New member, old '95 E300D

[5131paul]

Hi, new member here needing a bit of advice

I recently bought a '95 E300D Estate (the multivalve) with almost 250k on the clock. I have paperwork for EVERYTHING the car's ever needed (including main dealer bills for washer fluid!) and although there's a lot on the clock it really seems to have been well looked after...

Once she's warmed up she cruises very well (although seems to run out of breath a bit on the gradients and occasionally needs a downshift to keep up) - but startup from cold is a bit traumatic. There's lots of blue smoke, and she runs VERY noisily til the temp gauge is about halfway to normal (I'm guessing there's a glow plug out - but don't know for sure).

I've always done my own servicing and mech repairs on petrol cars - but the old heavy oil is a bit of a mystery. What are the main pitfalls of a standard oil service on this car? Should I be afraid??

All advice MUCH appreciated.

Paul

Previous MBs
'75 350SL (why did I ever sell it?)
200TE (why did I ever buy it?)

 

[Bolide]

These are easy to service. You'll need the following:

* oil filter
* fuel filter
* fuel pre-filter
* air filter

Everything is easy to get at - just have a look around and you'll see it all in plain sight under the bonnet. You only need to get under the car to remove the sh1tshield and drain the oil

Be careful when replacing glow plugs - they tend to snap off and it's a head-off job to replace them then. Search this forum for advice

The only pitfall is air leaks caused by disturbing the fuel lines during the service. The O-rings on the lines flatten with age and can leak air which makes these cars difficult or impossible to start. If you order up a bunch of O rings from Mercedes (about 90p each) and replace them all it may save lots of grief later. And don't forget to fill the fuel filter with diesel before fitting it

If the car clonks at the front over bumps replace the front ARB bushes. 4 at £4 each...

The final jobs are to adjust the throttle & kickdown cables (if you know what you're doing), replacing the rear sidelight bulbs (they'll be black), replacing the wiper blades and cleaning the wheelarch lips


Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[5131paul]

Thanks for the advice Nick - that's nice and reassuring.

Cheers

Paul

 

[exeng]

glow plug

If you are about to change glow plugs ensure engine is warm and read all the articles on the forum.If you do snap a glow plug do not dive in and remove the head i have removed a lot of these without removing the head on both the e class and the cdi engine.