129 Don'ts of R129 Mercedes-Benz SL Ownership - Part 1 - Avoid these to save on costly repairs

Рет қаралды 10,110

Күн бұрын

In this series, I go over 129 things to avoid (don'ts) during ownership of the 300SL, 320SL, 500SL, 600SL and all years ( (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001).
Part 1 covers the first 20 things to not do. The list of 129 items are in no particular order - obviously some are more important than others, and some will surprise you. There will be 5 more parts to complete this series.
Some of these cars are now into their fourth decade. By not doing the things shown in the video, you will help your car last well into its fifth decade and beyond - and why not? Bruno Sacco designed a masterpiece and Mercedes created an amazing car. Let's all do our part to keep them looking and operating at their best.
Part 2 Video (don’ts 21 - 40):
• 129 Don'ts of R129 Mer...
Car shown is 1992 300SL M104.980 engine
Mercedes Handy Val DIY Playlist: • MERCEDES DIY Handy Val...
Some fixes to the items shown in the video:
Door Check: • Mercedes Door Check, S...
Door Pocket Hinge: • Mercedes SL R129 Door ...
Seat Fix: • Mercedes-Benz R129 Sea...
Coolant Video: • Mercedes Coolant Reser...
Stereo Fix: • Mercedes Benz Original...
Car Storage Video: • 13 Best Winter Classic...
If you want to see my upcoming R129 videos, please subscribe to the channel as I will be posting more shortly. My channel also has many other Mercedes how-to videos.
Disclaimer - The content of this video is available for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. I do my best to provide accurate and complete information, however, I assume no liability for any property or personal damage that may arise from any of the information contained in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of Handy Val, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Handy Val always recommends safe practices.

Пікірлер: 58

@jonboy9912 6 ай бұрын

Love my R129 and appreciate the advice biggest point of which is NEVER jump start the car it will fry the electrics.

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

Absolutely. Jump starting the R129 is a BIG-DON'T. The electronics, especially the roof module are expensive and mostly only available used. Thanks for watching.

@brandonfowler6013 6 ай бұрын

Another great video Val!

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

Thank you! Much appreciate the love I get for these videos.

@markbaker6029 6 ай бұрын

Great advice again Val - I continue to learn all sorts of R129 information from you - blessings to you🙏

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

You are so welcome. There's so much more I soon will be sharing in upcoming videos. Thank you for the wonderful feedback.

@markbaker6029 6 ай бұрын

@@HandyVal I literally look forward to that Val I enjoy all your videos they add to my library of information that I store that you have taken the time to put together for us. And I just received the port seals from Germany that I will deliver to the dealership on Monday and now they can get started on putting together my R129. Just in time for winter storage.🤣

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

Mark - The hard work is done for you now. You've sourced the parts and now it's up to the dealership to do their thing and put it all together. The accident will soon be a long-forgotten memory. Can't wait to see you back in the R129, albeit later than originally hoped for.

@markbaker6029 6 ай бұрын

@@HandyVal Back a month ago I got the R129 back from MB & kept it for a week then set up a maintenance service appointment with them. They put the R129 back together in awesome shape. However, it needed service help to the max - hence all the repairs it required! Sooo all parts are now in - with those they still had in the MB stocks and ALL the MB parts I sourced out. So I’m thinking in two weeks I’ll have it back. And of course you’ll be the first I contact. Blessings…

@rioraton 6 ай бұрын

Good info!

@ronaldneehao9723 6 ай бұрын

Thanks again for your great advice 😅

@fixingandmore4776 6 ай бұрын

Thank you very much Sir.

@FlashDriveFilms 6 ай бұрын

Good general advice for ANY car, not just the R129.

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

So true. Many of the listed items apply to most cars. I tried to focus it on R129 applicability as much as possible.

@terrymurphy2637 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for great Video Val. Learned quite a few new tips even after owning 2 r129s for 15 years.

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

👍 Thank you. I had a lot of fun making this video and sharing these tips with owners like you and the R129 community. This video covered the first 20 don'ts...109 more to go, to get to 129!

@lawrenceralph7481 5 ай бұрын

Good advice

@kalcine 6 ай бұрын

Great video once again !!!!

