1994 W140 S500 - too much to fix, damage control?

[SpecialDelivery]

I have a friend with a 1994 S500. It's got about 140k on it and has a host of issues. He said it got new plugs last year and the tech said it needed a ton of stuff. Oh and he's not running the right weight oil in it.....he's got a hodgepodge of stuff in there from gas stations etc.... Trying to help him make a decision on if to put a LITTLE money in it to do damage control while he's trying to get rid of it.

He has no interest in keeping or restoring the car. Restoration is what it needs. And deserves. The car is so gangster it should be pinstriped.

It is not my platform, I do not have the expertise, nor desire to develop it, now...on this chassis to entertain buying it. And putting the $1000+ into the full gamut of parts that I can SEE that need to be replaced.


The front end needs to be redone, the passenger LCA bushing is GONE, the steering box leaks a bit...heat does not work, passenger side window does not go all the way up...wiper switch wonky

The biggest issue, or unknown rather is the drive-ability and engine performance. There was an arc coming from a cracked driver side ignition coil...we replaced that one coil.

We took it to a fairly Benz savvy indie who put it in the air, looked at the front end, the leaky steering box..the leaky valve covers...the front end, then scanned it.

We found a bunch of codes...the one that's making me write this however is the rear crank position sensor CPS

Also there was a tranny code, I dont remember what.

Then there's the cosmetics...the leather, front bumper cover and mounts...paint...it needs a new owner who's going to treat it right, or be stripped for parts???? It would be a shame to part it out.

While I'm sure the car could use a full tune up including all new filters, cap, rotor, wires, plugs, engine flush and proper oil, the big question is, is this CPS the 800 lb gorilla in why this car runs so bad an gets such horrible mileage? is it worth throwing 128 dollars at it ? would it make a difference???


This is assuming of course that I would take the cap and rotors out to inspect/clean the contacts and for 22 dollars throw a set of plugs in it.


I would like to look at the cap and rotor to know whats up before moving forward with it...but I'm thinking putting a functional CPS in it will help alot.

Am I right to be optimistic on that? Any constructive thoughts are most appreciated.