Restoration Difficulty Level

[andyburns]

Blew the final satin coat on all my diff bits tonight.  Will put up some pics if I get some more time.  I did also start looking ahead to finishing off the interior as well.  I managed to paint strip all the latches that hold down the soft top hatch.  They were hand brushed with some terrible satin black when I got the car.  Obviously not the work of the guys at the factory.  I paint stripped them and discovered the finish on the bits looks like a black anodized finish.  I can get this done again but need to know if my observations are correct.  I was just going to get them gold pacifated.

Just also been reviewing the 'holy grail' car on the motoring investments site (http://www.motoringinvestments.com/MainPage.htm) and have noted that its gear bears the same finish.  Have been doing some digging and I can have the gear anodized for 60 dollar which seems to be the minimum charge.  Given its only these three components I am struggling to see the value.  I could almost chuck them back in as is or blow a very fine coat of satin black 2k. mmmm.  I wonder if the wife would notice the 60 dollars coming out of the account

[andyburns]

Some more photos of the complete parts.  Just need to sort out that last axle shaft and backing plate and I will be putting stuff back together.  Off this morning to pick up all the rubber

[andyburns]

Picked up this morning all the parts I need to put my diff back together.  A full set of rubber.  Some of its OEM and some reproduction.  

Also dropped of another load of stuff to the electroplaters today and picked up about 50% of the fasteners required to get going.  Another couple of days and I will have everything.

Stopped into Wurth on the way home and asked them what the best possible product they had for sealing diff casings.  I certainly dont want to be doing it again so told them that money was no object.  Just give me the best!

They recommended DP300 which is a flexible sealant specifically designed for metal to metal diff, gearbox and engine casings.  Cost 40NZD for a small tube, which is a small price to pay for a properly sealed diff.  I think it will be just the trick.

Also inquired about bearing locking compound to make sure the bearing are seated firmly and dont spin in their housings.  Small tube is 80NZD which is much more than I want to pay for two bearings.  Tube would probably do 500 bearings.  Will ask around and see if anyone has any they can lend me before I open the wallet.

[andyburns]

A good before and after shot.

[DaveB]

I've seen "Megi" on genuine Mercedes rubber so I think that diff carrier mount is genuine or at least OEM (sure does look like Mepi though).

[andyburns]

Dave perhaps Mepi have ripped off Megi!!  Wouldn't that be one for the books!

[rutger kohler]

Hi Andy re bearing locking compounds, Loctite "Bearing Mount 620" looks ok on the Tech Spec or Loctite "Press Fit Repair 660" for wide open spaces (up to 0.020 OD").,  Wallace Heron (local engineeering supplies should have in stock. I would have thought price would be $20 - $30.  let me know what you want to do re LH axle bearing.

cheers

Rodger

[andyburns]

Cheers Rodger,  I think I will take that advice.  Wurth is good stuff but probably not that much more superior to Loctite.  If that stuff is only 30 then 15 a bearing is much more bearable!

Think I will also try and put in some mechanical interference as well to be sure.  Will try and get onto the bearing tomorrow.  Thanks for the support and help.

[66andBlue]

Dave perhaps Mepi have ripped off Megi!!  Wouldn't that be one for the books!

No Andy, Mepi ripped off Mahle...   .. Not true!!!
Mepi (Metalurgica y Pistones) is an Uruguayan company that was started by Mahle but is now independent: http://www.bizearch.com/company/Mepi_Pistones_305167.htm

[andyburns]

Alfred, thanks for that.  Have you ever used Mepi parts?  I would rather just pay the extra if anyone has had bad experience with them.  I think its just the big boot rubber mount that Mepi.  The main swing arm bush doesn't have any marking on it at all so I just don't know about that one.  I thought I genuine merc part always bore a star and part number.

The swing arm bushes are all genuine by the looks so all good to go on that front.

I could be getting obsessed about genuine gear.  The car is likely to only do very limited km's for the foreseeable future so probably not a horrendous issue if I put in a aftermarket part that will only last 60% of the OEM equivalent. 

