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  #1  
Old 03-09-2010, 11:22 PM
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Location: Vulcan, AB, Canada
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S320 maintenance questions

on my S320, I was going through all the records I have for this car, and I can't find any record of the flex disks being replaced. I had the car in the dealership about 6 weeks ago, and they didn't say anything about them. They did say that my rear shocks were weak ($950), and my one coil spring ($875) was broken about 3 inches from the end. And my rear brake hoses were weeping they said as well.
Ironically, they wanted $450 to do the rear hoses and flush the system. I was thinking that I'd do both front and rears as the hoses seem to be about $10 a piece from a supplier that will ship to me...
Brake fluid should be flushed anyways. Been 4 years, but I live in a dry climate... Should I be using DOT 4, or DOT 5.1??
As I'm going to order new shocks, and new coil springs, should I just do the flex disks as a while I was under there job?? The car has about 300K km on it.
Question about the rear shocks. Do I have to remove the rear seat, or the front board of the trunk liner to get at the top of them?? I was in there looking once, but I can't remember if I saw them there or not...

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'95 S320 LWB
'87 300SDL
'04 E500 wagon 4matic
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Old 03-10-2010, 08:06 AM
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Use Dot 4+ if you can find it, otherwise use Dot 4.

Rear shocks are done thru the trunk.
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  #3  
Old 03-10-2010, 02:15 PM
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I know that I can get ATE DOT 4 here...
Thanks M.B.DOC...
__________________
All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to stand by and do nothing.

Too many people tip toe through life, never attempting or doing anything great, hoping to make it safely to death... Bob Proctor

'95 S320 LWB
'87 300SDL
'04 E500 wagon 4matic
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  #4  
Old 03-10-2010, 02:34 PM
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Problems?

Hi, amosfella - wondering what kind of "typical" problems you've had with your S320. I've been looking at a '97 S320 LWB, 202,000 mi (100,000 put on in the last 4 years, according to Autocheck.com), but the current owner of 2 years has no records from the previous ~4 owners. I think this one does not have the engine wiring harness problem, and the A/C seems to work just fine. I've read the W140's had a history of bad evaporators. I'd think if this one was bad, it would have happened in the 1st 13 years. There's red RTV sealant under the valve cover gasket, but haven't read about any particular head problems. I have read about some having one corner of a head gasket being known to shrink, and then leak oil.

Thanks,

Dave H.
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Old 03-10-2010, 02:59 PM
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Well, tstat jammed, and broke a hose on the back side of the engine. Not costly, but a pain to get apart... replaced a water pump... Seems on this one, that new springs were needed every 3-4 years. no oil leaks... I had to pull some stuff apart to adjust it, such as the door closing assist pump, although the one door is still having problems, but will work once I pull the fuse and reset the pump.
AC needed a recharge... Got a trans flare if the car is hot on a warm or hot day, but that seems to be a unique problem to the trans in mine, but that trans is not in yours...
Be sure that your wiring harness is good, and check about the evaporator. Take the VIN to the dealership, and ask them for the repair records...
As for typical problems, they have all been one off kind of deals it seems... Spark plugs either need adjusting or replacement every 30K, and the boots that go under the ignition coils need replacement at the same time.
Cat's are starting to clog on the exhaust. I have no record of them ever being changed, so I"m just going to cut the top of the converter off with a plasma cutter, take the biscuit out, and weld it back shut. I don't have to worry about emissions testing here...
Other than that, I don't really know what to say...
Seems that you'll be replacing tie rods and ball joints every time you change tires. Not a hard job. Takes me about 3 hours first time trying... Seems to be all I remember off the top of my head...
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All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to stand by and do nothing.

Too many people tip toe through life, never attempting or doing anything great, hoping to make it safely to death... Bob Proctor

'95 S320 LWB
'87 300SDL
'04 E500 wagon 4matic
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  #6  
Old 03-10-2010, 10:07 PM
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Thanks

I've read about that "fuse-pulling" fix, though all doors/trunk seem to close fine. That hose on the engine back, or "TT" I've seen it referred to, if we're talking the same thing, I've read a bit about. My '84 300D, 368,000 mi, I replaced all the front suspension parts about 3 years ago (personally), so I'm not nearly afraid of those parts as I am the evaporator. Although in '83 I did transfer an entire A/C system from a '71 220D (bought it just for that) to my '73 220D (mine had no A/C), which means I took apart and put back together 2 cars, I really don't want to do that again if I don't have to.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Dave H.

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