Long Term and Commonly Neglected Maintenance Items
 

Hello Peaches!

I have been a participant on this forum for many years and greatly appreciate the information and people that contribute. Today I saw a thread regarding window regulator replacement which is a very common issue on our old cars. Pulling the door cards lubricating the regulators would extend their service life. If you don't do this as preventive maintenance, you may have to pull the door cards eventually anyway as a costly repair.

So, my thought was to start of list of "Long Term and Commonly Neglected Maintenance Items". The is a thread for all of us. Please feel free to contribute to the topic. Add items you think are relevant. Tell us a horror story about maintenance ignored and the consequences. The topic is lifted from our brother forum Pelican Parts which is the Porsche DIY web site that started this hobby for me.

Window Regulator lubrication

Chassis Lubrication

Check and add lubricant to Steering Box

Check and add lubricant to Manual Transmisison, change every 1.9k miles according to the manual.

Grease door hinges/ door lock mechanisms / trunk lock mechanism

Check rubber drain hose in trunk. Replace if dry rot. Common to have leaks from hose located at trunk hinge.

check brake fluid reservoir, hydraulic clutch fluid reservoir with manual transmission car.

Check automatic transmission fluid is so equipped.

Check wheel bearings for condition and grease content, repack with grease.

Inspect for rust. Treat rust immediately to stop the damage. Repairs can be done eventually if you choose to, but ignoring rust that is growing will kill your car eventually.

Checking motor oil should not be a list such as this. However, it can't be said often enough that older Mercedes consume oil. A new Classic Mercedes owner would do well to check the oil at every fill-up to know with some certainty how much oil the engine consumes per hundred miles. For example, After keeping a log for a few months or a few thousand miles of checking and adding fluid I would know that I use 1/3 quart per thousand miles. Oil is cheap. Engine replacement is expensive.

These are my first thoughts on the topic. I plan to add more later. I am looking forward to reading your responses.

Thank you in advance for your goodwill and generosity.

Jeffrey

Transmission oil every 2k miles??? Really????

I think that out of all the cars I've owned, neglecting the door hinge lubrication has been the most common thing that is seldom/never done. It gets really difficult to do when it hasn't been done in a long time.

Scott

Change power steering fluid and filter.

Check oil cooler lines for leaks, cracking especially at the fitting junctions.

Edit: Change differential oil. How many of us forget that one

Hey Jeffrey,
I would add

Check rubber brake lines , replace if needed
Check metal brake lines for rust, leaks replace if needed
Radiator flush/clean check radiator neck, every 2 years or 24K
Hood latch mechanism, grease

m116 and m117 engines have cam oiler tubes. The plastic bits are known to get brittle & break, and the small tube openings are known to plug on occasion. These should be checked before or during each oil change to ensure they don't need cleaning or replacement.

On the 230 4 cyl gas the oil should be changed to the proper weight in the upper chamber of the Stromberg carb when the seasons change.

There are not a lot of these cars on the road but among those that are how many owners know about using the proper weight of oil depending on the weather?