Spelunking Under The 1969 Mercedes 280SE

Its time to get to work on the reatoration of the $500 1969 Mercedes 280SE. This car hasnt been in the road since 1995. What lies beneath? Find out as Monkey Wrench Mike takes a deep dive!

[@rags2riches938]

Most likely a “front pump seal”. They tend to shrink and leak due to weather when the car has been parked for a long time. Good luck my friend.

[@thumbs97]

I love when mike says that the first owner paid a lot by cash in 1969, everything was cash back in the day😅🤣

[@danielkeel9265]

LMAO the nipple action! I have been waiting for you to start on this beautiful w108 since you rescued her! I know it's a lot more basic than say, the '126's onward, but when you think how advanced they were in their time. The quintessential Benz. I'm in for this entire project. Thanks Mike, like your style!

[@AutoAuctionRebuilds]

Another funny video!! Loved it!!

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Thanks Randy! I just read my first total hater comment. I used your approach and told him to go back down to his mother’s basement!

[@clevelandmaker386]

@@MonkeyWrenchMike Mike....was I hallucinating or did I see a pack of smokes? I hope not...we love your vids and we want you around for a long time... And me personally want to see the day you find a 500 K Marlene!

[@jennaemullins7612]

@@MonkeyWrenchMike ha ha HA!😆🤣 AND if you don't like the channel content people don't watch it!!

[@sonnyblazer5504]

@@oldfart83 Really?, Pandy? Who the heck is Pandy?

[@nathanielgould5284]

Great video love watching you work on your Mercedes Benz 👍🚘❤️💖

[@mercedesmaintenance.6339]

11.47 handbrake cable and pivot arm. 3 zerk fittings on the steering pin, two on upper and lower control arm pins, total of 14 for the front. I once had a lower control arm snap on me on a w108 4.5 that I just bought. Lack of lubrication on these fittings. Good place to start. Looks to be pretty solid underneath. Well done Mike:)

[@stopcensoringmyfreespeech3280]

Sometimes the U joints have a grease zirk you can grease with a grease gun. Unless its clunking you do not need to change it. First thing just make it start then you can put some sheet metal over that hole and seal it with some under coating in a can. Just clean it down to bare paint it with some metal with a wire wheel and pop rivet a scrap piece of metal from a refrigerator or stove or dryer. Get you some tin snips to cut it out with or a death wheel on a die grinder. Then a ball peen hammer to shape it with and bend it what it what ever it takes to make it the shape you want it bend it over a rail road track or anvil or a concret step to make it the shape you want it. drill holes while you hold it up there and then pop rivet it in place. Then seam sill it and spray it all with under coating. You will not be able to tell what your looking at after you spray a bunch of black gunky undercoating on it so sheet metal from a sign or a appliance or an old car tag will be just fine no one will every know the difference. This guy goes to a ton of trouble to make it perfect. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWGwZqeLhriUptU I think the drip your looking at is not the main seal but the transmission seal its red. Use a red rag to wipe the old dirty grease off with not your glove. You dont want to push dirt and sand back into the ball joint or what ever your greasing. I like the stickers. You should charge enough to make a dollar every time you send one off. What if you get thousands of responses and you have to send off so many for nothing then it will be a lot of trouble for no pay. So maybe charge four dollars?

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Great info! Thanks!!

[@stephenhorbatiuk2811]

Mike:that 280 is a great looking car. Has really interesting content potential. I like the step by step approach on the repairs. Cheers

[@steveharleyfan]

That early attempt at independent rear suspension is surreal !!!

[@1chish]

Great to see the 280 being shown some love Mike. This will be a really interesting journey. And you HAVE to follow Mr Haynes. Who else? That 'rod' you were pondering is the Hand Brake cable (you call it the E Brake) and it sits against a pivot at the front. Old Skool stuff here Mike. I know it might be difficult to arrange but that underneath is in such great condition it is crying out for a pressure clean. Then you will see where the actual leaks are. Maybe you could trailer it to a local cleaning place? It will make life under there so much easier.

[@richardkafka5625]

YAY! Glad to see Janice ready for her time on the channel! What a beauty! Playgirl posed Mike----not so happy to see that----eye's burning! Monkey Wrench Minions seems appropriate for this barrel full of monkey enthusiasts.

[@DeepSouthTechie]

Get some AT-205 Re-Seal and put some in a spray bottle, you can then spray it on everything rubber like bushings and boots. It'll rejuvenate all that rubber and make it pliable again. It's also good for putting in transmission and power steering pumps and such to rejuvenate seals,

[@Jsellers1965]

Mike, I think you have the best Logo on KZbin. Keep up the great work!

[@sonnyblazer5504]

I agree and it's on my COFFEE MUG as well! (But all that is cuz MIKE is so cool!)

[@jennaemullins7612]

He really does. I've got the white t shirt wear it every week

[@ericward8010]

Many years ago I got to exercise an '82 280c on the freshly built Marina Fwy toward Marina Del Rey. Fun was had.

