First time benz owner - 1987 420 SEL - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

metaprinter · #1 10-20-2011, 10:29 PM

See attached photos. I scooped up this super clean Benz the day after it was put out on a front lawn with a for sale sign on it.

Garage kept 66k original miles. all documentation and service records. it even has the original first aid kit and data plate!

I did the following before turning it into my daily driver:
oil change, trans service, coolant flush, brake flush, replace all belts, replace front brake pads, replace a few light bulbs, replace under hood insulation, tune up (air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor) - local MB dealer did all this. WHEW!

After two weeks the blower controls stopped working and i had to replace the control unit. Found a re-manufactured unit online for $250, dealer wanted $1100 for a new one!
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little about me. I worked as a mechanic in a little VW shop through high-school, turned into a GM mechanic right out of high-school (GMASEP program), was an ase certified master mechanic by age 18, turned wrenches for a while then went back to school, lived in Colorado for a few years and wound up doing web development, which is what i do now in NJ. I still have all my ase certifications and tools but i don't know ***** about Mercedes other than i love the way they look and feel. I've owned a beetle, jetta, cj5, renault fuego, pontiac parisienne, tacoma, grand am, rav 4 and now the 420 sel.
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So. what do i need to know about my new vehicle? I'm thinking i need new shocks and struts as the handling seems squishy.

pawoSD · #2 10-21-2011, 12:41 AM

These cars never had sports car handling, but new shocks can help. For a firmer ride install a set of heavy duty bilsteins

even with only 66k on it, if the timing chain guides have never been done they are due...purely from age.

beautiful looking car! I like that color combination, I just picked up a mint 420 myself a month ago!

frankstallone · #3 10-21-2011, 07:35 AM

Welcome to the forums! As pawoSD mentioned I too love the color combo!! I just ordered new Bilstein HD's for the fronts on my 300TD -- found an entire ring cracked off the drivers side spring and you could push in the shocks all the way -- wait 20 seconds -- and it would slowly come back out. It was bad but we knew it wasn't going to be good.

I digress, there is a plethora of information on these forums, and many many helpful people who have gotten me out of sticky situations in the past.

Now that I think about it, I test drove a 300SDL in Connecticut with high 2xx,xxx miles on it and it too was floaty; I was turned off by how much it tipped like a ship in the sea whenever you turned and the guy was pretty up to date with everything else but I bet his suspension could have used work it just didn't bother him. Recently, at Chad's BenzFest 2011, the winner of the high mileage award went to a 300SD or 300SDL in your same body style with over 400,000 miles on it.

Ironically enough I too started with VW's although unlike you I was never too handy with tools -- just enough to be dangerous. I have fantastic indie I work with in Randolf NJ who saw these cars roll off the lot working at a MB dealership for a few decades. I still arguably own a mint 1991 Jetta GLI shell, but that is at another friends shop awaiting an engine.

Back to work! TTYL

oldsinner111 · #4 10-21-2011, 07:43 AM

metaprinter your boys look cute
welcome to forum.

Hirnbeiss · #5 10-21-2011, 07:53 AM

older cars come with big gremlins, as you can plainly see in the 2nd picture. I've had hat variety too, and they're usually attracted to buttons.

You can certainly DIY this car, as all the history on this forum can attest to. Patience, and a few extra tools, are key.

metaprinter · #6 10-21-2011, 09:23 AM

Thanks to everyone for your comments. I look forward to interacting with you in the forums.

If there are any meetups in nj / central nj lemme know!

whunter · #7 10-21-2011, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metaprinter

See attached photos. I scooped up this super clean Benz the day after it was put out on a front lawn with a for sale sign on it.

Garage kept 66k original miles. all documentation and service records. it even has the original first aid kit and data plate!

I did the following before turning it into my daily driver:
oil change, trans service, coolant flush, brake flush, replace all belts, replace front brake pads, replace a few light bulbs, replace under hood insulation, tune up (air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor) - local MB dealer did all this. WHEW!

After two weeks the blower controls stopped working and i had to replace the control unit. Found a re-manufactured unit online for $250, dealer wanted $1100 for a new one!
---------
little about me. I worked as a mechanic in a little VW shop through high-school, turned into a GM mechanic right out of high-school (GMASEP program), was an ase certified master mechanic by age 18, turned wrenches for a while then went back to school, lived in Colorado for a few years and wound up doing web development, which is what i do now in NJ. I still have all my ase certifications and tools but i don't know ***** about Mercedes other than i love the way they look and feel. I've owned a beetle, jetta, cj5, renault fuego, pontiac parisienne, tacoma, grand am, rav 4 and now the 420 sel.
-----

So. what do i need to know about my new vehicle? I'm thinking i need new shocks and struts as the handling seems squishy.

