My biggest thing with my SDl is that I want it to be perfect(anal) as I have admired that car since the late 80's. That really makes it expensive and aggravating.

The car has never left me stranded other than the tranny. With 305k miles it can't last forever.

I have done lots of things which could have waited and would not have affected the cars performance\reliability one bit.

The paint job should be done this week.

It's almost sad to see a stripped down SDL.....but it will be worth it....

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Enough about me, how are you doing?

[QUOTE=Plantman] I had the valves adjusted at 145K with the timing belt.
[QUOTE]

You have to adjust the valves on a '98 Camry?

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'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

That's the exact question I asked two posts ago... also, someone else mentiond that he adjusted the valves on a 2000 Honda Accord.

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

My 93 Camry had the 4cy with 16 valves and 2 overhead cams. Valve lash was supposed to be checked every 100k or so if I remember correctly. Nobody ever does.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I believe most valves on Toyota's need to be adjusted periodically.

Who is doing the paint? Did you do your own prep work? Are they spraying over the old finish or is it down to metal? The only caution I have for you is no car in daily use will remain "perfect" for long. There is always that kid exiting an SUV parked next to you or stone chips from that gravel truck. With the couple of resprays I have had done the biggest issue seems to be paint chipping. I think if the original paint is not removed the paint gets too thick and it is more prone to chipping. Anyway best of luck and please post pictures.

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Bill Reimels
Now down to one:
1972 300SE 3.5 W109 (Euro delivery)

I did my own prep insofar as I removed all the trim, bumpers, grill, moldings, etc.... my indy removed the rear windshield.

It will be sanded down quite a bit, but not to the metal. Too much $$$$$ involved in the extra time. Don't think I'll need it though, the paint was pretty thin, especially top side. These guys do really good work. I've seen a couple of their 2 stage paint jobs and they look really nice.

FYI, the only reason they checked my valves was because the valve cover gasket was leaking and needed replacement.

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Enough about me, how are you doing?

Depends on what breaks. My experience has been parts for both the MB and Porsche are not cheap. Older 911s, say 78-89 are easy to fix and DIY. Real easy to drop the engine and transmission. Parts are easy to find, new and used. Many parts are interchangeable from 69-89. Tons of info available about buying, selling, maintaining and rebuilding 911s too.
And there's no anti-freeze to deal with.

Ha! I wasn't the only one! It took me three tries to seal my valve cover up. It kept leaking around the spark plug holes. I could swear my Toyota was built by ex Jag builders.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Hi guys, remember me?

I had this with my 300D in a way. My big hitches were the parts cost to rebuild everything in the suspension and a trans(which I hated to start with).
I decided to hang it up for now and traded it off. I miss it, but I don't miss wondering if it will shift again, or the play in the steering, or the body roll, etc, etc. Or even the mileage really.

I replaced it with a 90 325i, E30 chassis. Stick, RWD, I6 with 234K miles on it. 23mpg, darn quick, no smoke, no oil usage that I can tell, shifts well, handles better than any MB diesel. It needs stuff too, but i just enjoy the car more. In lot of ways it's a more simple car than even a w123.

Something in the original post struck me, he said he just did not enjoy the car. I'm a young fellow I guess still, but even I can tell you, spending time, blood and money on a twenty year old euro car that you don't ENJOY is an quick path to anger and disapointment, period. I wish I was content with a new civic or whattheheckever, but I'm not. But if I'm going to spend cold nights replacing stuff and such, it's darn well going to be on something that makes me grin like an idiot a the top of second gear(and I don't mean because your running 70mph already). That's my .02..

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

I was telling my girlfriend about the latest problem I had to fix in my 300cdt, and I called one of the old, worn parts "crap"---her reply, "everything in your car is crap. You're always replacing parts."

I beg to differ--but sometimes it sure seems like that. My major problems:

1. A huge rust hole under the battery in the wheel well and firewall; what do you do about that?
2. Motor mounts/shocks screwed, car bounces like it has hydraulics
3. Vacuum in all doors works about 30%
4. WINDOW SEALS!!!! I LIVE IN FLORIDA, IT RAINS ALL SUMMER! I get in my car and it's like a pool in the backseat floor. I had to punch a hole through a rubber plug in the floor so it can drain out until I got the free cash to fix it. Getting that one fixed in about a week.
5. Suspension shot
6. Thermostat keeps engine at 30 centigrade--not good. Replacing that if the ebay seller ever ships the part.
7. Engine condition unknown, got to do compression test. Can you do this yourself easily?
8. And on and on....

My sound system is probably worth 10% of the value of the car. My dad doesn't know why I keep it, but I love the styling of the car, it sounds powerful even if it isn't, and come on, it's a Mercedes. Everywhere you look today you see the little plastic bubble styling of Hondas. They look like those escape pods in the first star wars. I don't even consider Japanese cars legitimate machines. They're like something you'd make out of legos in grade school. Not to mention the fact that the Japanese systematically slaughtered thousands of POW's during WWII who were lagging behind on death marches and starved the ones that lived into early graves. They can keep their plastic contraptions.

I had a great Uncle that dissappeared on the Battan death march.............

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Whoa! Sounds like trouble...she should have on a pedistal at this stage!!! It's generally after you tie the knot that the daggers fly....

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Bill Reimels
Now down to one:
1972 300SE 3.5 W109 (Euro delivery)

Mercedes does not have their hands clean from WW2. They are just as guilty as Toyota, Honda, ect. If you judge car companies by what they did during a horrible war 60 years ago then the last car you should be driving is a MB.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

The man has a point..

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K