Mercedes R107 SL, CRANK WONT START, MULTIPLE ISSUES, PARTS NOT AVAILABLE, ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER!

[@sprautos]

Hope you enjoy this one and appreciate that we’re not shying away from showing you stuff when things don’t go to plan, we want this channel to be real. Thanks for the support and all the best to everyone!

[@user-sf7kl9uh7k]

@@sprautos I thought this video was excellent.

[@tonyb1184]

Great job Sam. Kept the old girl on the road with some clever thinking and experiences. And it's still a dizzy cap imo 😂

[@kevinsmith6653]

Another excellent video. It’s great viewing and look forward to the next one. 👍

[@georgedaville4662]

Great stuff Sam, really enjoyed your first principles thinking to get to the bottom of what was wrong! No OBD’s in them days 👍🤔😎

[@montezumijus2]

Respect for saving old mercs!

[@allanthomas-wc8ff]

Back in my day I used to do plugs and points at the side of the road. Well, Back when I had a mk 2 cortina 1300 around 1976, on the saturday I serviced the car complete with new plugs, points and condensor. went to work in Traffork Park the next day and on the the way home came off the Mancunian Way onto Upper Brook Street and it cut out. I rolled into a side road and began to check what was wrong, took the"Dizzy cap" off and the head of the new set of points had broken off, luckily I kept the old ones in the boot and put them back on, checked the gap, refitted cap and it was all ok again. Back then I always carried my tool box and a few known problem spares wherever I went.

[@markshaw8850]

ABSOLUTELY awesome guys....... this is what you get from a proper specialist garage.....your experience and knowledge shines through.......⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@jonathanr6335]

Really enjoyed this video - a real education into the problems encountered while working on older cars. Such a shame that for the sake of a relatively small part that a car could be taken off the road. Well done in sourcing a solution.

[@sprautos]

Appreciate that many thanks. 🙏

[@anthonyhendley1689]

Well done. Your fault finding was excellent. Keep up the good work.

[@51madmitch]

Excellent post, really enjoyed and takes me back to my first job in a garage, back in 1965, I can smell that lovely aroma of a proper garage, it’s a dizzy cap to many in the trade, easier to say, be yourself!!nothing to do with education, probably someone who’s never been near a workshop, northern accent and humour great, thanks.

[@sprautos]

Can’t beat that garage smell can you! Always will be a dizzy cap. 😉

[@ianbroadhurst2880]

Excellent stuff, from the pre-OBD era! Your customer should be very grateful to have you!

[@sprautos]

Much appreciated! Yes he was very happy with the outcome. All sorted and running 👌

[@georgedaville4662]

@@sprautos- pleased to hear that Sam, so he should be!

[@ThreeCoos]

It always has been and always will be, a dizzy cap. Another great video - thanks 👍

[@sprautos]

I second that!

[@billymcgarrity7138]

Proper mechanic the apprentice will go far if he pays attention 👍

[@WeeShoeyDugless]

I agree 100% with you on your choice of OEM oil filters on ANY Mercedes. My old W201 190E 2.0 four pot developed low oil pressure not long after I purchased it with a genuine 86,000 miles on the clock and had just been serviced (by the previous owner who was a BMW tech!) and noticed it was a cheap brand oil filter. Purchased the proper OEM item and, hey presto, full oil pressure returned. Best about it is, the genuine OEM item was really cheap!!

[@kumquatbilly]

I support your use of dizzy cap. As an American who lived in NZ for a while, it’s a new word to me. I once had an old friend tell me that the difference between a parts changer and a mechanic is exactly what you demonstrated in this video-experience, knowledge, improvisation, and adaptation. Cheers!

[@sprautos]

@@kumquatbilly thank you 🙏

[@dalamar6228]

Great diagnosis work. Finding alternative parts is what we TVR owners have to do regularly. That’s half the fun of being a classic car owner!

[@sprautos]

It is certainly part of it isn’t it. I bet you TVR boys have trouble like this all the time.

[@Billiards-tl9iw]

Impressed, a professional step-by-step analysis is good to watch. And the customer said How Much!!! For the international audience.................Dizzy = distributor cap. Chuffed = rather pleased with myself.

