1Bad190D

Thought I would say hello. I just got a 1987 190D Turbo last week. The car is in prestine condition always garaged and only has 110K on it. From a looks stand point I was very impressed but I didn't expect much in the performace department especially since they can get upwards of 30mpg. Well was I wrong, this thing really has some pop to it. It is kinda slow out of the gate but once the rpms come up and the turbo kicks in you get up to speed no problem. Anyway I do have a few questions about the car. I'm having a hard time finding any information on this model equiped with the turbo. Since it has 110K is their any major required maintance coming up or that should have been performed (timing chain, valve adjustment, etc) ?Also does anybody have an online service manual or this car or where to go to get more information on this model? First impressions are great I just hope this thing will stay that way. Great forum you got here!!!

alpinweiss

Congratulations on your new car! With gasoline hovering near $3 per gallon, a turbo diesel is a great way to get good mileage and performance.

Although there are other service manuals out there, the best is from Mercedes itself. Your local dealer can order the factory service CD. It should be about $100, which will pay for itself on your very first repair. I believe one CD covers all W201 models (experts correct me if I am wrong).

The Mercedes Benz club is also a good resource. www.mbca.org

Your car has a timing chain, not a timing belt. No scheduled replacement intervals.

The most important maintenance item is oil changes. Use oil that meets MB specifications, and err on the side of changing too often. With proper care, the MB diesel will last a long time.

slk230red

Welcome to the Forum. You have a PM.

Dave

1Bad190D

Hey guys, thanks for the warm welcome and SLK thanks for sending that service manual . Yeah I was pretty happy when I saw the window sticker and it says it gets over 30mpg. Much better than the 16mpg I was getting in my F150.

This is my first Mercedes and also my first diesel but it seems just like any other car stay on top of the maintance and they should give plenty of years of enjoyment.

Anyway thanks again for the replies and I hope to be able to contribute more to this site as I get to know my car better

PhilfromPA

I think MB also offers the w201 service manual for somewhere around $15.00 now on their site if you look around enough. The WIS dvd's are pretty good too.

Also don't forget to visit 190revolution!

jerro95

At how many miles would it be good to replace the ball joints, and other suspension stuff.

Should I replace them right after I were to purchase one?

Would it be better to replace them when they god bad?

DocWalla

I just did lower control arms, tie rod assemblies, center drag link, steering stabilizer, strut mounts and struts up from, 198k miles in Arizona. Everything was extremely worn to the point of being dangerous to drive. It's a whole new car when it comes to drivability. All bilstein parts.

DocWalla

You will need a specialty ball joint seperator, and specialty spring compressors. I used the suicide stocks and took a hack saw to one bolt so it would clear the lower control arm.

http://www.startekinfo.com/StarTek/o...tedDocId=11832

Online service manual.

jerro95

I see. Right now I don't own any Benz yet. But when I got my mighty max in high school, I didn't know much about car maintenance at the time. Anyways when we got it, the engine had 228k miles on it. I don't know if the guy replaced anything on the suspension. At about 237k miles I had a ball joint go out, and had that replace, then after about 3 months, we replaced all the ball joints. After replacing all the ball joints, I'm still getting alignment problems, so I now have to replace the upper and lower control arm bushings.

Back to buying a 190D, would it be better to replace all the suspension parts at around 200k miles even if they all look fine?

DocWalla

Absolutely. Even brand new the 190 has a fair amount of play. When 200k rolls around.. It can move over half a lane on the freeway because it catches the road surface wrong.. And still look ok on a set of jack stands. Check the strut mounts and lower control arms if the car won't hold an alignment.

jerro95

Ah thanks for the advice. Since I'm having alignment problems with my truck, it made me think what if the car I want to buy has alignment problems. What you said makes sense. Since I'm still a student and don't have a job, It would be alright replacing the suspension parts little by little right?

DocWalla

Yes and no. Every time you replace a suspension related item, you should have it realigned. So you can do bits here and there, but its costly to split repair bills as a lot would be redundant labor hours. (Unless you can do it yourself of course, but you still need a shop to do alignment ).

jerro95

How is preventative maintenance for these 201 diesels. Is the cost to own expensive or inexpensive as far as maintenance?

DocWalla

Depends on what amount of work you can do without needing to take it to a shop. Parts are decent online. No more expensive then a Honda generally.

jerro95

Oh wow that's saying something haha. I think I might have been sold to owning a Benz haha.