1985 W124 230E Restoration Part Two

This is Part 2 of the 1985 Mercedes W124 230E restoration article, where the main focus is on the suspension and undercarriage components and the fuel system.

The front suspension strut upper rubber mounts were visibly perished as were the front lower arm ball joints. Slight clunking noises could be heard occasionally when going over uneven surfaces and bumps. The lower ball joints were not easy to remove and this took quite a bit of labor and swearing. At the same time, the steering stabilizer, drag link and tie rods were also replaced in the pursuit of a "like new" steering feel. The replaced components tightened up the steering feel immensely with virtually no play at all in the steering. Previously, there was about an inch of play in the steering before the wheels would start to turn.

The next thing to tackle was to replace both engine mounts. The propshaft couplings were also replaced. The replacement parts for the rear end were harder to source but eventually, the rear subframe bushings, rear axle bushings, spring pads, front and rear shocks, front and rear springs, rear control arms and links arrived and were promptly replaced. This required the rear subframe to be dropped and at the same time, a "new" axle was sourced as the existing one had a slight whine off throttle. This whine is attributed to the wearing of the pinion bearing and was a little annoying in an otherwise super quiet cabin.  The rear brake pistons in the W124 can sometimes get stuck. Thus, decided to overhaul the brake calipers with new seals, new brake hoses and also put in new front and rear rotors and brake pads.

After all the front and rear undercarriage work, it was now time for a wheel alignment. The shop tech commented that this was the nicest W124 they had worked on. The car's steering was now very responsive, the car ran straight as an arrow and was really fun to drive!

The existing fuel supply system was also worked on.  In order to further enhance the W124's reliability, replaced all the fuel hoses as well as a new fuel filter, fuel pump and accumulator to ensure consistent and leak free fuel delivery.

With the restoration finally all complete, decided to head to an open carpark with good lighting to take some good interior and exterior photos of the car. The restoration journey although time consuming,  was truly well worth the time and the effort to transform the car into what it is today! The car drives extremely well and looks the part! :-) 

This concludes the restoration blog for the 1985 W124 Mercedes 230E. Hope you enjoyed reading this and stay tuned for future articles!

The existing paintwork was looking a little tired. Now with all the mechanical and interior work done, it was finally time to focus on beautifying the exterior of the car. Decided to send the car for a full respray in the original Mercedes Designo Lilac color to bring the gleam back to almost factory finish! While the car was in the paintshop, managed to source an original set of 16x8 offset 34 wheels off a 1992 W124 500E. These wheels although similar in design to the 500SL wheels, these were forged vs cast which I felt would improve the handling characteristics of the 230E. A new set of Michelins were sourced to go with the new 500E wheels in 205/55/16 profile. Although the 500E wheels were in good condition, decided to send them for a full refurbishment and custom painted the brake calipers in bright yellow for added zing! The entire car was now looking fantastic! There was one last thing that needed to be done, which was to "dechrome" the chrome bits in gloss black and make this a one-of-a-kind W124 230E!