Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences.... I just had a very interesting conversation with David Poole, who has apparently seen many of these. According to Mr. Poole, there was a point where the construction of the evaporator was changed from epoxy-bonded copper-aluminum seals to welded seals, which apparently are not prone to the leakage with 134a refridgerant. He expects a '97 W140 to contain an evaporator of this welded-type construction. Anyone able to check this on a new (Behr) evap?

I expect to get my hands dirty on occasion with a 10 year old auto... just hoping not to have to do this particular job.

Thanks David!

Buy it sounds like a nice example. I'd have the transmission fluid and filter changed while its at the dealer than call it good. 722.6's are not sealed for like spend the $200 and have it done.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Well.. I'm thinking about getting her tomorrow... Even with another 2500 into it if the evaporator fails, it's still a tremendous car for the $$$....

No, unfortunately they were NOT fixed in the 90s PC. Both my 99's leaked terribly, as well as my 98. I *personally* did all 3. One of the 99s wouldn't hold charge for more than 1 hour. A quick ck at the local MB dealer reveals just as many late models have been in for this as the earlies. It even went into build year 2000, but drops off sharply from there.

They really didn't know about the severity of the problem back in build cycle 97, but had made some metalurgy changes in 97-98-99 that were benign. In late 99 they got a full dose of the problem but by then it was too late.

Since most of the industry had these problems [none quite as severe as MB] they seemed to avoid a class action suit. Such as suit would have required congressional involvement due to scope, so nothing was ever done. The REAL problem customers who threatened and actually put a suit on the books were accomodated and settled.

Newer small cars like the 230s are relatively easy to get to, a lot of it can all be done from the front with no dash removal

Saltydog, I think Pcmaher was talking about the wiring harnesses, not the evaporators. Sorry to hear that this was happening to the evaporators on your later models; did you happen to see where exactly the failure was occurring on the evaporator?

Oh my - if that's what you were talking about then please accept my sincere apologies PC. After all, it’s your site that most of us have cut our teeth on 140s, so respect where respect is due. And Deacon, thanks for the heads-up.

If it was the harness you're speaking of, then you are quite correct. For late MYr 96, MB went to local coils on the 119, where each plug has it's own separate coil sitting right on top of a resistor channel. The resistor channel is a 20k ohm in line device, about 2" long. Someone mentioned using resistor plugs may be a problem with this setup, which would obviously further reduce spark energy.

Wiring in general seems ok in late model 140s, as you mentioned they may have fired the German earth-friendly engineer who wrapped many a pre-96 MB with the infamous bio-degradable looms. As a precaution on late model 140s, I'll shrink wrap any wiring I can get to that perhaps shows signs of imminent wear. If I see a car with lots of high-temp heat shrink already, it’s a good sign the car has frequented a good shop.

But other than the glue on that awful black cloth tape that melts and gets all over everything you touch, wiring as a group doesn’t seem to be an issue say 96 on.

I know there are good MB shops that will do a W140 evap for less than $2k. My friend bought his car from a MB shop in NJ that had two W140's in the bay getting this done. Mechanic said they do a bunch of them, $1,800, and it usualy takes a day or two.

__________________
2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Yes, I was talking about the wire insulation. No apologies necessary Salty. I re-read my post, and edited it to make it clearer. Thanks for the kind words by the way!

__________________
1995 S600, 1 of 618 (sold)

"Speed is just a question of money...how fast you wanna go?"

LONG LIVE THE W140!
Visit my Web Page at www.v12uberalles.com

What a pleasure to drive! A couple of quibbles, but after a good front end alignment, she drives like a dream. Soon will get at the motor mounts (slight thump on hard acceleration) and the &*(&^R%)* glovebox won't open (anyone know how to get the lock cylinder out?).

Thanks everybody!

Congrats on the car.

For the glovebox:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w140-s-class/1244258-glovebox-wont-open.html?highlight=glove+box+wheel

and

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w140-s-class/1226398-cant-open-glove-box.html?highlight=glove+box+wheel

Brett

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1997 S600 sedan

Thanks Brett! I was able to remove the lock cylinder and put a short piece of tubing in series with the cable housing to make the cable tighter, and the button works fine now. At some point I'll remove the glovebox to get at the adjustment wheel, but it works fine for now.

Took a weekend trip this past labor day, she gets about 23 mpg on the hwy at about 85 mph. Is this typical? Also, I'm noticing that she is a little hard to start, requiring a few seconds of cranking before she fires up. Then the idle is a little rough for about 4 seconds. No check engine light. Is this likely to be a temperature sensor? I think I should also probably replace plugs, cap, rotor as a matter of course.

They did away with caps and rotors in 96 or 97, close assist pump, motor mounts steering damper, blower regulator

I think by 1997, that wiring harness issue was gone.

Not sure about the costs you are getting on the evap core replacement. My uncle has a 1992 W140 and he had his done for $1400.

... and if you can live without A/C, dont even worry about it.

General wiring issues fixed by 97, mirrors wiring still wear out though, evap never fixed up until the next generation. Repair times and cost for those is all over the map for some reason. Seems everybody does it differently. If i can get mine done for 1400 I would just do it tomorrow and forget about it.


That is pretty much the only thing on mine that has no been replaced to date. I am so paranoid I check to see if the AC works once a week .


Also look for rust around the trunk lock, under the boot weatherstripping (trunk seal) especially on the ridge where the paint and primer are thin and under the trunk latch on the body - the area that the boot latches to. Bodyshop charge to fix that is atrocious.

These are good cars if you keep on top of them. There are several small items that if you allow them to fail will hurt you.