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

Thank you! I appreciate it.

@johnmcdonald9831 6 ай бұрын

Fantastic advice. Many thanks

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

My pleasure! Happy to share as much as I can.

@yelsincruz8663 3 ай бұрын

Awesome thanks for sharing your knowledge

@HandyVal 3 ай бұрын

Thank you. Part 2 covering the don’ts 21 to 40 will be out shortly.

@ron8566 6 ай бұрын

Nice video! I’m in the process of replacing both trunk struts, which experienced catastrophic failure last week. I did the front rubber shock/strut mounts last month - this was easy peasy at $58 plus 90 minutes of my time. I avoided a $700 fee from a local shop by DIY. Over the summer I replaced the blower motor resistor. It cost me $28 and 10 hours of my time. This was far better that buying the OE apart which includes the heat sink for $500 plus labor.

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

Thanks. Love your DIY comment! With a little effort a lot can done. Keep it up and keep sharing your DIY with us.

@siegfriedbarfuss9379 6 ай бұрын

your video is worth a million bucks - many thanks!!

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

😍 Love it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Part 2 will be coming soon.

@butterfly_8241 5 ай бұрын

This guy reminds me of my junior high school metal shop teacher. Making sure we don't loose any of our fingers while running the machinery.

@Halfom 6 ай бұрын

Great video! this can save people a lot of trouble!

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

Many thanks! Absolutely, most trouble starts from doing something without knowing its consequence and I’m hoping this video series helps everyone.

@anthonywright9357 3 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@HandyVal 3 ай бұрын

You're welcome!

@edwardrivera206 6 ай бұрын

Thanks my friend

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

Hey bud. Always welcome. Thank you.

@davidcardona1246 4 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@HandyVal 4 ай бұрын

Thank you. Much appreciate your kindness. 🙏

@ministryofengineering3850 8 күн бұрын

Subscribed..thanks

@HandyVal 8 күн бұрын

Thank you. I’m happy to have you as a subscriber. A lot more great and helpful videos are being planned for release.

@SwayLizard 4 ай бұрын

Don’t look at it the wrong way 😭

@shaunkoger8096 2 ай бұрын

I learned so much from 1 video ❤

@HandyVal 2 ай бұрын

Thank you. My pleasure! I’m always excited to hear feedback. I’m working on Part 3 of this 6 part series. I’ll keep sharing what I know for as long as possible.

@KenHolmDK 6 ай бұрын

Very informative, I am looking forward to the following parts. Bought a SL320 from 2001 with 105k kilometers on the clock in mint condition this summer, so I am still a novice regarding the R129. Had a beautiful W202 250TD before this one, I simply adore the Bruno Sacco design. I only gave up the W202 reluctantly, as old diesel cars (without cat's) are no longer permitted to drive in Copenhagen.

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

Tak! (Thank you) - Congratulations and welcome to the R129 world. You will love it. It's too bad about your W202 but you've followed it with another amazing car. The SL320 is solidly built and its engine is reliable. Let's stay connected on your R129 journey.

@KenHolmDK 6 ай бұрын

@@HandyVal Selv Tak! 😂 (You are welcome). I watched your YT-video "13 Best Winter Classic Car Storage Steps" as well and I have a question regarding my battery: I have a cut-out switch connected to the battery and it actually looks like an original part, could that be possible? Not a lot of YT-videos showing trunks of R129's but I could tell from your video, that it is not present in your model. I have never had such a switch in any of my cars, Merc's or otherwise, but my R129 is imported from Italy, maybe it's common there. Anyway, I have had a battery maintainer connected to the battery since I put the car in storage, and I am considering using the switch and disconnect the battery from the electrical circuit. I guess the radio will need reactivition come Spring when I turn the switch on again, but I can't think of any other electrical parts that will be affected. If you have any thoughts on this I'd be happy to hear from you. Before I turn the swich, he-he.

