Mercedes W123 doesnt get new brakes
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- Today I set out to make the 230E's brakes work. That didnt happen
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If I remember correctly, the drain plugs front and rear, if clogged, starts dreaded rust.
Oh, your vehicles keep giving the gifts that keep giving.
I would have given up ages ago. So I applaud your tenacity.
Check Mercedes source for problem areas for these models. I don't think it looks good, but who knows, I could be wrong. I guess one must remain hopeful.
One good reason why you should never put underseal over rusty metal
also who got distracted by the bloke trying to push his motorbike up his driveway?
The problem is that all old mercs of this era from as early as the w108 all the way to the w201 came with this rubberized underseal from the factory.
Soup classic motoring is well worth checking out if you’ve got a W123, his editing is next level as well! Glad the mercs back though, can’t wait to see this tank back on the road.
He was the Irish guy who's name I forgot
@@furiousdriving George Karellas. Here's his website www.georgekarellas.com/.
I watched his latest W123 video yesterday. You both seem to be making similarly heroic efforts to restore W123s that are slighlty rustier than expected.
I hope you both succeed.
Really great video, sorry you’ve discovered more rust than you’d hoped for but on the plus it’s more content for us to enjoy
You've got to admire the work ethic of this guy
I watch you with your fleet and have decided that I'm happy to live classic cars vicariously through you, couldn't cope with all those woes 🙃
Hi from NZ. My w123 coupe had a nasty hole in the firewall - under the battery tray is the classic spot on these cars. And yes, that underseal is a nightmare, disbonds and traps moisture and then hides the damage. I had to remove all the dash / blower etc in order to weld up the firewall! Hence my quick resto is still in pieces 5 years later LOL. So glad to hear yours is starting consistently after all the dramas. Cheers, James.
The rust on these cars makes me feel kind of sick, reminding me of my dad's cars in the UK bodywork issues after just 6 years, and fighting rusted bolts. I emigrated to NZ 24 years ago, and it seems to me cars don't rust like that down here, they just wear out. Or is this just an illusion?
@@andrewfarrow4699 Hi. I moved to NZ from the UK back in 2002. I think it is because NZ doesn`t use salt on the roads when it gets cold so corrosive effects are less. My W123 was imported to NZ from Hong Kong where it was first registered. Apart from the floor pans and the dreaded bonnet hinge pocket / firewall issue corrosion mine is not awful. Compared to my Spitfire + Land Rover that I owned in England - they were both rust buckets! I also have a Rover P6 down here in NZ, again very little rust. It amazes me what people are willing / able to restore in England.
@@jamescross2229 Of course, we don't have the salt. I hadn't thought of that. Cool choice of cars, just like Mr Furious. I would go with a P6 V8 if my wife would allow it. My dad bought a brand new V8 P6 Mk1 and loved it for 6 long years. But I think it had some rust in various spots.
Yeah, been there, done that! The underseal is good but it only needs a small hole to allow moisture in and it spreads very quickly. Check the drains near the bonnet hinges too, they block easily and cause issues. Very common on W123's. Overall though, there are much worse examples out there. My 280 was pretty bad which was exactly what ended it for me. Yours seems to be much better, good luck.
It was the sound deading foam getting wet that caused me a week of welding
Common on all German cars sadly. Primitive form of planned obsolescence.. conveniently always seems to be a collection of ecus right where the water sits
I'd be ploughing my money into this black hole rather than the Rover cab!
I've just bought a w123 230e I think it's number 10 I thought it was fairly rust free now finding rust that I never seen good determination on your car restoration
So you found the curse of the 123! I’ve owned four alfas and now own a w123 and a s123, all of them known to rust badly. Welding is hard because people tend to scare one up by saying how hard it is, it really is not. I had to replace the entire floor of my w123 and TIG-welded it and it was my first major welding job, now six years after i really do not regret it, it still is the best car i’ve ever owned which led me to buy the s123 that also required some welding. However, i’ve come to experience gas welding with this one and i can highly recommend it! It is very tactile and probably the easiest and fastest method of welding in my oppinion and the metal does not neccesary has to be hundred percent clean to get a good weld. Fix it and have the best car you can get!
