W124 Preventative Maintenance

[Millo777]

Another newbie with daft questions I'm afraid.......

being in need of a new car before christmas I bought a 1992 300te-24 5sp auto with 96k showing which was originally intended to a stop gap for 3 months, however after a month with it, i think it's a keeper.

The car came with no histroy at all, so now i need advice on what i should be getting done to ensure it keeps running as well as it does now.

I've given it a basic service, (oil, filter, air filter, spark plugs, fuel filter), but was wondering what else i should be getting done/checked as a matter of course.

Transmission fluid/filter?
Diff oil?
coolant?
distributor cap/leads?

Is there anything specific that causes problems for this series/model that I should get checked.

I will be probably be taking it to an independent mercedes specialist "Klasse of Fulham" (anybody used them?/opionions on their work/prices?) for any work to be done, but wanted to get opionions on what is most critical.

Any thoughts on this gratefully recived. Thanks, James.

 

[television]

Welcome to the forum with the car that you have fallen in love with, We all loved those as the are one of the best all round ever built.


Re the oils, why not change them all as during the 95k some metal and other particles could be present, in the long run it will be the cheapest thing that you can do.

malcolm

 

[kid-jensen]

Millo777,

Look out for rust in the following places. If you get to it with a grinder or dremmel tool, and plenty of waxoil or whatever, there's a chance of it not reappearing for a few more years:-

1. McPherson strut towers, under the wing, at the top couple of inches. They will eventually fail the MOT here.
2. Forward edge of the front wheelarch, level with the bumper. Rusts from inside and soon penetrates. You catch it in time, saves you a fortune in spray work.
3. Under the Jacking point covers, around the jacking points themselves, worse at the rear.

Good luck, they're certainly a good proposition to keep for many years, and shouldn't make you too poor in terms of running costs (petrol excepted, obviously!).

 

[lakeside]

Change the transmission fluid and filter.

 

[Thegemmesabogie]

Remove the washer bottle to check for rust at the lower mounting grommet.

Change the brake fluid and levelling/power steering fluid.

 

[Millo777]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I have the car booked into Klasse in Fulahm (independent Mercedes specialist) to get the transmission fluid and filter as well as the coolant repalcement. I'll add the hydraulic fluid for the self leveling suspension and power steering fluid to the list.

The garage is also going to give the car a thorough check and report back......I'm expecting a big bill.