[Tweeg]

Actually bought it last week Monday, but just took possession of it yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, a 1998 S500.

Notable problems:

• Sunroof doesn't work - motor can be heard whirring.
• Little to no output from the windshield wash sprayers.
• Missing CD changer disc tray.
• Cup holders are broken.
• Front bumper present but nearly cracked in half.
• No cellular carriers offer service for the integrated phone anymore.
• First aid kit missing! Fourth MB I've owned and the first one I've ever had that is missing the factory included First Aid Kit. Even my '88 300E, which I sold this past Saturday, still had the expired Aspirin in its' kit.

Sunroof is a huge annoyance as it literally broke after I got the car home and was demo'ing how it worked to my dad... and then it had a moment of hesitation in the movement before it stopped completely while attempting to close it, just before it began to pour rain... yeah, that was just great. I did not get it to fully shut until after all the lightning and rain had passed. Apparently water that makes it by the sunroof gasket goes right into the trunk pocket wells where drain holes I pray are not clogged are located beneath the carpet-like material interior. :|

Needless to say we managed to ever so slowly force the sunroof to finish closing... but this now means I have broken sunroofs on both of my cars, great. At least we were able to get this one to close, my other Mercedes sunroof has a busted guide-rail which has stranded the sunroof cocked up on one corner and resulted in it having duct tape (lots of duct tape) on the roof to keep water out. <sigh>

On the plus side, the radio works! Not tested the cassette player yet, but I'm optimistic that it will work as I still have lots of tapes... somewhere in storage.

A/C Works fantasticly well! Three of the four windows work well, and the fourth window... well it goes down easily, but stutters and just barely creeps going up. Door locks all seems to work well. Instrument cluster seems to be working well. And both electronic keys work, even though one of them is in rough shape.

Started switching out the interior lightbulbs with LEDs this evening.

Apparently the original owner was a bail bonding company in Illinois, which would explain why the front grill was spray painted black and the exterior door pillars have been gold plated... had to look the part for their drug dealer clients. :laugh

 

[Merc-S600]

Congrats Tweeg on your new S500 & Welcome to almighty Benzworld.

Do a search here on the forum to find how to swap/change the rear window regulator , it's a common failure due to the heavy windows on w140's .

Did you know that inside the Trunk where the spare wheels is ,on top of it you find a tollbox ,inside it ,you find a lever/tool to open/close the sunroof from inside the left side of the tunk manually , in the trunk on inner left side of the trim ,you should see a hole , that's where you insert it, fixing it ,is another story , ad more info on that what it actually does .
Use a sawing needle to clean out the windshield washer nozzles (x6) holes ,they probably are partially clogged up with either polish or dirt .:thumbsup:

Here is a Sunroof Do it yourself repair , if it applies to you just in case .
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w140-s-class/1610502-diy-w140-sun-roof-restoration-repair.html

Here is the Window Regulator Repair Thread if you need it .

Rear Window Prt 1 Removal of Trim :
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w140-s-class/1311783-how-replace-rear-window-regulator-part.html
Rear Window Prt 2 Removal of Regulator :
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w140-s-class/1311786-how-replace-your-window-regulator-part.html

Found a pic for you ,Sunroof .

 

[Thom_7]

Hi Tweeg -- Welcome to the group and congrats on your purchase.

As mentioned above, there's a crank in the trunk to manually close the sunroof; I realize this is after you had your ordeal with the rain, but better late than never!

It sounds like your roof hadn't been properly lubricated, which is a common issue particularly on W140s that have seen some neglect. If you still hear the motor and feel that it's still trying to open/close the roof, I'd first lube it up and see if that helps before taking everything apart. My roof was having hesitation also (particularly in cold weather, where it wouldn't operate at all), then I lubricated everything and I've never had a problem since.

First, order yourself some genuine Mercedes sunroof grease (you really do need it, there aren't many good substitutes). It's expensive because Mercedes only sells commercial-sized tubs of it (more than you'd ever use in three lifetimes), but a few suppliers sell smaller quantities for DIY usage. I recommend MercedesSource because they include application tools along with the grease.

When you're ready, crank the sunroof back open manually, and liberally lube the tracks and whatever exposed parts you can see. Crank it closed and then open again, then repeat another application of grease to ensure it's being distributed thoroughly throughout the mechanism. Do this process maybe two or three more times, then try to operate the roof with the switch, and see if it works out for you. If it does, you've solved the problem. If not, you'll have to proceed to disassembly.

Let us know how it all works out!

