Mercedes: The unseen Ebay purchase...
Discussion
It started out as a bit of a joke, but then I realised what a brilliant idea it would be to get bidding. My first Mercedes turned out to be Sprinter van.
Didn't see that one coming, did you? My garage is a slightly eclectic mix now with this one added! I've bought it primarily because I've just moved house and it needs quite a bit of work. I'm definitely not picking up long bits of wood, plaster board etc in an M3 or a Golf, and my new neighbour is doing almost exactly the same work as I'm about to do on my house. We've just knocked down a chimney breast in one of the bedrooms in his house and the amount of rubble created was seemingly inversely proportional to the original area of chimney breast in the bedroom. His Megane Scenic with all the seats removed did a valiant job of taking all the rubble to the aggregate place where you can dump it for free, but we had to do many runs back and forth. We were discussing the fact that we don't want to rent scaffold to get up to the roof as we've both got several jobs to do so started to research buying the kit instead. Then the realisation came about that long poles and all the rest of the kit isn't going to fit in or on top of a car. Most places we looked at either didn't deliver the kit or it was pretty expensive to have delivered. I started looking around and how expensive LWB vans are for a bit of a laugh, and the rest is history!
Behold, the battered Sprinter in all its glory, shortly after picking it up:
It *just* about squeezes between the corner of my garage and a meaty fence post in the new garden so I could inspect it. As in, about 10mm clearance either side. If you get it absolutely spot on, you're fine!
Obviously, the garden won't become the permanent parking place for it, but the garden is probably the lowest priority on the house renovation so it's handy for now to work on the van:
The engine bay isn't too shabby, actually. It's just dirty and it doesn't look like it's been serviced in a while. I bought a service kit and set to it. Someone had put way too much oil in, which explains why I had a high oil level beep on the dash when driving it home from the previous owner's. I actually had to stop draining the oil, drain my tub out and then carry on! That's all resolved now as the correct amount was put back in the top. I changed the air filter and reset the funky indicator on the air box that tells you how clogged the filter is. It was all the way in the red on the 100% setting... I also changed the fuel filter and plugged the water sensor back in while I was there:
Cab is a bit broken in places but nothing out of the ordinary for a van:
Lovely stains on the seats. I gave them a wet vac to remove almost 300k worth of arse and they're looking quite a bit tidier than you see below. As bought:
Photo from the top floor of the house, purely because Mrs GPM came downstairs and said the roof was really dirty. I went up to look. Correct, she was!
I've already cleaned the scuttle up a fair bit before these photos, so just imagine what it was like beforehand:
I think there was a small ecosystem in there, and the water drains in each corner had blocked up. I've cleaned it up as much as I can be bothered to for now, and the drains now work.
I've got a couple of bits and bobs to do and it's ready to do some load luggung for me:
If there's any interest in the trials and tribulations of messing about with an old van then I'll keep posting updates
Didn't see that one coming, did you? My garage is a slightly eclectic mix now with this one added! I've bought it primarily because I've just moved house and it needs quite a bit of work. I'm definitely not picking up long bits of wood, plaster board etc in an M3 or a Golf, and my new neighbour is doing almost exactly the same work as I'm about to do on my house. We've just knocked down a chimney breast in one of the bedrooms in his house and the amount of rubble created was seemingly inversely proportional to the original area of chimney breast in the bedroom. His Megane Scenic with all the seats removed did a valiant job of taking all the rubble to the aggregate place where you can dump it for free, but we had to do many runs back and forth. We were discussing the fact that we don't want to rent scaffold to get up to the roof as we've both got several jobs to do so started to research buying the kit instead. Then the realisation came about that long poles and all the rest of the kit isn't going to fit in or on top of a car. Most places we looked at either didn't deliver the kit or it was pretty expensive to have delivered. I started looking around and how expensive LWB vans are for a bit of a laugh, and the rest is history!
Behold, the battered Sprinter in all its glory, shortly after picking it up:
It *just* about squeezes between the corner of my garage and a meaty fence post in the new garden so I could inspect it. As in, about 10mm clearance either side. If you get it absolutely spot on, you're fine!
