2nd day with 1995 E300D - already a love/hate affair- a few Q's

[gokatgo]

Greetings from Newbie Kat
Well, I bought it cheap and drove it 170 miles home in pouring rain. This car will be an extra, loaner for friends, Mom-car when she visits.

First impressions- 33 mpg-love, getting the car up to 3rd gear was like driving a semi through mud-hate, highway ride-love, interior-love...and on and on.

I don't have the manuals so a few questions to help my sanity until I can find them:
Door locking- Does the trunk have to be locked to be able to lock the driver's door? I've already set the alarm off once, kept my cool and through a combo of unlocking/locking the truck and drivers door, it turned off. Problem is I can't remember the order.

Will I have to pull the radio to get the serial number so I can obtain the code? (My kind of fun)

I'll be taking the car for it's first going over by my mechanic (unless someone has a great recommendation for a MB mechanic in Austin TX) and will have them check the wiring harness, fuel lines, suspension etc.
Any advice on other nuances I should have them look at?

I'm looking forward to getting into the car this weekend with a toothbrush, Q-tips and toothpicks (my cleaning weapons of choice) and I know I don't stand alone when it comes to OCD cleaning of your MB!

Thanks for any advice, happy to be here!

[tuttebenne]

Congrats on getting it home and best wishes on happy motoring/ownership

Originally Posted by gokatgo

I don't have the manuals so a few questions to help my sanity until I can find them:
Door locking- Does the trunk have to be locked to be able to lock the driver's door? I've already set the alarm off once, kept my cool and through a combo of unlocking/locking the truck and drivers door, it turned off. Problem is I can't remember the order.

Probably safest to lock it from the driver's door. The trunk should lock or unlock based on what the driver's door does unless its been locked with the valet key. But you should be able to unlock/lock the whole car from the trunk.

Originally Posted by gokatgo

Will I have to pull the radio to get the serial number so I can obtain the code? (My kind of fun)

Go to your local dealer with a copy of the title. The VIN is the clue to the radio security code

Originally Posted by gokatgo

I'll be taking the car for it's first going over by my mechanic (unless someone has a great recommendation for a MB mechanic in Austin TX) and will have them check the wiring harness, fuel lines, suspension etc. Any advice on other nuances I should have them look at?

Mostly the normal stuff like brakes, hoses, belt, exhaust. Have them change all the fluids and filters and put in a new thermostat, check the rubber shock tower mounts, motor mounts, rear suspension links,

[cmmwpi]

As for the locks, I too have a similar problem with the locks on my 93 300D.

So here's a break down:
There are 3 places to unlock/lock the car: the driver's door, the passengers door, and the trunk.

Each unlock/lock location has some contacts that send a signal to the computer in the car telling it that it is unlocked and thus disarming the alarm. However, since the cars are a touch aged now, these contacts could have become corroded so this means when you unlock it from, say, the drivers door it's a crap shoot as to whether the alarm will go off or not (This is a problem with my car). For now, I just unlock my car from the trunk whenever I get into it from now on. Locking it from any door is no problem, it should lock fine.

Hopefully this helps!

[alexnatt]

+1. driver lock cylinder fails due to overuse. when possible i use the trunk and passenger door to unlock the car.

[Zeitgeist]

Do yourself a favor and disconnect the factory alarm, and then install a cheap keyless remote locking setup.

[cmmwpi]

I'm tempted to do that but Worcester is not exactly the friendliest city so I'm keeping any alarm system I have hahaha (I normally don't like them).

[Zeitgeist]

Originally Posted by cmmwpi

I'm tempted to do that but Worcester is not exactly the friendliest city so I'm keeping any alarm system I have hahaha (I normally don't like them).

Then you may need to replace the electrical switch in the drivers door tumbler. I still recommend adding the remote locks, as this reduces wear on the tumblers

[gokatgo]

Thanks, that helps a lot. I can lock the driver's door but when I go to unlock it, it trips the alarm. I'll try using the trunk as the master lock.

[AKHARMON]

Thankfully my alarm has been disconnected. For security I use The Club and a lot of prayer