 

[Tweeg]

Will attempt to use the sunroof manual crank later today, but pretty sure it went from being a lubrication issue as has been made clear in all your responses, to a broken gearing by my forced closing of the sunroof. Before forcibly closing it you could hear a sound like the motor was binding up almost instantly (stuck), after forcibly closing it you can hear the motor whirring freely.

There are some oddities with this car that I'm curious about. The apparent faint gold plating of the exterior door pillars and window surrounds, the presence of the "AMG" logo on the trunk lid, and the utter lack of a model number on the left of the trunk lid. Aftermarket modifications, or did MB let their customers request such modifications when ordering the car?

 

[Thom_7]

That's not gold plating, that's the standard material MB used on the window trim on all these cars. It has a slightly iridescent quality to it. Yours is oxidized, but a good compound will improve the appearance greatly. It should be buffed and waxed just like the painted surfaces of the car. But nothing out of the ordinary at all.

As for the badging, it's likely a previous owner simply removed the model designation and applied the AMG badge himself, likely when they added the body kit. I don't think any of that is factory.

True AMG cars will have a data plate in the engine bay. And they're extremely rare in the US, and likely wouldn't have been allowed to fall into that state of disrepair. As far as I know, Mercedes didn't offer an AMG body kit on the W140 in the US either, so that leads me to believe a previous owner simply customized the car with an aftermarket kit and changed the badges.

If I were you, I'd just source a new front bumper, grille, and headlights and give the entire car an aggressive cut and polish. Should shine right up no problem. Looks straight and rust-free so it won't take much to see a major improvement in the cosmetics.

 

[Tweeg]

Well, I have been delayed getting the front bumper off, will likely be the weekend before I have the time to remove it. Plan to get a fiberglass repair kit and attempt to repair it.

But now something new has popped up. The "Check Engine" light in the instrument cluster came on on my way to work yesterday, and was on te entire way home from work last night. No idea what is causing it to be on as the car seems to be running just fine. When I test drove the car prior to buying it the same light plus the "Coolant" indicator came on, and I reported such to my mechanic since the car was at his shop. He checked it out and discovered a loose connection on the coolant tank sensor, which required no part replacement. So I am wondering if this might be a similar issue of another sensor error transpiring somewhere under the hood. Any advice?

 

[Thom_7]

Any number of things can trigger a Check Engine light. If you're not noticing anything different about the car the only way to know will be to plug it into an ODBII scanner and see what codes are coming up.

It really could be anything though.

 

[Tweeg]

Dang, thought I had bought a OBD II code reader/scanner at a yard sale last year. Spent considerable time hunting around the storage building for it only to discover upon finding it that it isn't a OBD II reader at all, but some other device called a "Automotive Oscilloscope". I foresee a trip to Advance Auto in my future. Also the car has been running great, so guessing it is likely either a false-positive or something to do with the emissions control, will let you all know what I find out when I find out.

 

[Thom_7]

Yeah if there's no problem with how the car has been running, it could just be an O2 sensor or something. Could also be low-octane gas.

 

[Tweeg]

Finally got the opportunity to have someone, at Advance Auto, hook up a ODB II code reader to my car to see what the "Check Engine" light is all about. "Secondary Air Injector" is the message the code reader got from the car. The Advance Auto employee said he's never encountered that error before and had never heard of such a component, any ideas what it is and if it is important?

 

[Steve_B]

Secondary Air Injection is a system (pump, valve, plumping) that pumps ambient air intro the exhaust for 40-50 seconds after a startup from cold to help the catalytic converters reach operating temperature faster. Not important for the driveability at all - helps the environment.
On most older cars, either the valve will be stuck, or the pump will not work, or the plumping will be plugged/corroded/leaking.
If you live in a State that has emissions testing, it has to be fixed. If no testing, there will be no harm to drive with the CEL displayed.

Good luck,
Steve

PS Please, do NOT rely on Advance or AutoZone to read codes on older MB

 

[Tweeg]

Well this has been a far to short lived experience. :crying

Someone rear ended me on the way home from work tonight, just about a hour ago at that. Unibody on the passenger side is, wrinkled. Trunk lid is a bit pushed in, and I dare not attempt open it until I am ready to put all that is stowed away inside in storage or something. Likewise the rear bumper on passenger side has broken free, thankfully not dragging the ground, but... <sigh>. Rear passenger wheel is unquestionably out of alignment with the rest of the car, it was pulling rather uncomfortably all the way home and pretty sure I heard a clank sound from that wheel area a couple of times. Guess I should be at least a little happy no one was injured, and that neither I nor the offending Toyota SUV required a tow truck, but I have a very bad feeling this will be the end of the line for my car that I haven't even owned three months yet. ;(

It is insured at least, as is the driver who hit me. And we did summon a bluelight special to file a report as soon as it happened. But haven't a clue how this will play out. The angle at which the SUV managed to hit was in a right hand turn yield lane with a serious slight uphill slant curve and he slammed into the passenger side of the rear with brunt of impact on his vehicle oddly going into the hood of his vehicle, lucky him. Crumple zone of my W140 just below the rear windshield on the passenger side absorbed the impact.

