Guest Post: Replacing the W210 tow eye cover
Editors Note: This is part three in a series by Nick Gruzevskis about owning a W210 430. The first part can be found here.
Finding parts for my 1998 W210 E430 has been hit and miss. Some parts have been very easy to find, like the climate sensor motor, found at Pelican Parts, while the fan regulator was found on Amazon. There have been some tough parts to find, like the RHD dashboard speaker and the driver’s side front tow eye cover, which was missing when I purchased the car. This last part was especially problematic as my car has been fitted with genuine E55 front and rear bumpers. I searched the web, but sellers were asking drug money for a used example. It was then I stumbled on OctoClassic. They re-engineer spare parts for many marques, but cater for a wide range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles
It took me a while to workout what was left and right, but then ordered the part. A few weeks later it was delivered and came primed, all I needed to do was paint it. I was thinking how I would paint it, would I do it myself, or should I get it painted professionally. Well, the decision was made for me, when my daughter reversed into a car. I dropped the car off at the panel beater and asked if they could paint the cover while fixing rear damage.
Picking the car up, I noticed the cover freshly painted, but they were unable to install it as they didn’t have the clips. The next challenge was working out what parts I needed and where to order from. No surprise to me the hanging straps required (Part# 0069882878) were no longer available from Mercedes. I found a set on Ebay, costing $68 and they were delivered within a week.
Fast forward to this weekend, I finally got around to installing tow cover. I quickly worked out the plastic end of strap that sits in front bumper was too wide for slot in bumper. I used a small file and filed it down a fraction. The tow cover then simply clipped into place and looks good, apart from the rest of the front bumper that’s chipped up from many highway kilometres.
If you have an older Mercedes-Benz, I recommend you check out the OctoClassic website.
Author: Nick Gruzevskis is a contributor to classicjalopy.com, and the custodian of a great collection of classic and modern cars. Links to some his other articles can be found here
