Steve,

No, they did not change it. I did ask but they said it looks fine when inspected; saving me some $.

__________________
'86 560SEL | Silver Ext. / Blue Int. | 201K miles (Apr. 05) | 204K miles (Feb. 06)

Thanks, Steve. I'd be a lot more comfortable with the situation you described if that's what I can get.

I drove a very well maintained `88 560SEL this weekend. The owner had excellent records and was driving a late-model E class that replaced this car. It's metallic beige which is ok but not my first choice.

He told me when I was about to take it out that someone that had test-driven it the day before noticed a vibration at 55. He felt it was a tire balance thing and planned to take it in to NTB later that day since he bought a lifetime balance and rotation package.

I noticed the same vibration which seemed to even out at 70. Other than that, the car ran fine and AC was cold.

One thing I found odd was that the AC temp setting control on the dash was in Centigrade. The temp indicator on the dash was set for farenheit. Is that normal on the 560SEL? I've seen other MB's with the same control in farenheit.

Thanks,

Bill

Sorry to hijack the thread but the guides are the big problem. How could you tell by looking? Not a MB Shop. is it? When the guides get old they get brittle and on start-up, before the tensioner is full of oil, the chain slaps the guide, breaks it and it travels with the chain until it wedges between the cam sprocket and the chain, derailing the chain. Then the engine is out of time and usually needs a $6000 (for a V8) engine rebuild. Chain guides (I think there are 4) are much more important than the chain itself which almost never breaks. I never heard of a timing chain break. Chain wear is measured by stretch.

It would, however, save a lot of money because it's easy to roll a new chain in but the front cover has to come off to change the guides.
MHO

__________________
Steve
1985 Mercedes 500SL Euro (Gray market)
1995 BMW 520i Euro (Gray market)
1992 BMW 525it Wagon
1994 Honda Del Sol Si

Sjcruiser, $400 for the timing belt job sounds very good price. Can you tell me where the shop is. I will take my 89 300 ce for the service. Thanks.

I don't know about the temp. Mine is Euro and all in metric. Normally, vibration that goes away is wheel balance. nothing to worry about, as long as it goes away at speed. It could be a euro model. There a re a number of clues but it's unlikely to be a Euro 560SEL. You may learn to do some simple work yourself. I only changed my oil before I bought the Benz. Now I do everything, mostly out of necessity. Also, you usually do a better job. I have had a lot of trouble because I want it done perfect but don't want to pay.

__________________
Steve
1985 Mercedes 500SL Euro (Gray market)
1995 BMW 520i Euro (Gray market)
1992 BMW 525it Wagon
1994 Honda Del Sol Si

There is NO WAY this job can be responsibly done without changing the tensioners/guides. I don't care how cheap a job is performed without tensioners/guides ($400, whatever). A job without them has no value on a car going 100.000 miles and ready for a change and is its own form of ripoff. You cannot look at them and say "OK no trouble found". Any mechanic that says that knowing they have not been changed for 80 to 100000 miles is either ignorant or corrupt and looking forward to the time when it blows-up and you take it back in. The search for peace with these cars in my opinion is not about a cheap mechanic, It is about a job done right at a fair price, admittedly hard to find.

My 91 300SE had the outside temp LCD display in *F and the ACC thumbwheel marked in *C. AFAIK it was all original.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Bill,

My LCD also displays in Fahrenheit, which is opposite of the temp. control dial, which is in Celsius(sp?)

Eric,

I could have opted for new guides but I trust their work; actually, they are the best independent shop I've found in the past 12 years living in the Bay Area.

Newkid,

Visit www.motorspeedwest.com - let them know Frank sent ya!

__________________
'86 560SEL | Silver Ext. / Blue Int. | 201K miles (Apr. 05) | 204K miles (Feb. 06)

sjcruiser you just replaced the chain and not the guides? Why there the cheap part! Steve Gutman it right on the head, the guides are plastic and break. The chains can go for 300k+ miles without a problem. The M117 isn't as bad as the M116 but how long ago was the chain changed? 192k on original guides wow thats a bomb waiting to go off!

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

Steve Guttman said: the guides are the big problem. How could you tell by looking?
________________________________________________________________
When the plastic guides get old they turn a real funky brown/black color. The new guides are white. Conventional wisdom says change the guides at 100K miles but remember too that age plays a part to the guide condition. The guides should be changed at least every 10 years even if the 100K mile mark has not been met. You can probably use the original chain forever...but most owners change the chain at the same time as the guides. The chain is not that much money and not that much more labor costs are involved to do the complete job.