[@smithyhouses100]

I was really impressed with the way that you were determined to find the reason for an engine that would not start. I can remember when I read somewhere one of Winston Churchill`s famous quotes when he said "When you`re going through hell,keep going" This was you, and you made it through. Well done,and thanks for sharing a most enjoyable video

[@petrolhead28]

Love an old merc. So glad you could fix this. From an age when they were built to last. Always stick with your specialist

[@andrewmooreandrewrmoore7615]

Nice to see a proper Merc! Classic cars are simpler but can still catch you out. Lot of trouble with the car is likely lack of use and not stored in a dry garage. Bit surprised the SL has part supply issues as its popular. Good workaround with the CPS.

[@marinastuable]

Nice to watch knowledgeable people who know their stuff and do the job right

[@michaelmccann4706]

Great to see you training your apprentice (Nathan )and teaching us as well. Love seeing the older mercedes being maintained properly and kept on the road.👍.

[@sprautos]

More to come! And Nathan is coming along nicely showing really good interest in the trade.

[@djwarren5081]

Old skool mechanic. Top job Sam. Patience severely tested on that old girl.

[@sprautos]

Certainly was, thought I was going mad.

[@alansorbie4038]

I had a w124 300E. The dizzystributer cap assembly is quite a piece of engineering compared to those on Metros and Vauxhalls I’ve owned in the past!

[@andrewmooreandrewrmoore7615]

Handier to get to the dizzy cap on a Beetle 😅😅

[@danielmccarthy1982]

Brilliant video as always - great to see your methodical approach to problem solving! It sounds like parts availability rather than corrosion is what's going to put these old Mercs in the scrapyard...

[@coolcat23]

I hope the customer was good about the extra work needed. The distributor cap clearly needed replacing as well due to the hairline crack and the fact that it caused issues with cold starts. Replacing it made a huge difference to how the car started, so it definitely was not a case of "fixing something that did not need fixing". Looking forward to the next video with you working on JJ's CLK (JJ on Cars). :)

[@sprautos]

Yes the customer was very happy, and yes all had to be done, the dizzy got it started and running to only then cut out again once hot so without it we would of been back to square one. Jj on cars clk will be a good one. 👌

[@laurencehastings7473]

If I was the customer I wouldn't be complaining. You didn't do any unneccessary work. A lot of garages would have just said "Sorry we can't get the part necessary from anywhere at all." You diagnosed the faults, rectified the issues, did the service and provided us, yet again , with interesting content.

[@sirjosephwhitworth9415]

You are helping to keep the finest old cars on the road.

[@trevormansfield6495]

I don’t think I’ve ever repaired a classic car without losing hours in labour time I can’t charge out……… Spend so much time repairing years of bodges and poor maintenance plus the spare parts issues. Good video 👍

[@sprautos]

Spot on mate 😂 that’s why I only book one in at a time 🙈

[@Phil_T86]

Great video Sam, good to see a company show the bad and good with diagnosis. It was a good watch to see you diagnose on these older Mercedes. I don’t know what Mercedes is thinking about not having parts available, it’s even getting bad on the C63’s these days!

[@treacadelic]

Fantastic job Sam. Your customers should all be grateful for your efforts. Superb stuff

[@chrispenn715]

Well done for persevering..... I had one of these a few years ago - 300SL in the same colour. It had only done 59k when I sold it. Lovely car, but I mainly sold it because of issues around parts availability. At least I was able to sell it back to the same dealer for a profit 🙂 I must be a glutton for punishment tho - recently bought an R230 SL - which is also starting to suffer from parts shortages...... Mercedes used to be renowned for their parts support on older models - those days are long gone, sadly.

[@sprautos]

You’re right, parts used to be spot on even on the older stuff especially the SL! We have don a buyers guide on the 230 sl might be worth a watch for you.

[@chrispenn715]

@@sprautos Yes - watched it ta - still bought one! 🙂

[@PatricioGarcia1973]

you can look in the Mercedes equivalent of BMWs Mobile Tradition for old car parts. At least in the US we can still order stuff for them (albeit at a price) 😢

[@michaeltutty1540]

My brother had an 85 300SD. Parts were readily available for the car, and sometimes the Mercedes dealer was the least expensive option.

