[R129 SL] Newly acquired 1992 500SL

[Peter Shelton]

Hi Richard,

Yes, there are a few cars around with low k's.  Mine is 1992 (Fire Red) and I purchased this one about 7 months ago.  It had travelled about 48,000 km genuine with all papers and was ex Singapore.  It was imported into NZ in 2002 (with 34,000 km on the clock), and I knew the previous NZ owners.  As the car has sat around with minimal use and with the heat in Singapore, all the engine seals, new water pump, new rams, new door locks, new windscreen wiper controller, brake balancing line, top bushes..... etc etc, have been replaced so the car is great.  I use the SL for long trips and have travelled 6,000 km in 7 months.  Like Jan, I like to put my foot down occasionally and blow the cobwebs from my ears!!  I have other cars for work/ pleasure so I rotate cars depending on weather, what I am doing, and what test gear I need to take.  

As far as cleaning the engine goes, I minimise cleaning but use normal anti corrosive, liquid, organic (if available) 'soap' cleaners on the car.  I use a water blaster on 'light' pressure (enough to remove the soap etc) and do sometimes use a 'warm' cleaner but not on full steam.  Note that some of the 'orange' based cleaners remove grease quite well, but oranges are acidic.  (I have not tried testing the acidity but will try and find a bit of litmus paper or a ph meter - got me thinking now).  I do not spray the engine bay with the silicone sealers as these products have all sorts of other 'gunks' in them.  If you want the plastics/air cleaner to come up nice, just use a Mothers or McGuire's polish like I use on the car.  It can get quite dusty here if you drive on the gravel roads, but I still minimise cleaning.  

It is very important that any pressure sprayer is not used near bearings or rotating surfaces.  Like any good Harley Rider is aware, if you pressure spray the front / rear wheels around the bearings during cleaning, the bearings wear out in about 2 to 3 years!  With the HD symbol on the parts, the SKM bearings usually treble in price, so the net result in cleaning the bike is costly if carried out incorrectly.  I minimise the cleaning and tend to just wipe down some of the chrome!!

Long day visit (work) to our Capital City (Wellington) yesterday, great drive down and back in the 1983 280E (123).  Hope you all have a great day.
Kind Regards, Peter S.   

 


----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Richard Deosaran 
  To: 'SL Mailing List' 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 6:27 AM
  Subject: Re: [R129 SL] Newly acquired 1992 500SL


  Thanks for that advise George,

  Kind Regards 

  Richard

   


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  From: r129list-bounces at mbcoupes.com [mailto:r129list-bounces at mbcoupes.com] On Behalf Of George Jenner
  Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 9:29 AM
  To: SL Mailing List
  Subject: Re: [R129 SL] Newly acquired 1992 500SL

   

  Sounds like a nice machine with low mileage.  I have always been an advocate of changing out the old fluids whenever I acquire a car used.  The question you have to ask yourself is how far am I ready to go insofar as these fluids are concerned?  Are you going to change the brake fluid?  My SL500 1996 model has automatic level control and that also has quite a bit of fluid.  Sometimes when changing out these more complex fluids become too technical an issue I rely on the advice of a trusted service person who is well trained to recognize when the time is right for a certain change.

   

  When washing and engine I like to stay away from harsh cleaners like spray gunk and such.  If I encounter oil film or grease under the hood I use a rag with kerosene or paint thinner to wipe it clean and then I use hot water and dish detergent to finish the job.  I have always hated seeing the way some dealers use steam to clean and then spray the entire engine including wires, etc. with laquer or some other shiny substance that never wants to come off.

   

  Happy Motoring - George Jenner

    ----- Original Message ----- 

    From: Richard Deosaran 

    To: SL Mailing List 

    Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 9:00 PM

    Subject: [R129 SL] Newly acquired 1992 500SL

     

    I recently imported my 500SL here to Canada from Japan; (one week ago) it is in great condition and only has 72K Km. since it did not come with any service history 

    I would like to have all the fluids change; everything works well the car runs great.

    Does anyone have suggestions as to other things I should have checked and at 72000 KM. does it require any major service?

     

    I would also like to shampoo the engine what are your taughts on that and are there any special precautions I should take.

     

    Regards to all,

    Richard.  

     

     


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