With a mileage reading of 179,195, I decided that it was high time to carry out some maintenance and some unfinished work going back to when Gleaming Beauty was off the road being repainted and refurbished. I had put on an additional five thousand miles since recommissioning her after the respray, and those miles were trouble free and without any work having to be carried out other than an engine oil and filter change. Incidentally, Gleaming Beauty's speedo is calibrated in miles, rather than the usual kilometers, having obtained that speedo some years back (maybe three) just to be different.
There were a number of things that bugged me and I have referred to those in another thread when responding to Mark. The catalyst to take Gleaming Beauty off the road was in no small measure made possible by the purchase of the 420SEL, as this gave me time and flexibility to attend to GB. One item that has been bugging me was a slightly leaking radiator that had been recored. Just ever a slight leak, but annoying. So that had to come out.
Another item that annoyed me was a constant, albeit slight leak, coming from
the bottom hose that is attached to the tank holding the hydraulic oil. The only way to access that hose is to remove the tank.
Whilst it was removed from the car, I gave the tank a thorough internal clean, but also decided to replace the hose that emanates from the bottom of the hydraulic pump, and then feeds oil to the rest of the suspension system. Another item of concern was the brake servo unit. For about four to six weeks I had been driving virtually without power assistance - you can do that, either safely or better still unsafely, by looking well ahead to road and traffic conditions whilst driving. So that unit had to come out, but I didn't mind this as I have been wanting to replace the front anti sway bar rubber mounts for a long time. They had never been touched in sixteen years of my ownership of GB. The photo hereunder will illustrate the difference between old and new.
Of course, gaining access to the servo unit and sway bar rubber mounts required the removal of the instrument cluster, master cylinder and the front suspension valve located on the left hand side of the firewall. More to come. Regards Styria
There were a number of things that bugged me and I have referred to those in another thread when responding to Mark. The catalyst to take Gleaming Beauty off the road was in no small measure made possible by the purchase of the 420SEL, as this gave me time and flexibility to attend to GB. One item that has been bugging me was a slightly leaking radiator that had been recored. Just ever a slight leak, but annoying. So that had to come out.
Another item that annoyed me was a constant, albeit slight leak, coming from
the bottom hose that is attached to the tank holding the hydraulic oil. The only way to access that hose is to remove the tank.
Whilst it was removed from the car, I gave the tank a thorough internal clean, but also decided to replace the hose that emanates from the bottom of the hydraulic pump, and then feeds oil to the rest of the suspension system. Another item of concern was the brake servo unit. For about four to six weeks I had been driving virtually without power assistance - you can do that, either safely or better still unsafely, by looking well ahead to road and traffic conditions whilst driving. So that unit had to come out, but I didn't mind this as I have been wanting to replace the front anti sway bar rubber mounts for a long time. They had never been touched in sixteen years of my ownership of GB. The photo hereunder will illustrate the difference between old and new.
Of course, gaining access to the servo unit and sway bar rubber mounts required the removal of the instrument cluster, master cylinder and the front suspension valve located on the left hand side of the firewall. More to come. Regards Styria
