MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING MYSELF HAVE BROUGHT UP VARIOUS PROBLEMS WITH THIER M103 ENGINES.
PROBLEMS LIKE OIL LEAKING, FUEL DISTRIBUTION PROBLEMS ECT. IS THIS ONE OF MERCEDES FLOPS ON SUCH A POPULAR CAR AS A 300E?
OFCOURSE NO ENGINE LASTS AN ETERNITY BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE CRAPY DESIGNING TO ME. ANYWAY, I WANT GET OPINIONS FROM M103 ENGINE OWNERS, HOW ARE THEY RUNNING FOR THEM, WHAT KIND OF MILAGE, AND WHAT PROBLEMS WE ENCOUNTER WITH THESE BEASTS?
YOUR COMMENTS WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
THANKS,
ADAM BOURASSA

My car has the 103 engine. At 70,000 miles it doesn't have any oil leaks, uses zero oil between 3ooo mile changes. All that it has ever needed according to the records back to day one is a water pump (coolant change schedule hadn't been followed), a plug wire, and injector seals. I drive the car fairly hard, but don't abuse it. Fairly hard means occasional manual up or down shifting at stops or on twisty roads/downhills, occasional hard accelerations from stop, etc.
The engine, to me, is quick and responsive. I get about about 20-22 mpg. My mechanic has told me it will eventually start leaking oil, but that it is a very strong engine.Hope this helps.

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JCE
87 300E, 65k miles
Smoke Silver

I think the 103 is one of the best engines ever produced. Long-lived, makes good power and torque and the only shortcoming was high-mileage oil consumption on early models before the valve guide problem was fixed.

If it appears that lots of people write for tech help on these 'problem' engines it's been my general observation that:
1) the majority of these folks have pre-1990 models and their concern is invariably oil consumption,
2) there's LOTS of them, and
3) they're becoming high-mileage cars at this point and EVERY car wears out.

Let's face it - you can't fault an engine when someone writes in that they're burning a quart every thousand miles and have "only" 200k miles on their car.

duh duh duh duh

The real question is, how many other manufacturers can be pointed to that build engines that go 200k without much more that a water pump (and I'd bet the majority of 300s in this country at 200k miles have NOT had a replacement installed)?????

My Ford took almost $8k in new parts to make it to 100 and it STILL runs like garbage. My dad's beemers are good - they make 150 before requiring about $5-8k in maintenance.

I guess it depends on how you look at it. I think the 103 is a well-engineered design and far outlasts (at much less cost) other gas-powered motors.

My M103 2.6L engine has 180,000 miles on it and still runs REALLY strong. Paint looks new. Car is a creme puff.

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1988 Mercedes-Benz 260E (W124)
Arctic White/Grey
Debadged
Euro Headlights
Clear Turn Signals and 1994/1995 Taillights
16" x 7J 8-hole
Michelin Pilot HX MXM 205/55WR16

1997 Mercedes-Benz E420 (W210)
Pearl Black/Ash
Debadged
Michelin Pilot XGT Z4 P225/55ZR16

1997 Mercedes-Benz C280 (W202)
Polar White/Parchment
Michelin Pilot SX-GT 205/60VR15

My '88 300TE has 165k on it and the motor's never been open. Haven't done the guides & seals yet, but since it only goes thru a quart every 3-4k miles I won't bother until I have reason.

Great durability, power for its size, and minimal maintenance. I think the M103's a gem...though I like my M119 5.0 litre V-8 better since it has twice the power!

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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E, Almandine Red, 17x8.5" AMG Sport rims
'88 300TE, Arctic White, 16x7.5" Mille Miglia E420/430 replica rims

I believe the 103 engine is a pretty good/ dependable unit. I have ALOT of these coming in the shop with well over 200k on them.

yeah,some had valve guide probs & gasket leaks,,,,,but repairing that is reasonable (compared to most other brands) and once the repairs are performed you're good-to-go for a long time.

On thing I have noticed though,,,,,It seems like nearly EVERY 4-matic with the 103 engine has more head gasket probs than the other models. I don't really know why, but it seems like I've had to pull the head on every 4-matic in town.

My Dad's racecar is a 190 2.6 and it runs very strong. His 2.6 can stay right with my 16 valve racecar on the longest straight at heartland park.

IMHO- the guys at Mercedes completely RUINED their straight six on the day they introduced the 104 engine. The lower end on a 103 and 104 are very similar (104 has valve reliefs for the 4-valve per cyl head).
Not only does the 104 series engine suffer from alot more problems, it is also alot more expensive to do repairs on. I just can't figue out what they were thinking when they put the 4-valve head on an engine that was already "known" for having some head gasket problems.



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M104s RUINED??? HARDLY!
besides the typical M103 head gasket leak problem, I have had no problem w/ my 300CE. In the last 9 months, I've put just about 30K mi on the car, still going strong. Not to mention it's already more powerful than the M103s. Granted, it's going in nxt month for gaskets and head work, but @ 156K, I think it's about time.

Tony
90 300CE, 156K+

Tony, I'm glad to hear you are happy with your 104....... I wonder though, if you will still feel that way when you get the bill for the "headwork"?

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Alain - good question...

To all of you - need opinions (experienced or otherwise):

What model of E-class (excluding anything with round headlights because I think they're too common these days) offers the best combo of performance/reliability. 1990-1993 (1994? - or was that first year of new model?) 300E, E320, etc etc. I can't keep the W12??? numbers straight anymore.

I personally think the last year before the model change is the best-looking example (headlight change, grille change, etc).

And yes, I think the world of the 400/420 but still VERY pricey in bay area (~$32-$38k for *mint* low-mile example).

I figure with anything this old you have to go mint.

Opinions?

My daily driver is an 88 300E. It has 210,000 miles on it. I have looked back in the records and have seen no mention of engine work. It does leak a little oil from the front upper timing cover, but I can correct that easily. I did valve guide seals on it and it uses little oil. Good, strong, reliable. I think they are good.

As with all engines, they do wear and have to be serviced. Bearings in the front such as the idlers and the water pump will wear, when this happens it costs money. Sorry.

Thanks

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Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
300E
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
SERVICE MANAGER FOR 14 BAY FACILITY
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 8 YRS
PARTNER IN MERCEDESSHOP.COM

My '88 manual transmission 300E is sitting at well over 170K miles. On a 105 degree day, I sprung a leak on the heater hose at the left rear of the head. It resulted in a warped head, I'm working on getting it apart now.

Up until this experience, this engine was amazing. I can't really blame the problem on the engine itself. Had I renewed all the hoses, I would not be doing anything to it. It used so little oil it was scary. I changed it every 3,300 miles and it did not go down on the stick at all during that time. It had valve seals only at about 60,000 miles.

I believe the explanation about these being high mileage now is right on the money. This is why you see many questions on MShop regarding these engines. Had I not been dumb enough to rely on old hoses, particularly one that connects directly to the cylinder head, this engine was probably headed for 300K miles.

I think that all things considered, Benz probably gets an A or A- on this engine.

Good luck,

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Larry Bible
'01 C Class, Six Speed
'84 Euro 240D, 523K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles