King320

Ok, i've been really busy with school but now midterms are over and its time for fall break and that means going home to mull my options on what to service on my car. I dont want to just take it to the dealer because they're overpriced and i'm trying to keep the cost on my car down. So here's what im thinking...

1) oil change (dealer wants $120)
How necessary is it to have the dealer do this with the vaccum device they use to suck out all the oil? I used to change the oil myself on my Audi all the time, do i need any special tools to get the plug out or is it just a regular bolt? What weight of oil do i need? I currently have 0w40 Mobile 1 syn.

2) Tranny fluid (dealer wants $400)
After all the horror stories i've heard on here about blown trannys i want to do some preventative maintenance on mine by changing the fluid. Can just any transmission shop do this? I've heard some have had trouble draining the torque converter, could a national chain transmission shop tackle the job? What kind of fluid do i need? any other ideas on how to keep my transmission from blowing up too early in life? no problems so far just some occasional rough shifts probably from hard driving.

3) Spark Plugs (dealer wants $400)
Can i do this myself? I've heard it is a huge pain, but i kindof enjoy working on cars, its alot better than school work and a nice change of pace. Any recommendations on plugs? I saw the DIY instructions but i dont know how i can torque the plugs to spec, do i need an airtool to get it right or is there another kind of wrench i can use?

4) Brake pads/Rotors
I'm wanting to upgrade to frozen/slotten rotors and porterfield brake pads, anyone have experience/recommendations on good brake packages for a 320? Anyone with slotted rotors have any impressions on their performance? I may go for braided lines too, depending on how i do the rest of the stuff.

5) Other recommendations?

Thanks for the help, ill update this thread as i find out what im going to do and thanks in advance for the help.

str8ridin

Fuel Filter!

bighernan

1) I guess $120 is not bad for oil change? Not sure how much do most places charge for it. i spent about $6 a quart on 0-40 oil mobil 1 synthetic. Also, around $10 on an oil filter. An oil change is not so tough, so i would definitely recommend you DIY. By the way, i bought a Topsider, which is what i think you are referring to as the "vaccum". Its great. It will run you about $50 but will pay for itself in the longrun.

2) I just had my tranny fluid flushed this past week. Repair shop charged me $40 (labor only). Great guy, i will definitely be back to his benz shop. Im out here in so-cal, but i dont think it should run you more than $80-120 for labor only. I would reccomend you buy the parts online. I got all the parts needed (thanks to the help i got on this forum) for about $120 total, and took it to the benz shop and spent another 40 there. Total was $160. I gave the shop an extra 20 for the great honest service and the owner told me that if i ever wanted to do work on my car myself, i could bring it in and he would let me use the hoist and work on it. Anywho, save some money and buy the parts and find a good benz only shop in your area.

3) Have not done any research on sparks, but i was adviced by the shop that i should change them at 100k miles. im approaching 90k so i will soon be in there to get them done.

4) I changed my brake pads 3 weeks ago as well. Bought them online for about $60 (front only) and did it myself. Not at all different from doing brakes on a different vehicle. I didnt change my rotors, but i will in a month or so. You might want to flush out the brake fluid as well.

5)As str8ridin suggested, fuel filter should be changed as well

6) how about air filters? You should make sure they are in good condition as well.

Those are all i can think of off the top of my head. Like i said, im almost in the same boast as you as im approaching 100k. Those are all the things i want to get done/will do myself.

GoodLuck.

****If you want links to the websites where i purchased parts, i can provide them tomorrow as im not on my own computer and dont remember the bookmarks.***

milllx

sounds like you've got a lot planned! keep up updated on what you do. good luck.

C43AMG

How about your coolant? When was it last done ?

King320

Well, heres an update...
Went to the dealer to get an oil filter and Advance Auto to buy some oil, i guess the car got a little nostalgic for the service bay because on the way back to the house, power started fluctuating without me moving the gas pedal...then when i stopped on a slight incline the whole thing started shaking like a manual tranny car about to stall. The CEL came on, caption said "check engine electronics", car shook around some more, ABS light came on, brakes went out, car shuts off completely, car starts rolling back wards.
Being quick thinking as usual, i shift into park to stop the rolling backwards business, then took the key out, put it back in and turned the car on again. Everything worked fine, except the CEL was still on and power was somewhat lacking and intermittant. So, given the brakes going out part, i decided to have it towed after i haddriven it home. It was starting up funny, instead of the traditional, eheheh vroom, it went eheheh pheeeewwwvroom.
So the Mercedes guy woke me up this morning with my estimate $1070.25. And keep in mind, this is from an independent shop not a dealership, here's the rundown.
1)Oil change
2)Transmission fluid change
3)Park plug change (4 hours labor)
4)Fuel filter
and the unknown culprit of the breakdown
5)bad Mass Air Sensor

So i havent heard about the brakes yet, but the total could go up, why is it that service charges always seem to inflate like baloons with these things?

C43AMG

What about the coolant ? ( again )

milllx

YUCK. keep us updated. sorry to hear that - but i bet it's better than it could have been (e.g. tranny).

