Hydraulic power windows?? In doors?
Man, I had enough trouble bleeding a hydraulic clutch properly, and that line was maybe 30 inches tops.
Man, I had enough trouble bleeding a hydraulic clutch properly, and that line was maybe 30 inches tops.
Absolute nuts. But the high point of dead-silent, powerful, smooth conveniences no matter the maintenance cost.
Wife's car broke down (probably the water pump or just a loose hose) on the highway while coming back from vacation. As it was a very busy day where we were (France), there were not any regular cab left so the insurance company sent us a driver with... a Mercedes S class 550 (not a taxi but a private driver: no "cab / taxi" thinggy on the roof). It's still as you wrote: dead-silent, powerful and silky smooth.
Diesel engine but as a passenger I honestly couldn't tell, even though I'm a petrolhead and tend to notice these things.
"In 1963 the Mercedes-Benz 600 was the most expensive car in the world."
That said, I retrofitted a hydraulic clutch on a dirt bike that came with a cable clutch. The precision movement was so wonderful. I guess by carefully sizing the "sending" and "receiving" cylinders, you can easily choose the exact amount of movement or force you want.
Some of that was the hydraulic clutch, and part the engine - which descended from tractor engine designs. But the other thing you could do on that transmission was stomp on the clutch pedal, shift out of 2nd on the way to the floor, and into 3rd on the way back up. Where your foot was, the clutch plate was, down to the mm. Fastest I ever shifted a car without double clutching.
This trend was not universal as my W260 G-Class has only electronic gear (locks windows, etc.), but I believe this was an anomaly amongst Mercedes models.
The 1987 W126 is often regarded as the last truly overbuilt car available from Mercedes. In sizable part because of the switch to electrical systems.