98 E300TD 100K service?
 

Im a newbie and was wondering what needs to be done at the 100k mile service? I already changed the air filter and did the oil, coolent and brake fluid. The car is a 1998 E300TD. Thanks

Since I bought mine at around 102k mi, I've replaced the following components:

- Fuel pre-filter & O-ring
- Shut-off valve O-ring
- ATF (7.8L synthetic Dexron III - Febi)
- ATF filter
- Transmission electrical plug connector
- Cabin filters
- Fan clutch
- IP delivery valve O-rings (6) & fuel line clips
- Fix combination switch (clean hibeam contacts)
- Engine mounts
- Belt tensioner damper
- Serpentine belt (2130mm Conti)
- Oil + filter every 5k mi
- Air filter every 10k mi
- Fuel filter once per year

Others that I plan on doing are:

- Lower control arm bushings (shimmy @ 55mph)
- Driveshaft flex disc

Scott19 has a good list I would really suggest you get the transmission fluid changed.

This ones a lil bit easier to read. You'll want to review pages 4 & 5 especially and add a trans service to the list using MB's 722.6 or 722.9 fluids (I believe Shell Fuchs is the manufacturer of the latter). You'll also want to get a maganet for the pan as I don't believe yours came with one originally.

See post #3 - http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=181336

Where can I get the magnet for the pan? Is it a mercedes part? Part number? Thanks for the advice guys.

Call Phil, or go to the dealer.

Do a search and the magnet number will come up. I'm pretty sure I listed it in one of my posts. I'd also look at rubber parts that likely need to be changed, motor mounts, front and rear sway bar bushings and links, transmission mount, etc. Searches will yield lots of info.

Hello Scott,

I am a new owner of a 1998 E300DT with 135K miles on it. I plan to do most of the basic to moderate maintenance myself. I took the car to the local MB dealer to get the transmission fluid changed and they also told me that I needed to change many of the items you listed in your list. Can you tell me if you did these items yourself? If so, what maintenance manual or shop manual do you use?

I have had a hard time determining if a factory maintenance manual even exists for my car.

Thank you.

The difficult jobs on scott's list are:

fan clutch
delivery valve o-rings
lca bushings

The rest aren't that bad and if you're reasonably competent you could do all of them. Things like filters are unbelieveably easy to do, don't pay anyone for those.

I wouldn't use the ATF that scott did. Stick with MB ATF - thats the common advice.

Hi cyman73,

I have performed all of the maintenance on my '98 and so far everything has went fairly well. I use AllDataDIY.com for things like electrical diagrams, torque specifications, and general how-it-works information but I'd have to say that this forum is invaluable for me. Luckily, the DIY section covered the easy stuff and a quick search in this particular forum has served me well in the area of delivery valve O-ring and soon to be lower control arms.

Make sure you have a set of regular and external Torx bits as you move towards the more advanced stuff. I've also picked up a telescoping rod with a magnet on the end that comes with a little inspection mirror attachment at Sears that is absolutely invaluable! I will drop something into that plastic belly pan every time I break out the wrenches under the hood. Also, a pair of those high-strength plastic ramps work very well to and are nice and light so I can easily stash them up on a shelf when they are not needed.

Actually, this is the stuff that Phil sent me when he helped me with collecting the parts for my ATF & filter job. Turns out that Febi is the OEM supplier for the MB ATF - the stuff is identical even down to the containers. Just slap an MB ATF label on it and it's the geniune stuff.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I am sure that this forum will be my main source of information.

I am also reading about the top side method of changing the oil and the fact that even dealerships use it. I've never used this method for any of my cars and I am a bit uneasy about doing it. What is your experience with this?

Thank you.

I bought one of those hand-operated oil vacuum pumps on eBay for around $40 and it works fairly well extracting the oil out of the dip stick tube. It is very nice since I can do it with the oil being hot and not let anything settle out into the pan, but the container is heavy plastic that tends to deform under the vacuum and the temperature of the oil. I'd try to find a metal one if I were you - I think I would have preferred this one from Harbor Freight.