[@chrispenn715]

@@michaeltutty1540 yes, but less likely as the cars age now. Mercedes used to stand above other makers for quality and spares but now they seem much like any other mass producer...

[@PB200559]

Great to see a pro at work. Methodical, systematic analysis and the ability to come up with solutions requiring some ingenuity. I run two nineties BMWs - an E39 and a Z3 and have a great local specialist to maintain them - you guys are worth your weight in gold to us enthusiasts. Great job.

[@sprautos]

Thank you 🙏 much appreciated

[@edkalsbeek1765]

Same: 1997 528 5 manual and 96 z3

[@Nick-bp7jf]

Great video showing some old school, pre obd2, fault finding. Good for you for making it a warts and all video and not heavily editing it. When i used to fix my own cars back in the 70s, i would give a squirt of easy start. If it started i had a fuel issue, if it didn't then i had an ignition issue.

[@sprautos]

Yes the good old easy start was and is a good diagnoses to determine if you have a fur issue

[@ftffighter]

So cool seeing you mess with some of the older stuff, it really makes you wonder how cars built today are supposed to last after 20 years?

[@baldricksimson]

they're not.

[@LH17578]

Another great video. You did very well in diagnosing the issues, and it is a good fix with the 103 sensor. Sam, you're a problem solving genius.You and your team are above the rest. Keep up the good work.

[@sprautos]

🙏 appreciate that.

[@jamesdunican1750]

G I hade the same problem with a 300CE straight six cylinder It broke my heart It would start but running like a bag of nails 😡 I knew you would sort it out 👍👍☘️

[@michaelturner4728]

Brilliant stuff I am sure customers don't realise the trouble you go too with these older cars !! great job boys.

[@sprautos]

I don’t think they do!

[@davidnash8586]

It's simply great to watch a pro work it out !

[@andrewfwallace4582]

Brilliant video, any customer you would think would be vdry happy you diagnosed and repaired the fault especially when original parts are not available. Everyone like and subscribe, tell your friends.

[@drobinson8080]

Thanks for another really interesting video. Shows how much work /labour goes into diagnostics. .. good for costumers to see and to understand. Always good to see someone who knows their stuff

[@berwhaletheavenger]

Great video - I've finally subscribed! I have the same issues with BMW's - they discontinued 30,000 parts lines last year and I'm told that MB have dropped a lot of parts for older cars. The fact you can't get a crank sensor is worrying. I'm stocking up on bits for my stuff. I'm with you on Bremi, it's junk. Their MAF's are a joke. I had a 1989 530i (M30 SOHC straight six) with a similar set of problems but at different times. One day out of the blue it just would not start - no spark. I fitted a used crank sensor (easy as they are on the front crank pulley) and away it went. I bought a genuine sensor from BMW for about £80. A couple of years later it developed a very bad misfire and a new cap and rotor fixed it.

[@sprautos]

Thanks for the subscription. And yea parts arnt looking good are they, we have to keep these old cars alive

[@powerje75]

This is my favourite SPR video so far! Brilliant insight into real life mechanicking... The value of your Merc experience was invaluable to the owner, without it, he wouldn't have a usable car! Thanks for sharing the problem cases, I find them most interesting. PS Dizzy cap is absolutely fine for me, EVERYONE says it!!

[@sprautos]

Thank you, 🙏 we’re happy to show it isn’t all plain sailing, glad everyone else likes to see the fix as much as we do.

[@steveclement9815]

Another excellent video Sam. If only the main dealers were as conscientious and honest as you. Well done.

[@sprautos]

Appreciate that 🙏

[@Parknest]

The R107 is one of the best Mercs (up there with the W123). This is the joy of when certain parts are discontinued. This problem is not restricted to Mercedes-Benz. Lucky you found a way round it. My local dealer has a 1984 R107 380SL on display.

[@miteshl4333]

Great video guys, glad to see there are trusted garages serving the classic Mercs! Love this!

[@geoffgriffin1564]

Enjoying watching your input. I had an early Audi, had enless grief starting, turned out to be valve clearance too tight. It was pre hydraulic tappets,they had to be shimmed. This had never been done. When too tight and hot it would not run! Good luck

[@Rick356A]

I have swapped crank angle sensors on Ferrari's for identical ones from Kia that were just 5mm longer and they worked fine, about 90% cheaper too, some things just work!