@HandyVal 6 ай бұрын

Cut-out switches were not factory installed by Mercedes. They are after-market. Those cut-offs are good as they ensure no battery power is lost through the car's electronics, like the clock, for example, when the car is not in use. Any time you disconnect the battery (or use the cut-out) you will need to redo your radio code and clock. On some models, you may need to reset your windows (push windows down and hold in the down position for 5 seconds and then in the up position hold for 5 seconds). The resetting of the windows are part of roof modules and I believe it's applicable to the 2001 - check your owner's manual on this procedure. Only do the windows reset if needed. It's certainly safe to use the cut-out. If I were you , I would use the cut-out, but once a month attach the battery maintainer for half a day to recharge the battery. Even with the cut-out, if the car and battery are in a cold garage, the battery will lose some power, so it's good to recharge it with the maintainer when you can.

@KenHolmDK 6 ай бұрын

@@HandyVal Thanks Val, I really appriciate the quick reply. And yes, you are right indeed, after closer examination I can see that the carving to make room for the stick is made by hand. Very nicely done however, and the cut-out installation itself looks very prof as well. I have followed your advice and cut the battery off and unhooked the charger. My HD Forty Eight is trickle-charging 24/7 (even during summer if left for a few days) so I am already used to keeping an eye on that one and will put the R129 on recharge now and again during the winter period 🤩🤩

@TG-uf9ro 5 ай бұрын

Hi val, I have a strange ticking / clicking noise coming from exhaust area at idle but only when in D. In neutral or when driving no noise whatsoever. Car is a 98 SL 500. Any ideas? Thank you

@HandyVal 5 ай бұрын

It sounds like it could be your heat shield that is falling apart due to age. I made a KZfaq video on this ‘Rattle Fix’. Mercedes Rattle Noise Coming From The Car's Exhaust Heat Shield kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aZ9xfKWWzNKWmZc.html It sounds awfully similar to the issue I had - no noise in Park, but rattley in Drive with brake pedal pressed. Check it out from my Mercedes Playlist. Let me know if that’s what it is.

@jonboy9912 Ай бұрын

Val, I had a flat battery when I got out of hospital last month and tried to charge it with one of those new fangled reconditioning chargers. It would not charge the battery at first telling me it was dead so I gave it a boost with my old charger that gave it 10% or so and then the new charger recognised the battery and charged it. When I took off the hard top for Summer it came up as normal and I thought I would test the roll bar. The roll bar extended but would not retract and consequently the roof would not retract and I had to have the fault codes erased by computer. I wondered if the battery recharging caused this and wanted to ask you how to avoid it happening again if for any reason I need to recharge the battery? Will I have to disconnect or remove the battery entirely to recharge it next time and if I do might that actually have a detrimental affect on the car?

@HandyVal Ай бұрын

Sorry to hear about your hospital visit. Using battery chargers/tenders while the battery is in place in the car is perfectly fine. It won’t cause any issues. You need to avoid boosting batteries while they are in place in the car. Doing so, can likely (but not always) cause detrimental damage to your rooftop computer. The spike in voltage is too much for these cars to handle. Is this what you did? I think everything is now working for you, after you erased the codes? If it’s not working then you need to reset your rooftop computer. Try these two simple steps…1. Press and hold the rollbar switch in the up position for 10 seconds. Then let go. 2. Press and hold both window buttons in the down position and hold it once the windows have reached the down position for 5 seconds. Make sure the ignition is on for both steps 1 and 2. This should usually restore function to your roof and rollbar. Let me know if I misunderstood anything.

@jonboy9912 Ай бұрын

@@HandyVal Thanks Val for taking the time to explain. I did charge the battery in situ, and did those resets to no avail. But a visit to my local specialist did the trick when he reset the computer. Love your series.

@alessandroamosso8619 5 ай бұрын

My 129 AMG Is sitting from 2018 😢😢😢..luckily in a dry and warm garage..but i Will meet more problems

@HandyVal 5 ай бұрын

The AMG version of the R129 is an amazing car. Storing any car for prolonged periods will give problems. If you have to store, a warm and dry garage is best. Your biggest problem will be with old gas. Keep me updated when you take it out of storage.

@alessandroamosso8619 5 ай бұрын

@@HandyVal sure man 👍

@MDavidG1 4 ай бұрын

An AMG version of the R129 SL was never offered for sale in the USA, only in Europe, and only in extremely limited numbers there.