[Jim-W168-2003]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. Just bought wifey a 2003 A160 with a few minor problems and I would appreciate a pointer to where I can download an Owner's Handbook and the Workshop Manual and Wiring diagrams if these are available please?

Many thanks.

Jim

 

[MB•David]

Hi Jim, and welcome to BenzWorld.

I've sent you a PM, with a link to the owner's manual and accessories brochure.

There was a Haynes W168 workshop manual published (unlike unfortunately, for W169) - I had one, and passed it on, when I sold my last W168.

Pretty sure you can find one on eBay.

 

[Jim-W168-2003]

Hi Jim, and welcome to BenzWorld.

I've sent you a PM, with a link to the owner's manual and accessories brochure.

There was a Haynes W168 workshop manual published (unlike unfortunately, for W169) - I had one, and passed it on, when I sold my last W168.

Pretty sure you can find one on eBay.

.
Very many thanks David, much appreciated.

Are there many W168 owners here still or have most moved on to other Merc?

Jim
.

 

[MB•David]

My pleasure :grin

I'd say there are a few members, who have W168 as a second / third runaround car, someone I know from another (UK) forum, just about to buy an A190 as his third Merc.

Even though I drive a C169 A200 nowadays, I have had more than a couple of W168s over the years, both here in the UK, and in The Bahamas before that (Jap import), and done a number of mods - will be happy to share.

BTW, if you're in UK, and if your A160 is missing a folded up seat support, you're welcome to mine.

Page 169 of the manual shows where it is hidden (some people own their cars for years without ever finding it), and page 170 - how to use it.

 

[DrX]

.
Are there many W168 owners here still or have most moved on to other Merc?

There are 3 here - Dave, forrera and I. forrera fixes them; not sure what he drives.

I bought one for my mother-in-law. There are still a few owners out there, I see them on the street occasionally. The numbers are dwindling as the repair quotes go up or they crash out.

 

[Jim-W168-2003]

...

BTW, if you're in UK, and if your A160 is missing a folded up seat support, you're welcome to mine.

Page 169 of the manual shows where it is hidden (some people own their cars for years without ever finding it), and page 170 - how to use it.

.
Thanks for the tip David.

Amazingly the support is there, covered in dust but not in a plastic sleeve as I would expect so it's been used at some point evidently.

But I couldn't get either seat to double fold up, they both slide forward and the backrests fold down.

I'll have a better heave at them again.

Wifey's using the car a lot so I can't get it long enough to get the headlamps off to replace the bulbs either.

Thank you too, DrX

I need to get a front bonnet grille and driver's seat lift handle and the plastic seat surround, I'm surprised those broke but they are very flimsy.

The grille isn't supported well nor framed and I can see how it will break again.

Thanks chaps.

.

 

[MB•David]

Good to hear. I ended up with a spare as I replaced the interior in my last W168 with a full leather one.

Seat height adjustment lever ALWAYS brakes - every W168 I bought (not brand new) had one broken. It's not that straightforward to fit either, and some people end up braking the replacement ... Here's a scan of its fitting guide.

One of the other points to check (again, every W168 I bought, had that problem), is the air supply hose to the filter box: it is almost always split / damaged / taped over near the box (about an inch off); it is also quite often fitted wrong way round, as the diameter is the same on both ends:

Best place to get both parts, is from the main dealer - these are not expensive, and often cheaper, than anything from breakers / aftermarket.

Never had a problem with the grille, replaced the last one with an A210 type, but that was just cosmetic - the old one was not broken:

 

[Jim-W168-2003]

Good to hear. I ended up with a spare as I replaced the interior in my last W168 with a full leather one.

Seat height adjustment lever ALWAYS brakes - every W168 I bought (not brand new) had one broken. It's not that straightforward to fit either, and some people end up braking the replacement ... Here's a scan of its fitting guide.

One of the other points to check (again, every W168 I bought, had that problem), is the air supply hose to the filter box: it is almost always split / damaged / taped over near the box (about an inch off); it is also quite often fitted wrong way round, as the diameter is the same on both ends:

Best place to get both parts, is from the main dealer - these are not expensive, and often cheaper, than anything from breakers / aftermarket.

Never had a problem with the grille, replaced the last one with an A210 type, but that was just cosmetic - the old one was not broken:

.
Thanks again David.