[andyburns]

Have had a sick little girl at home for the past couple of day so have been somewhat distracted.  Managed to get her to go to sleep this afternoon and slipped out for a bit of 'tool making' to keep my mind active and my sanity intact.

Decided to copy the compression tool I saw in here for doing the job.  Was quite simple to construct and made entirely out of discarded suspension parts I have just taken out of the car.  So an all Mercedes affair which I think is really neat.

Compressing the rubber was a breeze and the large nut I welded on the back of the tools backing plate made clamping the rod in vice vertically very useful feature.

Using lots of talc helped a lot.  Just out of interest I tried the first one with none and early on in the compression you can see the rubber start to bite and balloon.  If you want them in nice and easy don't be shy with the stuff.  The wife however may kill me when she discovers I used half of her very expensive bottle.  The 230's rear end will definitely be smelling good as a result.

[andyburns]

Finished up the arms by fitting the remaining rubber and the spring plates.  Just not quite so sure about the big bolts as they have some quite deep gouges where previous owners have attacked them with cold chisels in an attempt to get them off.  I used the rattle  gun which made very quick work of them.  Not sure how much torque is required to refit but will deal with this next week when I finalize the rebuild.  Think now I just about have everything to finish up.  Waiting on the next lot of nuts and bolts at the platers and I should be good to go.

[jameshoward]

That's a great job you've done there, Andy. Looks amazing.

[andyburns]

Cheers James, your posts were a great help to me.  Thanks 

[Tomnistuff]

Andy,
While you are sleeping, I've left you this note.  The torques are from the BBB.

Shouldered castle nuts or hexagon nuts for
fastening torque arms to chassis base panel
(front of trailing arms to cone studs welded to
the floor pan)..........................10 meter-kilogram or
                       72 pounds-feet  or
                    98 newton-meters

Hexagon screws for fastening torque arm to axle tube
(those four monster 36 mm hex fasteners for the rear
of the trailing arms)................20 meter-kilogram or
                  144 pounds feet or
                  196 newton-meters

Be careful torquing those big bolts.  They have dangerously thin hexes when you are torquing them.

Tom Kizer
Quebec, Canada

[jameshoward]

I had to cut down to nearly nothing - literally the thickness of the bolt head - a 36mm socket to torque them up. FT will do, I think. You'll struggle to get a torque wrench in there.

I also have a ground down 36mm ring spanner from the same task, none of which are any good to you, I'm afraid, but it may be useful info before you dive into the task and find you need to 'amend' some tools.

[Tomnistuff]

James, my 230SL LHD is about the same age as yours, so I too had the brake shoe pivot pin brackets to deal with.  I was able to cut a 36 mm socket down to 54 mm long and use it with my thin-head torque wrench, but I had to use a jack stand to support the socket at the wrench end of the socket to keep it from twisting off the hex.  I also used a tapered wood shim between the wrench head and the pivot pin bracket to keep the socket well engaged with the hex during torquing.  I don't remember what I did on the inboard side of the trailing arm to keep the socket engaged.  I think I just used one hand to hold the socket and one to torque the wrench.   I just remember that it was a pita and scary.

[jameshoward]

Happy memories, indeed. The only 3/4" drive torque wrench I had (which is for use on tanks, so not delicate) wouldn't fit. I recall we cut down a socket and did one side FT, then went to do the other only to find it had even less clearance. 

[andyburns]

I dont get why they have to be so tight!!! Whoever put mine on last time didn't do them up to James's 'FT' spec.  They came off with a spanner!  I think whoever rebuilt it last didn't have the torque settings and guessed. 

Given that they are retained/locked with the locking tab what is the risk that they are going to come loose?  Am I missing something.  My setup seemed perfectly fine when I took it apart with no signs of excessive slop etc.  Is it possible the mercedes engineers just were a bit too paranoid???  Also what is the deal with the combination of having such a high torque setting with such a thin bolt head.  That just seem like a ridiculous oversight dont you think. 

