Good..............now make sure you still have Limit in N and P............

__________________
A Dalton

Thanks Arthur...yes limit in P and N is working as designed.

__________________
RT


1984 300D---Sold
1995 E420 - 106K - Brilliant Silver Metallic/Orion Gray --- Sold
1984 300SD - 151K Manganese Brown Metallic/Mostly Black --- Sold
1982 240D - 79K - Manila Beige/Palomino---Sold

For $5K you got a nice deal. Well bought.

My experience is that my 400E is no where near as easy to work on as a W123. It's a far more modern and therefore complicated vehicle, but most issues are due to the very tight quarters under the hood.

That said, nothing beats the kick in the pants from that V8 and it really doesn't burn much more fuel than the 6, so I'm willing to deal with the tight work quarters!

A quick update. Have driven the car to San Diego and back and on a trip to Cabazon and back. Last full tank I got just over 22 mpg. Only problem is a humming/droning sound that comes on at about 2700 rpm's. Sounds like it is driveline related. It isn't bad but it is noticeable. The 18" low profile tires are a little rough for me as well.

I am thinking of switching to some 16" wheels and tires. What do you guys think would be a fair price for the 18" AMG's and low pro tires? I just need to see what I could replace them with.

Other than that I am very pleased with the car. The feeling of solidity and the ease in which the car responds I would say are it's biggest strengths. Sometimes I feel like I just need to think of what I want the car to do and it does it. It's a nice feeling. The seats are plenty comfortable for me to, and I am 6'7" tall. Getting out of the car after a two hour drive felt like I had been driving for 10 minutes. This car eats up the miles. It is a pleasure to drive.

I am going to just keep this thread going to update my progress/maintenance/problems with the car.

I have ordered the W124 owners bible, and some OEM Black rubber mats.

__________________
RT


1984 300D---Sold
1995 E420 - 106K - Brilliant Silver Metallic/Orion Gray --- Sold
1984 300SD - 151K Manganese Brown Metallic/Mostly Black --- Sold
1982 240D - 79K - Manila Beige/Palomino---Sold

Sounds like something is wrong. I get 28-29 mpg on the highway in a 94. I can get close to 22 in the city. It doesn't seem possible to me that this is not the best car Mercedes ever made, at least in the non-ASR version. Some nice original 15 inch 8 hole wheels would increase the value of the car.

For the '95
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/noframes/11891.shtml

For the '94
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/10935.shtml

I would be overjoyed with 28-29 mpg.

You must remember that this is my first week of ownership, so I don't think I was cruising at 55 mph. More like 85 mph.

I didn't even think to check my odometer for accuracy...maybe the 18" wheels are having an effect??? I'll check the odometer on my trip to school Wednesday.

I think some original 8 hole wheels would be nice as well. I think 15's are too small for the car, though.

__________________
RT


1984 300D---Sold
1995 E420 - 106K - Brilliant Silver Metallic/Orion Gray --- Sold
1984 300SD - 151K Manganese Brown Metallic/Mostly Black --- Sold
1982 240D - 79K - Manila Beige/Palomino---Sold

I go about 65, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if those tires were hurting you by 2-3 mpg.

22mpg at that speed ain't bad at all. I'm lucky to get that in my w123 diesel on the freeway. I can't drive 55.

__________________
1982 240 D, 308,000 - 321,127 miles (sold)
1982 300 TD,166,500 - 226,000 miles
1998 E 320, 120,000 - 144,000 miles
2005 C 230 K, 26,000 - 77,000 miles (sold)

Another update. The black rubber mats are great! The owners bible is worth the money, but it was not what I was expecting. I thought it would have more detailed repair procedures. For a new W124 owner, I think it's great, so I'm happy with it. No mileage markers on my freeway trip, but odometer seems accurate based on exit ramp calculations. Around town driving delivered just over 17 mpg. My Maxima (sold this past weekend, btw) would deliver between 17-27, so I'm not used to great mileage, and I didn't buy the car for its fuel economy. I love the car, just want to make sure something isn't wrong.

The car has some problems that I didn't notice right away.

1) Electronic headrests not functioning.

