[bluerooster]

First lesson learned:
Don't buy a high-end luxury car from a red neck. No matter what it looks like.
Lesson # 2:
Appearences Are deceiving.
Lesson #3:
Stick with airplanes, They have less expensive parts, and fewer electronic devices to cause you trouble. Parts can be had nationwide, New (aftermarket, and OEM) as well as used.
Lesson #4:
When the manual sez to use premium gas, Use Premium Gas! (preferably alcohol free, see #3 above)
Lesson #5;
Either these cars are Junk, or real good, as there are few used parts available.
(jury still out on that one)
Lesson#6:
Due to the lack of used parts, and lack of sales, new (aftermarket) parts are very expensive, and none in stock. New OEM parts are very expensive, and usually not in stock.

 

[Jre32]

Huh??

First lesson learned:
Don't buy a high-end luxury car from a red neck. No matter what it looks like.
Lesson # 2:
Appearences Are deceiving.
Lesson #3:
Stick with airplanes, They have less expensive parts, and fewer electronic devices to cause you trouble. Parts can be had nationwide, New (aftermarket, and OEM) as well as used.
Lesson #4:
When the manual sez to use premium gas, Use Premium Gas! (preferably alcohol free, see #3 above)
Lesson #5;
Either these cars are Junk, or real good, as there are few used parts available.
(jury still out on that one)
Lesson#6:
Due to the lack of used parts, and lack of sales, new (aftermarket) parts are very expensive, and none in stock. New OEM parts are very expensive, and usually not in stock.

And the point of this story is.........?

 

[iss]

And the point of this story is.........?

It's all about an education!!!

To bluerooster,

For a first 6-12 month of owning, we all learned that lesson '''''''''don't let your heart fall in love with the car without inspecting it '''''''''''''

P.S. Been There Done That!!!

 

[95Scoupe]

New OEM parts may not be in stock at the dealer, but about 95% of the time they're only one day out, at least with my dealer. Like almost everything else, you get what you pay for (and work for).

 

[cigar band havana]

I purchased my 1995 S 600 from the back row of a Toyota used car lot. I had service history of car and a detailed inspection so I knew what was wrong with it before I purchased it. Pretty much all parts are still available from the dealer. In my area there were multiple W140s in junk yards for small parts. I have a great Indie Mechanic who is a big help. I knew the S 600 would need a lot of attention and have spent more time than money on it.

 

[95Scoupe]

I purchased my 1995 S 600 from the back row of a Toyota used car lot. I had service history of car and a detailed inspection so I knew what was wrong with it before I purchased it. Pretty much all parts are still available from the dealer. In my area there were multiple W140s in junk yards for small parts. I have a great Indie Mechanic who is a big help. I knew the S 600 would need a lot of attention and have spent more time than money on it.

Welcome. Love the board name. I enjoy a Rocky Patel or a Macanudo every now & then .

 

[bluerooster]

And the point of this story is.........?

A very expensive education.

$768 for one rear shock, plus tax. (I need 2)

$300 for a heater blower motor, Cheez-O-Pete! (bearings shot in mine)

$208 for a set of plug wires (aftermarket)

$70 for transmission filter and gasket. (aftermarket)

$2114 total so far plus tax.

All for a car that's only worth about $7k clean retail.

And I still can't reliably drive it to the nearest someone to plug in and retrieve the codes.

Just a rant.

 

[95Scoupe]

$2114 total so far plus tax.

All for a car that's only worth about $7k clean retail.

And I still can't reliably drive it to the nearest someone to plug in and retrieve the codes.

Just a rant.

I think most of us that bought a fixer have been at least a little frustrated at some point. Here's the deal: What's not reliable about it? There's a consensus of knowledge in this forum that can help get it squared away. I never doubt my coupe. Yes, I've had to fix some issues, but I don't think the amount I've spent could buy anything close to this car. To a car guy, Kelly value only says so much. It's about the driving experience, and if that doesn't mean a lot, a W140 isn't the best choice.