You may want to bookmark this link for future need.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diy-links-parts-category/146034-fast-navigation-do-yourself-links.html

.

benfield4 · #8 10-22-2011, 12:13 PM

Nice car! I have an 89 300SE and love it. Yours will be just right with the V8. Mine has the same body color but with the dark brown interior. I do love that color on the outside as it does not show dirt bad. Its nice for carting around the family as well. I have 2 boys as well and we have room for all the stuff in the trunk and inside. Enjoy and I hope the AC works!

metaprinter · #9 10-22-2011, 08:57 PM

Wait... Why do you mention AC ? Is there a common problem with these?

benfield4 · #10 10-23-2011, 12:40 PM

Its often an overlooked item and does not get fixed when broken. The expansion valve and the Evaporator are difficult to work on. The Evaporator requires you to remove the dash. Do your best to keep the system working and you should be fine. Since your AC works its even a better deal for your $$!

I will give you a bit of my opinion/advice/experience here. You have a 20+ year old car on your hands so anything rubber is going to be suspect when fixing the car. Its also going to need what 20 year old cars need like brake hoses, calipers, fuel system parts etc. That is a small sampling of what I have replaced on my 300SE with 160K on the clock. Its a nice car and I love driving it but quite often it just requires tinkering and misc parts. It also depends on how much of a perfectionist you are. I tend toward making it right and reliable as possible within means. Which means when I am tinkering I often find something broken or worn and look to replace the part. Which means I am spending more than I should at times on it. I guess what I am trying to tell you is that sometimes its a labor of love rather than a piece of transportation with these. Your lucky that you have a low miles car so enjoy it and fix what you need to and it will serve you well. You will also be set apart from the crowd since there are not a lot of W126 cars on the road these days. I notice people "checking out" my car on the freeway and one person even snapped a cell phone pic of the car one day after I passed!

Sorry to get all "wordy" on you and write a book. Have a great day and relax, get a W126 service manual CD and enjoy that V8 126!

metaprinter · #11 10-23-2011, 07:45 PM

This is my first mb so illtake all the "wordy" advice I can get. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Since getting this car I've noticed two others but they were both a damn mess.

benfield4 · #12 10-23-2011, 08:21 PM

Yeah they are out there as well. When I was looking for my Mercedes I was amazed at the price people were asking for those cars that were a mess. I have seen about 5 or 6 of our 126's in my town. Mine is in decent shape but there is one diesel that is a real looker. I enjoy working on my car but find the fuel system to be fairly complex. This forum helps so do use the search tool. Many problems have been seen before!

pawoSD · #13 10-23-2011, 08:22 PM

The A/C on the later W126's and V8's is more reliable than on the 617 diesel models purely due to the better compressor they used. The A/C on my newly acquired 420 works perfectly, blows ice cold within about 20 seconds of turning it on. A/C in my 300SD worked for a week after I got it.

Never bothered fixing it.

Again though, I'd check the timing chain guides....if you have a way of peering in through the oil filler cap hole you might be able to check if they are brown/aged plastic or if they are the metal variety.

macdoe · #14 02-03-2012, 05:41 PM

Hello, How much does the dealer charge to do the upper chain guides and timing chain for a 88 420 sel? Is a new timing chain tensioner, also recomended at this time? I am just pricing out the parts and wonder how much the labour would be should we opt out of this one. Also, wondering if the metal/or aluminum guide is better to have than the standard plastic/nylon or whatever it is made of and are they availible for both sides (upper chain guides) made out of that different material. Thanks.

pawoSD · #15 02-03-2012, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macdoe

Hello, How much does the dealer charge to do the upper chain guides and timing chain for a 88 420 sel? Is a new timing chain tensioner, also recomended at this time? I am just pricing out the parts and wonder how much the labour would be should we opt out of this one. Also, wondering if the metal/or aluminum guide is better to have than the standard plastic/nylon or whatever it is made of and are they availible for both sides (upper chain guides) made out of that different material. Thanks.

The aluminum guides are better, also, total cost is likely to be about $1500 to replace the guides and chain as a rough estimate.