Best wishes to you sir, you’ll make it! Love to watch these videos!
You have discovered the achillies heel of any 80's/90's E-class (and S-class), their infamous front wings.
Replacements are plentiful, but pattern ones will need varying degrees of 'adjusting'.
Not bad for a near 40 year old car though, and the whole experience of owning and driving one is well worth the effort.
Another great tinkering video
Matt! Didn't know whether to laugh or cry watching this...sorry. There is SO much work to get this car in good order again. Would make great viewing though. I hope you will carry on with the old Merc. Love your videos, always a great watch.
Matt, if you're not already subscribed, I highly recommend you look at "Soup classic motoring" on the metubes. The lovely chap in charge of that channel has pretty much entirely rebuilt a w123 under the skin using very basic tools, and his production values are incredibly high - featuring stop motion!
His voice and narration are lovely, with a few nice subtle jokes here and there.
His previous project: a classic range rover. His next project: a Lotus Esprit.
Yes he was the Irish bloke whose name I forgot
Aye, his production values are great.
@Antonio Farina Hehe, it's funny all the different circles of car channels on here. Love it
my sierra passed this yr all clear but i do dread mot time as i hate rot but u still find it, i usually have to pay as i cant weld, great seeing the merc again love this car and the volvo, i love 740s and 760s and the older estates
All the cars you buy are basically "old" meaning rusty I should put them a lift and have a really good pock around and weigh up if they are really worth restoring first of all !
Maybe in future when you set you mind on a job ? Do it blindfolded so your not taken off down a path of misery and destruction 😂, you really are a glutton for punishment but i admire your resilience and determination. Been watching for a year now or so and really enjoy your style and dry sense of humour , keep up the great content 👍
thanks, glad youve enjoyed it (my pain that is)
From brakes to bodywork in a couple of minutes... Hope you get it all sorted. It reminds me so much of my quattro 20 years ago. One big rusting piece of sh*t. Disassembled the whole car, had it sandblasted and then whole chassis was welded, after that I had the car zinc coated. And bought every piece of body panel new, all rusted out. And every panel before it was screwed back on the body of the car treated with Dinitrol. This stays soft and doesn't let moisture through. Tectyl dries out and the rotting proces starts underneath the coating. Good luck with the welding.
thanks, I think Ill be getting a new (better) welder to start this
Nothing that has stood for 20 years is going to be a quick fixer upper .
Lovely video, Matt. I have only seen one of these Mercedes once in the last 15 years ago. Good luck with the welding and the brakes. I would not chance the calipers, but would rather see them done. It is almost a certainty that they will be seized. Might as well bite the bullet and the job right. Only need bleed the brakes once that way.
I hope that you have rescued the chrome wing trim, tricky to get hold of and expensive!
I always save all the trim and clips!
this is where im at with my w123! the other side of the car will sadly be the same. am sending myself on a welding course next year to save money!
klokkerholm wings are the best fitting aftermarket wings out there btw, if you can find any!
Ill bookmark that name as a google search as I definitely need some now!
I think we need to have a whip around and get you a garage space with a ramp and some nice new tools to help you out of the up and coming winter!!
Im up for that!
Vantage point video is welding a Talbot camper van with mega rust in the front. Worth a look, He used an old bonnet to obtain free metal for repair sections which I thought was a good idea. Your wing might come in useful yet....
Thats a good idea, its much thicker than the sheet steel Ive got
Sadly you will find a whole lot more Rust under that Mercedes Underseal. And if you have Water in the Carpets check the Pockets under the Bonnet Hinges.
He sure will not a car worth doing now
Take a look at the other wing as well? Seems likely to be rotten as a pear, shame the previous owner bodged so much. It may be the smallest consolation but I love a video where rotten metal gets cut out and shiny new stuff gets welded in. A weird fetish of mine...😳
Lovely Jubbly. Cars we love them, but can be, let's say, so frustrating at least, and that's on a good day. Have a look at Soup Classic Motoring, he's done loads of work on the same Mercedes.