Air intake pipe is good, probably replaced.

I'll best get 2 seat lifter handles then and keep it handy. Wifey is short and I'm long, bound to break it then.

Ours has a black shiny grille but the chrome/silver one won't look bad either.

The second picture isn't showing?

What else are common failures or things to check?

 

[Jim-W168-2003]

Sorry I meant the attachment isn't showing. It says "broken image".

 

[Jim-W168-2003]

I forgot to ask by the way...

Does an ELM327 OBDII adapter fit the socket under the dash and can one be used to scan and reset general codes and display live data?

I've been using one of those on my S Type Jaguar.

Otherwise what scan tool is good for these and not expensive?

.

 

[forrera]

I have a Haynes W168 workshop manual, and it's useless.
Lofty's home page is the best manual, lot more in there than any workshop manual.
My facebook page https://www.facebook.com/aclassForrera/ is more interactive and it's full of useful information.
You post the question and I point you to right direction.
BTW I have 7 W168 s .

 

[Jim-W168-2003]

Thanks David, got the attachment.

You've got 7 W168s Forrera??

You must love them, or was it a case of inheriting them when it wasn't worth it for the owners repairing them?

That's becoming more frequent now especially with diesels plummeting. I had to sell my E320 Estate for only £700 last year, nobody was interested.

Do you have lots of other cars too?

Thanks for the info too.

Does the Elm327 work in the W168 to read and reset codes or what other scanner do you suggest?

Thanks chaps.

 

[MB•David]

ELM327 will work with W168, as it's got OBD-II port, but it won't give you anything meaningful, as far the faults and error codes are concerned.

I bought an iCarsoft MB V2.0 and it's reasonably good - not STAR by any means, but sufficient for me.
Just make sure you buy it from the only UK official distributor - UK Parts Direct - way too many fakes on eBay and Amazon.
Go to Diagnostic Tools, and select iCarsoft 4th generation.

 

[DrX]

I have a basic ELM327 wi-fi code reader. It can read and clear ECM codes only, allowing you to diagnose misfires.

If I need advanced code reading I take it to an MB indie tech. In 4 years, it’s only needed that once, when the ECM developed a fault.

The price of fully-featured scanners has come down over the years, so I will upgrade to an Autel MD802 All Systems when the next issue arises.

 

[Jim-W168-2003]

Thanks chaps.

I've used the ELM327 on the Jag to read fuel trims, and fixed an air leak with that.

And unexpectedly it also detected a right rear ABS sensor fault (C1165 I think) so I was able to fix that first time too.

Waiting for time to remove the headlamps to fix a burnt connector and re-tension the bulb retainers and stuff. It's almost impossible without taking them out.

I see it's "only" 4 bolts to remove the bumper, is that in all W168s?

And I'm guessing that I have to remove or pull back the wheel arch liners to get to the bolts, so that's probably a few more screws/bolts, right?

 

[MB•David]

Never had to remove a bumper on a W168, but have recently done it twice on my C169:

Bottom: four expansion clips & five bolts
Top: two bolts
Wheel arches: two clips and one screw each side


Here's a WIS page for the W168 Front Bumper :grin

 

[MB•David]

Sorry I meant the attachment isn't showing. It says "broken image".

My apologies - somehow I missed this post.

This was the pic, it's only an illustration to the bit about A210 grille:

Is it still not showing? Like all my images, it's hosted on flickr, and linked directly - no login (like Google), etc required - always used to work fine? :|

 

[DrX]

I can see the pics in all the previous posts, so if Jim can’t he needs a different browser or to adjust settings.

 

[MB•David]

Ah, cool - after the photobucket disaster, I'm a bit nervous about free hosting services - I only use it for forums, and images are reduced size, but who knows what tricks they might decide to play ...

 

[np63om]

any one have workshop repair manual fo w168? i need to repair the gear box, have faulty code P1886... can any on help send link to download the complete workshop manual for repair.

i do belive the fault code P1886 is when something is phisically broken inside the gearbox, like first gear hub and slipping.

Can any one send link of workshop manual of this w168 i need repair the gear box, also need repair manual for this job... to torque it down also how to take of the gearbox from her place...

Can any on please send link to download the repair manual for this type of car w168 mercedes.

Best regards for all help.