 

[iss]

$70 for transmission filter and gasket. (aftermarket)

I do not know about the other parts and prices, but, for the Tranny filter and gasket $70 (aftermarket) - a very, very expensive.
I got em from a dealer for:
transmission filter-$22+tax
tranny pan gasket-$20+tax

where are you located? ( USA or not? which state?)

P.S. Try Ebay, partsgeek, bma, autohauseaz.

 

[bluerooster]

I think most of us that bought a fixer have been at least a little frustrated at some point. Here's the deal: What's not reliable about it? There's a consensus of knowledge in this forum that can help get it squared away. I never doubt my coupe. Yes, I've had to fix some issues, but I don't think the amount I've spent could buy anything close to this car. To a car guy, Kelly value only says so much. It's about the driving experience, and if that doesn't mean a lot, a W140 isn't the best choice.

It cranks and runs fine, untill it warms up, once at operating temp, it idles erratically, but keeps running, Doesn't want to accept the throttle, but can be babied into accelerating, once off idle runs fine. Just don't shut it off, or you'll be there 'till tomorrow. Check engine light is on, and not being OBDII,
I don't have a scan tool that will read the codes. (or even hook to it) So I gotta drive it to a shop with a scan tool, that has the proper adaptors and keys.
Or I can do the "government fix", (throw dollars at it 'till the problem goes away) Which can get very expensive in just a minnit or two.

Problem with driving it to a shop is that it has no tag, can't get a tag untill it passes the emission test, can't pass the test, untill I find out what's wrong, can't find out what's wrong untill I get it to a shop, can't ...(vicious circle)

I feel that once I get it repaired, it will be quite reliable. And a nice vehicle.

Most of the OBDI cars have a way to enter self diagnostic, and the light on the dash, or an LED on the ECM will blink the codes, but as yet I've not found a way to do that with the W140.

 

[Sinned420]

I wanted to point out, if you're in a tight budget or want to prioritize your repairs, focus on the things that will get the car up and running before you fix other expensive parts that can wait.

For example, the rear self leveling shocks doesn't necessarily need to be fixed now, does it? It might ride like crap but at least you can take it to a shop to pass smog? Same with heater motor, that doesnt affect your current engine issues.
Have you considered making your own or buying a cheap LED blinker off eBay to read the codes? That was the best investment for my 95. What year is your car? Did you know about the wiring harness issue?

Instead of buying those shocks, you could replace harness/MAF sensor/Dist &rotors/CPS/other parts thar may the issues you mentioned.

As far as parts go, lots of used parts on eBay as well as OEM on Internet shops. Locally, it is a pain to get parts. Junk yards most likely will not have a w140, and if they do, they sell the used part for as much as 80% of a new unit half the time.
Local parts store like O'Reiley's/Autozone may carry aftermarket parts, but will have to order them and they're usually outrageously priced for aftermarket parts. Online aftermarket brands seem to be cheap, but I tend to stick with OE brands.

 

[95Scoupe]

You might pull the distributor caps off after it starts acting up. My coupe had a temperature related problem, which for some reason always appeared with long idling, and it was the seals behind the distributor rotors leaking some oil which was causing condensation in the distributors caps. I had checked the caps with the engine cool and they looked fine. I never did figure out why idling made it worse (maybe oil pools at the front of the head?) but I know that changing the seals fixed it. There a good thread here describing the job.

 

[bluerooster]

I figured that I pretty much had my priorities straight;
get it running reliably is first and foremost. But as I'm trying to figure out what's up with that, I'm also checking into what else needs to be done. That way I can set my budget.
If I should come up on a set of rear struts at a good price, I'll need to get them lest someone else get them and then when the time comes I'll end up paying full price.
I managed to find that the heater motor wasn't seized after all, but just needing a good cleaning, and lubricating, works fine now.


I'll check out the distributors, and see what's up, there.
I've also found several vacuum lines that had rotten hoses, which I promptly replaced. Seemed to help it some.

Yes I know about the bio-degradeable insulation on the wiring. (stupidest thing done on any wiring exposed to the elements)

Thanx for the ideas, keep 'em commin'.