Obviously, the garden won't become the permanent parking place for it, but the garden is probably the lowest priority on the house renovation so it's handy for now to work on the van:
The engine bay isn't too shabby, actually. It's just dirty and it doesn't look like it's been serviced in a while. I bought a service kit and set to it. Someone had put way too much oil in, which explains why I had a high oil level beep on the dash when driving it home from the previous owner's. I actually had to stop draining the oil, drain my tub out and then carry on! That's all resolved now as the correct amount was put back in the top. I changed the air filter and reset the funky indicator on the air box that tells you how clogged the filter is. It was all the way in the red on the 100% setting... I also changed the fuel filter and plugged the water sensor back in while I was there:
Cab is a bit broken in places but nothing out of the ordinary for a van:
Lovely stains on the seats. I gave them a wet vac to remove almost 300k worth of arse and they're looking quite a bit tidier than you see below. As bought:
Photo from the top floor of the house, purely because Mrs GPM came downstairs and said the roof was really dirty. I went up to look. Correct, she was!
I've already cleaned the scuttle up a fair bit before these photos, so just imagine what it was like beforehand:
I think there was a small ecosystem in there, and the water drains in each corner had blocked up. I've cleaned it up as much as I can be bothered to for now, and the drains now work.
I've got a couple of bits and bobs to do and it's ready to do some load luggung for me:
- Fix extra wobbly gear shifter - second hand unit coming from Ebay. It's actually a bit difficult to find gears so that needs to be done.
- Fix over-cooling issue - viscous fan clutch has failed always on. New one in the post
- Fix clutch pedal - it's a bit skew and you can wobble it left and right. I suspect it's cracked around the metal bearing as it's a plastic item. Will investigate
If there's any interest in the trials and tribulations of messing about with an old van then I'll keep posting updates
It is often said that rust is the only thing that kills a Mercedes van. Worth a few quid in Kurust and an afternoon with a brush and some sandpaper perhaps? Could even chuck some cheap white paint on it if you're feeling adventurous. Do post more though, this looks like an interesting adventure!
Excellent!
Recently bought my first Merc and it's also a van. Had to buy a red AMG keyring to go with the chrome ignition key, looks posh until you see the actual vehicle...
Shame these rust so badly, suspect that's a few MOTs away from the scrapper but in the meantime it'll do great service as a work van.
I love driving vans, despite the size visibility is often excellent and they have proper big mirrors instead of tiny things on most modern cars.
Main thing is planning ahead and thinking about the extra stopping time.
Recently bought my first Merc and it's also a van. Had to buy a red AMG keyring to go with the chrome ignition key, looks posh until you see the actual vehicle...
Shame these rust so badly, suspect that's a few MOTs away from the scrapper but in the meantime it'll do great service as a work van.
I love driving vans, despite the size visibility is often excellent and they have proper big mirrors instead of tiny things on most modern cars.
Main thing is planning ahead and thinking about the extra stopping time.
r129sl said:
I have to say I’d love a van. A very useful thing to have. And when my wife finally tired of my shenanigans it would be somewhere to live.
Extremely useful! I've got some furniture to pick up tomorrow and I'm eyeing up some more on Ebay at this very moment. Ironically I picked up a chest of drawers today using the Golf 
I only went to view it, but ended up buying on the spot and it just about squeezed in.Northbrook said:
I bought an old Renault Master a few months ago to move house with. It was very cheap, until I had to get a chunk of work done. Twice. But it's quite liberating to drive. It's a shame I don't have a long-term home for it, as I've grown quite attached to the big old thing.
It'll be a good thing to learn to spanner on and save yourself labour costs. Worth keeping just for that if you ask me! If its taxed/tested/insured then just park it on a road somewhere, if it's anything like mine then it won't matter where it's parked 
Networkgeek said:
As a serial Land Rover fanatic, it's nice to see another car/van graced by rust 
I actually didn't realise these vans were RWD. I bet this will be entertaining with no load in the back and a wet roundabout
Yep, it's a bit worse for wear on the outer body, but that's part of the fun.I actually didn't realise these vans were RWD. I bet this will be entertaining with no load in the back and a wet roundabout
Wet roundabout experiments will take place shortly, but it's got ESP so I suspect nothing will actually happen!
steveo3002 said:
are you going to tidy up the rust ? think id mask it off and paint the lower panels in a contrasting colour just to clean it up a bit...even it its rollered on
Yep. It's on the longer term list of things to do. It looks like a different van underneath, really quite clean and tidy overall and hardly any rust. Someone's even been over the hard brake lines with Waxoyl or similar.RazerSauber said:
It is often said that rust is the only thing that kills a Mercedes van. Worth a few quid in Kurust and an afternoon with a brush and some sandpaper perhaps? Could even chuck some cheap white paint on it if you're feeling adventurous. Do post more though, this looks like an interesting adventure!
