I have a W124 te series and plan to keep it for many years and would be interested to hear what faults are common and the mileages at which they occur.EG rear wheel bearings go on a regular basis and tappets get noisy around 120k etc.
many thanks in anticipation!
hamish
230te(similar to 300te)1989

hamish,

I can't imagine why tappets would get noisy at a specific mileage. Sounds like an old wives tale to me. My '88 300E has 168K miles and everything is still 100% solid. If you don't want noisy lifters, change oil hot and change oil often.

I've never heard of any Benz wheel bearings being a problem. The only acchilles heel I know of with these cars is the climate control system, I read that somewhere and doubted until a few months ago I had to put a pushbutton unit in.

Taken care of properly, these are solid, great cars.

Good luck with it and enjoy,


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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

I'm with Larry; these are robust cars. Expect valve guides/seals at 150k Miles; otherwise not much. Wheel bearings only if the car sat; then they're due.

Otherwise, all you're looking at is an alternator at around 150K...otherwise, smooth sailing.

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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

Perhaps rear wheel bearings go more often in the UK as the roads are small and twisty!!!
Thanks for the comments so far .
HAMISH

For sure that climate control system is a piece of ****. Also the valve guide problem seems to affect a fair number of people judging from this forum.

Windshield wipers are terrible on this car, even brand new oem ones smear horribly in the rain, forget about driving in the rain at night.

The cruise control seems another fairly popular item on here.

And my favorite is the leaning Jack of Piza, the car jack which, well you'll see.

Just my two cents of my own and what I see on the forum.

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1987 300E

hamish:

Most of these older W124 Chasis 86-90 require
whats called a valve job, MB mechanics refer to this a a big "tune-up" for these cars, but thats depending on the oil consumption on your car.

Check the plugs, if they seem to be getting wet by oil, or their dark, you might be due for a valve job--big bucks!!($1400) if the oil consumption is not that bad, try to change the plugs twice a year...

Agron
1989 300E

I have heard that the oil consumption problem is caused by the valve stem seals going hard with age.MB ,i am told,replace them without removing the head by pressurising etc pot with air !! Is this possible and can it be done at home?
keep it coming.
hamish
PS I do not have an oil problem yet!!!

Hamish,
I have done this on water cooled VW's as descrided - remove the sparks, and put a pressure fitting in the spark plug hole you are working on. However, this is not your basic DIY job. You have to have some skill, knowledge and confidence, since you are getting into the heart of the valve train. I have not worked gas MB engines, but suspect this technique would work as well. The key is that you have to be well beyond just doing the basic oil change and will have to invest in some equipment and tooling if you already don't have it. This is the type of job you don't want to tow to your local show half way through it! If you have any question, it is well worth paying a professional to do the work.

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Deezel
87 300TDT
150,000 miles

Hamish,

I have an 86' 300E, witch i have purchased used so i don't have the exact history of the car. However since i have it, for about 18 months and 120.00 kilometers the only problem i had was with the engine coolant sensor ($70.00 canadian) and the ignition coil ($40.00 canadian used), other than that it runs just fine. It burns about 2 quarts of oil per 30000 miles (total milage is about 240.000) i am not sure if it is because of worn guides or rings. In any case it runs just fine. Not as fast as it should be but i still love it. The water pump was replaced at about 200.000 miles. Same as my friends 88' 300E. It cost about $400.00 canadian for a new one.
Other than that it runs fine. Good luck.
Alex