[@robertross8811]

Crazy Mike I love your camera work.

[@soelenny]

Thanks, you bring her back to life.

[@Djwally13]

Mike, no more thumb nails please! I can't unsee that! 🤣

[@samcarpenter9677]

Mike, this is the Mecedes I have always wanted from day 1

[@MichelleBakken12]

check for locked up motor also expect to replace bushings for front end

[@haydenuk02]

Brilliant work and thanks for sharing this funny content with us take care

[@MikeBMW]

Nice Mike! Thanks for the spelunking tour of this cool car! Heck, I used to spend hours under a car removing exhausts, starters, front end suspensions, etc. Nowadays, I get too claustrophobic and have to do it in bits and bites. Dunno, weird, right? (I gotta get a lift) Even so, great examination and you can't go wrong with fixing this classic considering the price you paid for it. Always looking forward to more! :)

[@carguy4658]

You need some Quick Jacks, but then again you don't have compressor in your garage either. Check the age of your tires. If they are too old, even if they look good, you should consider replacing them.

[@TKsGarage]

Another great video. Was good to see the new content.

[@billbowers268]

Good to see you Mike .YEA!!!!

[@inovahightechltd]

Mike, your videos are sure the most entertaining of all car repair videos on KZbin. I am just documenting my repairs on my 560SEL MY 89 with 332K miles but added some in-depth subject oriented videos which go very deep into the details of the subject at hand - basically videos no one else has covered yet - keep up the good work - Peter

[@jpgochoco]

the rust hole in the rear quarter is where the tow hook used to be..mine just gave out 2 weeks ago.

[@whistlingdiesel]

So you went under Janice and checked what needs to get lubricated. Older cars force someone to a stange language. Anyway, remember Cato the censor? "Furthermore, I consider that building a W140 Rally Red Pig is more about of getting rid of parts instead of buying some." 😁😁

[@fuzzydicemotors8240]

Thanks for another awesome video!

[@francoisgiroid6153]

For the stickers ask for a self addressed envelope

[@Oyvind88]

Yes, another great video off this great old mercedes😀👍 I want stickers on both off my cars, 98 corolla and 76 chevy🇳🇴

[@brantbrooks7337]

That’s the coolest one.

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Thanks!!

[@Philbytronic]

How about the "Monkey Wrench Maniacs"?

[@titanicfilmsbymark]

Good video Mike

[@garyashdown5376]

Where did you learn to pose like that Mike ! Life life modeling at the local art collage..... As for names how about Mike's Monkee Nuts or the Monketts, I have more but these two are the cleanest I came up with 😃. Now your wonderful sticker's Mike, can I use PayPal old bean. Brilliantly funny as always Chuckles. Gary..🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

HahahahhHh

[@timgruper1381]

Us Monkey Wrench Fans don't monkey around when we are monkeying around with our cars LOL

[@sonnyblazer5504]

Video dropped 1 minute ago!! "HS" - Thank you MIKE for another one! When you get ready to address the rot hole, other than a body shop, let me suggest a good WELDING shop that works on car/trucks. They have all sorts of metal to bend for a proper patch and can get it in well for you. Products like PIKCKLEX over the bare metal and ZERORUST are good tools AGAINST future rust! Sonny

[@mrdood740]

I used to have a "71 280SE in the early '80s and I remember a lot about it. 13 grease fittings on the front suspension for example lol. Cool car but I grew tired of the upkeep. Have you verified that the heater blower works? The part isn't expensive (by Benz standards) but replacing it involves TOTAL disassembly of the dash (like a 20 hour job IIRC). They used to joke that they began building these cars by dangling the blower motor on a string and building the car around it! That trans oil is most likely the seal for the fluid coupler (torque converter, basically). If it's only dripping a bit, probably best to leave it and keep and eye on the trans fluid since replacing the seal requires removal of the trans. Anyway, nice car. I hope you can bring her back.

[@dougcop7253]

OH somebody is going to be busy lucky you

[@erikv86]

Can I just throw out the name "Monkey Wrench Minions" for the followers?

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Love it!!

[@MikeLoveBuns]

Classic 1969 M Benz 280 SE sedan

[@Djwally13]

I believe it's called the left trunk well. And I have know Idea beside s a junkyard to find one of those.

[@archygrey9093]

Keep an electric leaf blower on hand, that way you can blow all the crud out from under your car before you go underneath.

[@kevinritchie9227]

How about Mike's Managerie? lol

[@ImpalamansGarage]

Recommend stacked pieces of 4x4 for added safety while the car is on jack stands. You never know.

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Good advice!

[@TheKing-pr4ef]

When you are going to start that engine for the first time. I love old banz.

[@shaggmanshagg5490]

Mike there is a product called at-205 it makes rubber plastic gaskets swell up her logging replacement of them

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

I’ve tried that… is it 305?

