This Really Stinks! AND My Tech is Taking Over this Mercedes 500SL 

Wizard seems like a great guy to work for. Good humored and he clearly respects the expertise of the other mechanics in his shop.

Grimes is such a great addition. Such a talented mechanic and a genuine guy. Good work Wizz. Giving him more screen time is a solid move

The switch at 17:17 is to trigger the automatic rollbar. Basically if you have any road speed and a wheel lifts off the road, the lower suspension arm droops on that side and trips the microswitch, and the spring-loaded roll bar is activated. You can accidentally trip it during "exuberant" driving. It then needs to be reset.

Hilarious how often people say "older technology" as though it is inferior to things made now. Point of fact, many times older things are far more robust than things automotive now.

This car deserves a complete refresh. It’s a beautiful piece of machinery.

Grimes is my new favorite!! Love the channel, but LOVE the addition of Grimes. He's GREAT! Thanks all!

The 80s called, they didn’t license that much maroon to be used in the 90s

These cars had a sticker price starting at $100,200 in 1993. (Taking inflation into account, that would be $219,000 in today's dollars.) It always astonishes me that people can tie up that much money in a car and then use it so little. 45,000 miles is nothing. All of these failures are just due to the rubber deteriorating I guess.

I like that Car Wizard showcases the talents of his mechanics.

What great timing. The base control module (n16/1) checked out okay, but found a mouse nest in the cowl!

Man, Grimes kicks this channel up another notch!

I remember these early 90's 500SLs vividly. They were everywhere in Orange County, CA back in the day. I lusted over them and never really thought that the subsequent models were quite as appealing. I sure hope the owner of this one invests in maintaining it and brings it back to its former glory. Loved the video Wizard and Grimes!

"17:19 Ride height sensors" Actually these are linked to the roll-bar and when the micro-switch is tripped (control arm goes beyond a certain angle), the automatic roll-bar deploys to save from (permanent) headache. My 1993 300CE Cabriolet was equipped with this feature.

I'm really liking Grimes a whole lot. He does very well on camera and is very informative. Looks like you got another great one Wizard

I had one, I mean the 500SL with those yellow blinkers, also the V12 SL 600 and later a SL320 before I went ahead for R230. It had a quite good fuel economy even in germany. The drive train and the automatic suffered over time if not well maintained especially motor mounts. The R129 was the last robust SL that can last for ages cause there is no fancy colour screen no one can fix anymore. It is reliable at least when the renaming had happened, the SL500 sheme took place around summer 1994 or so for all lines back then. I had ordered one and delivery took over 1 year and mine had been upgraded to the new model year and the price in that period had even been lowered, also the A124 which was the E320 convertible, a 4 seater. That had gotten 20.000 DM of extras for free.

It's a lovely colour. I hope it gets sorted and back out on the road.

I bought a 1993 500SL with 78k miles in 1999; we spent about $500 a month fixing things for 5 months. Had to be towed twice. Traded it for a 1998 BMW 328i convertible even at the MB dealership. Had that BMW for 9 years.

You could almost call Grimes “Car Wizard Lite” if he grew a long beard. Couple of super intelligent mechanic dudes!

Grimes just brings his tool cart because he knows what’s coming. 😁

This is when Mercedes Benz was "Engineered like no other Car in the World" and is my favorite SL of all time. I've always (and still do) wanted to own one of these.

Grimes is definitely the type of guy I would want working on my cars if I couldn't do it myself, not in a horrible rush, knowledgeable and thorough, first time fix

Love the fact that it maintains the original Becker 1432 two-piece (yes, the actual tuner is in the trunk for 91-93's) cd changer capable radio.

I enjoy seeing the diagnostics, but would also like to see the actual fixing of the items on these cars. Javi G.

Old Greg! OMG wizard you are the best. Thank you for making my day with that bit .

R129 = built to last ! And the genuine Becker Radio which is really rare and even here far more expensive then back in the days.

Grimes is awesome! 99% of his weight is in his brain! Brilliant and so young! I can only imagine how he will be when he gets older! Make sure he is happy there! He IS Omega now!

the marks on the R tie rod sleeve is from them trying to rotate it to adjust the toe during the FEA, after the L tie rod was replaced .

I’ve seen some weird problems caused by a faulty brake switch. Seen a ford f250 have a weird shifting issue because of a faulty brake switch. The mystery started to solve itself when I noticed the cruise control wouldn’t stay engaged or even engage most of the time. As you can imagine the brake lights continued to work but other systems had problems. Ironically the ford f250 didn’t trigger any codes or lights for this particular problem but boy did it have us pondering the problem most of the day. Oddly enough I rebuilt the faulty switch which fixed all the issues it had caused but by no means was it done as permanent fix as the fix I did I had next to zero confidence in it for longevity. However it was nice to confirm that a new switch would solve the weird transmission problem that had us scratching our heads all day. Until that day I never would have thought that the brake switch would be part of the control for the transmission.

Hi! Old Benz guy here. It has been a while but those switches at the rear lower tables were the 22 degree rollover switches. A tilt of 22 degrees sideways would activate the roll bar.

I’m the original owner of a 2000 SL500 with about 50,000 miles on the odometer. Recently, the alarm began activating on its own which would drain the battery. So, had the alarm deactivated. Other than that, just normal maintenance items. It’s pretty obvious to me that the MPG gauge is just a manifold vacuum gauge that has been calibrated to give appropriate miles per gallon readout. This was a build-to-order car where I specified interior/exterior colors and options. Several months later when I came to purchase the car it came with dark walnut wood trim instead of the light chestnut I had specified. The dealer knocked $1,000 off the price because of the screwup. I considered having the wood trim replaced but was quoted $3,000 for this. I wrote a letter to Mercedes USA describing what had happened and my displeasure with the mixup and that I’d gladly return the $1,000 if I could get the car I ordered. About a month later I got a call from the dealer saying corporate Mercedes would chip in $1,000, the dealer would chip in $1,000 and if I paid $1,000 the dealer would install the proper would trim. I took them up on their offer and am still glad I did.

The worst fuel leak I've ever experienced was also a Benz; it was a w109 that'd been sitting for a college class slated for EV conversion, and I was asked to start and try to move it, and as soon as I hit the key a fuel hose burst and everyone told me to pull the key and get the hell out of the car.

Grimes is an articulate dude 😅👍

Love these videos, Grimes seems like a great mechanic!

My dad owned the same one and bought it for USD 13000, and he got an offer from other people who saw him driving it for $25000, but he didn't sell it to them.

The color reminds me of my 93 40th anniversary Corvrette, with the maroon/Ruby red exterior and interior

Grimes's tool chest has a German license plate. But the thing is, I thought plates in Deutschland were black and white. The plate he shows has the "D" to the left to denote the country, but the red lettering suggests Belgium. Grimes comes across as the sweetest guy in the world; No wonder he has kids! Great video!

The 96 models onwards had the last revision of the M119 which was the best - abit lighter and coil on plug ignition, made them much easier to run/ own as an older car. I loved my 96 SL500.

I daily drove a 1993 500SL for a whole year ( early 2022-2023 ). ( a mad lad for sure ) It was certainly an experience to remember! ASR light and limp mode when i bought it and I emailed wizard for advice on it and he basically told me to cut and run! Thankfully it only needed a $300 E-Gas module replacement to fix it ( as opposed to the multitude of other much more expensive things that could cause it ). I managed to get her into really good running and cosmetic order before I sold. Thankfully i didn't really lose that much money and the journey was well worth it to me

Old gregg reference from the wizard? Nice.

+1 for the Old Greeeeeeeg reference.

Grimes has been a tremendous addition to the shop and the channel.

Great video, hope you make another video showing the repairs being made. Wasn’t 1993 a biodegradable wiring harness year? That would certainly explain all the electrical gremlins. Good luck!

Good to see two Uber-Geeks in conversation - pure knowledge being exchanged. Here's to a bright and successful future. Assuming you don't fall out over something petty!!!

