Well, the Benz arrived this AM!! He said it made the 4 1/2 hour trip with stride, even over the North Carolina mountains! So far, the only things I was really unaware of is that the passenger seat has more of a blemish that I thought and the dash has a crack (whats new though on a 80s Benz huh? Especially a southern model. This car was in Florida from 1988-2003, then South Carolina from 2003-2008 and in Georgia the past few months.

I really like it. I am going to start a new thread, new photos/details. Thanks again guys for the info!

i believe so..
w140s are costly to maintain, but it's very rewarding..
one of my dream cars..

Guys,

Saw a 1994 S500 coupe with no service/repair records except for the ones in the Mercedes-Benz records booklet which goes up to just 100,000 miles (with many blank pages in between pages with oil change records). The car has 136K miles, is in good shape, most switches/gadgets seem to be working well and I was just wondering about the wiring harness and the evaporator core, is there a mileage at which these items most definitely would have to be replaced for the car to continue to function properly? The A/C in this car blows really cold, is it safe/logical to assume that at 136K miles for the A/C to be blowing cold the evaporator must have been replaced? How about the wiring harness? What does it do anyway? Enlighten me please.

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

I am not sure... those are some questions I had as well. Im not sure if evaporator core failure is certain on all models and if A/C is working after 15 years is a sign of a new core or not. Seems like its a possibility either way. Most I inquired about, the seller had no clue if the core was replaced or not.

As far as the engine wiring harness... well, that controls the electrical parts of the engine. There is supposed to be an area of the wiring harness that you can easily inspect to check for brittle/frayed wiring. I think someone mentioned it on a thread here.

I am not sure of the exact age/mileage these tend to fail... I guess it depends upon maintainence/weather conditions the car has seen. Some fail earlier than others, but from what I gather, these are bio-degradable.

Some seem to still be going with the originals, while others have been replaced.

1995 was the last year for the engine wiring harness issue I have gathered.... while the evaporator core issue seems to linger on into later years on these... perhaps even the 1999 models? I guess you just to not hear it as much since they are newer models.

Those are two things I'd definitely would love to get some answers on since they are the main weaknesses of the W140 chassis. Oh well.

Regarding the evaporator issues with the newer W140s, yes indeed, it lingered on, I purchased my 1999 S600 at 88K miles and the evaporator had already been replaced in it. I don't know if it goes bad with time or with mileage.

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

Yep, that is what I was thinking I was told that it even lingered into 1999 on the core issues. I wondered the same thing. I once heard that enviroment has alot to do with it rather than age or mileage. My uncle has a 1993 300SE (W140), with only 78K and he had to have a new core installed three years ago (when it had 54K) @ a low price of $2200. It has always been a garaged southern car (South Carolina). So, with that car, it was not really an mileage issue.

Someone said a tip was to turn off the A/C a few miles before you get to your destination to let the core dry somewhat before parking. I have no idea why, but it seems to have increased the life of them.

If you can live without A/C its not a problem, but if you cannot take heat or live in the south especially, A/C is a must for most unless they like to sweat it out. I see you are in KC and I know it can get sweltering hot there in the summer!

A 1999 S600 eh? Thats very nice! Cream of the crop W140!

Letting the core dry off would make sense...

I bet the reason they fail is from corrosion because of a badly designed condensate drain...

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Current cars:
2000 ML55 AMG, 174k miles
2003 C240 T-Modell, 202k miles
1995 S320, 207k Miles

Likely. Hopefully they improved this design on the replacements.

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2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4wd
1991 Lincoln Town Car Executive
1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1988 Mercedes 300SEL
1972 Chevrolet Caprice Kingswood Estate 9-passenger wagon
1973 Pontiac Grand Ville
(Prior MB's: 1974 240D, 1985 380SE, 1984 190D, 1993 400SEL)

Anyone seen a W140 with over 100,000 miles and a fully functional A/C system that hasn't had the evaporator core replaced in it?

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

Jupp, my 1998 C140 with 165000km on the counter has the original evaporator.

br,
syljua

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1998 CL500 W140
1984 230E W123

Hi,The W140 S600 would be an interesting car if it had a 6 speed Getrag gear box behind the V12,i have been thinking of doing this and was wondering if anybody had done this.I have fitted getrag gearboxs to different mercedes in the past,not for speed but for more "driveability".I can see nothing hard in doing this conversion but would take a bit of time.The W140 S600's here in Australia are not cheap,a 1997 retailes for about $40,000.But then they did cost $385,000. here new.you can pick up a 1993 for about $30,000.A 6 speed secondhand Getrag box costs $2500.You guys in the States are so lucky with the prices you can buy you cars for.

I have a 96 S-320lwb since new. Had the gas guage/sendor replaced under warranty, paid to have the head gasket replaced($2400)Have had no other serious problem since, now at 103,000 miles. I use it as a traveler(Fla., Canada, etc.)rolling at 75-80 all day long getting 25+ mpg on the road loaded until reciently since we have to burn corn in our gas(10%). I plan on keeping it til 150,000 or so, it's one of the great cars for travel. If you don't abuse these cars, they will last for hundred of thousands of miles with just routine repairs. I do all my own work, never get those nice little dealer check-ups which are just money makers for them. Good luck on your hunt..

Ron

My 99 has 140K on it. Original Evaporator core. Car still drives like its brand new and Im sure Ill get at least another 20 years of service out of it.

Going to give up on it that early? Mine is at 140K and still drives like brand new.

Wow Thats a rare car. The S600's became lower and lower production from 96 on. Do you think it was a early or late production car?