A good friend is selling his '95 S500 with 54k miles on it. I've reviewed his service records and it appears the coolant has never been changed! The car has been serviced by Mercedes...it's hard to understand how they could have missed this. I also notice a little bit of oil on the front of the block just under each of the heads. My imagination is running wild now...bad coolant ate the head gaskets?? The car is at Mercedes now getting oil/coolant/tranny service...and getting the dreaded intermittent hesitation/misfire diagnosed. If it's true that the coolant is original from '95....is this car definitely to be avoided at all costs? Thanks for any input.
Ok, I'm looking at a service receipt for the car from '99 which lists the 30k mile service...it lists many items...but not a coolant change. Does anyone know if a coolant change was part of the 30K Mercedes service?
Banging my head against the wall...this car is mint in every other way.
Coolant change every 3 yrs, brake fluid change every 2yrs, transmission service ?, were always suggested but not included in any service. If the service advisor, pushes it it is done, otherwise the owner has to request it.
The filters fuel, air and charcoal activated are on the 4 year or 60 K mile list.
The hesitation is probably rotors/caps which will be an eye opening experience, I dont know if is a "avoid the purchase". The car is 10 years old, the seepage could be from the cover gaskets, I dont think it ate thru the head gasket. There are bigger issues with the early 140s, like the AC issue that can set you back $4/5 K, lower bushings , motor mounts, the dreaded closing assist pump, the Bose amp, before you buy it have the dealer do a inspection. These cars are expensive to maintain, be prepared, the ride is worth it.
Thanks, Peter. The tech just called...apparently the hesitation is a bad mass air sensor....$500...and this will be the second new one..first was at 11K miles.
The motor mounts were already replaced, and the ignition caps and rotors, as was the HVAC blower...not sure if that was the typical A/C item on the W-140. I know the car is expensive to maintain...this one had a cylinder head and oil pan replaced at 13K miles ($4,700 under warranty). The coolant is what had me spooked..they have cleaned off the block..we'll see if it's a leak or not. The car is amazing to drive.
Well the blower is not typical, the evaporator is, its a dash out operation, 3K if they help on parts 4.5 if they stick it to you.
If they had the head off they probably replaced the coolant, it can be checked by something very similar to a pool test strip to see what the acidity is.
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