[@user-vl5xo8og8s]

I understand even ignition keys for some A class are unavailable. Testing your ability and knowledge these cars which have some technology but no diagnostic system! Lovely looking car and well worth looking after even if one has to use unoriginal parts.

[@iandoxav]

Sorry but it warms my heart to know even the experts like you lads get stuck on jobs like that, thought it was only me that smashed things when i took them out.

[@sprautos]

Nope it happens to the best of us. It’s part of the job 😂

[@danricci6996]

You Sir ARE AWESOME!!!!! 👍👍👍👍. Finding the alternative for the NLA crank sensor , Godsend

[@sprautos]

Thanks 👍

[@user-qg6we8ky1h]

Best quote ever "build up trust with this car" Always good to have someone else on board during test drive - totally agree.

[@reloader50bmg]

GOOD ONE!..worked on MB stuff for 40 years! in usa..

[@24710635]

Well done, great video showing that not everything goes to plan all the time. Through thinking outside the box you have managed to keep another classic on the road.

[@benjohnson4084]

That's the difference between a mechanic and a technician, a technician will only do what the workshop manual says to fault find but a mechanic will think outside the box and find an alternative solution. Much the same as an operative in a motor factors compared to a national provider. Excellent work there !

[@oofazi]

Exceptional work - detailed explanation and sharing of useful information which will no doubt support others when finding themselves in similar situations. Fully appreciated, outstanding!

[@len333p]

Love the fault finding, takes me back to my apprentice days in a backstreet garage in Oldham. Cleaning ‘dizzy’ caps, replacing old carbon HT leads and cleaning the rotor arm contact on the tyre. Great video, fun to watch but lots of hours spent I’ll bet. 👍🏻

[@sprautos]

Yup many hours spent but we got there in the end. The good old days hey

[@TheFlyingBusman]

Such is these old R107s. Lovely motors when you get a good one. Not overly difficult to work on. Crank sensor threw a bit of a curve ball, I was initially leaning towards ignition amplifier which can be a quite common failure point. Nice to see it running sweet in the end.

[@dinotahirovic675]

This is an excellent video! As someone who owns a classic car, I know what you've been through in this episode. I am very happy I found your channel and I love your honesty.

[@sprautos]

@@dinotahirovic675 thank you very much. And welcome the channel. 🙏

[@frankirvine316]

Good fix,but frustrating for sure Had a ML 320 and it had the same problem,cold ok,get hot no go Where they are located is not easy cover your arm to save scratches 😂 Cheers Frank

[@janstolk486]

i'm from canada and if that was my car i would oil spray the bottom and inside the fenders and doors . they offer this professionally here and it saves the car from rusting ! i start doing this after a mercedes i owned completely rusted out from the road salt we have here . now i have 2 mercedes and a dodge nitro oil sprayed every fall and there is not a speck of rust on any . the nitro is 18 years od and looks like new ! the S 550 10 years old and my slc 7 years old , all tip top shape !

[@hemtet5500]

Very engaging and at least the owner can see exactly what all the trouble was and it wasn’t a fairytale not that it ever would be. I’m quite intrigued by how clean you get your hands as I’ve seen some test drives with very mucky hands.

[@EmilysDadd]

They were always referred to as a dizzy cap .... always will be.

[@sprautos]

Spot on 👌

[@coletorrens1121]

Strange one this, and interesting the car (which is a really nice example) had been out of your expert care for at least one service. My guess is wherever it had been had also tried to get it started and failed. Quite possible that's where the dizzy (ooops!) faults were introduced and why the nature of the running condition changed! My area is Saab's and I have had more than one here where non expert care has introduced more faults and led us up blind alleys! The plugs and dizzy parts though did need a change for sure, so not cash or time wasted. CPS issues on Saabs are common, and availability is really sketchy too. Clearly this is somewhere we are all going to have issues in the future as these things get older and older and OE spec parts run out. Love the real life content on this channel, showing our work is no bed of roses and comes with its challenges every day! Superb work!

[@sprautos]

Thank you 🙏

[@malcolmwolfgram7414]

I had the 350 V8 version of this car. Absolutely loved it!

