Greetings ALL,

Can anyone go over what is involved in a 100,000 mile tune up? These days times are rough financially-wise, and I'm debating on holding off on my scheduled maintanence.

... now if funds wasn't an issue, than of course I want to take care of my baby (1998 C230 Smoke Silver)

I can save some money and do the oil change and tire rotation myself; but I am a little hesitant changing the fluids and getting into the car without the MB specific tools and of my uncertainty of the specific oil/fluids I need to replace, which takes me back to probably letting the professionals handle it.

Thanx for any input you guyz can offer.

BTW-I got a quote from Dr.BENZ in Ft.Walton Beach for $595. Is that a square deal

Have you been following the Mercedes Benz " SERVICE BOOKLET PASSENGER CARS " enclosed with the Owners Manual?

If you have been following the booklets service requirements then there really isn't anything demanded to be done at 100K.

have you ever had the transmission fluid changed?
when was the rubber accessory belt last changed?
when was the battery last checked?
when was air filter last changed?
when were the spark plugs changed?
when was the fuel filter changed?
when have you had brake work done and what was replaced?

It is a good idea to raise the car and inspect tie rods and drive shaft rubber boots for axles look for any leaking or rust also check brake line condition but that is really just regular mantenance and some dealers may have a special deal or mailing where they will fo this for free.

Nothing is really demanded at 100K if you've been replacing coolant and brake fluid at intervals

and for the 595 you stated unless a detailed list of what will be replaced and inspected and what the charge for inspection is. and then you additional charges if they find anything wrong and what the labor rate is.

why don't you answer the above questions and we can guide you on what if anything you should do.

I also own a 1998 C230

There is no 100K-mile service for the 1998 C230. Using the FSS, you may be due for an A or B service. In your service booklet, there are intervals for other items like brake fluid, plugs, fuel filter, etc.

Were I you (and I am, since I have about 101K-miles on mine) I would check:

1. Poly-V belt. Mine was in top shape, but I replaced it and put the old belt in the trunk well as a spare. That was only because I was driving to Alaska and the thought of a broken belt scared the crap out of me.

2. Engine mounts and tranny mounts. A bigger concern on the W210, but I checked mine carefully anyway.

3. Sway bar bushings, shocks and front lower ball joints. The last item is a common wear item on the W202 and should be examined every now and then.

4. Flex plates. Mine looked great, but many of my km's are highway. Check 'em out.

5. If doing the plugs, you might have to replace the valve cover gasket. Seems like many M111's need a new one around 100K-miles, but not a big deal. It's a PITA to do, but the gasket isn't expensive. While checking the plugs, look closely at the plug ends, as they wear out, and by 6-7 years, they might need doing.

You'll just want to go over the car carefully. If anything is past or close to it's interval, replace it (fuel filter, plugs, etc.). Do the cabin dust filter and change the engine air filter. That will extend the life of your blower motor and evaporator (cabin dust filter) and your AMM (engine air filter).

__________________
John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

A few questions re my 1998 C230, 134K miles::

On the 202 should I expect the front tires to wear more or the rear? It seems like the rear has worn more which is not what I expected. How often should tires be rotated?

What are flex plates?

When I go over a speed bump I get a little "squeak". Could this be the lower ball joints? They seem tight. Sway bar bushings? Anyone have specific experience with this problem?

Since one coil drives 2 plugs in opposite polarities does one plug per coil wear more than the other. I think on the old 2 cylinder Citroen that had one coil driving 2 plugs in this manner they used to recommend "rotating" the plugs to even the wear.

Mike

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

depending on what manufacturers tires you have they will recommend a mileage frame for rotating, having said that five or six thousand miles is a good time frame for rotating. And Mercedes seems to let the rotation be done at each FSS service.
Tire wear will depend on driving style and with your mileage a degree of suspension wear will effect tire wear.
You realize the front and rear tires have different psi settings and for high speed those numbers get bumped up.

As I recall I think my rears get a bit of ouside edge wear at a quicker rate than my fronts.

Flex plates are rubber disc in-line with the drive shaft, they are checked with a flashlight for cracks and distortion.

Ball joints are checked with the car in the air, Mercedes wants virtually no play when rocking back and forth, I don't remember if the movement is vertical or horizontal, and lots of techs allow a bit of play. maybe a quarter inch - but that is a guess.

Squeak on bumps, unless you get under car and play it would be just a guess. With your mieage you can only guess- but they are a know area to have checked. Have you tried just driving one side of the car over a speed bump to see if noise is side dependent?

Change out all the plugs at the same time. Do a search on this forum concerning the inexpensive connectors that can be replaced.

How well does your car idle? how is fuel mileage? acceleration smooth?

Idle smooth, mileage good, burns no oil as far as I can tell (test ongoing). Driving one side on bump only does not squeak, has to be bump even on both sides. Odd little "chirp". Would really like to find it. Main problem right now is pinging kind of sound under even moderate load (gets really loud under more load). Local dealer says to switch to 87 octane. Haven't tried this yet since my tank still full of premium.

In terms of the squeak, if I think about what is involved only when a bump is even on both sides I think sway bar bushings. But could also be something not even related to the suspension I suppose.

Mike

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

p-k,

Ethan mentioned this also in post #2 but I wanted to mention it again, CHECK THE ELECTROLYTE LEVELS IN THE BATTERY. Also, there was a recall on the battery in 2001 so you want to make sure that was attended to. Part of it was to install a warning sticker in the engine compartment near the passenger area. If you see that sticker reminding you to check the battery then the recall was attended to. Also they sent a new page to stick into the manual, since the original manual did not advise to check the levels.

Mike

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

Thanx guyz for all the input. I'm going to Dr. Benz and making sure all the bases will be covered and hope that nothing major needs attention. Gotta take care of your baby and she'll take care of you Cheers!