Lee:
I read your recent post about 400Es coming on the market, with sportier suspension and brakes (and better mileage than my 300E). In previous posts you talked about the different year 400E brakes - I believe you said 93 brakes were better than the alloy calipers on the 92 cars. Are there any other differences that would make a particular year 400E more desirable than other years? Are they as reliable as the 300E cars? Do they have known weak spots like the head gaskets on the twin cam six, or the valve guides/seals on the M103 six? Thanks for your comments!


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JCE
87 300E, 62k miles
Smoke Silver

[This message has been edited by JCE (edited 04-26-2000).]

John,
The front calipers on the early 92 400E's were a problem but odds are that any car of significant age will of had them upgraded/updated to 93 spec already. Don't know of too many M119/W124 short comings except the usual cooling concerns. Though not nearly as much of a problem in 400's as 500's you need to keep the cooling system well maintained. No problems with the head gaskets or valves that I know of. The tranny can shift a bit hard but that is the nature of the heavier duty 722.3xx tranny. I've heard of a couple people who have had to reseal the power steering but that is a sub $300 fix if memory serves. (labor, parts, etc included) Overall a really good car. Just budget for getting 16" wheels and tires as the 3700lb sedan that is packing 295lb-ft and 275HP really comes alive with 16" rubber. Of course, other owners are more than welcome to comment.

Hope this helps...Lee

PS As with the 500E's, the 92's have a bit stronger motor. For the performance junky, you may want to hunt one without ASR. If you encounter snow or slippery conditions often then you may want to get one with ASR. It was optional on the 400E's but standard on the 500E's (at least in the US anyhow)

[This message has been edited by Lee Scheeler (edited 04-26-2000).]

My understanding is that 1992 motors had full-throttle fuel enrichment in the injection programming, which is where the ponies came from (at the expense of emissions)

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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

I love my E420, it is more responsive than the E320. If you get one I would suguest the 94 or 95 ones. I personally like the styleing much more, and it is not as old of a car. They have the same hp as the 92's. I have not changed the rubber on mine yet but I highly suguest it. Lowering the car gives it a much more agressive look as well. Try looking on auto trader for a good deal.

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-1999 ML320
-1995 E320
-1994 E420 (lowered 1.5 in useing Eibach)
-1980 300D
-Had 1985 300TD Wagon (for over 10 yrs)
-Had 1993 190E 2.3

1992 actually has less HP(268hp VS 275hp of 1993+), but as Michael mentioned, the full throttle enrichment actually make the engine stronger. 1992 and 1993 should have the same torque output.

1992 has compression of 10.0:1, but 1993+ has 11.0:1....WHY...I don't know... :p

As for tires, the OE tires/rims are just NOT enough for the torque/hp...upgrade is a must...

Andy Kuo

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<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>1992 Mercedes-Benz 400SE
<LI>Pearl Grey/Black Leather
</UL>
ICQ#26950002
Mercedes Owners ICQ ActiveList ID#61730549
Mercedes S-Class Page
http://akry.web.com http://akry.homestead.com/files/mercedes_benz_2.gif

Thanks everybody for all the comments. I am going to start looking for a clean 92-95 E400 ('92 with the caliper upgrade as first choice?), or if no luck on that, a '93-95 m104 320E sedan! Great site and lots of time saving info :)

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JCE
87 300E, 62k miles
Smoke Silver

[This message has been edited by JCE (edited 06-01-2000).]

Hello

I own a '95 MB E420 w/ 27,700 kilometers (around 17,200 miles) and I haven't experienced any significant problems with the car. My car is stock, w/ the optional 6-disc CD changer and the rear sunshade. These gadgets, as well as the other electronic oddities on the car, still perform perfectly. My car does come equipped w/ ASR, but I've never really noticed that it hampered performance too much. The car does have excessive wheelspin when you are a little liberal with the gas on a green light, so as Lee suggested, larger wheels would definitely do the car justice. Other than that, bein' an owner of a E420 from the '95 model year, I would highly suggest it. If you got any other questions, feel free to post it.

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-= 1995 Mercedes-Benz E420 (W124 - Black Pearl/Black) =-