12 spark plugs in 1998 C240? Also, seat problem.

[petes350]

I was pricing up a B service for my 1998 C240 98k miles with an independent. It needs coolant and brake fluid changed too, as well as spark plugs. It came to nearly £600 in all - a bit steep I thought and didn't mention aircon regassing - a standard part of a B service I assumed, from the service book.

They tell me it has 12 spark plugs. There's nothing in the manual about this and it didn't sound familiar to me - is it correct?

Presumably this is the sort of thing I could do myself to save a few £££ (taking care with cross-threading etc!) Any advice on plug type and difficulty of the job - are the plugs easily accessible? I've done some DIY before (oil, plugs, filters etc - not on a MB or V6 engine though).

Also, the driver's seat backrest works its way back gradually while driving - any ideas how to cure this without a new seat?

All advice greatly appreciated!

 

[jberks]

Hi,
I am not aware that the aircon regas is a service item - never had mine done at the last B service (50k/5 yrs). Yes it does have 12 plugs (twin spark) just doesn't shout about it like some Alfas. The plugs are supposed to be good for 60k and many last a lot longer. Plugs were recommended at my last service but as its running fine I told them to leave well alone. If yours were done around 60k then they are really only half way through their lives so if its running ok, my advice would be don't bother. As far as I am aware, its quite straight forward though there are stories of people damaging plug leads (very short) and these are £200+ per set!! so be careful.

I had the dealer change the coolant and brake fluid as per spec, but this wasn't expensive.

As an alternative, a specialist is half the price of a dealer for labour.

No idea about the seat I'm afraid, but sounds very fixable.

 

[petes350]

Many thanks for the advice. This was priced by an independent - most of the cost was for parts with about 6hrs labour included. I'll try the dealer and see what they say by comparison, though their labour rate is about twice as much I think.