My First Mercedes, C class w203

[Xulfiqar]

when i got the mini pajero the viscous coupling fan was welded direct, i called a mechanic at home and told him to make it automatic, he thought i was stupid, he said its driven by pulley, engine seize hojaye ga ye aisa hi hota hai, later he watched in amazement as i got another fan and installed it and it would work as it should and engine didn't "seize"

I have refilled a lot of viscous fan clutches of usually installed in toyota, nissan, isuzu, mitsubishi trucks and also the slim ones installed in BMW, land rover, mercedes etc. Usual answer of generic public was - "tum paagal ho" when the engine starts and the fan roars then dies off - only to be heard later when the engine heats up. - then ask who is paagal?

the folks who made fun of torque ratchets on little items are not your customers - they are "time pass" at best. You yourself should believe whole heartidly that you know its done correct. - The general meat popsicle owning the car only know its a magic box on wheels that gets them places and they have to pay out of their behind to repair it when it breaks - usually they are trying to act all knowy and einstein but you can ask few questions to get an idea of their head.

[Xulfiqar]

I dont know
Some people like to learn and share information

But for sure i don't like when someone makes fun of me when I pull out a torque wrench to tighten valve cover bolts. .
Some chaps also display a funny facial expression when i torque spark plugs on their vehicles

I have another similar incident - mercedes 230E W124 body - transmission pan leaking like a sieve - about a litre every week, ATF was changed a few weeks ago with the cheapest POS ATF you can imagine and the transmission pan overtorqued. The problem with mercedes ATF pans is that unlike every other car which has a flat surface on either side with a gasket in between, MB has a flat surface on the transmission but the pan lip is n shaped with a really really thick rubber gasket sitting on it that makes a flat surface. overtighening will roll the gasket in and leak.

The car was owned by a PITA customer whose regular mechanic was a "sab chaltaa hai" and he even tried to apply orange RTV to hold the leaks lol. He came to me on the referral of a person whose W124 I serviced.

now keep in mind the pan shape and all - the torque required on the bolts holding the pan is 8nm or about 70 in/lb - which is very low torque.

he comes up and shows me the issue and also proudly shows me the fake kerosene smelling warco type A ATF he put in there. he asked me for repair charge and I charged quite low for that job. All I did was drain the pan into a clean container - remove pan - check on marble slab for straightness - mounting ears required work.

reuse his old gasket, clean with acetone and tighten back up correctly with torque ratchet. Now he is complaining that it will leak like a garden pipe with such low tightening - I down car and fill the ATF and even corrected the level - old MB gearboxes have very stupid ATF level check - his was overfilled by 600 ml. As he was busy crying and complaining of low torque and I didnt know how to work - I asked him to check his pan - it was dry as bone. Not a drop. I did recommend him to change out his bad ATF with the correct one and surprisingly he came back after 2 weeks for the change - where I also corrected the vacuum modulator and bowden cable so the car shifted like it should - strong and just firm enough - no kick. He never ever questioned or complained as he knew that "correct" work was being executed.

He still emails me for help sometime... lol

[margallar]

imo the worst kind of mechanics are the ones that say "humay kam batao ***" the downfall starts after you start thinking that you know it all, knowledge is infinite

[arzaam.bhatti]

i didn't detail, way too busy, only managed to give one coat of wax, concentrating on exams for now

DSC02613 by Arzaam Bhatti, on Flickr

DSC02609 by Arzaam Bhatti, on Flickr

DSC02608 by Arzaam Bhatti, on Flickr

DSC02614 by Arzaam Bhatti, on Flickr

tyre dressing, logos nook and crannies all are the 1.5-2 months old didn't do anything for now, still whenever i take the cover off the car it makes me smile looking at it, do say Masha Allah

[arzaam.bhatti]

Update, i have had the car for a while now, driving it around enjoying it and have now some fuel consumptions figures for it,

driving mostly on long boulevards or lahore airport road 11km/l

driving inside my house just to keep it charged for a month, 5km/l

driving on ring road at motorway speeds 16.2km/l as indicated by computer

so overall i think its pretty economical

i think on motorway it'll touch 18km/l with cruise control as i wasn't able to maintain constant speed on ring road,
this is with 60/50 hi octane/petrol and 0W-40 oil

[hamza_xeg]

impressive figures keeping in mind its a big Merc.

