I Am Looking At A 94 S500 Coupe W/90k Miles. Can Anyone Please Tell Me If There Are Any Problems With That Year & Model That I Should Be Aware Of And Any Areas That I Need To Look At Closely Before I Buy?

Thanks,
Phr82go

Most 140s suffered from bad AC evaporators $4,000 dash needs to come out completely. The closing assist pump goes bad $800, most other items are maintenance, suspension, caps and rotors.

You should read this ...long... thread that has the opinion of just about everyone.
Are W140's as expensive to maintain as everyone makes them out to be?

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-Marty

1986 300E 220,000 miles+ transmission impossible
(Now waiting under a bridge in order to become one)

Reading your M103 duty cycle:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831799-post13.html
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831807-post14.html

I think you would be better served to look at 1991 420 or 560SEL's preferably the 420's. Find one with similar mileage, records, etc and you will have a better car. IMHO. For example check out this web site:

www.vintagesalesonline.com

They have a 420SEL 72K. Car looks great and the dealer is straight up kind of place. I bought my 380SE from him and can still be seen on his web site. His cars aren't cheap but you get what you pay for and he usually brings all his cars up to speed before putting up for sale. He uses the sam indie shop I use.

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95 E420 ( 76K) SOLD
85 380SE(125k)
95 SL500(72k)

if I could find one as good. My '94 has been the best and lowest cost Mercedes that I've ever owned! So don't be deterred; look over the service records, repairs and then judge for yourself.

There's nothing like one on the road. . IMO.

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Regards . . . . JimF
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'94 S500 Cpe

Visit my Mercedes Web Page

If the evaporator has been replaced once, how long will it last?

Is it that the original part was no good and they updated it with a better part, or is it that they have a short life span?

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

The evaporator issue on W140s is the SAME for all model years, the difference on 98-99 models is that they have not been around as long as previous models, so they haven't started to fail yet.

The culprit lies on the original design by M-B, which mixes alluminun and copper (two materials that don't mix well). The leaks on the evaps always occurs at any of the multiple junctions of those materials.

There is an aftermarket unit that address this problem successfully, which is build entirely with copper. I did put this unit on my E 320 T when the original evap failed. It is warrantied by the manufacturer for TEN YEARS! Any leaks and they will replace it free of charge (including labor).

On the other hand, the original M-B evap is just a betting game, it could last less than year, it could last up to five. It all depends on your luck. If it lasts more than five years, consider yourself very lucky. That is why I will always consider original evap fixes by M-B a tricky solution.

There is a full copper evap for the W140, it costs about 40% more than the original, but it is worth its price.

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A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

What years and models of the W124 have the bad "aluminum+copper mix" evaporator cores?

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

. . from you. What 140 post would be without A.R! Hope you have been well?

My comment, and I know that saying this will severely tempt the gods, is that I should get a lottery ticket since my evap is 11 years old????

Along the related subject, I changed a small four port ' coolant-coupler' (should have taken a picture) last week while at my tech's shop. Actually he insisted that we change it since they regularly 'crack' and within a minute, all engine coolant is lost; the driver doesn't notice and . . bam. . one fried engine. He showed me an '93 S420 that had a fried engine because of this 4-port 'coupler'. It's located on the back fire wall behind the drivers side of the engine just level to the valve cover.

Now why this story?? When I removed my coupler, he said that get very 'brittle' and break easily; having said that, he grabbed it and tried to break it in half. . . with no success! And he's very strong.

So was that changed just before I bought the car (6+ years ago)? The same question could be asked about my evap. Maybe it's only 6 years old and it's copper???

One other story: In the next bay at my tech's shop was a '95 E320. Also with a toasted engine. This story you might find hard to believe.

The owner stopped at a service station and asked the attendant to gas up and also check the water. He did and said it was very low, so he filled it up.

The owner drove away and within a mile or so, the car groaned, moaned, belched and died. The attendant added the water to the oil port! Again should have had my camera! The oil was just like chocolate foam. .

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Regards . . . . JimF
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'94 S500 Cpe

Visit my Mercedes Web Page

PHR82GO, you should try VERY hard to check the wiring harnesses in the car. The insulation used on the electrical wiring can deteriorate, causing all sorts of problems. See my webpage for details (click on the link below my signature). Look in the Projects page under Rewiring the Electronic Throttle Actuators, or Rewiring the MAF Sensors. There is also another harness that supplies the injectors. Check those wires too. Another area of concern is the timing chain and guides. See if the maintenance records show these items were changed. If not, consider changing them. One more thing, look at the attachment point between the front lower control arms and the frame. If there is significant deep rust there, walk away from the car.

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1995 S600, 1 of 618 (sold)

"Speed is just a question of money...how fast you wanna go?"

LONG LIVE THE W140!
Visit my Web Page at www.v12uberalles.com

Electrical woes is about the only bad things I have personally heard about them, as well as extremely expensive repair costs.

My uncle has a 1994 S500 sedan- when his A/C went out, it was a $2100 repair. . It was given to him by his father last year when he bought a brand new 2004 S-Class sedan (I think it is a S430?), so he only has that much invested.

Good luck to you.

And no W140 post would be complete without the input and well admired technical advice from Mr. Jim Forgione. Doing well, thank you! By the way, your personal JimF C140 page is to me one of, if not THE best site related to W140 maintenance and advice.

Eleven years with your original evap? Definitely buy a lottery ticket for me too, your luck is undisputable. Although, to tell you the truth, there are a couple of early production W140s here (a 1993 and a 1995) that have never had their evaps changed either.

But that is definitely the exception to the rule. Most W140s I know of here have had there evaps changed at least once. Tthere are a quite a few that have had them changed twice. My tech recommeds the full copper evaps as mentioned on my earlier post, and he says that NONE of the W140s where he has installed them have come back with trouble.

About the question of which W124s have the combination copper/alluminum evaps, I really do not know. My 1995 E 320 T had it and, of course, failed. My previous 300TD and 300TE never gave me any trouble with there evap units.

To add to the original topic of this post, I am into my third servo assist pump for the doors and trunk. To me this is weakest point on W140s along with the evaps. And those things are not cheap!

In terms of the engine wiring harness, I understand the M119 engine is not very susceptible to failure (although not completely inmune); as on the M104s fitted to S320s is a sure bet to self destruct up to late 1995 model year.

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A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

reminds me of trying to solder a connection to aluminum when I was a kid . . wondering why it wouldn't work???

I will remember to get a full copper evaporator if/when it goes. I've seen them on the Internet someplace??

I'm going to take you up on that suggestion. . . . since . . . I've never had to replace my assist pumps either. BION!

And the wiring harness is doing just fine . . . we've got to win, don't you think??

__________________
Regards . . . . JimF
-------------------
'94 S500 Cpe

Visit my Mercedes Web Page

I'm pretty this website sells the all copper evaporators.

I think the brand name is ACE.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".