[@terryschleicher8511]

The ghost car

[@atrahasis3899]

Wait a minute! Let me get this straight! You're on your back, spelunking, right next to some creeper? What kind of family channel is this!?

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Hahahahahaha!!

[@lindanelson8400]

When the helicopter went over, and you were looking up at the sky, I was suddenly reminded of the opening scene in the movie "Red Dawn". I'm sure glad I didn't see any parachutes coming down. Only name I can come up with for the subscribers is monkeys. 😊🐒

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Whew… me too!

[@retrobear9367]

The "Flying Monkies" lol

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Love that!

[@atomant6465]

I ordered two myself!! Putting them on my Copart Mercedes!!!

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Thank you times 2!

[@garycook2355]

the patch panel you are looking for will be called the trunk floor drop. don't know where you can find one but at least you will know the correct part to ask for. I had a shop that sold Mustang parts and did restoration so I do at least know the correct terminology. I am enjoying this project muchly. Its probably copywrited but wouldn't it be a hoot to play Janis's "Mercedes Benz" as background music?

[@stephenkrug6287]

Monkeying Baden for your club name get it MB Mercedes-Benz plus I think they were made there. Lol

[@19mati67]

When you reach the engine chapter, you will have to remove it, most likely. I have a 2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

[@rhiantaylor3446]

Could be wrong but I thought I saw a leak from the hard line connecting the transmission to its cooler (I presume). I would fix that first as a lot of the oil looked almost too clean to be engine oil - or was trans fluid red that far back in time ?

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

I’ll check it out. Thanks!

[@fahrfromrunnin]

Mike, Might have a parts cars in CO to cut that out for you!

[@howardrice9527]

Mike it is not the rear main seal leaking it is the transmission torque converter front seal

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Thanks!

[@ImpalamansGarage]

Front seal on trans is seaping it appears.

[@perfmr2]

How about us fans being known as, The Baboons?

[@cousinjohncarstuff4568]

"The Wrench Monkeys!" Darn it, the 2 I found did not work out, though there is one at a nearby shop I will inquire about. On the back window "In Tow" Might be cheap. Will let you know. This is who you think it is, just my 2nd channel. You know me as "jon smith"

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Thanks!! Hey Jon!!!!

[@honguenloh4612]

Wunderbarr

[@garyschulte713]

Club Name : "The Banana Bunch"

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Best name ever!!

[@garyschulte713]

@@MonkeyWrenchMike Glad you like it. It seemed so fitting. Use it with my blessing.

[@takeomack2782]

Just sent $3.00 - I’m going to send you a picture of your sticker on a REAL UNICORN 🦄!

[@davidmorris435]

i just ordered a sticker to put on a lincoln ls

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Thanks!!

[@davidmorris435]

yep now a sticker and a coffee cup lol

[@davidmorris435]

might put it on my S10 v8 its a good truck just dont drive it much 4 sp overdrive auto

[@soman2198]

great video, im actually going to start working on a 1969 280s next week.. its been sitting for a long time any guidance? what i know it needs a fuel pump,oil change, battery, coolant and lots of luck to start it for the first time since more than 15 years

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

This is all new to me, so maybe we can get thru it together and help each other out!

[@phillipgardner5836]

The monkey wrenchers

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Great idea!

[@mercedesmaintenance.6339]

Here's a link for that trunk well panel. I bought both sides for my 109 6.3. Good quality. www.mbclassics.de/spare-tyre-well-left-W108-109

[@lawrencejackson4001]

A good name the Macaques,

[@atrahasis3899]

Shame on you for saying, "spelunking" in mixed company!

[@robertfears2011]

Hey Mike cash app can not be used overseas. Any other way to pay ? Im in the Philippines.

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Just send your address to my email and I’ll send a couple- [e-mail]

[@jimstidham8085]

Mike why don't you take under mat out and put a new one in

[@markhoffman5719]

Good. BBQ steak n taters coming out of the microwave. Dinner theater. 🐒🐒

[@Mono_Jungla]

Step 1 : Buy new camshaft

[@apassionfortangling3671]

Apes 👍

[@shaggmanshagg5490]

FYI Amazon

[@toddhill1465]

Gang name? Mike and the Mechanics?

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Love that!

[@gerredstallings465]

I like your 69 Mercedes

[@titanicfilmsbymark]

A lot of JB weld would fill that spot

[@briantayler1230]

G'day mate, send me a bag of assorted stickers and I will send you a bag of assorted Australian spiders. I can send a mixture of funnel webs, mouse spiders (the spider eats the mouse), whitetail, (extra venomous), huntsman plus assorted creepy crawlies. Please reply as to the number of venomous spiders required, if no reply, I will send an estimated size bag to you, the value of more than $3.00. Please enjoy but be careful of fingers if you want to keep all ten. Your mate forever, unless the funnel web bites you.

[@MonkeyWrenchMike]

Haha!!