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#16
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Here's my take on the W126's, stick only with the 1981-1985 300SD's. If you get into the gassers with the V8's, they need more maintenece and require more expensive parts to keep running. Also the 560SEL's are going to be very expensive to repair, because they have all the extra goodies that can break... I once looked at a 560SEL that was $4500, and it would have cost about another $4500 to "fix it up"...
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#17
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It takes about 10min to adjust the shift on my transmission. From what I know thier is no normal way a MB should shift, I can make mine shift like a Caddy or bang into every gear. Mine is actually adjusted a little soft for my tast I like a good firm shift, you should feel every gear.
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
#18
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Woooow 350SD/SDL?caution!
Careful about the 350SD/SDL! Make sure if you buy one that it has had the new "redesigned" cylinder head. If not you are playing Russian roulette The 3.5 litre turbodiesel was one of the most troublesome engines ever built by Daimler-Benz. Buying one that has not had the new cylinder head (or a whole rebuilt engine) can end up costing thousands of dollars. There was at one time a class action lawsuit against the company regarding this engine!
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Old age and treachery will allways overcome youth and skill! 1993 S500 1984 380SL |
#19
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Actually the 350 cylinder head was the updated one, I plan on replacing my original "14" head with one of those if it ever cracks. You are confusing two different problems DaimlerChrysler:
The 1986-87 300D/SDL/TD came with the 3.0, 603 that had the flawed "14" head. These heads will crack if overheated, but if you don't overheat them they will last for a very long time. I know of two with over 300K miles on them. MB revised them a few times: 14 are the originals then their was 15,16,17, and 22 is the new one. I think their might have been an 18 or 20 in their. But any head over 17 is fine. Now the 1990-1991 350SD/SDL had a weak connecting rods, the rods of the originals will bend causing the cylinders to oval out and ruin the bottom end. Their is a 50-50 chance to a 60-40 chance of one going bad, depending on who you ask. Buy one with lots of miles. Figure $6k give or take to replace the short block with an updated one. The W140, 300SD's used the same above mentioned engine from 1992-1995 in the US. The 1995's are supposed to have the fixed engine's. The 1995 300SD is a nice car if you can find one!
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
#20
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Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in about the 500SEL's. Make sure the one you are looking at is NOT a Euro model. The Euro's had hydropneumatic suspension on ALL four corners. The hydrostruts if leaking are very expensive to replace (around $800 each). I had an independent quote me a price to replace all 4 hydrostruts and all 5 nitrogen spheres. Price = $2500. $2,000 for parts, $500 for labor.
The exhaust is expensive also. (I guess all MB exhaust's are expensive) Anways, I guess like the guys have said-take a look at everything closely and get a PPI done beforehand. Whatever the odometer says doesnt mean diddly squat. MB odometers have always had problems. Who's to say that the odometer on the 500SEL wasn't working for years and then someone finally decided to get it fixed.
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Frank 84 500SEL EURO 101K ( JUST LIKE MY 1ST WIFE. GLAD TO GET RID OF HER! ) 85 300D 310K (sold) 90 350SDL 184K sold 83 300D 118K (sold) 88 300E 153k (sold) 93 400E 105K (sold) |
#21
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I have been told by an "old wrench" that the 420 was the better car in the SEL class.
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#22
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I had an 85 500SEL
I had a 500SEL (85) from birth thru 228k miles in 1997.
It DID have a cam lobe go south due to some sort of oiling tube problem in the rocker covers. MB paid for it cause it was a fairly common problem. It got updated oiling tubes. The heater control flap broke at 188k - no hot air on driver's feet. Never fixed it cause the dash had to come out. Blew a trans cooler line at 130k. Replaced it with an updated one with a wire spring around it. Exhaust rotted out at 170k miles - put a $900 aftermarket solid stainless steel one on it. Put valve guide seals in it at 220k. Took about 6 hours to do in my garage and replaced the plastic oil tubes in the rocker covers at the same time - less than $100 in all parts and supplies. New shocks at 170k. Steering box adjustment at 90k and at 140k. New high pressure line on AC system (not an expensive MB one, but one by a local hydraulic shop). New radio speakers at around 200k when one gave up. The new ones were cheap (Kicker speakers that fit right in the factory spots for around $35 a pair) but they sounded much better. New rearview mirror at 180k (glue baked out of it and looked creepy) from junkyard. Several $5 plastic window lift rollers on various windows. General belt and hose replacement as reqd. All of the recommended services up to 120k were followed religiously, after that, I pretty much did it all myself. The car was driven normally. Not by a granny. Not by Bo and Luke Duke. It raced its share of Camaros and Saabs on the interstate, and even occasionally hung the tail out like Starsky and Hutch in the twisties for fun, but was driven pretty normally. No wild burnouts or nights at the dragstrip yet it knew what wide open throttle meant, too. At 220k miles, with a loose camchain, one day it backfired and jumped time a tooth on one of the cams. Still ran okay, and ran smooth, but the punch was gone. I was planning to dig in and fix it, but I got a sweet trade offer on a '90 560SEL and traded it (in 97). I consider the 85 to be a solid tank of a car. Doesn't run as strong as the 86 up 560. Doesn't have as good a radio as the 88 up models. I've seen one, however, with 68k original miles that gave nothing but problems. It belonged to a friend who leased it with 22k showing. He ended up parking it in a friend's barn to let the last 8 months of lease run out cause he said he couldn't afford for anything else to break. What I'm saying is that it is a solid design. That doesn't mean that there aren't plenty that have been abused... mc |
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