1987 300e Ac

[ke300e]

Hi all.
Need some opinions.
I have a 1987 300E mercedes with 91000 miles.
We took it into the dealer to get the air conditoning serviced.
They said the compressor and evaporator are leaking and to repair it it would cost $3900.
They also said the head gasket needs replaced at $2600 and it needs the 90000 mile service at $700.
I was like
Im kind of in shock.Its a great running car looks great.Body and interior excellent Red with black leather all options.
We found it from a little ol lady a while back.
scince we have had it we had the water pump ,radiator,muffler,brakes replaced.
My question, should I sink that much more into this girl?
Also do those prices and evaluations sound right ,fair and honest.
Im feeling like they are not being straight.
Your opinions greatly appreciated.
Salem Oregon.

ke300e

[anthonyb]

Kinda depends on what it is worth to you, and whether there is anything else that will need to be fixed. At this point, unless there is something spectacularly valuable about this car, you are basically looking at a question of how much are you willing to spend to keep the car running. (i.e. it's unlikely you will expect to get repair costs back in increased car value.)

Re: air conditioning, how bad is the leak? If it's leaking slowly, then you may be better off just recharging the system. $4000 buys a LOT of freon. However, if it is leaking rapidly, and you live in a place where having reliable A/C is important, and if you feel bad about venting $4000 worth of CFCs into the air, maybe you should have the system fixed.

Re: head gasket, are you loosing coolant? How much? Does the coolant look oily? I would get a second opinion, the engines in these cars don't really have problems with head gasket leaks.

[blueranger]

now is the time for you to learn how to use a wrench.
i just bought your same car from the dav for 700 dollars with basically the
same problems...

1. you can buy a dry or compressor off ebay and replace them yourself
get a manual... start by simply going to autozone and buying a few cans of r134 being that your car is a 87 it might be r12 if so go to ebay and buy some cans of freeze 12 and put in it... cost you 30 bucks to do this.

2. your probably leaking a little oil around the head gasket... look at the dirty motor and see if you see oil stans on the side of the motor...next check your water for oil and your oil for water.. if you have none then forget about the head gasket and drive it another 100k miles....

3. if you do have oil in your water or water in your oil buy the head gasket for 100 bucks and do it your self.... lots of room under the hood and you can do it.... just mark the timing very carefully. odds are you just got a little sepage around your head... so forget about it.

[samiam4]

I'd say-

Reseal the compressor and replace the evaporator yourself. THe evaporator is a long job- expect it to eat a weekend.
M103 and M104 engines have headgasket problems eventually.

Their evaluations reflect dealer pricing to me. Many dealers offer discounts to members of the MB club=) You can ask and possibly get the parts for 20% off. Also, those prices are somewhat negotiable I'm told.



Michael

[lee polowczuk]

If this were me..... I would do the a/c myself..... many people here have pulled it off...it just appears to take a lot of time.

the headgasket I wouldn't tackle.. I would try to find an indy who might do it for 1500 or so...

from everything I have read and experienced it seems that the head gasket has gone very early considering the mileage... maybe it's the u shaped gasket on the timing cover.

You are looking at considerably less than $1000 in parts cost for this work ASSUMING it needs it. These are common things that need attention on a 300E meaning two things; it means that it is plausible that it needs this work but it also means that a tech maybe making a quick diagnosis with the common items because they're common.

If you're not one for using wrenches find a good independent shop that does MB work and get a second opinion and a second estimate. Those prices are high even for a dealer. If a doctor told you that you neede a lobotomy, I'm sure you would get a second opinion. No different here.

Good luck,

[blueranger]

i have the exact same problem and i am looking to change the head gasket..

i have oil in my water...


any ideas on changing the head gasket.

[ke300e]

Thank you all for your replys.This site is great and its awesome that there are people like you that give the best advice.Thank you again.