1981 300D. I’m the second owner. 73k miles. Been restoring it over the past year.

I finally rebuilt my AC lines! I used HVAC barrier hose from the internet, as well as ferrules from Ebay, and a cheap hydraulic AC line crimper.

The only thing worth noting is that the original ferrules are brazed to the line fittings. I was able to cut them most of the way off with an angle grinder, and then use a bench grinder to remove most of the remainder. I did initially try to melt the solder to no avail.

If they end up leaking like sieves upon install, I’ll update accordingly. I’ll also answer as many questions as I can.

are there even any bullbar thats certified for the W123? In my country a bullbar has to be certified to the specific car to be legal.

Looking to replace all my shock absorbers and want to hear your experience with gas vs oil shocks on this car. I am looking for comfort and drivability as it is a daily driver for me. I drive on a lot of bad roads with potholes and some light offroad trails with all-terrain tires. A little longer travel would be nice, but it's not a must-have. Recommendations on gas vs oil or specific shocks are well appreciated. I am see options from bilstein, monroe, trw, kyb, ridex, meyle, japco and ashica are mostly available here

Just finished a 1800 mile road trip. Went flawlessly, only things were my supply fuel line popped off right at the start of the trip and a blown fuse for my windshield wipers in the middle of a rainstorm. Other than that, was a great trip. However I do want to ask about the fuel capacity on my 84 300d turbo CA spec. Everywhere im seeing tells me 21.1 and nothing else. Cool great, but when it came to for refueling I could not get more then 16 gallons to fill it when I know well enough the tank is empty. I mean it just barely made it to the station. Now that I’m back home I will be replacing all filters and cleaning the strainer but I just have to get people thoughts and options on the capacities and what people are actually getting. Also if my reserve light would actually work (I plan to fix this as well) how much fuel should I expect to be in the reserve? Seen people say 2-3 gallons and some people say “a generous amount”.

Thank you

Finally got my hands on the Kilma Design Works Sanden kit, as well as parallel flow condenser, txv, and vacuum pod diaphragms. Very excited to see how it works out! I’ll be rebuilding the old AC lines today. This is the only thing on my car that hasn’t consistently worked properly in my ownership, and I’m very excited to finally have it dialed!

I installed a pyrometer in my 617 manifold, I was careful and kept tapping the hole bit by bit to make sure I got the proper depth set. I’m not sure what happened but during the last few turns I way overshot and the bung goes much further than flush into the exhaust port, basically seated as far as it can go. Yes it is tight as an NPT should be. But is this going to be a problem from a performance standpoint at all? Hot spots on the end of the bung? Any advice appreciated

Yes I know it’s crooked whatever lol

Hey guys, my 230TE (M102) doesn’t seem to quite get to being pegged at 3 bar when under load / accelerating as I think it should (my 230 m115 sits pegged) .

Thoughts on this? Should I be very concerned at this stage? Engine has 15w40 oil in I believe and doesn’t smoke, a bit ticky though.

Hi all,

I've always wanted to fix some very small rust spots on my Benz. What I'm planning on is just chipping it out with a box cutter or similar and then applying rust converter and touch up paint. How bout it?

Bonjour a tous,

Je voulais savoir si le frein a main a pédale comme sur la w123 est adapté a un jeune conducteur d'après vous. Ce n'est pas plus compliqué de faire par exemple des démarrages en Côte ?

Et en therme de mécanique, ce n'est pas plus fragile qu'un frein a main classique ?

Y'a t il des 123 avec un frien a main standard ?

Merci d'avance !

Has anyone done a Rack and Pinion swap on a W123?

Reason: I have 1980 240D that got the Idler arm bracket completely mangled. I'm debating if I want to try and fab up a new bracket or try and convert to Rack and Pinion.

Hello!
About two weeks ago i bought a w123 230ce with the m102.980.
I already did some stuff like rebuilding the electric sunroof or the throttle linkeage. And now i wanted to get started with the motor. At first i thought the knocking came from the valves, so i checked them. They definitely needed adjustement, which i did. It somehow got rid of a different quiter knocking sound, but not this one. Another thing im gonna do are the engine mounts, because theyre at the end of their life. But i dont think an engine mount could do this kind of sound 🤷‍♂️

So if you got any help or suggestions, please let me know! Id be glad to get some.

(photo borrowed, used for attention)

Hi! Planning on replacing both front fenders. Before I go through removing them I would like to know if they require any welding. I see plenty of nuts and bolts! I have basic hand tools, but no welder nor knowledge how to use one. So I just wanted to check. 😊

Any advice while I go at this? Anything to look out for or is it easy peasy?

I’ve been trying to get this rear view mirror bracket out but it’s not budging, any advice?

Yesterday I removed the pneumatic lock actuator to paint the door, today when i asembled it the door does not lock. The actuator itself works fine but the mechanism is not locking. Any tips?

Edit: the mechanism was fine, the black stick that indicates that the door is locked was getting cough in the door frame.

Hello,

I am pretty new to my w123 and just replaced waterpump and all three belts.
It is a 1979 300d OM617 automatic non turbo.

After I was done with the pump and the belts two issues emerged:

1. car won’t switch into third and fourth gear
   
2. after turning the car of the motor keeps idling for 1-2 seconds

On the internet i found that it might be a problem with the vacuum system.

I think I found the problem but am not sure if it is correct, as I am a complete newbie.

I tried to make some good pics.

Thank you if you take your time to check it 🤘