Preventative Maintenance questions

[dcfan40]

I am thinking about putting some Preventative Maintenance into my car when I get my money back from the government. I am willing to spend about a $1,000 to get things done. I need advice on what you think I should be doing. Some background first.

The car is a 1983 300D with 225,000 miles. Both the Glow plugs and battery was just recently replaced along with the oil. Tires seem fine in good shape.
I had a tune-up done at 198,342 miles, all fluids were changed a few other things were done. They didn't want to touch the transmission fluid though.
Brakes were done at 187,760 miles


Possible concerns I have:
I know the transmission probably only has another 50,000 miles left in it. And I know this will cost me more than a $1,000. So I want to try and hold out for a while.
Valve adjustment was not done with tune-up.
My AC doesn't work but I have another car that has it..


I do want the engine cleaned again.
Maybe have the timing chain looked at.

My thought was to take it to Mercedes which I normally do and have them take a look and see what they think. I know they are expensive but I have been to one or two other people and have had a few additional problems after I had it serviced.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Brian Carlton]

Well, you ought to definitely set the valves if they have not been done in awhile. You can do this yourself.

The timing chain should be checked for stretch just to see where you are.

The transmission fluid ought to be changed. I'm not sure why they did not want to do it. Some shops are afraid of stirring up a can of worms if they drop the pan on a tranny that has not been routinely serviced. Personally I'm not sure if I would go the route of just sticking my head in the sand regarding it.

What about front end work? Anthing been done up there lately?


Sounds like you have most everything else covered.

[dcfan40]

Brian,

Thanks for the quick response. I have to be honest I don't know more about cars. I am slowly learning though. But I still don't know how to do a valve adjustment.

I think I had some front end work done but I am going to have them take a look.

I will ask them about changing the trainy fluid and see what they think about it.

Thanks,

Bill

[Brian Carlton]

Bill,

Everyone of us started here in the same boat. I'm quite sure that nobody knew how to adjust the valves when they bought their first 300 with the 617 engine. My first M/B was a 1983 300DT. I owned it for five years (1997-2002). I did most of the maintenance myself. The indy in North Carolina did some work when I visited down there.

It's a long slow steady progress learning about these vehicles, and you are never done.

I spend the day on Sunday doing electrical troubleshooting to find out why my windshield washers do not work and why my rear defroster does not work.

I found them both, thanks to the electrical troubleshooting manual and some basic electrical knowledge. But, locating the connectors on the SDL proved to be quite a chore.

Start with the Haynes manual for the 300D. It's on e-bay all the time and it provides a wealth of info for the person who has just started out with the vehicle. In fact, if you don't get into real heavy work, you can almost get by with just that manual and advice and info from the forum.

Good luck with it.

[Wasuchi]

You should be able to get the ac working too for much less than $1,000...... actually less than $500. I would do that along with Brian's suggestions..... do the trans service for sure.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by Wasuchi

You should be able to get the ac working too for much less than $1,000...... actually less than $500. I would do that along with Brian's suggestions..... do the trans service for sure.

If the compressor is bad, he is looking at about $500 in parts. The suction hose normally gets replaced with the dryer and expansion valve.

I bought the parts and had the job done on the 300DT when I had it. Total cost with labor (I did not try it myself) was about $900.

[dcfan40]

I have a feeling that the guts of my A/C may be gone. 2 problems I have with changing it. 1. the A/C has broke twice, once for me and once for my grandfather in the mid 90's 2. I drive a 2001 SLK.

I do have the Haynes manual and it is a good manual..to sound like a kid I wished there was more pictures..

I am proud of myself for being able to with my father figure out this past weekend that my windshield washer motor is shot. I ordered one..should be here by the end of the week..

The bottom line is as it gets warmer and I am willing to drive my other car I need to just open up the hood and look around. I think I just figured out the 4 places for my glow plugs...next time I will try and change them myself.

Thanks,

Bill

[Hatterasguy]

Has any front end work ever been done? Bushings, shocks, ball joints, tie rods, upper control arms ect? You would be amazed how a fresh set of Bilsteins will wake up one of these cars.

Summer is right around the corner. How old is your radiator, cooling fan, water pump, hoses, belts ect.

What about your flex discs?

Diff mount?

Then maybe the nice stuff like euro lights, new grill, some dents removed ect.

Their is always a way to put more money into these cars!

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Their is always a way to put more money into these cars!

And there is a man who should definitely know.

[dannym]

How about brakes? Flushing the system with new fluid. You can repack the bearings while your down there.
You can check the suspension like Hattarasguy mentioned also.

I bought a Haynes manual at AutoZone. It has full instructions for just about anything. I followed it for the valve adjustment. It was very easy. take a picture of all the linkages before you disconnect them though. Saved my ass!

Danny

[Hatterasguy]

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

And there is a man who should definitely know.

Oh yeah, mine might only demand $2k-$3k this year! If the trans holds up, but it doesn't really seem to slip much so she will last for a few thousand miles yet.

But if you do know your trans is dieing and you have $1k sitting in front of you do the trans now while you have the money. What is going wrong with it? Slipping? Better to do it sooner then wait and not have the money and have to put it on a credit card or something like that.

[Dance'w'Diesels]

Well that's just about what I am doing right now. Going through the Fuel system first. Then replace engine, trany and axle lube with filters where it applies. Don't forget the power steering filter Then the cooling system with new radiator. Then new rotors, pads and fluid flush...and so on....

[Dance'w'Diesels]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

But if you do know your trans is dieing and you have $1k sitting in front of you do the trans now while you have the money. What is going wrong with it? Slipping? Better to do it sooner then wait and not have the money and have to put it on a credit card or something like that.

I second the above. However you can save about 1k just by doing the work yourself. The complete rebuild kit from Lemford costs about $160 and the rest is your labor

[benzene]

The PO of my latest acquisition had the AC on this car replaced in the last year by his indy, to the tune of a couple grand. It can be expensive to have this stuff done

[Hatterasguy]

Originally Posted by Dance'w'Diesels

I second the above. However you can save about 1k just by doing the work yourself. The complete rebuild kit from Lemford costs about $160 and the rest is your labor

I am pretty sure knowing MB you would need a few special tools. Trans are not that simple I'd rather pay for the kowledge and experiance by having someone else do it. $1,200-$1,500 seems to be the going rate, factor in another $500 if you don't pull it yourself. Also $30 for the trans mount and you should replace the flex disc while it is out also, $90.