 

[MAVA]

Shorty,

I would add this to the mix, no pre96 W140's You will have a better outcome... I paid $1000 from a red-neck for S500. All the stuff that drives people up the wall were the problems of this car, but the core parts are fine.

My problems:

1)Peeling paint-$400 bucks-Im a car painter- No biggie...

2) Drivers door lock not working-Broken diphram shaft-next to nothing from the junk yard

3) Passenger window goes up half way, regulator-Junk yard 20 bucks or $100 new

4) Antenna will not go up-New antenna shaft-20bucks new

5) Drivers seat does not go up-I bought it from process-food-eating-red-neck that just had to many hamburgers around his waist. Tedious fix, but motor is available at junk yard for $20 bucks or so...

6) Got to always change the heater-tee when you acquire a W140, or you got seconds before the engine goes KABOOM!!!-That set me back 30bucks...

7) Got to make this baby shift well, a tranny fluid exchange so 100% of the fluid is replaced. Four gallons of Valoline MAX-Life ATF, filter and gasket for $100 bucks

That was not too bad.. Was it...

The engine, body, A/C is ice cold and tranny are working well...

Martin

 

[Smokiesman]

Also if you need parts see Eddie A. here on the forum . He can help you out a bunch without tearing yer face off in the process!!

Smokie

 

[bluerooster]

Paint is good, interrior is good, seats and windows work fine, (except the rear headrests), Mirrors work good, back up "feelers" work, All that stuff is trivial, even if it didn't work, but the engine runs ragged at operating temp.
It has a metal Y pipe, (heater). Plan to change tranny juice as soon as I get it to run properly.
Stored code retrieval is paramount, without that, I'm screwed.
There is something out of range, sensor, relay, solonoid, control module, something.
But without the codes, I don't even know which direction to start.
I may need a new wiring harness, but upon inspection, I haven't found any issues.

I looked at the distributors, and found them to be clean and dry, Checked the plugwires, and found them to be within spec. both hot and cold, Cam position sensor, and crank sensor, both check out to spec, both hot and cold. Replaced CTS with new, (was running rich prior to replacement)
Took a break, and got some hay for the horses.

 

[quakercity]

Is the original gas in the car? Maybe the ******* put cheap regular in it. Drain or siphon the tank and fill with Premium. Maybe even change the fuel filter.

Have you ruled out the catalytic converters are not plugged? This will make the car run rough as hell. My dealer replace my engine with a used engine. I was suspicious of a bad cat but he showed me metal flakes in the oil which made us suspicious of major engine problems. I also had a useless aftermarket warranty which required diagnosis before paying. We decided that cheapest option was to save replace the engine and forget the warranty. I cancelled the warranty by cancelling payments and contested payment to AMEX. $5k later I had a "new" 50K mile engine to replace my 104K engine, new engine mounts. After starting, it was revealed that one of the cats was bad. Seems like a coincidence, but I still respect the dealer.

Good luck.

 

[bluerooster]

Fuel replacement was the first thing I did.

Cat could be the problem (it's suspect) But runs too good when not at operating temp. no problem with acceleration, (actually will scare some folks)
Actually, even when warmed up and running ragged, when off idle, (~1200 rpm) it seems to run fine.

When temp gauge hits 80c, it's like someone flipped a switch, instant rough.
When temp is at 79.9c runs fine, 80c runs ragged. At that point it can be kept running with one foot on the gas, and one on the brake. If it should die, it'll be there untill tomorrow. Then it will run fine untill it warms to 80c.

 

[bluerooster]

Well, It's been over 4 months now, and I've learned quite a bit about the W140.
I've put 3000 miles on my S500, and still have a few issues to work out. But it's all well and good.

Many thanx to the kind folks here at BW, for their help, and input. Were it not for ya'll I'd still have it sitting in the garage, instead of being able to enjoy it.

 

[Shaddow]

I found wreckers are a great source of parts at good prices. Stock is well cared for and comes with warranty most of the time.