[@allthingsadventurous6568]

You did what you had to do and ultimately solved the problem. It has a fresh ignition system too, which is all good for piece of mind. Lovely old motor 😊

[@martinoreilly8313]

Great video and one of the most enjoyable yet watching you solve problems on a type of car that I own.

[@robbey300]

Touch wood never had those problems with my 300SL as I drove it almost daily. Did the servicing myself and only took it to MB specialist garages for brakes, suspension and steering maintenance. After this I am actively looking for another R107 but has to be a G reg.

[@michaelbarlow3686]

Really enjoyed this video was an electrician by trade so great thinking outside the box I'll be back!!

[@allanmaureenmacintyre4474]

Loved this video. A breath of fresh air. Well done.

[@YouGuessedit1]

Your a master mechanic.

[@weyboi]

A brilliant job well done with patience and experience. I hope the owner was equally impressed

[@sprautos]

@@weyboi thank you. 🙏 yes customer was happy to get it all Sorted and back on the road

[@peterhess6039]

Well done - you obviously know what you are doing

[@italianjob-vx6hp]

Standard for a classic. Well done. Yes the smaller correct oil filter will keep oil pressure higher

[@sourabhsangale3952]

Mercedes should do something for the parts, new parts for 2020 and above also not available. Mercedes becoming crap day by day.

[@jizwinkle9822]

I do plugs always if they have been seriously flooded. I insisted on a 454 V8. The guy said they were fine. I said "who's the mechanic here"? Replaced them and it started instantly and ran perfect. No adjustments needed. Told them to press the gas pedal to floor once, then don't touch til it starts.

[@xmaxbabilo]

Amazing and educational video as always. Keep them coming.

[@sprautos]

🙏

[@h.google]

Top detective work ! Top job from a Merc' specialist 👍🏼

[@sprautos]

Thank you 🙏

[@sprautos]

Thank you 🙏

[@johnokeeffe6014]

Propper Old School Mechanics 😃

[@fv1291]

Cheers from California! Beautiful car. 😊 Remove that pesky grill!

[@JRBRestorations]

Excellent video. On my USA 1982 380sl with the M116 V8, I had a problem with spark and it turned out to be the green cable that runs from the distributor to the ignition control module. Guess what? No longer available from Mercedes Benz and the only one available is made by URO. I have heard from other people that they are poor quality cables, so I hit the wrecking yards and found a nice one from a w126 380se and bought it. It is really getting hard to find quality parts on our classics, and a lot of Chinese made crap makes matters worse. I love your channel. Thanks for the videos!

[@NICK-uy3nl]

Gorgeous 300SL in red. Nice work substituting the crank sensor.

[@plugman1963]

I don't see a problem charging the customer for the dizzy cap, it was cracked. Preventative maintenance!!

[@sprautos]

Agreed, it wouldn’t start at all without it so would be back to square one. Found the date stamp on it aswel, 1993.

[@plugman1963]

@@sprautos love the channel by the way.

[@ghost-wm1hw]

Well known issue, crank no start when warm is usually the crankshaft sensor. I have had 14 old mercs over the last 30 yrs. Also really suffer from brake light switch. That throws up srs and abs fault. 5 min job and very cheap part

[@cwmoser]

More often no restart when warm is a bad Accumulator. I've replaced the Accumulator on both my 380SL and 560SL. One with a URO part, the other with a Bosch part.

[@alexyoung4763]

as an 80 year old this certainly brings back memories of the time before "technicians" coils/distributors/HT leads etc. and a bit of the dark art of electrics.Carbon pick up brushes on distributers,dynamos and starter motors been there done it.However i never heard any mention of condensers that went hand in glove within the distributer as well as points or perhaps they were previous to the car concerned

[@sprautos]

Yes condensers were before this model. Mercedes were pretty advanced at the time. And great to hear it brings back some memories that’s awesome, I love listening to my grandad tell me the old motoring story’s they seemed to always turn into a funny tale

[@alexyoung4763]

@@sprautos condensers seemed to be an underated item just because it was small and cylinder shaped with a two inch black wire and spade connector soldered on to it and in days gone by people would change spark plugs sets of points HT leads etc. and still suffer rough running all for the sake of a condenser that cost the same as a spark plug around 7 shillings and six pence (7/6) in old pre-decimal coinage.

