Winter project finished!

[esm6869]

About a year ago, I purchase my '88 300E, which is my first MB (but won't be my last). The car looked beautiful and ran well, but had all the notable problems of the W124's (leaked oil, trans fluid, coolant from the radiator...) I spent most of this last year reading the posts to this site every morning, except weekends, and gathered a tremendous amount of diagnostic information. I have slowly purchased the parts I felt I needed and planned on having the work done over the winter months while the car was being stored. I am very please to report that after a new front pump and seal at the trans, in addition to all new seals/O rings and a complete filter and gasket change, the trans leaks have stopped. The engine received a new head gasket, valve cover gasket, valve stem seals, timing chain with all new rails and guides, waterpump and new Behr radiator. I happen to stop by my mechanic's shop when the head was apart and was pleased to see that there wasn't a carbon buildup in the head. I was very excited when I picked the car up so after a day of babying it, decided to test the work performed and drove it like I stole it. sure enough, the one part I did not replace, the thermostat housing, had issues and decided to separate into two pieces. That updated part seemed to have escaped my research. A day later, its back on the road and everything is working great.

I wanted to thank everyone who posts and replies with their experiences. I have saved countless dollars by learning the common problems and the proper fixes. Thank you to all

[J.HIDALGO]

to a "NEWIE" in the future. You'll be surprise how much you can learn from this site alone. I know I have.
Good luck and enjoy you car with the money you save!

How many miles does your 88 have? How did the timming chain look? Guides? Etc? Thanks in advance. I'm just asking because I'm getting ready to go on a little trip west and I want to make sure 1400 miles will be no problem. I want to take my 300E because it gets the best milage out of any car I own. Sad but true. Thanks

[esm6869]

My '88 300E has a little over 135,000 miles on her. The project started with the goal of stopping the leaks. In order to get to them, the engine pretty much had to come apart, so while it was in pieces, I thought I should replace the guides and rails which also lead to the timing chain. The chain looked great, the inner guide rail was worn, but could have stayed in there; the outer guide rail looked pretty good (very little wear). The timing components probably didn't need to be changed, but for the cost (under $28) I felt compelled to do it while the engine was torn apart.

[esm6869]

My '88 300E has a little over 135,000 miles on her. The project started with the goal of stopping the leaks. In order to get to them, the engine pretty much had to come apart, so while it was in pieces, I thought I should replace the guides and rails which also lead to the timing chain. The chain looked great, the inner guide rail was worn, but could have stayed in there; the outer guide rail looked pretty good (very little wear). The timing components probably didn't need to be changed, but for the cost (under $28) I felt compelled to do it while the engine was torn apart. BTW Mateo, I like your selection of cars listed with your post

Hey thanks for the info. You cant go wrong - British 4wd, German car. It's really my wife's doing. She's half German, half British, otherwise I'd be driving an acura or something.