New addition to the fleet - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

vwnate1 · #16 06-30-2019, 12:49 AM

Yes, you have a beautiful automobile there .

I also think you should wax it as that really helps to maintain the paint .

Back when he used to wash it, my brother's two W126's often got waves, thumbs up and people asking how me managed to have such a new car as "everyone knows" a new Mercedes is so expen$ive.....

.

dieseldiehard · #17 06-30-2019, 01:07 AM

thanks for the comment vwnate1 !
I've already ordered some HP Care Care OCTANE wax, my old can of carnuba wax is probably dried up, is been years since I bought it.
New stuff is a nano wax the latest method of making ultra small crystals. Will report on how it goes on.
But first I have a brake project to do before any cosmetics. I'm sure the pads in it are from the factory. I'm going to shotgun the rotors and pads, one rotor is a little warped and I can't stand anything less than perfect, quiet braking!

vwnate1 · #18 06-30-2019, 01:24 AM

Oh that's bad .

So far I've encounterd quite a few thin & worn out Mercedes brake rotors but never a warped one yet .

The good news is : for those of us who're financially $trapped, new ones are on about 1/2 of the junked Mercedes' I see.....

They're cheap anyway .

? What kind of brake pads are you going to use ? .

I'm keen to try ceramics on my W123's .

todieselornot · #19 06-30-2019, 01:31 PM

It's a rainy Sunday morning for me, so I thought I'd go through all the invoices that I've paid to keep my '98 E300 - just in case you need any help justifying your beautiful new addition to the family. I've owned my car for a little over 15 years - let's call it 182 months. Amortizing what I've spent so far over 182 months, excluding fuel, the car has cost me $274.48 per month. I gather you do most of your own maintenance, so I would expect that figure to be much less for you.

As of this morning the car has 458,169 miles. I bought it with about 46k miles, so my cost per mile for maintenance and repairs comes to about .12/mile. I estimate my fuel costs over that time is about .10/mile as diesel seems to have averaged $3/gal over that period.

Not as cheap to operate as our RAV4, but I wouldn't hesitate to take her cross-country tomorrow. In fact, I put 1,200+ miles on last week for work.

Great looking car. Congrats!

dieseldiehard · #20 07-01-2019, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieseldiehard

well, lets put it this way, here's my justification. My "old" '99 300Dturbo cost me close to $5K.
Within a year the transmission went bad, I knew it was flaring a bit but didn't realize it would go downhill so quickly.
I have a laundry list of things it needed to meet my standards:
Removing PO's darned poly bushings replaced with OE rubber.
New front wheel bearings.
Rebuilt cylinder head, new timing chain, 2 new exh valves while it was off.
The headlights were so fogged up due to the PO installing a plastic film over them that wouldn't come off I had to buy new headlights (well used off ePay) and swap the covers, a real PITA.
Rebuilt alternator
New flex discs
New heater valve assy,
Replaced front diff seal (I looked for a low mileage diff at the time and couldn't find one)
Motor mounts (need to replace again soon)
Trans mount,
Ball joints, lower control arm bushings
A rear antisway link busted when I cranked hard to avoid a collision
probably a few other things I forgot, like belt tensioner, Fan thermo clutch, Rad hoses, then there are brake rotors and Porterfield pads, SS brake hoses but I won't include all that in the grad running total on the "Old" '99 turbo,
sheesh! I spent well over $12K (including basic car).

It still runs like a scalded cat, cruise control works, AC is great. Hugs the road and stops great when you want it to. Clearcoat is mostly gone as the PO lived in the high desert.

One odd thing is it has the full DIN Computer display (WTF is a CDROM- based roadside map feature worth now? nada! Esp since GPS came along).
But then there's the fact its a EURO based version! I do not know how it got installed whether it was OE or the PO found it and put it in but its a kick to show people what technology was like pre-Y2K. If you go to enter your location it has Spain, Greece, Germany etc. just NO North America! and no way to upgrade the firmware.

I bought this "New" one for $12K go figure. The seller called and said he had a call from a man who pleaded with him to sell it for $15K but he honored our deal and I got it - now its off to the races.
Call me nuts or whatever I figure I will drive it a few years then give to my daughter, as my wife has failed to see the beauty of the '99 turbo but thankfully she's very content with her E320, the gas guzzler it is, but I really wish I could take the lumbar seats out of it and put them in my "New" '99! If there was an easy way I might do it! thats the only thing I really wish this one had.

DDH

correction - see my previous announcement where I discovered the car DOES HAVE ORTHOPEDIC SEATS! that alone makes the car really pleasureable on trips, as I have a weak back.
The AC is sooo coold I shut it off periodically, and there are no odd odors of any kind in the car, just pure clean cold air. The PO truly never allowed anyone to smoke in the car, that today is a rarity. I hate cig smoke and I most certainly would not have bought it if it reeked of cigarette smoke

NOW the problem I am having !!!

