Hello all,

Just a request to review an estimate to repair 1994 E-320 MB from a local shop. Car has 68,000 original miles. Went to shop with a validated oil, trans and PS leak. Steering is kind of hard when car is idling slow. Have put about .35 L of PS fluid in about 3,000 miles on it. Bought car about a month ago.

- Engine upper timing cover reseal: $270
- Engine drive belt replacement $50 (with above work)
- Transmission front pump reseal: $800
- Power steering pump reseal: $200
- Brake fluid purge: $75.00
- Engine cooling system service: $85.00 (all hoses and water pump is original)

Total cost: $1480.00

Thanks in advance!

pricing may be geographically dependent as well as whether OEM parts are used vs. not

what are labor rates? then, you may figure out how many hours are being attached to each job....

if the monbelt is being done at this point, it makes good sense to do the tensioner as well


hope this helps
-fad

Better be sure it's not the dreaded head gasket problem prevalent on this engine. It could be $900 instead of $270....

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joE
1993 300e-2.8 - gone now <sigh>
"Do not adjust your mind, it's reality that's malfunctioning"
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E320 tensioners dont fail as much as 103 engines do .( I wouldnt replace it if it is ok) Make sure the head gasket is not leaking from the back. Alot of times people do the upper cover only and the lower leaks worse than anything. If the head has to be done save yourself some money and reseal the lower cover also. I have seen this a dozen times where a guy does the upper ,or head and it turns out the lower cover is leaking also. Have it cleaned and doublechecked with a flourecent light using the dye in the oil .

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euro 287
Mercedes Technician 7 Years (retired to Hyundai)
2000 Dodge Durango
98 Mazda truck

My tensioner broke at 56k on my 94 E320. Result squeeling belt at start and idle and with AC. Can't remember the cost. Not cheap. Fortunately, no head gasket problem. It leaks, but outside which I can live with for now. The real pain starts when the harness goes, EVP, throttle accuator/CC/ISC module, etc. Gets very expensive very fast. It seems odd that the most expensive parts seem to be the most common problem on these cars. Built in obsolesence?

I spoke with the mechanic this morning and he had throughly checked the upper/lower head gasket & tensioner. Also stated shop rates of $65/hour and use of OEM parts for most and non OEM parts for things like gaskets etc.

He did state that water pump might be the next project because of the mileage of the car. Any ideas what they would cost??

I gave the OK to repair per above mentioned list.

Thanks to all for your help.

The water pump on my '94 E320 wagon (M104 engine) was ~$800. Did you try a MB dealer in your area for this work? You will get a one year guarantee on the work and the parts typically as opposed to a local mechanic who might not offer this.

sharing my experiences w/ '94 E320 coupe (105k):

>had monobelt and tensioner changed 2 times since 60k

> haven't needed h20 pump- (knock on wood) - - yet. You can verify the relative condition of the h2o pump by listening to it with the motor running w/ a mechanics stethescope (might as well also listen to the air pump and pulleys, etc. too)

>$65/hr labor rate is a bargain!!!, here in SF Bay Area at fact author service its over $100/hr

hope this helps
-fad

Thanks to all for your support in this endeavor. The car is
currently in the shop and mechanic just called and said the Air Freon has leaked and the leak has to be corrected but involves removing the dashboard, etc and he is quoting me $2500 in addition to charges mentioned above. I had driven the car about 4000 miles with no AC issues (in fact very cold). He said you can
now smell the Freon some. Is this a common problem? I have asked him to top it off for the time as I will not be driving it for a couple of months.

Ask how much labor it includes, this should be a 16 hour job that includes replacement of reciever drier, replace evaporator core and evacuate and recharge, ( just did one yesterday) . Yes it is a common problem and have him install an ACM evaporator that comes with e-valve it is cheaper and will last a long time. Make sure they ck the actuators while the case is out so no problems pop up after install. Good luck.

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euro 287
Mercedes Technician 7 Years (retired to Hyundai)
2000 Dodge Durango
98 Mazda truck

Yes, the A/C problem is common and quite EXPENSIVE $$$$

My 1995 E320 wagon needed its evap change at 21,000 kms. (the car was only three years old).

The job was very expensive and time consumming. But a good piece of advise I can give you: avoid using the original M.B. evaporator core. They are alluminum made and from the beggining that is one of their design flaws: they rust badly and then they leak!

I had a pure copper evaporator core installed (more expensive, but it is guaranteed for 20 years not to leak). A special aftermaket company in Germany manufactures them, so to avoid the major work involved in changing the part every 4 to 5 years.

A. Rosich
S320, 1998
E320T, 1995

I will correct his post , the reason factory evaporators leak is not from rust. It is from the fact that they are alluminum/copper cores .Their is no way to seal alluminum and copper together so it wont leak. You can go with an alluminum core aftermarket and it will do fine. ACM is the brand most shops use (German) . Good luck

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euro 287
Mercedes Technician 7 Years (retired to Hyundai)
2000 Dodge Durango
98 Mazda truck

I guess I was just questioning the problem in that the AC ran great the 3000 miles that I have used the car. (very cold) with no apparent problems. Brought it to the shop and as the car was being prepped for work mentioned in the beginning of this thread it sprung a leak (freon) and with these repairs my cost to repair the vehicle has soared to $4000....but taking into account that I purchased the car for ~10K (with 68000m) maybe I shouldn't complain. I have not had any similiar problems with current other vehicle (1999 300TD-35,000m) or other MBs I have owned (1985 & 1989) and put > 100,000 on. Thanks again all!!