head gasket

[benzburner]

my w124 200E has had it.
the headgasket is now the latest in a series of problems that has just overcome me.
i bought it for a price at which it should have been reliable but it simply hasn't been. i've enjoyed using it daily and i've fixed everything that has gone wrong but i have to draw the line somewhere. it presently needs a head gasket, rad, rear sub-frame bushings and maybe a clutch. so i'm off tomorrow to pick up a '00 legacy 2.5. the question is what to do with the merc.
should i keep it and think about making it a sunday avo fixer upper, or is that beyond the abilities of the lay man. personally i'd love if it just worked within reason- i'd keep it in a shot. alternatively, i'd love to do the headgasket myself if i thought it would be possible and sell the legacy in a couple of months. or should i just be realistic and let it go.

 

[Stircrazy]

Why don't you have a go at doing the Gasket your self?

Get a Haynes manual and just take your time.

If you can't handle it then you won't have lost much and if you fix it you will be quids in or have your merc back on the road.

Alternatively do you not know any cheap mechanics?

 

[stumpy]

Don't want to rain on your parade but I've had 4 Legacys and the last ones head gaskets went at 80k. Cost to repair from a dealer - 2500 - 4000 quid. Auto Gearboxes can play up too.

 

[benzburner]

disaster averted.
i would be too embarrassed to tell you how far i went and the time it took to get to this "minter" legacy. it was a total heap of cr*p by any standards. i knew by the cut of him he was a total arfur daly.
he said it was a very clean one with genuine miles. it had been through the wars. it looked like how a '91 might be forgiven for looking. i'm dying to know what qualifies as fair- maybe stolen, crashed, upside down in a ditch and on fire.
he told me he had to paint the driver's door because it got hit by a trolley. 'was the trolley fired out of a cannon' i wondered. the door had clearly been knocked forward far enough to mangle the wing, the door and break off the restrictor. then ill repaired. both rear doors needed replacing, the clutch was 'broken' somehow, it was overheating, had an exhaust rattle, had suspension knocks and rattles and was missing lots of little bits and pieces here and there. he pulled a piece of heatshield out of the engine bay and made a joke about it. the upholstery also had engrained mud. it was clearly a farmers work car. i'm so peeved right now. he's lucky i didn't deck him. the best phrase was when he asid it was clean for a '00. the '92 bmw i brought was 100 times cleaner and still wouldn't be regarded as particularly clean. he claimed the mileage was 74k. there was no chance of that being the case. you can easily double it.
too many used car salesmen are too clever for their own good. he knew how much trouble i was going to and he completely mis-represented the car. i'm thinking of reporting him to autotrader as a rogue trader.

stumpy, what kind of trouble do the auto boxes give. i am taken by these cars and i know where there's a '98 2.5 auto that i might like.

 

[stumpy]

The front diff is inside the gearbox, and the diff has a seal problem which means the diff oil leaks into the gearbox buggering both the diff and gearbox at the same time. They fitted a recon box on mine but the changes were more jerky and more flared. They swapped that one for another which was never right. Changes were jerky at best and harsh at worst. The car would also try and surge forward when sitting in D with a foot on the brake. The air suspension was playing up and the rear diff whined from 50k.

My best Leggy was a 96N model. That one ran like a dream. I think the early 22B style i.e the ones were on about, were trouble.

 

[rio678]

Keep it for a sunday 'do up', if its got mega miles then probs are going to surface...... w124's are getting more and more popular though, if you get the work sorted it would be a gooden, question is the bodywork good?? if so its worth it!

 

[Ian B Walker]

If you want to do the head gasket yourself, give me a shout and I will talk you though it.

 

[benzburner]

thanks all.
the bodywork is good overall and it does stand out as a good clean example. it has 197k miles. does this qualify as mega miles? the only problem is that it's manual and for that reason i don't know if it will ever be as well regarded.
Ian, be careful-i may take you up on that offer.

 

[bibamus]

Well done on the disaster aversion, I`m glad I read your post, I was thinking of selling the W202 and going for a Legacy about that year, not now!
I borrowed a `93 Legacy Auto estate a couple of years ago with about 90000 on the clock. It was a little battle scarred, but drove perfectly, managed quite a few 200mile + trips easily, I was very impressed. Looks they have "improved" them since then!
So the list of replacement cars gets ever smaller. I think cars now are getting overly complicated, great if they work forever, but they rarely do.
I`ll be looking for something from the late 70`s with a carburetter and wind up windows from now on.

Allan

 

[rio678]

unfortunatly you are going to expect problems at these miles , manuals are rarer and quite desirable, at the cost of repair you can buy a lower mileaged one which may well be better in the end as miles count at point of resale,

 

[Ian B Walker]

manuals are rarer and quite desirable,

Sorry but resale value on a manual is not as good as the same car on Auto (Mercedes)

 

[television]

Sorry but resale value on a manual is not as good as the same car on Auto (Mercedes)

Have to agree with Ian, in any case autos have become more the norm since the 90's.

Malcolm

 

[mioba]

Have to agree with Ian, in any case autos have become more the norm since the 90's.

Malcolm

no one wants a manual merc, if you find a punter they will be few and far between.
about 80% of mercs are auto.

 

[rio678]

ebay peeps like manuals, my 190 sold well on there

 

[Glenn Smith]

unfortunatly you are going to expect problems at these miles , manuals are rarer and quite desirable, at the cost of repair you can buy a lower mileaged one which may well be better in the end as miles count at point of resale,

Not really, why expect problems? and i don't think resale is a big issue with cars of this type, be very careful of low mileage cars, you pay more, but i doubt they're realy any better especially at this end of the market.

 

[230ceBruno]

Wait Wait Wait

How much is the estimate on doing a head gasket job on a 124? and @ how may miles likley? I have to know?

 

[Ian B Walker]

How much is the estimate on doing a head gasket job on a 124? and @ how may miles likley? I have to know?

To do a head job will take about 6 - 8 hours. The cost of a gasket set for a 6 potter is in the region of £54 (Quoted to me today) Expect to pay in the region of £360 - 400.

 

[rio678]

Not really, why expect problems? and i don't think resale is a big issue with cars of this type, be very careful of low mileage cars, you pay more, but i doubt they're realy any better especially at this end of the market.

You are going to find 'some' problems, things do wear out, and miles do matter, to the market people always want something for nothing.

 

[rio678]

How much is the estimate on doing a head gasket job on a 124? and @ how may miles likley? I have to know?

They can go due to lack of care by the owner not really by miles, mercs like anti freeze changes, and i highly doubt you should get any problems.