Pete S

So today I finally tracked down the R350 I was looking for. 2008 R350 4Matic, Iridium Silver w/ Black interior.

I was wondering if there is anything I should provide immediate attention to, I have a few things I usually do shortly after purchasing a used car and on my list for the R350 is as follows:

Replace Motor Oil and Filter
Replace Differential Oil
Replace Brake Fluid
Replace Coolant
Replace Spark Plugs
Replace Power Steering Fluid
Replace Transmission Fluid and Filter
Check/Replace Brake Pads
Check/Replace Air Filter
Check/Replace Cabin Filter
Lube Panoramic Roof (not sure what type to use)
Clear all drainage points

Anything thing else I should add to the list?

josworth

Congrats on the ride...

Quick question... do you do the service yourself or have someone do it?

Pete S

Josworth some I will do myself, other stuff will go to an independent. I can handle motor oil changes, replacing air filters, spark plugs, brake pads which I find to be pretty easy to do in the driveway. As far as things like transmission, diff and other stuff that gets more involved I'll take that to the indie. Heck if I had a lift at home I could do much more on my own cars but unfortunately I do not have one.

josworth

OK, that answers a lot.

First things first...Do you have a dealer that you trust / can talk to?

They can pull the service history of the car for anything done at a Mercedes dealer.

That way you can tell what has been done.

You need to realize that the seven speed trans needs specialized fittings and the proper computer to service it. Also, Mercedes kept changing service recommendations on that transmission. Reducing the length of time between services. If that hasn't been done I would do that real quick.

One quirk in the R that is real easy to address and will be an absolute nightmare if it causes an issue is the climate control air intake box. There is a rubber check valve that lets water run off out. That stupid valve is notorious for clogging, and guess what happens when it does... oh boy... Thing is, you can pop it out in about 5 seconds and be done with it. The only thing the check valve stops is water coming up if you swamp it... and if you are in water that deep, water getting in your air box is the least of your worries.. LOL.

Just open the hood. On the passenger side is the air box cover. It comes off with two clips like an air cleaner box. Take it off and reach down for the rubber plug. Pull it out and toss it.. done.
When I did ours it was clogged with nasty water sitting in there. Now, every service I look in and it is nice and clean...

Other than that you look to have everything covered.

BTW, ours is silver with black interior as well...

marc hanna

Only thing I would recommend is changing the the ignition wires (spark plug wires) when you're doing the spark plugs. In all the MB's I've had, the wires crap out long before the plugs do. Plus, they tend to corrode making it difficult to get out - so just changing them every 60 - 80K is a good idea.

josworth

Hmm.. it has wires and not Coil on Plug???




Could have sworn they were coil on plug.. six coils and six plugs...

marc hanna

It's possible. I looked up some 350's and they had wire and plug. The OP would have to look under the engine cover to confirm.

Pete S

Josworth I will look right into removing that check valve. Will search the forum to see exactly where the Climate control air intake box is.

I do have a friend from the old neighborhood that is a tech at an MB dealer, hopefully he can access the detailed service records.

BTW I figured it would be coils, heck my 96 SL has coils.

marc hanna

What josworth is talking about is coils mounting to the plug vs coils mounted to the valve covers connected to the plugs via a spark plug wire.

The newer system with coils mounted to the plug is a single plug per cylinder system, whereas the older system has two plugs per cylinder.