I can't get a valid title until I get a Smog Cert.
The test station I always use said it can't begin to hook up to the state server and enter a test until I get a clear reading on the OBD scanner.
This has something to do with accrued EGR records, the OBD computer isn't pleasing the smog tester so he can't begin to "test" it yet (all they do is look under the hood to see all appropriate components are present and connected properly then a visual look at the exhaust to see if it is producing any abnormal smoke (as determined b the examiner in a completely persona interpretation).
At his request I've driven almost 500 miles and it still isn't a "go". I went through this on the 2000 E320 and it gave a "go" after driving it about 300 miles, so I am not a newbie to this nonsense.
I could imagine a stuck EGR valve if the PO didn't do a little freeway driving occasionally.
Tomorrow I'll have the computer reset by a friend who has the computer reader and experience in using it. Crossing all fingers and toes.
So far NO CHECK ENGINE lights, so you would think its a go, but no, the darned Smog Police have their own set of rules.

dieseldiehard · #21 07-12-2019, 11:35 PM

I found a small leak in one of the injector return hoses.
I had some Viton hose I ordered from McMaster Carr for another car and never used so I installed it.
Their green is a different hardness than the black Viton, thats why they are color coded. I'm not planning on ever running Bio fuel but the Viton and its longevity should carry the car over to the day I stop driving

Meanwhile I am sure the PO abused the car by not running it often. The case for NOT operating a car is bad on a diesel because algae or fungus can set in, growing on water in the tank.
More on that later

Here's the return lines

JHZR2 · #22 07-12-2019, 11:58 PM

Wow, nice! Even in the climate you live in, I’d get some oil spray rustproofing all over that car...

vwnate1 · #23 07-13-2019, 01:27 AM

Finnigan's Waxoyl......

dieseldiehard · #24 07-13-2019, 11:49 AM

OK, thanks for the suggestions, I never thought of that.
The under carriage is clean too.
I forgot to bring my camera while it was on a lift
The only thing missing is the front cover under the engine, probably when the po had an oil change at Firestone (

)
first thing I did was put some synthetic 5W40 in it (MB 229.5)

gsxr · #25 07-13-2019, 08:17 PM

Don't forget the Italian tuneup specified by the late Marshall Booth. Full throttle to redline through at least the first few gears, to whatever legal speeds are near you. That may help a bit, and certainly doesn't hurt.

Buying a new splash shield would be $265 list, ~$200 from discount dealers. Don't forget there is a second, smaller splash shield behind that ($140 / $105), and a third one under the transmission ($360 / $270). If all 3 are missing, makes you want to find the guy who tossed them, eh?

dieseldiehard · #26 07-13-2019, 11:36 PM

Already done the Italian tune up! this car really gets up and goes!
Thanks for the illustration, Dave. I am missing item# 11
A friend believes it is the same on all W210's

I removed the belly pan on my '87 300D because frankly I can't install it since I lowered the car

I don't have any serious leaks anyhow at least not the last time I checked, I like looking at the pavement where I park. I still have the MB screws that held it on, squirreled away for the day I get the car up on a lift in order to restore it.

I just remembered I have a clean belly pan from a 300SD(L?)
The shop I used to hang at gave it to me after their customer left it or they forgot to put it back on. Its huge, compared to the ones on a 124.
I don't know what it would cost to ship but I may find out and try to sell it. Or trade for a 210 pan?
DDH

dieseldiehard · #27 07-13-2019, 11:40 PM

It just occurred to me the turbo diesel MIGHT use a different cover, since it has an intercooler up behind the lower grill / bumper?

dieseldiehard · #28 07-14-2019, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwnate1

Oh that's bad .
So far I've encounterd quite a few thin & worn out Mercedes brake rotors but never a warped one yet .

The good news is : for those of us who're financially $trapped, new ones are on about 1/2 of the junked Mercedes' I see.....

They're cheap anyway .

? What kind of brake pads are you going to use ? .
I'm keen to try ceramics on my W123's .

I bought ATE rotors for the rear and Brembo for the front, the ATE are made in Germany. The Brembos are from China, but well made with a coating to prevent rusting in areas away from where the pads rest.
Pads are Porterfield.
And I have to say they stop really well and the car has no more drubbing sound when brakes are applied hard. I hate that.
My friend said the PO may have driven hard the hit a puddle of water, whatever the cause on or more of the rotors had some runout.
The Porterfields R4S compound is what I use on most of my cars. The 123 is an exception and I have MetalMasters in it.

t walgamuth · #29 07-14-2019, 08:17 AM

When I had an 82 wagon with my wife as primary driver I could not keep the front rotors from warping. I think she uses the brakes a lot more than I do. The wagon is heavier than a sedan too so there is that.

Great looking car! Glad you are having good luck with it.

gsxr · #30 07-14-2019, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieseldiehard

Already done the Italian tune up! this car really gets up and goes!
Thanks for the illustration, Dave. I am missing item# 11
A friend believes it is the same on all W210's

#11 is the small piece that goes in the middle, between the large front panel, and large rear panel. #11 also #14 attached, which is a duct to feed cooling air to an engine mount. See attached.

This panel is not the same on all 210's, the EPC indicates it fits a few other models, but not all. Seems the difference may be this particular panel only has 1 duct, while other models use 2 ducts. The other cars are the 96-97 diesels, and 96-97 E320... so it may be 1 duct for inline-6 engines, and 2 ducts for the V6/V8 engines. You can buy all 3 parts brand new for under $120 delivered from Naperville with free shipping.

BTW, do you know a source that still has Metal Master brake pads? I haven't been able to find them for years, I thought they were out of production.