and got no clue what im dealing with. So my benz is a 92 straight 6 3.0 gas eater, heard some lots of good things about these motors. But im having a problem with my idling, the benz starts right up when its cold drives fine for about 10-15 mins then when it warms up it just goes to shit, starts dying and idles. I did alot of research and lots of trouble shooting on it no luck. Thought you might know whats going on with it

oh man id kill for a wagovan

Wagons are awkwardly cool lookin, must admit.

Wagon is always the right choice

Sure is man

[Queef|Chief]

Wagon is always the right choice

[C.Johnston]

oh man id kill for a wagovan

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

So I got this Benz im thinking about already
After my wagon is wrapped up I might get started with these german

dooooo eeeeet

EDIT: the civic's looking fresh too, didn't want to leave it out

[Dano]

So I got this Benz im thinking about already
After my wagon is wrapped up I might get started with these german

[Dano]

I've always wanted a wagon. Yours looks like it's coming along pretty nicely!

Thanks man, that ef hatch you got looks reall good and that fitment is on point.

Must admit the wagons from the 90s look retro cool finally got my hands on one and doin things to it.

[M.Doban]

I've always wanted a wagon. Yours looks like it's coming along pretty nicely!

[Dano]

As you guys know my concern was that my front knuckles started rubbing against camber arm, you could kinda see in the picture down below that theirs a rub mark in the arm. Too much angle and lots of low is the cause most likely. I took the knuckles off and started grinding off the spots where they were way to close.

Also got my eastwood roller in today, rolled my both front and rear on the left side
i love this roller magic

Got a few more snaps of the car with my rolled fender and quarter panel for whoever is interested in the progress.

Btw my exhaust pipe is barely clearing ground i hope i dont tear the thing off somewhere

[Dano]

If it isn't hitting don't worry about it. if it does grind it off

i grinded some of my knuckle off still not enough but definitely better.

Full of win! Side and rear shot asap!

thanks man, its still parked inside the shop and blocked off so cant really get normal shots of it but as soon as it starts sweepin streets ill photo bomb this forum.

Definitely don't worry about it if it isn't hitting. When you get your roller in you should be able to widen the fenders enough to fit the +0 offset. I posted earlier about my setup (16x8.25 +0). Also you may need to check the aftermarket camber arms, the adjustments up top put it closer to the inner fender than stock and cause them to hit hard on bumps. I had stock A arms on mine and had enough natural camber for the wheels to fit inside the fenders.

Yeah the roller did help out alot i could go more low with enough space to clear the fenders and not rub, "thank goodness for rollers"
only problem is that i have so much angle that my knuckle is almost touching my coilover in the front, i did some grinding but still close, so not sure what the results will be when i start driving

I was going to answer your front lip question but it seems like you got that all sorted out.

The MK3 golf front lip fits perfectly



You can them off of ebay for dirt cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/93-99-VW-GOLF-JETTA-MK3-EURO-VR6-FRONT-BUMPER-DEEP-LIP-SPOILER-/190900899433?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AGolf&hash=item2c72948e69&vxp=mtr

So that's one option.


So far, you're making great progress, keep up the good work!


Edit: I know that's a hatch but it'll still fit.

I actually looked into the mk3 lip but decided to try out the cs front lip.
Thanks im making progress slowly but eventually ill have it rolling within a few weeks i hope.

[Chuckdee]

I was going to answer your front lip question but it seems like you got that all sorted out.

The MK3 golf front lip fits perfectly



You can them off of ebay for dirt cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/93-99-VW-GOLF-JETTA-MK3-EURO-VR6-FRONT-BUMPER-DEEP-LIP-SPOILER-/190900899433?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AGolf&hash=item2c72948e69&vxp=mtr

So that's one option.


So far, you're making great progress, keep up the good work!


Edit: I know that's a hatch but it'll still fit.

[fifty3bags]

If it isn't hitting don't worry about it. if it does grind it off

Definitely don't worry about it if it isn't hitting. When you get your roller in you should be able to widen the fenders enough to fit the +0 offset. I posted earlier about my setup (16x8.25 +0). Also you may need to check the aftermarket camber arms, the adjustments up top put it closer to the inner fender than stock and cause them to hit hard on bumps. I had stock A arms on mine and had enough natural camber for the wheels to fit inside the fenders.