[@jpedrofigueira]

Brilliant stuff! Really enjoyed it.

[@cwmoser]

Exceptional video. I admire your diagnostic skills with these old Mercedes.

[@sprautos]

Thank you very much!

[@philipm3776]

I had exactly these symptoms on a 500SL some years ago. Changed leads, plugs, dizzy [sic], rotor arm myself, then spent hundreds on fault finding by a so-called independent specialist in Leeds, to be told that the insulation in the loom was bio-degradable and it needed new looms. Gave up at that point and PX-ed it. I wish that I had lived near you, because it was a lovely car otherwise.

[@kevdavies3445]

good work points condensor real old school

[@frankiegregoriou4604]

That bonnet goes all the way up Like all Mercedes

[@Wiltshire-observer]

It’s surprising how the partial loss of spark was enough to not make it fire at all. Usually when the spark ‘runs away’ like that the engine will fire but be very rough running. I imagine that Mercedes produced an extremely high voltage spark there which would be quite fussy when it encountered a lower resistance to earth via moisture or carbon tracking. Maybe not a car to take to the Scottish highlands in the ultra damp autumn !.

[@aschult4]

Thank you for this. Now I can do the same on my R107 300!

[@xxl531]

As a motorcycle mechanic i always use original filters the pressure is better and the pressure valve inside the filter works better 😊

[@sprautos]

That’s great to know being a biker my self, it’s what I’ve always been told on this style of filter.

[@markaddy53]

great job lad as always lad bit ov a mare 4 u but got it sorted well done keep up the great work

[@wookiewookster1214]

Cracking content, love to see the classics kept going. Thank you 🙏

[@habsom1406]

Really thought you were going to head for the voltage regulator relay (behind the battery on W124s I think) but would you know, it turned out to be the cps! The condition underneath was very nice indeed, lucky owner. Nice to see you guys using seat and wing protectors. I've done the whole diZZy cap and rotor faff on my W124 300TE and always use original MB filters, back to silky smooth. I love those SLs❤....one day maybe!!!

[@kerbsidemobilemechanic]

Loved watching this, can’t beat the classics

[@markrothnie9384]

Great work persevering with that nightmare of a job!

[@stephencox1955]

Another amazing video,glad too see you are distributing your knowledge to the junior members of your staff 😉

[@nickduncan-brown3904]

A great bit of work by someone who has enormous experience of these cars. How would a main dealer have fixed the problem if at all??

[@sprautos]

I think they would of just said part no longer available and that would of been the end.

[@douglasbell7667]

great video nice to see someone still working on these cars ,I you were closer I'd send my W123 to you definitely ,so hard to find someone .

[@carstenrubner520]

Nice vid with content that is relevant and interesting...👍

[@sprautos]

Glad you enjoyed it, thank you. 🙏

[@nigelbryant5932]

What a beautiful looking car. Well done for persevering with it

[@pamed76]

I’m glad you solved it in the end. I know from experience with my 1984 280 se how time consuming things can be. With my 380 sel I had some strange thing too a long time ago. I put in the wrong resistance spark plug cables. That gives you a headache to find out what’s wrong because you think first of other things. In a way I’m glad you have obd ports now to connect your computer and find out what’s going on.

[@sprautos]

Yea an obd does help, it gives you some data to read to help with diagnostics.

[@pamed76]

@@sprautos I’m so sorry. My English is so insufficient. I meant that with more modern cars an obd port is very handy. The old Mercedes have ( maybe) that round multi plug connection that never works. It’s only common sense and a lot of experience to solve problems.kudo’s to you!

[@sprautos]

@@pamed76 im sorry i wrote doesnt isntead of does! haha my bad, i have edited my reply to you which i hope now makes more sence, your english is fine i understand what you mean perfectly well.

[@davidrix804]

Just found your channel and really enjoyed it,PS never mind the others,you carry on calling it the DIZZY CAP mate👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🍺🍺

[@sprautos]

Welcome aboard! And yea it’s a dizzy 😂👌

[@davidrix804]

@@sprautos 👍👍👍🍺🍺🍺🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