[VenezuelaBenz]

Just Got A 500S 1996. Amazing.
Just purchased this black beauty 500S. I have been following your forum for the last month while doing my research
and you are right............what a ride........
Now comes the technical part of fixing the small details. I checked with the Mercedes agency here (I live in Venezuela) they claim to have all the devices
and computers to check the car. I bought a bulb for the front left headlight which cost me $30!!!!! and the fuse for the seats $4!!!!...
here is the list of things to fix:

The car has been garaged for a long while, the headlights can light everywhere except the road ahead.
Radio antenna broke yesterday.
Button for the back seats head pads does not work.
Dirty water coolant container. Some yellowish stuff stuck on the walls of the container. It does not float when scrubbed. It sinks.
Small oil leak from the back side center of the rear wheels.
Air conditioner working great except for a low whistling sound when raising it more than medium.
Right side mirror not working with the button.
The CD changer in the trunk was lost with the previous owner. Is there a solution to install a new one to work with the same system?
The trunk handle does not retract completely and the trunk when closed is not leveled with the rest of the body of the car.

Should I give these guys in the Mercedes shop the car to do all the testing that they claim to do or its a waste of money?
Any idea about the cost of the parts above?

Thank you all and proud to be a member.

 

[VenezuelaBenz]

Here it is.

 

[zeaq]

Welcome to the forums

Nice ride.

What's with the barbed wire at the gate behind your car?[]

 

[Brett San Diego]

Do you have a service history on the car?

Sounds like the previous owner may not have been very meticulous about his car. All these somewhat minor issues will probably add up to a staggering cost at a Mercedes dealership, and all these problems are stuff that an independent mechanic could take care of. Find an independent if you can.

Do you have a service history on the car? If not, I would recommend the usual fluid changes immediately (oil, coolant, transmission). The rear oil leak sounds like it could be the differential. You would have to look and see, but I would want to fix that and fill with fresh gear oil. The headrest release and the non-retracting trunk handle are probably related. They are both operated by the central locking pump located under the rear seat. This pump also operates the door locks and lumbar support. Are your doors locking OK? Does your lumbar support work? If so, the pump still works, but some functions don't. You'll have to do some more trouble shooting to find out why. When you say the trunk closes, but sits high, I'm assuming you mean the automatic trunk closer is not functioning. (In the owner's manual, there is a procedure to follow to set the trunk for manual closing.) Do any of the doors close automatically like they should, or is this system completely non-operational? The auto-closing function for all the doors and the trunk operates off the same air-pump in the trunk. If your pump has stopped functioning, you may be able to revive it without needing to replace it. Search this forum for "closing assist pump" to find lots of great info from me and some others.

And finally, I recommend reading every post in this forum to really learn about these cars and people's experiences. I made my way through over 40 pages of posts about a year ago before deciding to buy my car. Congrats on your purchase, and I hope all goes well.

Brett

 

[aristotled]

very nice ride. congrats and welcome to the 'family' ! your car looks almost exactly like mine except mine is dark gray on the lower half. taking your new baby to the dealer will surely cost you dearly, so i concur with one other post which encourages seeking out a quality independant. in the mean time, i'm sure your benz will feel much better in the days and years to come with an owner who really cares for his auto. keep that gorgeous world class machine looking and running well. they deserve nothing less. ENJOY ! ! ! [8D]

 

[VenezuelaBenz]

Yesterday I went to visit my STEALER the only one on the Island where I live. We do have a couple of independent
shops but I wanted to check out the stealers first.
They wanted me to leave Blackie and come back in the afternoon to pick it up. I insisted on staying with the car, my excuse was I wanted to understand her and learn how to take take care of her. They refused but later they bought it. So here I am with the chief Mechanic for 3.5 hours. We changed the coolant water (they did not have the tools to flush it he suggested air pressure and I refused. Then we got to the Hidrolic (miss spelled) oil for suspension
we changed the oil and started the car with the hose open to cycle and get the old oil out, it was almost black.
The oil was Mercedes Benz $37.00 a liter!!!!!!
Adjusted head lights and reset the the car with their computer which I will get to understand one day
better than them. The bill was $207.00.
Next... brakes oil and steering oil. By the way is the steering oil the same as the hidrolic suspension oil. They have different containers the mechanic said its the same but I told him to wait so I can check.

 

[VenezuelaBenz]

Check out this go to benz http://http://www.tucarro.com/index2.html

 

[68882]

The hydraulic fluid is very different from the power steering fluid. There are only a few substitutes for the hydraulic fluid which I'll bet you can't find there either.

I'll note
http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/buymb/quote.jsp?header=header.jsp&footer=footer.jsp&product=0009899103&partner=buymb&baseurl=http://www.*.com/&clientid=*&cookieid=0V203ERK51GU1EH0GI

http://www.pentosin.de/eng/products/chf/body_hydraulic.html#Analyse

But you'll or someone needs to check with MB technical support to clarify which is allowable for a w140 since these might be for w123/w124

Running official MB rad fluid is also a good idea.

PS I'm trying to figure out the high/low beam pattern, assuming you've the h7-h1-h1 assemblies which lights are on when you have high beam on?

 

[VenezuelaBenz]

68882.....sorry but I do not know what you mean by.... h7-h1-h1 assemblies which lights are on when you have high beam on.....

the oil I used for the Hydraulic fluid is MB ZH-M
it says for level control and hydropneumatic suspension
according to MB specificationsfor service products, sheet 343.0. I hope this is the right one.

Brett thank you for the remarks, the previous owner did not take car of the car. The pump is working I will have it checked. The leak in the back is from 3 seals that has to be changed close to transmission oil department which they said is a full day work. I wonder what else could I change back there while at it beside the trans oil.

 

[68882]

I think your headlights have three bulbs in them. one for high, one for low, one for fog. When you have the high beams on, which lights are one? One of them, or two?

 

[ledale2003]

The hydraulic fluid

As I went through quickly I noticed that there was an issue w/ hydraulic fluid. First check and make sure that Squat Sensor is not stuck. this is located in the rear, being that you can add all the fulid that you want this could save you money. []

P.S. Nice car and I hope you work your bugs out and have fun.