1999 E320 questions
 

OK got her here to look her over . http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/334241-1999-e320-100-000-miles-buy-sell-2.html#post3098554

Everything seems in order
except for this item just by the washer fluid unit ( pictured)
marked MOT with a line - it is ticking loudly like a time bomb, goes up and down , looks vacuum related ? Electrical to it as well - any insight?

Also no CD player or tape player, no heated seats, so a little under optioned i guess
headliner issue as noted
but this this "ticking" and she seems a little louder under the engine bay than I am use to ( lexus big car) Never have dealt with an MB 6 cyc.
and.... a very slight smell of burning oil , cant see were it is coming from

ideas oh new MB gurus??:)

Purge valve (MOT) is a solenoid so it should tick (open/close). Some are louder than others. I don't think loudness is a sign of pending failure.

Pull it out and spray it out with some aerosol carb cleaner, contact cleaner or MAF cleaner. Tapping is normal, but it shouldn't run all the time, just for a few minutes when you start it up.

Yep, that's the purge valve. "MOT" simply indicates the side of the valve that gets it vacuum supply from the "MOTor". It's job is to suck the fuel vapor from the gas tank. If the ticking noise is too loud, make sure that the valve and vacuum lines are properly mounted, stress-free, and not touching anything that they shouldn't be.

Thanks
Ill check it out. Thanks

if it runs all the time =??

what are the options for upgrade to CD player/changer - MB brand to keep the looks?

Any MB cd players that would be remove and plug and play?

I installed in dension icelink ipod cable in my car, which takes the CD changer port.

I wanted the option to also play CD's, which the factory U.S. radio does not.

I also wanted to lose the telephone buttons.

I bought an MB Audio 10, which is the factory radio offered in Europe. I had to send it out to get the frequencies changed to the U.S. frequencies.

This one on ebay already comes ready to go for U.S. radio stations:

Mercedes Audio 10 CD R MF2910 Car Radio Alpine Becker Original CD Tuner | eBay

FYI - MB switched from wired to optical cable on the cd changer in FY2000. So if you decide to get a used changer take note of the year/model. IMO, an MP3 player is preferable to a changer both in quantity of music and convenience. Also, older cd changers tend to have issues with jamming, etc.

more questions
trunk lid does not close real tight on one side, are these adjustible?

are these engines known to burn oil, dipstick level was way down. Any common head gasket issues?
this engine just seems to have aloud valve train , or perhaps it is the big serpintine belt.

oh the the Harmonic balancer is good , not the part in the recall

front rotors/pads - easy DIY? it needs them

Not sure on trunk lid issue.

No on oil unless there is a problem. Most of us use Mobil 1 0W-40 European Formula which is Spec 229.3/229.5 approved. You also need to use a polyester media filter such as Mann HU 718/5x.

Never heard of anyone replacing a M112 head gasket so not common.

The serpentine belt does wear out so inspect regularly. Idler pulley and tensioner pulley are sometimes problems and cause noise and vibration.

Have you measured the thickness of the pads and rotors?? OEM rotors are cast iron and not designed to be turned. Replace at min. thickness or when you would reach minimum thickness before next pad change. Most people get 2-4 pad changes for each rotor change. Pads have wear sensors so you should see error on instrument cluster. But you can drive quite a ways before doing them. So no panic. Fairly easy DIY if you've done brakes before. Rear rotors can hang on emergency brake shoes. So back off just like any drum brake. There are several good DIY articles here and at the benzworld.org site on brakes, etc.

Thanks. Great info. Yup I have done a lot of brakes. So good to know its a basic job. I do think the belt may need replaced. Just about done with my inspection and then decide

For the W210 sedan the rotor thickness specs are:

Front - 28mm new, 26mm service, 25.4mm min

Rear - 9mm new, 7.6mm service, 7.3mm min

You can usually confirm thickness when new by mic-ing the outer edge since a lip forms there.

Serpentine belt is sold by length and varies by engine accessory options. It's in the OM if you have one.