[arzaam.bhatti]

got a new car cover for it, the previous one didn't seem soft enough and there was a chance dirt could get caught up in the lining

Shahnawaz demands 50k for a original mercedes car cover, they can keep it to themselves

i got this custom made with a extremely soft and non dirt catching inner lining and it has a hydrophobic cloth on outside not parachute or anything, you can dump a whole bottle of water on it, it sheets away from the cover instantly and the cover surface remains totally dry and the car underneath it also obviously. ill make a video of the effect later, right now too cold to be playing around with cold water:P

the dimensions got a little bit bigger than the car but its okay, it'll fit a e class too that way:P

20141220_133607 by Detailing Dreams, on Flickr

20141220_133618 by Detailing Dreams, on Flickr

any suggestions howto care for the star on the hood so it doesnt break with cover, i was thinking of using a think square piece of foam hollowed out in the centre and placing it on top of the star so it fits in snugly

[MoinIqbal]

Future proofing!

[arzaam.bhatti]

Future proofing!

yep:P and this way it covers the rims as well so the sealant protected rims also don't get dirty while sitting:P

[devils_smile]

I cut out a round cylindrical piece from a plush foam and place it just behind the star. It stand a little taller than the star so it takes on most of the weight of the car cover.

[arzaam.bhatti]

20141220_132737 by Detailing Dreams, on Flickr

IMG_2713 by Detailing Dreams, on Flickr

20141220_132748 by Detailing Dreams, on Flickr

20141220_132844 by Detailing Dreams, on Flickr

20141220_132822 by Detailing Dreams, on Flickr

Just a slight coat of wax nothing much, Alhamdulilah car has been extremely reliable so nothing to report at all there, so i think i am going to go back on reviewing this model compared to other options this price range, or giving a more in depth view of the individual features and functions that my car has.

[haroon_1]

How is your vehicle going?

[devils_smile]

arzaam, can u pm me the details on that car cover you made.... also who made it, materials and price.

[arzaam.bhatti]

How is your vehicle going?

hi hope you are doing well, masha allah car is going very well, thinking of taking it on a motorway journey soon, all good

[arzaam.bhatti]

arzaam, can u pm me the details on that car cover you made.... also who made it, materials and price.

to be honest i had asked my father to get me the cover and he sent someone from his office to take dimensions and choice of fabric and got it made from a someone in lahore. it will be hard to confirm price as that person took care of it.

i can PM you some more details and a close up video of the material so you can judge it. and its hydrophobic effect.

ill make one and do it tomorrow.

[arzaam.bhatti]

Going to use nanoskin ceramic coating with this car soon. a full correction session by me and then a ceramic coating session hopefully with ahmed yaar sir coming soon.

[omarabdullah022]

Going to use nanoskin ceramic coating with this car soon. a full correction session by me and then a ceramic coating session hopefully with ahmed yaar sir coming soon.

Great
What compound and pads??

[arzaam.bhatti]

Great
What compound and pads??

i haven't started yet, ahmed bhai was not reachable so haven't been able to ask him what sort of correction and surface prep would be best. plan in my mind is to clay, then use meguiars ultimate compound and maybe follow up with 3M extra fine compound, pads will use meguiars 8 inch red correction pads, with meguiars DA. not much surface correction is needed so i dont think there were ill be a need for strong compounds despite having hard paint.

[omarabdullah022]

i haven't started yet, ahmed bhai was not reachable so haven't been able to ask him what sort of correction and surface prep would be best. plan in my mind is to clay, then use meguiars ultimate compound and maybe follow up with 3M extra fine compound, pads will use meguiars 8 inch red correction pads, with meguiars DA. not much surface correction is needed so i dont think there were ill be a need for strong compounds despite having hard paint.

Okay...
Just my point of view, ditch the 8 inch pads, your machine doesnt have enough power to run them.
5.5 ones would be best.

Do a full correction and get it over with. Once you coat it amd hsve swirls underneath, you will regret not taking care of them

[arzaam.bhatti]

Okay...
Just my point of view, ditch the 8 inch pads, your machine doesnt have enough power to run them.
5.5 ones would be best.

Do a full correction and get it over with. Once you coat it amd hsve swirls underneath, you will regret not taking care of them

Hmm I find that even if you run at speed level 5 it's enough

But I also have meguiars 6 inch pads too so will use those instead

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