King320

The car is getting a B Service which includes coolant replacement if needed. I should know soon what's needed, but that's on the list that they're checking, thanks for your recommendation. I havent had the coolant replaced since i bought it at 91k miles last year, but the car wasnt overheating or anything when it broke down.

HKS2382

do you use regular coolant from the store or do you need coolant from MB service dept???

King320

I ALWAYS use MB fluids or MB recommended fliuds. I might upgrade my brake fluid but thats it, the coolant is from the MB service dept, so is the tranny fluid, the fuel filter, the oil filter, and the MAF (i havent found a big bore MAF for the 320 yet). I use mobile 1 synthetic 0w40 oil, best you can get.
When you do the coolant you have to get all the air out of the lines so if you're doing it yourself, i'd make sure you arent making any air pockets in the lines, that could cause problems.

HKS2382

what do you mean the air out, can't you just flush out all the old coolant and add new coolant in.

FL Zinc

You've still got to burp the system to get all the air out.

MarcusF

Back when I was a P-car wrench, we used to have to burp 924’s, but it was documented. I changed the coolant in my CLK as soon as I got it. The WIS didn’t say anything about burping the system, so I simply drained, refilled with water, ran the engine, drained it again, and refilled with the distilled water and G-05 antifreeze (Valvoline is the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz antifreeze). I haven’t seen anything that would indicate an air pocket (the car was in 110 degree Scottsdale this past summer). Is burping the system a 320 specific problem?

MBEYES

Hey King320,

I'm in Clemmons and was wondering which MB Independant do you go to? I use the dealer for my 2001 E430 and my father does too on his 2001 E320 since we both have extended warranties.

The dealer quoted about $450 for a spark plug change on the 2001 E320. My father used EuroService on Kester Mill Rd. literally down the street from the dealer for many years for his 1993 300D (including a head rebuild, he (Theo) has a complete machine shop) and I sometimes take my old Integra to him. He told me he used to do tons of rebuild work for the Volvo dealer.

But he is about to retire and doesn't have alot of the new diagnostic instruments for MB. He is an honest and very intelligent mechanic and will work on my car if I ask him to. Has his own style (originally from Cypress) including wearing a white lab coat during the winter and tank top during the summer! He is also a personal friend since his son is one of my best friends from high school.

Thanks.

King320

I had the service done in Kingsport,TN while at home for fall break at a place called German Motors, so unless you want to drive 3 hours for the service that probably wont help. However, i have used an independent shop in Winston called Autobahn Service Center for my Underdrive Pulley installation and an oil change. The guy works mainly on older MBs and BMWs but seems to really know his stuff and managed a good UD pulley install when several dealers have had problems with it. here's a google link to info about it, but you probably know where it is...
http://www.google.com/local?hl=en&lr...sa=X&oi=localr

Otherwise, i havent gotten the car back yet. Its finished, but i had to come back to school Sunday and slept in too late to pick it up on friday because the shop closed at 12. I'm getting the car back saturday, supposedly its running smoothly, ill let you guys know differences when i get it back.

King320

OK, got the car back today, and it went back on a tow truck tonight. I drove up to VA today to swap the family BMW back for my CLK and it was driving great. The transmission fluid change especially seems to have sharpened up the throttle response and gear changes. Everything i've mentioned above was done, but to recap...
Tranny fluid change
Oil change
Spark Plug Change
Coolant Change
Brake Pad replacement (OEM pads, he did it without asking )
No rotor replacement, he said they look fine (will be verified by dealer)
MAF replaced (looks smaller for some reason, will also be verified by dealer)

Tonight i finished dinner to find that my starter was dead, so i called AAA and waited basically 2 hours for the tow truck to arrive.... They had to take their flatbed to another incident, and then it broke down, so we put my lowered CLK on a regular towtruck lift and somehow managed not to scrape. I had it towed back to campus because he "didnt feel comfortable towing the car to the dealer by himself" i guess because of concerns about scratching it or something and having me get mad. Which is a non issue since im missing the auto-x i was going to be driving in tomorrow morning and am already not pleased. So basically, its back to the service bay for the CLK and im getting a bit concerned. What do you guys think, is this just the car's 100k bloopers marathon or is it turning into a real CLunKer?

milllx

GOOD IDEA TO HAVE THESE THINGS VERIFIED BY THE DEALER

I'd say once you get this starter fixed, watch it and see if there are any other defects that come up. With your transmission flush and everything, you may be ok (since trannys seem to be one of the biggest problem areas for high-mileage CLKs). Remember, starters are things that go out on even the most reliable of cars (mine went out on my honda about a year ago - and I've never had any other major problems). It seems that since you just had a major service that probably fixed whatever made you break down the first time (spark plugs, MAF, etc..or it could have even been the starter going bad there) using the starter malfunction as a gauge to the overall future quality of the car might not be warranted. Keep us posted. If you do have major problems come up though, I'd look elsewhere (your car is getting up there in mileage anyway...so it is going to go downhill sometime - it's just a question of when). Once you see it going downhill, better to get out than hold on and get taken for a ride with obscene stealership charges.

best of luck.