Wear sensors (2 in front/1 in back) are cheap (~$1.00) and easy to replace. MB makes a spec grease for the backing plate/pad interface and the guide pins. Little foil packet. Again cheap (~$2.00). I usually use one per wheel

No heated seats or tape player? That is a bare bones '99. You've got what sounds like an oil leak - somewhere on the car. May be more difficult to locate on a V6 configuration though. Best find/source that oil smell/leak before arriving at a final price point. If you can't find the source, I'd still make it a negotiating point.

Have you negotiated a price on this car yet? Or do they not have a price in mind, or you haven't made an offer yet?

trunk: if you open trunk and look up along the bottom edge of the trunk lid, you
will see 1" threaded round plastic plugs. these serve as adjustable door stops.
also, on the floor of the trunk is an easily adjustable strike plate with locking
mechanism.

richard: the D2b fiber optic was introduced with the 99 model year here in US.
plug and play fiber compliant models have been covered in the AUDIO forum.

The purge valve runs more often than not, but don't worry about it. If there was a problem with the EVAP system, the CHECK ENGINE light would be on.

I found it interesting that it had no heated seats or CD player as well. I love music so that would be one thing I will have to rectify should I purchase. I do a lot of driving and need tunes.

Great info on the trunk - thanks

I found in the stack of invoices that
both valve cover gaskets were replaced, also replaced rear main crank seal,
resealed upper oil pan, just about 10,000 miles ago at the dealers and I dont see any oil anywhere so I am not sure . Looks like they pulled the engine?? Over 3 grand for the repair. Gonna drive her awhile tomorrow and do some more sniffing after she is good and hot :)


I found the invoice it was sold for 47K in 99. I am thinking a $5000 or so offer. One just like it , actully optioned better sold for 5K the other day .
With tires, brakes, other odds and ends I'll be out another 5-800$ on top of that. Time will tell

It sounds like a really good car to me. Knowing history on a car is invaluable - that's peace of mind going into the deal.

Hi, raymond. Thanks for the correction. As always it's best to double check before ordering a used changer.

I posted a DIY many years ago at BW, it's in the stickies. If you need to change the rotors, I'd strongly encourage you to repack the front wheel bearings while you're there.

do the bearings have to come off to change rotors?

does this engine have a "normal" oil consumption
its boiled down to my concern on the oil level and what appears to be "consumption" Its not leaking anywhere I can find
now it appears the last entry in the log book was 10,000 miles ago with an oil change mobile 5-40 syntheitc it looks to be down 1.5 quarts, and obviously needs changed
thoughts?

I'm not sure any manufacturer would consider 1.5 quarts in 10,000 miles as out of spec.

At this point, you don't even know if the engine was under-filled at the last oil change.

Better to buy new bearings than repack. They're not that expensive, and the car's 14 years old, w/100K on it.

If it is the original radio, it is CD changer capable, and will have a "CD" button on the face. Secondly, your car should be factory pre-wired with the fiber optic cable from the radio to the left rear trunk well. My '99 E300 was a bare bone minimally optioned car and it had both. Get a fiber optic factory CD changer- (you can find them on ebay all the time for ~$150.00ish and it is plug and play simple installation...the mounting bracket holes are already factory pre-drilled. No more than a 15 minute install time.

ok offered made, I will let you know result....thanks so much for all the info..
I am VERY comfortible around the pre 85 MB's . This one is really a very "new " car by my standards
:)

it does have the radio with the CD on the dial, do you know the part number for the changer?

Let me see if I can find the number on mine...

Ok she's mine:). First on the list. Oil change. 0-40 mobile one synthetic. Correct? What is fuel filter interval ? Also the car had the tyranny serviced 5000 miles ago by Mercedes dealer. Do you think they would have checked for common issues on the 722.6 tranny? This one was made 6/99? I am sure more questions as I dive in. Thanks in advance

Congrats!

Most owners who change their own oil use some form of suction to remove the oil via the dipstick tube. But there is a drain plug on the pan for the old school way. :D Since access to the oil filter is on top of the engine as well this eliminates lifting the car.