What is the electric warming tool you were using for the stubborn bolt? I might have to look into getting one!
Oh cripes. The good thing is, you have a welder and can weld. This may take longer than Melbourne in lockdown! All the very best with it. Cheers
That square thing left of the hole that you put your finger into the cabin through, is that a drain from the airvent between the bonnet and the windscreen? Where does the water go if it is clogged?
that didnt rust that much in the time Ive had it..but the book does say clear annually
@@furiousdriving I know it isn't in any way your faulth, and who has even tried to clean those drains, on an old Volvo 240 the drainage was done out larger square holes in the sills under the doors and the manual told owners to flush them every time they wash their cars. It felt silly and wrong to aim the hose at the air intake! Still, despite the sills being galvanized steel, they rusted! :)
Really laughed when I read the title of this video!
Although it is sad that this old warhorse keeps surprising you with new issues, in the end it will be a solid slab of comfortably gliding granite.
Glad to see the impact gun to good use Exellent buy, I love mine
Its so handy, gets used all the time now
@@furiousdriving coupled with your inductor heater there's no bolt too rusty ha ha
its mad how you set out with good intention to fix one thing only to find something else is more urgent and sets you sideways for the day
The rust isn’t that bad for a W123. That’s all thanks to the undercoating that cracks and traps water in between the coating and the metal. Instead of protecting against rust, it actually promotes it.
By the way, don’t be surprised if you find more rust behind the plastic liner, the hinge pocket area, rear wheel arches and floor boards.
Great video once again, though it seems you have angered some kind of deity.
Never been a Merc guy myself, my only experiance with them were a E230 1997 or so a friend of mine used to own. Drove nicely, but rusted everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. Even the roof was full of blemishes bubbling under the paint. Mostly surface rust though, being the worst around the wheelarches. He tasked me to make it look as good as possible (Less terrible) for a cost of 100 Euro in all, lasting 6-12 months or so. I sanded pretty much the entire car down and put generous amounts of fiberglass putty on it, then painted over it. It wasnt a repair I was proud of, but I just could not see any alternative for his demands in that case. After that, I certainly didnt like Mercedes much. The car wasnt even that old. Shocking.
However: I can very much see how something like a W123 could be worth the effort. You will get there, Matt!
Just your resident Aussie here reminding you all what an awesome, unsalted road country, we have over here.
That said my Alfa 156 Sportwagon has three rust holes under the windscreen cowl, lol. Probably doesn't help that it's red in colour. My 156 sedan in silver has zero rust holes under there.
You can go off people...
Great job with the benz
Scary amount of rust!!😯🤔😷😁👍😎
Looks like you need to take the other wing off as well. Might be worth looking at the back arches as well
New to channel thoroughly enjoying man v machine my money is on you Matt !
That was a big let down, Matt, but I admire your tenacity to carry on. It would indeed be a good idea to have a dry unit but make sure to have it close to home because you have seen Ian's struggle with his previous one 😉 I think you have a major advantage doing most of your jobs on your own drive. Maybe make some kind of covered car port on your drive? Or try to get a corner in some unit closeby with a sponsor deal
I had a garage 20 minutes away once and it was always a pain as Id forget something every time and it wasnt secure enough to leave tools there. I need something big, safe and lose to home
@@furiousdriving isn't there a commercial estate nearby where some company has some spare space?
Hi Matt,that was a different video from what it supposed to be LOL,more welding to be done.its bloody annoying but once sorted,thats ticked off the list.
Wow I wish my Fiesta wings came off that easy, think I'm going to bolt them back on when the work is finished.