Yep, as above, I'll get to it at some point. I don't want it rusting away to nothing and it'll be fun to have a go at tidying it up anonymous said:
[redacted]
I think this one will be staying too. Very useful for all sorts. I think a tow bar and car trailer is on the longer term list too.cerb4.5lee said:
I'm a van fan as well. I remember driving one of these years ago and it felt massive to me at the time.
Good luck with it.
Thanks! It doesn't feel overly big to me but you do need to remember the length of the wheelbase at tight T-junctions etc.Good luck with it.
R56Cooper said:
Excellent!
Recently bought my first Merc and it's also a van. Had to buy a red AMG keyring to go with the chrome ignition key, looks posh until you see the actual vehicle...
Shame these rust so badly, suspect that's a few MOTs away from the scrapper but in the meantime it'll do great service as a work van.
I love driving vans, despite the size visibility is often excellent and they have proper big mirrors instead of tiny things on most modern cars.
Main thing is planning ahead and thinking about the extra stopping time.
Well, you can't tease with a sentence about how you bought an old van too and then not post a pic... Recently bought my first Merc and it's also a van. Had to buy a red AMG keyring to go with the chrome ignition key, looks posh until you see the actual vehicle...
Shame these rust so badly, suspect that's a few MOTs away from the scrapper but in the meantime it'll do great service as a work van.
I love driving vans, despite the size visibility is often excellent and they have proper big mirrors instead of tiny things on most modern cars.
Main thing is planning ahead and thinking about the extra stopping time.
It's surprisingly good underneath, I'll get some pics of that up soon. A good jet wash and some underseal would see it preserved for a very long time I reckon.
Cheers everyone, I'll post some more updates in due course
RazerSauber said:
Worth a few quid in Kurust and an afternoon with a brush and some sandpaper perhaps?
Can thoroughly recommend a product called Vactan which is miles ahead of the commonly used products I previously used. it appears to be a commercial product packaged for the amateur market,
Here's mine - 2011 Vito rather than a Sprinter.
The big difference is from 2006 these were galvanised so there's no rust issues, albeit she has a few battle scars.
I can't imagine not having a van now - even though mine's a camper there's still loads of space inside - picked up a free leather couch the other day and it just swallowed it whole. Have also loaded her up with plasterboard and building supplies, not to mention biking weekends away.
The big difference is from 2006 these were galvanised so there's no rust issues, albeit she has a few battle scars.
I can't imagine not having a van now - even though mine's a camper there's still loads of space inside - picked up a free leather couch the other day and it just swallowed it whole. Have also loaded her up with plasterboard and building supplies, not to mention biking weekends away.
EdmondDantes said:
Bilt hamber do some excellent rust treatment and proofing!
They do indeed! I've got some of their stuff already, and I'll look at rust killer too R56Cooper said:
Here's mine - 2011 Vito rather than a Sprinter.
The big difference is from 2006 these were galvanised so there's no rust issues, albeit she has a few battle scars.
I can't imagine not having a van now - even though mine's a camper there's still loads of space inside - picked up a free leather couch the other day and it just swallowed it whole. Have also loaded her up with plasterboard and building supplies, not to mention biking weekends away.
Smart! Except, the first rule of van club: no polish. Yours looks waaay too shiny The big difference is from 2006 these were galvanised so there's no rust issues, albeit she has a few battle scars.
I can't imagine not having a van now - even though mine's a camper there's still loads of space inside - picked up a free leather couch the other day and it just swallowed it whole. Have also loaded her up with plasterboard and building supplies, not to mention biking weekends away.