__________________
1986 560 SEL (159K miles)

It's come down to two 560SEL's now. With either car, I'd have a full
PPI done with a good MB indy and I've got good recommendations in both cities. Neither car has had the timing chain and tensioners replaced but I'll have that done along with all the maintenance tips you've recommended to me within 30 days of buying the car.

1) 1988 with 98k miles, 2nd owner, They bought it locally at 44k miles and have good records. Test drove well. It's 45 minutes away from me and the owner recently changed his listing from $5995 to $4995 obo because his wife's replacement MB has arrived. She drove it to and from work 14 miles every day. Any time she noticed anything wrong, she had him take it to a local MB indy. Cosmetically, the wheels need to be refinished (about $500), it's got two dings, light front bumper scuffing and a 2" spot on the hood where the clear coat has peeled. It's metallic beige (taupe) with the palomino interior.

2) 1987 with 110k, 1 owner but being sold by a dealer. According to the dealer, records are available for most of the miles on the car. Dealer has a solid feedback history on Ebay but this would not be an Ebay transaction.
It has a couple door dings, fading paint on the front bumber, a tear in the front seat and a crack in the center console. It's got the chrome factory wheels and they look to be in good shape. It's gold with the palomino int.

He's been trying to get $5995 but hasn't had any takers and I'm pretty sure I can get him to $5k or less. This car's a $99 flight and about a 1200 return drive away. I'd be looking at a $150 title transfer/admin fee but wouldn't have to pay sales tax. The idea of the road trip doesn't bother me assuming the car gets a healthy PPI. I actually like the idea of making that drive in the SEL.

Both cars have remained in dry Southwestern states since new.

Without having done the PPI yet, both cars seem very similar in condition and needed repairs cost. What it comes down to is I'm lukewarm on the metallic beige on the local car. My wife loves it but she's not driving it. Metallic Grey would be my first choice but haven't come across one that's in similar mechanical condition and I need another car ASAP.

My question is anyone have any thoughts either way? Any particular advantage of the 88 over the 87 or vice-versa?

Thanks,

~Bill

I live in Austin and have used several of the shops in town. German Auto Center is the one I prefer. Austin Auto Haus can be cheaper but I am not confident in their work. I have tried Ben's downtown and while they seemed competent and service oriented, they were very expensive.

I drive my 89 W126 143k miles to work every day. Bought it 4th hand about 2 years ago and love the car. I do a lot of my own maintenance like replacing rotors, brake jobs, tune ups, oil changes, but I haven't had really much trouble with it. I put about 10k on it a year.

I have had German Auto Center change fluids lately, even a tune up once in a while, and replace a hose now and then. Not too much more expensive than other types of cars for repair so far. It is an enjoyable car to work on for me, if you are inclined. Probably the same over engineering that can be expensive is interesting to the DIYer once they get into working on the car.

I think anyone who buys a car 15 years old or so needs to be aware that there will always be things they want to replace, a noise to chase down and rubber rotting and metal tarnishing. But with all that said, it is my car not my friends that they all want to take when we go out in the evening. It is roomy, comfortable and while it only costs a fraction of the price of others, you will never feel like you are upstaged by any of them.

I haven't traveled long distance in it, except back and forth to San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. I suspect it would go to AZ just fine.

But with all this said, I know when the AC goes out, when the fuel distributor (or whatever it is called) goes south, etc, I will have to ante up a thousand or more to fix it. But even if I have one of these happen a year, and noen have so far, I will come out ahead. I drive a nice car with no payment and so far no major expense except maintenance.

__________________
1989 300SE 155k
1998 HD Road King/Iron Butt Member)
2006 Nike Air Max Moto

You could probably refinish the wheels yourself for under $100. For less then $500 you could buy a brand new set from Tirerack.

Their both good cars I would get them both checked out and then buy whatever one is in the best shape.

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

I appreciate the scoop on the local shops. I'm in Wimberley, by the way. It's the AZ car I'd have to make the long drive home in.

~Bill

For the Austin car, I'm considering going with 16 or 17" wheels from Tirerack and keeping the originals in storage. If not, doing it myself would be the way to go and something I'd feel comfortable doing.

~Bill