I wouldn't, it's structural on the Fiesta
@@jimmyk9523 Yeah I've heard mixed results bolting them on, some said it's completely fine others say it messed the structure up. All the front end is off mine at the moment, having to fit 2 "new" wings and a front panel, £470 the panel cost me, about 10 years ago you could buy one for 90 :(
@@KutreeZ I fully restored a MK1 a couple of years back and like you considered bolting the wings on, but once I saw what you'd be bolting to (not much) and the fact you can't really seal where it joins to the front panel and A pillar I decided to weld them on. Good luck with your project :)
@@jimmyk9523 Thanks for the kind words, I may end up welding them just see how things go down the line, I was going to use M8 rivnuts to hold it all together, around 8-10 on each wing.
Nice speaking to you, take care and stay safe :)
Continue to admire your stamina and dedication to your cars Matt. Was the rust that big a surprise though? Whats your ultimate aim with the Merc? Sell or keep? 🤔
Not a massive surprise really, but always annoying to see. I was going to flip it as soon as it ran but I quite like it
If I were looking for a nice old Merc to fix up I'd be looking for the best condition Merc 190 2 litre petrol I could find for my money. This one may be a more classic car, but it brings so many problems with it.
Well, it's a W123, I'm sure you knew you would be chasing some rust. On the up-side, that is a whole lot more solid in that area than a lot are, and a lot more solid than I'm sure most people were expecting. Apparently a good heat gun and some sturdy metal blade scrapers are about the easiest way of getting rid of that rubberised underseal, also commonly found on older Volvos. You can use knotted wire brushes in a drill or grinder, but the underseal clogs them up very quickly so you'll get through a lot of them cleaning it all off...
Its better than Soup's, I was wondering if my little compressor media blaster would touch that..probably not
@@furiousdriving I guess it's worth trying the media blaster, though maybe more as an experiment than in any expectation of it really working...
did it rain in the end?
Another busy day for you and the rust strikes, press on .
Right said Fred we'll 'ave ta take the wing off.....and so we 'ad a cup of tea!
I'm going to do the...the rust, I'm doing the rust, this should be furious drivings mission. Statement 🤣
Always the rust...
Be careful that the new brake hoses aren't out of date before the welding is finished. At least you'll be working with good heavy metal. I think Furious Driving may have to become Very Patient Tinkering instead.
that is a real concern lol!
UA-cam channel Mercedes Source is an excellent reference for these old busses
He is how I figured out most of the ignition and fuel injection
well you got german car you can use the steel wing for repairs solid moters them germans had then . not now made of tin great vid keep up the good work
Those old Mercs were built and built well.
RANDOM DUDE WITH YELLOW MOTORCYCLE MADE ME CHUCKLE
I admire your ability to take the knocks these cars keep doling out to you in spades full ! That said, and whilst I love each as a car in its own right, why don’t you give yourself a break and cut one of them loose so to speak, perhaps for parts? I’m referring to the Alfa or the Mercedes or both, plus the Rover convertible. You would have so much more space and energy, and just possibly some cash back to concentrate on the Tomcat and Volvo and the garaged Rover? You might even consider a new second hand replacement car to add to the fleet? I think you have persevered with these 3 cars long enough - perhaps excluding the Alfa ? Just saying / thinking out loud. You are a stalwart in trying to save these cars but the Merc and Rover cab?????
the convertible was always a flipper, the Merc Id like to see MOTd and the Alfa is with a welder waiting to be sorted, its a very good car apart from that
furiousdriving Thanks for taking the time to reply. Agreed; the Alfa is a good car once the welding is done. I had a 145 myself 20 years ago and so I appreciate how much you like that car as I liked mine too. I agree with your other replies re Rover and Merc also. I hope I did not come across in a negative manner, that was not my intention. I admire the enthusiasm and determination you have for these projects and your presenting style is both informative and yet you don’t take yourself too seriously. Great balance. I guess I just felt sympathy for the recent series of setbacks the Rover in particular has dealt you. Keep up the work - Furious Driving is a great channel and I look forward to each new video.
Are there any updates on the w123?
You can do it matt great content !!!!!! Weld weld weld then brakes.....☕☕☕☕☕🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 i think i would have lost my mojo by know!!!!!!