Most MB technicians are pretty thorough. I would think that if they serviced the transmission they would look for common issues. If you have the service records you can review any comments. They will tell you if they spotted a problem but the owner declined to do the repair.

The 722.6 transmission has a very good reputation and was used by MB for V8's and the V12 engine.

I've never found a service cycle recommendation for the fuel filter.

thanks ,Fuel filter was done 30,000 miles ago, seems like a long time.
the service record for the tranny indicates just service, fluid - filter, some "O" rings and such so I guess I'm good there
gotta find a CD changer , the plug is there as indicated by Jay earlier
Anyone got one they want me to own :)

I'm pretty sure this is the cd changer I have, but the car currently is not here for me to check...

1999- 2003 Models / Part No. A 002 820 7989 / MC3198 / Fiber Optic

Mercedes 6 Disc CD Changer Player 1999 2003 E430 SL55 C320 CLK s AMG Class | eBay

J.G.

MB recommended fuel filter replacement every 60,000 miles in the Maintenance Booklet for the 1990's cars. My newest MB is a 1998 so I have no idea what MB recommends for the newer cars ... likely the same interval.

The Service Booklet for 1998 says replace fuel filter at 60K or 4 years for diesel engines but not gasoline engines. There is footnote saying that MB encourages you to change (gas engines) but it not doing so will not affect emission warranty or recall liability.

If it truly is using a quart every 6K-7K miles it would be inline with the M112 engines that I have owned. The MB specification for this engine, as with many others, is at maximum a liter of oil every 1K Kilometers.

This car uses FSS to dynamically calculate the oil change interval based on time, miles, and driving conditions. It will go up to 2 years or about 15K miles. My cars generally called for an oil change in the 12K-13K range, with about 50% city/50% highway miles and gentle driving.

Don't forget to reset the FSS when you change the oil. You can google up directions here at peachparts, or mbworld, or probably find a video on youtube. It's just a simple, but magic, combination of key turns and button pushing - one which I have forgotten!

yes thanks, fuel filter done at 60 , so Freds post is correct, interval looks to be 60

Anyone aware of any Road and Track /Star Magazines ect articles on the 1999 E320 or E W210
I love to read as much as I can so I can learn

will the FSS reset no matter the mileage left??

Yes, it can be reset at any time by going through the process. Here's and example: Mercedes E320 service interval reset service wrench - YouTube

It doesn't automagically reset. Once it decides service is required it keeps counting the miles to let you know how deficient you are - very German. :) You can see an example in the video.

where does one actually find service intervals ?
I dont think I will be taking it to be "plugged in " at the dealers
No real service intervals in the books that came with it, just service sequences A B and such

Ron, there should be a Service Booklet in the black pouch with the Owner's Manual. Service intervals are listed on the back pages of the Service Booklet.

Yes. Thanks. Found it

you folks run regular unleaded, or the amped up mid or hightest?

It calls for premium, which is what I run.

If you put in regular, the computer will retard the timing to prevent knocking.

question for the night..found the battery, I have NEVER seen anything like it. This one looks original , so going on 14 years ...how can that be. I have a service record that checked it at 85,000 with some kinda mitronics and acid tester and it passed

wow..longevity of these beasts?? I dont guess you just go to autozone to get one if it dies??

Or, Costco or Interstate.......

ideas on Longevity ??

I recently changed the original battery in my E430. Lasted 12 years.

Totally unpredictable. Sometimes it varies car to car, and battery to battery.

Your case (battery in your 1999 E320) sounds like a very long time. My 99 E300TD is on it's 3rd MB brand battery, and the car is only 14 years old.

I must be doing something wrong, for my E300TD's batteries to individually last only 5 years each? The one in there now has evidenced a little bit of slow-cranking, a month ago, so it is signalling it is on it's way out to me. It's just short of 4 years old, +/-.

Im with you Skid. I do know the older original ones in my older cars always lasted longer. I had one in a Subaru last 15 years. Most of them I buy now last 5 years max, and the reason I asked