 

[jameshoward]

Andy,

I agree completely. Provided that you manage to get the rubber to compress sufficiently to have some resistance/ensure there's no play, you'll be fine I would have thought. If you over do it, as I have found, the pressure on the bushes has to go somewhere when you put the weight back on the suspension. If you're unlukcy, or have used lubricant to fit the parts, the bushes can pop out unevenly, which means you have to start over again.

JH

[andyburns]

The next question is do I try and tighten these up when the diff is out of the car or wait until its back in and use the weight of the car.  To be honest I would be terrified I might pull the car off the axle stands with that amount of torque.

[mbzse]

.../... tighten these up when the diff is .../... in; and use the weight of the car../... 

This is vital. Mount parts onto car, lower the car onto its wheels and make sure to roll it in the workshop say 10-20 metres back and forth again. This will allow rubber parts to settle correctly. Then torque.  If you torque mounts for the chassis rubber parts when suspension is hanging, the life expectancy of these parts as well as your ride comfort will suffer severely!  This is also true for the drive shaft intermediate mount. All well explained in the factory workshop literature.
/Hans in Sweden
.

[andyburns]

Hans, that does make sense.  If the rubber isn't in it equilibrium/normally loaded position when torqued it would be twisted and loaded to hell in normal driving conditions.    Do you have to jack the diff and swing arm into normal position before tightening.  I can imagine if the car were in the air with all the suspension lowered it could cause all sorts of issues as well.

Hans do you have an explanation to why these bushes need so much initial load on them?

[mbzse]

.../... Hans do you have an explanation to why these bushes need so much initial load on them?

Well, the car weighs quite a lot, and when travelling at speed [as you know the W113 is rated to run 200 km/h] and the wheels hit a bump or a hole in the tarmac - the forces are tremendous.
Like for a fourfold increase in speed, the kinetic energy will increase by a factor of sixteen. The kinetic energy (KE) is dependent upon the square of the speed.
KE = 0.5 • m • v2
Thus, things need to be sturdy, and positively fastened.
Over the years, I have learned never to second guess the factory engineers...  if it is there, it is for a reason!
Of course, as discussed in our Forum before, all the design solutions on our M-B cars are not ideal. There may have been restrictions due to production procedures, materials available, cost/benefit etc.
/Hans in Sweden

.

[andyburns]

Have just spent the last couple of hours reading the triple B manual.  Very German!  I am a bit 'sectioned 34/6'ed out if you know what I mean.

To change the topic to something completely non technical just for a while, today I decided to attempt to trace the history of the car.  In New Zealand up until a few years ago all cars came with ownership papers, a chronological history of who owned the car, odometer at change over,  address and date of change of owner ship.  These papers were all hand written and passed from owner to owner with a central government body making the changes when sent the change of ownership along with the registration papers were supplied.  I used to love pawing over the history.

A few years back with the PC world we lived in the privacy laws all changed.  Confidentiality became the flavor of the day.  The scheme was scrapped and all this history was lost.  I don't know about you guys but I think in an era where most people put up all sorts of outrageous details about themselves daily on facebook, that not being able to know who owned my car in 1964 seems a tad out of proportion.

The central government agencies still hold this data but wont give it out without a special reason.  Today I wrote a long pleading novel and paid my 15 dollar application fee to try and figure out a bit more of the history of my little 230.

The previous owner was not a car buff and had long discarded all the papers.  He told me very little of the history and after money was exchanged didn't respond to any of my emails.

I found out last year through a chance discussion with a staff member of a prominent Mercedes dealership that my car was the first ever 113 to be imported new into New Zealand.   I also found out latter on that he had been wrapped over the knuckles for even giving out this information.  Never could figure out why as it was fairly generic.  I did write to the general manager and ask for the details of the original owner etc.  Never got any sort of reply.

It would be fantastic to see where in New Zealand it has been driven and who owned it.  Will let you know where I get too with this one.  The application has to be answered in ten days.  Not holding my breath.   

She is still a mystery to me.