I think Im going to need a better welder for this one..
@@furiousdriving you are the better welder☕☕☕☕☕and plenty of tea!!!!!
What's that magic hot thing you've got? Looks very useful.
its a Draper heat induction tool, its incredible! Some kind of magic! Its this model - Draper 80808 here's the link: amzn.to/2KTrDYV
@@furiousdriving That's brilliant! Much better (and safer) than a blowlamp.
Next task should be to go over the underside, the other three inner wheel arches, and any chassis rails with a fine tooth comb and see how bad it really is. Most of that metal in front of the A panel needs cutting out because you won't be able weld to it, it'll just burn away.
Good luck
Oh my god. Good luck and patience with this one. At least with an honest rust hole, you know what you're dealing with (in comparison to random electric gremlins). That's how W123s normally ended their life. They always are RUNNING but the bodywork can get rusty like crazy. Even worse with W116s or /8s. Or Peugeot 504 / 604s. All these always run for many many miles (well, Peugeot at least the Diesels) and then they just fade away ...
A car that looks good from the outside and is solid body-wise, but stubbornly refuses to run, like your Rover convertible, is totally unheard of in Mercedes land!
They were so solid feeling when new ish but the rust they can achieve can be spectacular, there is just so much metal and so many fittings in them. Plus that style of underseal is a disaster of course in later years. Damn salted roads...
yeah it just traps rot and hides it
Crikey it’s pretty bad but not in the same league as the later W210 rot boxes! Wirth every penny keeping this classic on the road though
Oh Dear, Not a good few days so far! What with the Rover now the MB is getting in on the act. I'm sure all will be ok in the end but it's all money and time isn't' it. Keep your chin up Matt.
That’s some rust. Reminds me I have rust on my mini to sort. 🤔
For the age its not bad bodily, You should watch the old Wheeler dealers where they did merc W123, think they did a wing on that !
it would probably be a mistake to find undercover for your vehicles as you'd fill the empty space on your drive with more project vehicles. I admire your intentions to get all your cars fixed but have you given yourself a lifetimes work already? Rust is scary!
Don't hate me i am a lover of cars but is the merc really worth it?
these are supposedly the best car ever built, and thats not alot of rust. You can see how over engineered they are from just taking the wing off
@@furiousdriving Theres a guy on UA-cam that only works on Mercedes the older generation are definitely strong tanks..
These things never go as planned, especially on driveways. Just had the same working on my Bongo for its mot.
I quite fancy one of those, but have heard of horror stories of rust on them
@@furiousdriving Rear arches are the main issue but you can get replacements. You can get full sills etc too. Mine is the 2.5td, I fitted a secondary fuel tank and run it on veg oil and old engine oil. They are much nicer to drive than their VW counterparts.
@@StevesMachines Veg oil is a good idea, makes long trips much more doable!
@@furiousdriving Yes because Bongos are very very thirsty, about 25mpg if you are lucky.
Dam what time do you get up in the morning?
With this lot I dont go to bed
Yes it is rusty, but wow feel the quality of construction! Keep on plodding.
That is an astonishingly solid car!
Maybe you need to speak to (or check out) Soup Motoring about his W123 230E rust work
He was the Irish guy I forgot the name of
I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking the Merc was relatively rust free ?
Surely the first job on restoring an old car is to check First you have a solid platform Before you start.
You have probably spent £££ s
In getting her up and running only to discover it's beyond repair 😥
I hope I'm wrong Mat and it's not a basket case but I think it's a good lesson for us all to check the structural integrity of a vehicle Before you throw good money at it 😯
Its not beyond repair, al old cars have rust in them. Id have been more annoyed if Id spent ages and a fortune welding only to find the engine didnt work - that was a whole separate battle
@@furiousdriving
Didn't say or imply it was beyond repair Mat, but if the engine was naff it would still be far cheaper to fit another or have it rebuild than having to pay a professional thousands to weld er up !
