bmdubya1198

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think you might have to remove the whole dash pad to replace the airbag cover. I feel like there are screws securing it from behind.

Nice! I've never had one, but I've always loved W124s. Along with the W123 and W201, it's my favorite Mercedes by far.

It might take a couple drain and fills to see a real improvement in shifting, but it's a good sign that you're already seeing improvement.

Love the XC90! That's an awesome interior. Now what's the story with this W124?

Nice find! The interior looks really clean. As for the issues now... The fuel pump is probably going out, they tend to be weaker on the AWD P80s for some reason. I'd put that on the list to replace. I definitely recommend changing the transmission fluid, it's likely long overdue at this point. Usually the AW50-42 tends to recover from weird issues like this from a fluid change. My cousin's car (back when it was still automatic) had lost all gears after losing all the fluid on the highway from a blown cooler line, and after filling the fluid, it shifted great. I was shocked! The ignition switch issue is super common on P80s, that's the electronic portion on the back of the ignition cylinder. Make sure you pull off the steering column cover and check which type you have, I think '99 was a mixed year for the style. The older ones have a round connection with several individual pins, and the newer ones use a smaller single connector.

Yeah, he hasn't been on in a while! Lol

That’s not Kristian anyway, his profile is @sconeman.

Just go to the junkyard for the center cap... they're easy to find.

He took a while to ship my delrin shifter bushings when I ordered them, but he was quick to respond to an email when I asked. Turned out he was waiting on the next batch to be ready, and it took a week or two. Sometimes it takes some time, but you don't have to worry about the order never showing up. I'm sure Kristian is very busy!

My 2000 R does the same thing, it cranks for longer than it should before starting. It's most likely the check valve in the fuel pump that has failed. It seems to be very common on AWD P80s. Take care of that VVT code too (most likely needs a new solenoid), that could potentially contribute to the long cranking issue. However, it's more than likely fuel related.

I don't think so. Take a look at this thread. https://www.___.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=71559#p376691 Good news is that it seems splicing that connector into a wheel speed sensor will fix that, details follow the linked post in that thread.

The issue is that the newer transmission will not have the speed sensor that the older cars use. '96 and newer use the ABS/wheel speed senors for the speedometer signal, so there are no provisions for a speed sensor on the transmission.

I wouldn't worry too much about the coolant level at this point. It definitely sounds like it's down a cylinder though, but if unplugging each coil made it worse, then it's not the problem.

Where does it sit when the engine is cool? I noticed yesterday that our XC90 V8 does that too, the level rises maybe an inch when hot. My V70R does not, though. The smoke is likely from the PCV. I've had cars pass the glove test that still have a clogged up PCV.

My cousin's car had an issue with that a while back, usually it felt fine above 2000 RPM with a dead coil. Swapped it out, ran perfectly.