SHutchinson said:
Was it used underground in a salt mine? That rust around the screen is bad, it's worse than the 33yr old Mk2 Golf I'm restoring!!
Still, it'll give you something to do if you ever get bored.
No idea, but it's got a new-ish windscreen! That area's quite well protected from road rash so I have no idea why it's so rusty. That's one of the areas I will definitely tidy up at some point. To be fair to the van, it's probably not had the same love as a Mk2 Golf, and has been used year round in all weather for almost 300k miles!Still, it'll give you something to do if you ever get bored.
bolidemichael said:
I'm in. Rather fatigued with vans having access to our fleet of them at any time, so it's handy in that respect and then I return them in time for Monday's runs!
Looking forward to your updates. Nutter.
Nutter? Moi? Looking forward to your updates. Nutter.
Maybe a bit of mission creep and man maths, but Mrs GPM loves the van so I'm on a winner.EdmondDantes said:
I keep looking at mwb low roof 4x4 sprinters on EBay, and get it painted in that tough black trunk liner paint!
Got to admit, if I could've had a 4x4 one I might well have gone for it! They seem expensive compared to this one, but I'd like to have a poke about with the four wheel drive system, and of course have a go at some off-roading in a van, when everyone else is in their Defenders Right, lets have another update then!
Just to illustrate how tight it is if I want to work on the van/park it in the garden. It's a proper squeeze but it just about goes! I did manage to rip a rear light cluster off by brushing the fence post on the way out the other day. £20 later for a new but non-genuine one and we're back in business:
The gear linkage, as already mentioned, was shocking. It looked like it was in neutral when in gear, such was the play in the gear stick. To remedy that I bought a much less used example of a gear shift unit from the good old Bay of E. This one had a mere 126k miles under its belt, so should be much better than mine.
The old unit has significant play in the bush that holds the metal ball on the end of the stick, and also the plastic moving piece to one side that actuates the other cable. It looks like it's made to come apart so I'm wondering if I can buy a repair kit from Mercedes. I'll investigate that as having new bushings will give a brilliant gear change again. The second hand unit I've put on is a million times better than the original but there's still some wear and tear to it. I can, however change gears properly now without losing momentum while trying to find a gear.
Next job is to investigate why the van is over-cooling. First on the list of suspects was the viscous fan clutch as I could hear 'fan roar' all the time. The clutches either fail completely 'off' so they won't ever try to pull air through the rad, or like mine, fully 'on' so they're coupled to the engine speed all the time.
It was fiddly but straightforward enough to do. There was an 8mm allen head bolt that needed to come out from the front of the fan and I had to counter hold on the crank to undo it. There wasn't loads of room between the fan and the back of the radiator once I'd moved the shroud out of the way but just about enough to do the job:
New viscous clutch ready to go on:
It took me less than an hour start to finish so not too bad to do overall.
Here's a pic of the dash too. The coolant light on the dash was low level in the reservoir. A top up solved that one, and I'll keep an eye on it:
Immediately after fixing those bits I had to dash out on a 150 mile round trip to pick up a bed for the spare room. The temperature now comes up to the normal area on the gauge but it takes a long time to do so. Next suspect is the thermostat then... I want to do a coolant flush anyway so I'll put a new 'stat on then.
Looking forward to picking up a few more bits for the house in the near future. I'll update once I've done some more work on the van
Gallons Per Mile said:
Immediately after fixing those bits I had to dash out on a 150 mile round trip to pick up a bed for the spare room. The temperature now comes up to the normal area on the gauge but it takes a long time to do so. Next suspect is the thermostat then... I want to do a coolant flush anyway so I'll put a new 'stat on then.
I guess the van would warm up quicker than a car due to its extra wind resistance, but on my 2004 C270CDi it'd be well into the teens of miles of rolling driving before it was up to normal temp, 85C. Once there it wouldn't budge. I had the car from nearly new and it was always the same.That had a hefty electric booster heater - it had to to be set to auto in the dash and then it worked if the temp was 8C or less. It only worked when the car was moving due to the current it took (aorund 150 amps - car had a water cooled alternator). I think Sprinters were often fitted with diesel auxiliary heaters. Both these systems are somewhat iffy so even if you have one or the other it's unlikely they'll still be working.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff