I'm STILL really please with my 115,000 mile 1996 Mercedes S280.
One bizarre thing though. EVERY day when I start the car and take off, theres a very quiet noise, and I can feel a vibration in the brake pedal for a second or so. It's as if it's checking something.
Just intrigued. Out of interest.
PS I recommend Andy Gayle in Birmingham to all Mercedes owners. Full major service £240! Not Mercedes £700 plus.
Thanks in advance.
rojer@lycos.co.uk
Astra, Renault 18, Renault 25 TXi, Astra Est, Passat Est, Mercedes 190E, Mercedes
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I'm STILL really please with my 115,000 mile 1996 Mercedes S280. One bizarre thing though. EVERY day when I start the car and take off, theres a very quiet noise, and I can feel a vibration in the brake pedal for a second or so. It's as if it's checking something. Just intrigued. Out of interest. PS I recommend Andy Gayle in Birmingham to all Mercedes owners. Full major service £240! Not Mercedes £700 plus. Thanks in advance. rojer@lycos.co.uk Astra, Renault 18, Renault 25 TXi, Astra Est, Passat Est, Mercedes 190E, Mercedes
Its the ABS doing a self-test when you hit about 3mph.
And yes, Andy Gayle is a pretty good guy - being going a few years now and has build up a good customer base and a good reputation.
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I thought as much.
How DO you know so much about the W140?
I can't find a detailed description of everything on that car, how it works etc. Even the manual is, er, minimalist. I think it mentions the heated mirrors in once passing sentence.
For example, apparently it has a LAN multiplexed communications system 10* the speed if ISDN (!!!).
I'm just curious about the things this car does, was made to do, is capable of.
Thank-you!
rojer@lycos.co.uk
Astra, Renault 18, Renault 25 TXi, Astra Est, Passat Est, Mercedes 190E, Mercedes
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This thread will be moved over to Technical Matters later today.
DD.
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Rojer
I know a fair amount about MB's because I have worked on them for 30 years, plus have worked for the company and still know quite a few folks there. I have most technical information for most models.
If you really want 'chapter and verse' on your W140 then MB USA sell the complete factory manual on CD ROM. They are obliged to under US law. MB UK will not release any information over here though!
MB US will not sell the CD-ROM to people in the UK (MB UK have asked them not to) but if you join one of the American mailing lists then someone may do you a favour and get one for you and mail it over. Someone may even offer you a copied CD-ROM at a low price - but obviously that would be illegal and couldn't be condoned.
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.. that explains a lot! Thank-you, will try that American CD route.
Anything in particular I should look out for? I think I had one of those Baltic-sitting models and rust was appearing in the usual by-the-sea places. Sorted now. Given to Paint Specialist and looks superb. Soft Gold/Smoke SIlver unfortunately.
Andy's gonna see to the tracking and I need a 'Capacitor Pack' to fix the low heating. Might have it done but it's fine for now. I plan to service it by the milage, not the 6-monthly schedule as I drive it gently and try to avoid <6 mile journeys.
Most is motorway to and from York and London.
Anything to add/comments? Any help much appreciated.
rojer@lycos.co.uk
Astra, Renault 18, Renault 25 TXi, Astra Est, Passat Est, Mercedes 190E, Mercedes
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Unfortunately I think quite number of these showed rust - it was more to do with MB's paint processes at the time than anything to do with the Baltic. The paint went on very thin and anywhere there was an 'external corner' the paint could be very thin indeed and rust comes through.
Things to watch out for:
Ignition problems due to HT tracking
Shimmy from front end (keep a close eye on condition of bushings and balljoints)
Aircon evaporator leaking (expensive!)
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"Ignition problems due to HT tracking" --- Er .. I give up. What's that?
Shimmy --- The car DOES have a steering wobble about 63-69 mph but I thought that was due to tracking (MASSIVE front left tyre wear on last set of tyres! Four new tyres fitted and balanced) that Mr Gayle is gonna fix. What does shimmying entail? Why's it happen. How do I spot it?
I had the condensor replaced in Year one as it happens cos it had a leak. Mr Gayle of course. Other than avoiding gravel and snow and using the air con in the winter, any other precautions to take?
rojer@lycos.co.uk
Astra, Renault 18, Renault 25 TXi, Astra Est, Passat Est, Mercedes 190E, Mercedes
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"Ignition problems due to HT tracking" --- Er .. I give up. What's that? Shimmy --- The car DOES have a steering wobble about 63-69 mph but I thought that was due to tracking (MASSIVE front left tyre wear on last set of tyres! Four new tyres fitted and balanced) that Mr Gayle is gonna fix. What does shimmying entail? Why's it happen. How do I spot it? I had the condensor replaced in Year one as it happens cos it had a leak. Mr Gayle of course. Other than avoiding gravel and snow and using the air con in the winter, any other precautions to take? rojer@lycos.co.uk Astra, Renault 18, Renault 25 TXi, Astra Est, Passat Est, Mercedes 190E, Mercedes
HT is 'High Tension' - i.e. the high voltage part of the ignition system. 'Tracking' is when the voltage doesn't go where it should and results in misfiring, which can have all sorts of nasty consequences. Basically its a case of keeping an eye on the condition of all of the HT parts of the ignition system and keeping is all very clean (wipe over with a rag with some silicone on it). Replace any parts that look deteriorated straight away.
Front-end shimmy is an oscillation from the front of the car as you describe. It is due, in part, to a design flaw in the car and was especially bad on the earler W140's. In fact I think in the US there was a 'class action' against MB on the part of a group of W140 owners. It is supposed to be less of a problem on later cars thanks to some modifications.
I wouldn't have thought that a tracking error would have caused your 'wobble' (this would more likely be a wheel balance problem) but keep an eye on the front end components and have it all checked out. I would be surprised if the front tracking is wildly out because the W140 steering linkage is massively strong and it would take quite a bang to know it out of alignment. It could be that you have a worn component (bush/balljoint).
I was refering to the air-con evaporator - not condensor. One way I've heard of making the evap corrode less is to switch the aircon off about 10 mins before the end of a journey - that way it can dry off. Don't know if it works or not long term.
As to the condensor, you could give a blast of wax at the front bottom (Waxoyl, Ankor Wax or similar). Might help??
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