Thanks for the help and the pic, guys......I figured you would encourage me to change it. I was just having a hard time getting my wallet back out.
I've lurked on this board for a quite a while and appreciate it very much....it is very valuable to the newbie as well as the veteran mercedes owner. I've always been a DIY'er if I can find the info.
I've always wanted one of these cars ever since I climbed into a cab when I got off the train in Franfurt West Germany in 1980. In my 21 months there (US Army), I developed a love for german cars, beer and a girl or two
. I picked this car up last summer but didn't go about it right....the uneducated impulse buy
.
It seems to be a good car but I paid too much....one of many newbie lessons that I have learned. It looks good thanks to a more recent paint job. I don't think it had any rust....just oxidized bad from sitting in the sun too much. The motor doesn't use any oil or leak at all. I changed the valve cover gasket and replaced a cracked breather elbow. I was surprised how clean the valve cover was...no gunk build-up at all. It started giving me a squeek recently from the front of the motor that I thought was the water pump. When I looked, the tensioner was sitting crooked and the belt was nearly 1/4 off. I found out lots of info about it in the archives
. As soon as I get the tensioner and pump replaced, it's time to troubleshoot my vacuum system and hard shifting tranny.
The car doesn't have the speed of the turbo but there sure is lots of room under the hood and it is much simpler....no trap oxidizer, turbo or egr. I may use some of that space for a bypass oil filter. It will run at 70mph all day and the type of driving I do in central Indiana...that's all I need.
I enjoy working on the car. My son is 17 and has car/truck fever. He's changing the oil on his mom's Park Avenue ultra (he loves that supercharged 3800!) as I write this.
Have a good one!