2) Grinding on front wheels when wheel cranked in reverse. (Rims are too big, I guess) I ought to be able to get into some 16" 8 hole rims with tires....anyone want some 18" AMG's?

3) Sound system not too good, and speakers are cutting out intermittently. (Will replace with a Blaupunkt Hamburg and some decent speakers...will scour the car audio section...got used to the built in bluetooth in this unit in my maxima.

4) Brakes seem a little soft. The maxima would stop on a dime. I also have an intermittent brake pedal groan. (Booster?)

5) Takes a little bit longer than seems normal to start. Not longer than a full second, but it's not instantaneous.

5) Brights will flash, but when I attempt to put them on full time I get NO headlights. (need to search....fuses say 8a or 16a depending on wheteher or not I have aux high beams or not...16A is what is present now.

QUESTIONS

Does anyone know how much it would cost to refinish (4) 8 hole wheels? Would be nice to pick up a beat up set and have them refinished rather than search for a perfect set or pay for new.

Anyone have some 16" 8 hole alloy wheels for sale?

__________________
RT


1984 300D---Sold
1995 E420 - 106K - Brilliant Silver Metallic/Orion Gray --- Sold
1984 300SD - 151K Manganese Brown Metallic/Mostly Black --- Sold
1982 240D - 79K - Manila Beige/Palomino---Sold

I had 1995 polished 8 hole wheels refinished about six years ago.

You can read about it here:

Refinishing 8 hole rims

__________________
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".

Thanks Paul. Is the place still in business? Could you PM or list their contact info? Did you get 15" or 16" wheels refinished?

__________________
RT


1984 300D---Sold
1995 E420 - 106K - Brilliant Silver Metallic/Orion Gray --- Sold
1984 300SD - 151K Manganese Brown Metallic/Mostly Black --- Sold
1982 240D - 79K - Manila Beige/Palomino---Sold

The wheels were stock 15" wheels from a 1995 E420.

The place is off of the Kramer Blvd exit and the 91 freeway in Anaheim. It's in the industrial park that faces the 91 freeway (on the north side of the freeway). I can't remember the name of the place, and I gave the receipt to the fellow who bought my old 1993 300E (3.2) "E320".

I'll try a google search and see if I can find it.

__________________
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".

I'm having trouble finding the place on Google.

If I were to do it today, I'd go to:

The Wheel Supply
975 Fairway Drive
Walnut, CA 91789
(909) 468-1311

I referred a guy there recently, and he was pleased with the results and got great pricing.

Try the search function in the forum for The Wheel Supply. Shouldn't be hard to find the post.

__________________
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".

Well.....These 16" 8-hole wheels for the 1995 E420 are practically impossible to find. I have had no luck through craigslist, ebay, or any online source. Anyone have some for sale or trade? Maybe I should just stick with the stock 15" or some c-class wheels???? Any input guys???

I contacted the local dealer here and asked them if they would print a VMI for me so I could tell what has been replaced on my vehicle. The service lady told me they won't do that. I asked to talk to the service manager...he ran it, and went through some of the things with me.

I do have a copy of a VMI done in 2002, but the car was under warranty until April of 2003. Sure enough, the service manager at Rusnack in Arcadia told me that it had a lot of stuff done right before the warranty ran out in 2003 with ~68k miles....compressor, valve cover gasket, etc. He read a note that the transmission fluid was burnt, and that perhaps it had the transmission replaced. He was going to talk with one of the warranty people to see if he could get some more information. He said there was no mention of the evaporator or wiring harness. I mentioned that I would like to bring the car in and let them look it over with the hopes of getting a copy of the VMI. He said they would look at the car free of charge, so I am thinking of bringing it in tomorrow. He had a '94 E420, and said it was the best car he ever owned, so maybe he has a soft spot for these W124 and will hook me up.

A free evaluation couldn't hurt, could it? And maybe I can get my hands on the VMI.

__________________
RT


1984 300D---Sold
1995 E420 - 106K - Brilliant Silver Metallic/Orion Gray --- Sold
1984 300SD - 151K Manganese Brown Metallic/Mostly Black --- Sold
1982 240D - 79K - Manila Beige/Palomino---Sold

Try another dealer, most will give out a VMI without any strings attached. There is nothing on it that is confidential.