And I haven't even bought the parts to fix the W126 with yet, just great. Uhg!

All the regrets I have over this though. I haven't been on the interstate with it yet, haven't traveled over thirty miles from home in it yet, haven't taken a trip in it yet... and I guess this means I never will do any of those things with this car now. Will update sometime tomorrow after I get with my insurance company.

 

[Joe-V12]

Glad you are safe, sorry about the car.

 

[Tweeg]

Have spoken to both my insurance agent and the other fellow's claim representative over the telephone. The claim rep said it could be next week before they can get a Claims Adjuster out as they've sent most of them (not surprisingly) to Texas. Off the record she told me if the body is damaged they usually declare it a unrepairable loss, which is rather what I was suspecting, but that isn't official just yet. Damage looks far worse in daylight than it had last night with the light from a flashlight, rear passenger wheel is very obviously not pointed straight.

 

[Thom_7]

Do you have full collision coverage? If so, you might be okay unless the structure was compromised in a serious way.

I've been in a couple of situations that I thought would result in a total loss with my W140, and the insurance paid out for repairs. The damage was superficial but still required between $3-$5k in repairs.

 

[anziani]

Sorry about your crash but you just made my decision to renew my "collision" or drop it from the policy. I'll renew it for another year.
Anziani

 

[daidnik]

By California law, claimant in the auto collision has the right to demand that the insurance company produce the equivalent car in a 'total loss'.

This is where a W140 in good working order without oil leaks, etc. can prove to be a difficult issue for insurance company trying to bluff the claimant into a low value in a total loss.

 

[Thom_7]

Sorry about your crash but you just made my decision to renew my "collision" or drop it from the policy. I'll renew it for another year.
Anziani

Yeah, collision is a must. And if your W140 isn't your daily driver, I'd recommend a collector car policy.

 

[anziani]

Thom_7, Yes it is my daily driver though I am retired and my mileage is low. The scary thing is I have driven over 2 million miles in my life in all kinds of weather and spent two years in Europe "at speed". I have never had an accident and only one insurance claim. Am I due???? That is why I decided to keep full coverage on my Cl600
Anziani

 

[Tweeg]

Yes, I'm fully insured, but per South Carolina law, my insurance policy is irrelevant as I was not at fault for the accident and sustained no bodily injury. So I am dealing purely with the Toyota SUV driver's auto insurance company on this one.

They did dispatch one of their regional claim adjustors to come and see, document, and photograph the car early yesterday afternoon. The fellow was very nice about the whole affair and, like me, wasn't keen on the rear passenger wheel being skewed ever slightly inward. Received a courtesy phone call this morning from the primary claims agent overseeing this claim at their HQ in Ohio (said they are working this weekend due to the flood of Hurricane Harvey related claims) and was informed that a final decision will be made by their claims team next week, but based on the data the adjustor collected and forwarded over yesterday it stands they are likely going to rule it as a "totaled vehicle" and offer to purchase the car as-is based on a calculated market value of it had it not been wrecked.

So sometime between Tuesday and Thursday next week I have been told to expect to hear back from them with the settlement/purchase offer, which if accepted will result in their regional contracted towing partner collecting the vehicle on Friday.

Both the adjustor yesterday and the over the phone representative today informed me the odds that the final approval person will opt to have this car repaired at a collision center are about nil.

So guys, it looks a awful lot like I am about to be in the market for another Mercedes end of next week. This car has been awesome, even if the built-in car phone is superfluous. Guess I should swap out the dome LED panels I'd installed for the original lightbulbs. <sigh>

Definitely would like to have another one of these... but where in South Carolina am I going to find another all black with black interior W140 with a mysterious Chicago-land history? Or maybe I just shouldn't be picky and take whatever i can find, my area Craigslist shows the nearest available W140 (which isn't a S500, rather a S420) is over forty miles away, and is the only one listed on my regional Craigslist! There is one for sale at a used car dealer about a mile from my house, but unsure of condition, price, and that model variant and year it is.