I'd like to see an update on the Beetle soon Wizard, poor thing seems to have been there for weeks now!

Love hearing Grimes, guy is a wealth of detailed car knowledge

The maroon on maroon is nice, but I had a '97 Ford Aerostar [one of the best cars I've ever owned] in "Toreador Red", a very common Ford color that is similar to the paint on this car, and it had a gray fabric interior that in my opinion was the best combination. It had the cool seats with the holes in the headrests. People hate on Aerostars, but they were bulletproof and that thing towed my boat around so easily that I would forget it was back there!

The small switches on the rear axle are not height regulators, no, they are the triggers for the roll bar! If the car overturns, these switches trigger the safety mechanism...

Interesting that they say that this car is not in too bad a shape for 46,000 miles, while some modern Toyota and Honda models drive like new at 46,000 miles. Mercedes reliability.........

Grimes has forgotten more about Mercedes then most of us knew in the first place 🙂 Had a neighbor that had a succession of all the cool Mercedes sedans from about 1985 to about 2008 when he passed away. He had short term leases....he's wheel up in a new one every 6 months.

Loving the 'Old Greg' reference. Mighty Boosh rocked 😅

the lapels sound great there Ol' Gregg

Thats a beautiful color combo, wish new cars brought back these color palettes

Did I just hear an old Greg reference from the mighty boosh. “Ever drink baileys from a shoe”

I'm Ol' Gregg!

I love the old MB fuel gauges with fractions. You'd never see that on an American car.

IM OL WIZARD! Lmao! Didn't expect an Ol Greg reference here.

You don't need a Star Diagnosis for accessing all the modules. A cheapo DS150 mostly also works fine if you're willing to build a manual switch box for switching the separate K-Lines of the round Mercedes diagnostic plug - that's what I did for my old 1998 W202. In my opinion, the DS150 diagnostic box thing is a bit clunky to use, but it gets the job done too.

The Wizard and the Warlock. Grimes rocks

That fuel pump setup looks very much like the setup on a Porsche 928. Only, it was mounted at the rear end of the car, you could get at it by jacking up the rear end and releasing the protective "harness" plate; Right there was the fuel pump and filter.

Nice looking Mercedes! I see that CDI is still in the background. Are they planning to fix it? I have a similar W211 CDI with 154k on it and I think they are definitely worth keeping on the road!

I wish I stayed near you guys. I have a 93 500 SEL that needs the power steering pump serviced and little electric gremlins to be fixed…if only I had the money but I keep it parked…the only really nice car I’ve ever had and I refuse to let it go 😅…one day…maybe one day I’ll be able to afford someone great like you guys I can trust with it without parts coming up missing or making it worse 🤞🏾✊🏾🖤

I had a run in with one of these, my 86' Corvette at 164mph ... the SL just kept on going and vanished into the distance.

Old Greg reference @0:57. Nice.

Nice old Mercedes and really clean underneath, definitely kept in a good garage when not doing it 1,500 miles every year

I remember seeing these when they were brand new, at a Advertising Company, silver private plate. In 91, I think and who remembers that they wrecked a few in the Charlie Sheen Clint Eastwood car movie.

Excellent video. Grimes is a great addition.

Really enjoying Grimmes and his calm demeanour.

DD a low-mileage, 1993 280E in Germany & after 5yrs still absolutely love it! MB of this era can be/are amazing, but they're not magical. There's obviously been decades of opportunity for maintenance neglect & these cars are so well built they can hide it well. The only way forward is to buy one in the best condition possible & then continue to care for it appropriately. Even here in DE where NOS/OEM, OE & good aftermarket parts are readily & cheaply available, you'd have to be either really clueless &/or a sadist to buy a 90's MB "fixer-upper". Hoovie? 500E? 🤣

Car wizard quoting Old Gregg is peak!!

That was a beeper not a phone! A pager! In the modern vernacular it would be referred to as Baller.

That car looks like it can use a good cleaning.

