Folks,

I was wandering the car sites last nite and came upon a 93 300SD, 115K for a very good price and it was near where I live. I've been wanting to drive a W140 so I went to look at it. In general it is in very nice shape and drove well. I only had time for a brief look and drive. Enough to continue my interest .... but

Of the "classic" 3 W140 faults I observed:

- engine ran very well. I will ask for the detailed records and will contact the dealer that serviced it.
- ac was cold, so hopefully the evaporator is solid for now
- all electrical things worked, but I looked at the main under hood engine harness - assuming it is the group of wires contained in the black corrugated plastic wire holder. Most of the wires had cracks showing bare wire, obviously a problem waiting to happen. Also interestingly enough, this black corrugated covering was not continuous, but had many sections to it. Not sure if this is normal, but may be a sign of someone looking for a problem.

I searched and read the forums. This thread below, although talking about a gas car seemed to imply the harness was about $500 and could be a DIY job for a day:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=59934&highlight=w140+wiring

Would that imply that same for diesel ( time and cost)?

Is that one group of wires in the black corrugated covering the sum of all that would need replacing?

I am also exploring a PPI with a good local indy to see what else might be lurking.

Thanks,
Chuck