I'm sure as it's based on a mk2 tiger tank all will be fine.
Think you're on a wing and a prayer there....Maybe salvage the chrome trim off the wing just in case.
i would be torn between spending on this or rover cab but the cab must be a lot rarer
Rover is rarer but Merc more valuable
@@furiousdriving ok point taken no offence meant
@@a11csc none taken!
Keep noticing the silver BMW, after tinkering do you secretly put all your screen cars away and jump in that one with your cravat and down to the golf course ?
you know I dont do SUVs!
furiousdriving are you sure ;-) it’s always there on the hidden fleet:-) lurking ready to take you away to a world of golf and women in trouser suits
Anyone else expecting the can of WD40 to explode when the eratic jigsaw started attacking it..? (6:52)
Feel for you... especially after the Rovers ills. Still, it makes for more Furious content!
I love the mercedes w123 mate love watching your videos mate your the best
Thanks 👍
You are guaranteed to find more rust around the bootlid. Plastic covers will hide most of the horrors, you'l need to strip out the entire boot
Barry Sheene in the background
More like Barry Shone (bike pusher)
Yes , a Suzuki GSXR by the look of it, I was convinced he was going to drop it pushing it on the offside away from the prop stand !
@@Roger.Coleman1949 aye, it looked precarious, pushing from the RHS , was waiting for it to go down :)
Does anyone else but me have vehicular brand and model identification OCD? Just me? No one else? It is a terrible illness, sometimes chronic...
Well, if there is anyone reading this whom might be similarly afflicted, I can report that the Yellow Bike in the background is in all likelyhood a Suzuki GSX-R 600 from 1997 to 2000, with some kind of aftermarket race fairings. At least, I am pretty sure it is, since I used to have one myself. Now you (myself...) can sleep soundly without it keeping one up at night.
more hilarious antics with 'Laurel' of 'Laurel and Hardy' fame - in this week's episode, unattended power tools spring to life and the very rusty Merc turns out to be very rusty
Unless that Merc has some very redeeming qualities, I'd say it was knackered beyond hope.....
You need to take off the bumper for do the job right. Buy a aftermarket fender, they are cheap and good quality. Forget the original used ones, they hide rust in the majority of the time.
needs a new bumper as well..
I'm convinced that the Rover cabrio and the Merc take it in turns to try you. Given that when the cabrio first gave you problems, the Merc mysteriously fired into life, maybe the Merc now giving you problems means that the cabrio will cut you some slack. I think go see if it starts now
it didnt
@@furiousdriving boo!
But did u use the tea shelf
the rust shelf
@@furiousdriving yikes!!
All that looks a full body restoration .
Looks like it had a bump on that side which probably caused the underseal to crack and allow moisture ingress. Hopefully it'll be better on the other side. You're a brave man to tackle all that stuff. Good luck.
Seems all the cars recently are showing their bad spots, hopefully it isn't too much work, im sure anyone would be happy to lend a hand n chat with, if i was clsoe i'd be happy to help, let you have a few more cups of tea!
You don’t know the condition of the near side wing like. Could be better or worse!
Regards from Brazil!
goes in for a break job, takes out the whole passenger panel
Will you end up taking the nearside wing off as well? :)
of course,
Time for Mr Merc and the car crusher to meet.
this is worth the effort
This is why I always use a grease or oil or waxoyl underseal . Rubber undercoating is a cars death sentence!
Sorry to be nosey but as it’s never mentioned... who’s is the silver X5?
next door, its a 4 way shared drive but he parks a bit forward
I know that the Rover Cab and the 123 are cars that provide you with content in exchange for an empty wallet but if a magic wand was waved and they disappeared I wouldn't be unhappy and I think that you in your heart of hearts might have the same view. It would also get you a lot of space back. I'd prefer some P6 action please.
furiouSdriving....puts the S in scope creep. Worth saving though!
Axle stands?? Did I miss them?
Time to look at the rest of the car very seriously. No doubt it is full of rust on rust.
you did, orange thing to the left of the jack