I know these are hard to find in good shape, and not fun to keep well maintained. but when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s I just love these cars in silver or white whatever to this day if I won the lottery I would get one of these well sorted and drive it around like I was Scarface. People can have their 80s 90s Corvettes I just thought this is a classic looking car and to this day I still think it looks great on all angles

I own one of these r129's. Check your wheel lug bolts if they're overtightened theyre prone to snapping and getting stuck in the wheel. Just had to get about 8 of my lug bolts drilled out by a shop.

The M119 was the best V8 Mercedes ever produced and VERY reliable. It’s a masterpiece. The M113 was very good due to low maintenance costs and simplicity, but wasn’t up to the standards that the M119 put forth. It’s good enough, but definitely can’t be considered a masterpiece like the beautiful M119.

@13:09... "SO It wasn't U? 😮😅

Love the R129. Great color combo and quite unusual to see.

I remember these brand new and how pricey they were. 😮

This is my favorite generation of SL the R129.

my first car! the absolute worst car for a 16 year old haha. got it for $1000 from a palm springs old lady. azurite blue pearl with blue interior and top. she ragged that thing, smoked in it, AND it was actually an SL320 despite having SL500 badges lmao. Transmission was slippier than a greased weasel. The top did work, but one day it spewed hydraulic fluid all over the driveway, interior, and me. It did teach me a good lesson in never buying a cheap german car again. I am a proud Camry and Lexus LS400 owner now :)

The combination of mileage in MPG and temperature in °C may indicate a vehicle originally sold in Canada.

This car looks like it’s had a very hard life. I have a 1993 600SL that I’ve owned for 20 years. It has 160,000 kilometres on it and it’s in immaculate shape. I can’t believe how rough that one looks.

Had tintermittent trouble with ASR, it was a small amount of soot in throttle body, i just needed to clean and lube the throttle flap. (-93 E280T) went into "limp mode" and needed restart to run right 🙂

Not in bad shape but as a 46k mile Mercedes it should be in brand new condition. People need to take care of these vintage R129's -they're not throw away cars.

500SL is one of the few Mercs I covet. That Parrot BT unit is OLD! But 46k is delivery mileage. This is a unicorn!

I have in fact drank Bailey's from a shoe.

Another interesting diagnostics video...with most of the team participating.

I had a 95 sl600 for the most part was a really nice car but a few things mbz did back then that made for alot of problems to later owners, the most common was the biodegradable wiring insulation, personally this should of been a recall but never did so owners were on their own to fix it. roof/top hydraulics seals go bad in the hydraulic rams, 600's all had the hydraulic suspension and normal wear hoses etc get old and leak. the only engine issue I ever had with the m120 was due t the wiring issue, as same biodegradable wiring was used inside the throttle bodies. as for interior if car was garage kept they generally remain pristine except for plastics, kept out in the sun especially if top is left open, wood will crack seats leather will dry out crack and fall apart, PLASTICS on the interior will also break more easily as the car gets older and older, there are a few places re- manufacturing these plastic interior parts. some of which are better than the originals.

Hi there.I'm Old Greg.Nice to meet cha.

I believe Princess Diana had the same SL with the same color.

Your number is getting really close to a million!

Used to work for a fella who drove a 450 SL Benz I believe it was a 74 model this was 78 tru 82 when I worked at his company.

Grimes is so cool in a very down-played way. Always like seeing him on all those Wichita guys RU-vid's.

oh the days when mercedes and bmw made beautiful cars that were also reliable. not sure they do either anymore.

One of my dream cars from that era.

Remember when Wiz said no more older cars in my shop? Ya, me too, but those pay the bills so that BS went right out the window.

Was that a Mighty Boosh quote from the Car Wizard?!

Hey Car Wizard could you update us on yojr vehicals that you have in the shop like the motorhome a nd the deisel swap truck

"Grimes" is worth his weight in gold.

What a great tech Grimes is! Super cool guy too!

I'm living in venezuela, it was selling me a 1985 mercedes 500 2 Doors v8, 53 thousand miles, original, just some tears in seat, 3000$, looks great, but I didn't buy it, I was afraid for the cost of replacement parts, and I heard about that old European carts is a source of issues after 150 thousand milles