140 - new acquisition and a few technical problems - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

psinthos · #1 05-25-2008, 01:03 PM

Greetings.

This is my first post on this forum. By way of introduction:
My name is Mateusz, I live in Warsaw in Poland and have acquired a 1992 140 500SE last week. This is not my first Benz. Also in my stable at present is a 1986 126 500SEL and a few other cars without the three-pointed star. I have previously owned a 1984 123 280E.

Finding a decent 140 in Europe these days is not as easy as it may seem

- a large number of these cars have presently been exported to the Middle East, north Africa and ex-USSR countries. Mine has been imported from Switzerland (an excellent source of well-maintained older cars). It has had one previous owner from new and has covered a modest 152kkm. No major mechanical faults, a full service history, a pristine interior and very few cosmetic defects on the exterior prompted me to purchase this car (and fork out more than 50 percent more than current market value of this model). On a side note - I had also imported my 126 from Switzerland, after months of trying to find a satisfactory car in Poland and Germany.

While the 126 never leaves the garage in the winter to avoid contact with snow and salt, I have bought the 140 as an all-year-round daily driver. I must admit I have been looking at BMW E38s and MkII Range Rovers as an alternative, but am very pleased that I have managed to find a 140 which I liked. The 140 is a truly superior machine in every respect.

Still, as nice as it may be, it is still a 16 year old used car - and hence not perfect in every area.

It is going in for a full service on the forthcoming Wednesday. I have changed the motor oil (Mobil 1 5W50) and filter to drive it around a little and see what may be wrong with it. So far identified the following problems:

1. The air conditioning works, but cools poorly. This car has had a long period of non-usage and I presume all that will be needed is a fresh portion of R134a.

2. The clock does not work and it can only be adjusted backwards.

3. The radio does not work - I will be wanting to get this fixed, given that it is a classic Becker Mexico 2000 coupled to a cd-changer in the boot.

4. After flooring it a couple of times, the engine develops a bit of a 'hiccup', as though it was sometimes not firing on one of the cylinders. This happens only sometimes. I presume the problem may be ignition-related.

5. The power closing system is not always working. I have already read a few posts on this and other forums about this subject and my system appears to have the typical symptoms of a failing pump - sometimes the boot closing fails, sometimes the left side doors (both or just one). The rights side doors work well all the time. Removing the number 3 and number 9 fuses from the boot fuse cluster helps for a few closings, but then the system fails again.

I have reviewed the system schematics and read this interesting article. Depending on the price of a new pump, I may give the rebuild a shot. ;-)

http://v12uberalles.com/Closing_Assist_Pump.htm

http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb2.asp?TP=1&F=140050&A=03539&M=119970&GA=722370&VIN=1400501A081977&CT=F&cat=19B&SID=80&SGR=063&SGN=04

One issue which I have read of on a number of forums is the matter of timing chains breaking on the M119. Given the current mileage of the car (i.e. less than 100k miles), should I be considering replacing the chain and tensioner or just monitor chain stretch? Thanks for any input on this.

I will post some photos of my pair of Teutonic cruisers in the gallery soon.

cheers,

m.