Hi everyone. I have a 1988 420sel Mercedes. I need a rebuilt transmition for sure because it won't go in reverse any longer and on the way home the timing belt snapped and put a gash on the engine block. So, i dont know what that will involve to fix. I have replaced so many parts on this car. I was wondering if I should continue and go forward to fix these new problems or just cut my losses and let my car go? I wanted to fix it for one of my children to drive since its such a tank! Thanks for the advice.

my opinion would be to cut losses.... find another one... you will have plenty of replacement parts

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1989 300ce 129k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines). (Gone)

1997 s320 154k (what a ride). Sold with 179k miles. Replaced with Hyundai Equus

1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


[/SIGPIC]

Timing belt?

Part it out. Is what I would do.

It is a timing chain, you have piston and valve damage and maybe more.

I would be curious to hear if this failure has actually been diagnosed yet.

Vicstasi, suggest you get a reputable indie in your area to assess the engine damage and give you an estimate to repair/replace the engine. The overall condtion/mileage of your 1988 420SEL would dictate if it's worth spending serious money on it. The transmission problem may not be as bad as you think, but that cannot be assessed without a running engine.

It would seem that this car has not been maintained properly so best to cut your losses and move on. Provide us with some additional info.

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Fred Hoelzle

You should always fix the one you love!

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

it sounds like you shredded a serpentine belt, not a timing belt... $30 fix...
tell us more what's wrong with the car.

I always lean towards fixing what's known wrong, on a known vehicle than picking up an unknown set of circumstances.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

That's what I was wondering, this could be nothing.

I've put a rebuilt trans. in my 87 300E and had to get another motor for it.
Add to that all the work I've put into this car myself and I'd rather keep it.
Like an early poster said, at least you know what you've got. Get another car and another set of problems comes with it.
It all comes down to what you want.
Good luck.

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1987 300E

If you lost the timing chain and the transmission, you own a 400$ parts car. Treat it accordingly.

You can scrap it.
You can sell it for parts.
You can find a used motor and transmission and install them.

If you can't do that last part yourself, it's going to be expensive to pay somebody else to do it.

Do you love that particular car, or do you love reliable, solidly built, drive anyplace and never worry cars? There are lots of good, reliable, safe Mercedes out there. Now that you don't own one, the decision to make is "do you want another"? I believe you already said "yes" to that.

HTH -CTH

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