mis3

My 2004 CLK320 has over 160k miles now. It still drives great. It has been well-maintained both mechanically and in the exterior.

In the course of the last 12 montihs, I have replaced the ATF, motor oil, coolant, water pump, brake fluid, air filter, pollen filter, fuel filter,spark plugs. I also did an alignment a few months ago.

Anything else I should do?

Mka77

Have you checked motor mounts?

mis3

No idea I have to check the engine mount. How does one do this?

Isn't this something I have to check if I feel vibrations or something?

Kevwood

Lift the hood, have your buddy stand beside the car and watch the engine as you put in in gear, hold the brake down and raise the revs. If these re excessive movement (side to side obviously) then change the mounts out.

They are a consumable item and need to be changed frm time to time.

mis3

I will check.

I do not know that engine mount should be replaced. Is this an expensive part? How about labor?

Kevwood

Nope, I think it was about a hundred bucks for the pair, 1 hour labor IIRC

mis3

How about spark plug wires? Should they consumable products again?

Kevwood

Yep.

mis3

There are things that we should change for preventive maintenance. There are things that we should change at signs of failure.

Like the engine mounts, I would check for excessive vibrations.

How about these spaak plug wires? Do they get worse over the years? Are there any symptoms of bad plug wires? I remember I had to change these wires once in a Honda because I had a hard time to start the car when it rained.

Glyn M Ruck

Leave the coilpacks & plug wires alone. Only change if you get a P0300 with P0301 to 306 code telling which cylinder is misfiring.

If you don't own an OBDII scanner you need to have one. I keep a $50 Harbor Freight cheapie in the glove box & a decent Equus Innova 3130 in my garage.

Watch for P0128 code showing a poor thermostat & the car taking too long to warm up.

Check front castor bushes for cracks & leaks & front sway bar links for play.

Motor mounts & rear transmission mount ( Benz calls all 3 moror mounts) are a good call but you will feel/hear them. Only replace all 3 as a set.

Inspect flex discs on the propshaft for cracks.

Keep a spare CPS handy.

Watch the transmission electrohydraulic bush for leaks - you know that.

Enjoy the car! The M112/722.6 is a tough combination & not highly stressed.

mis3

CPS failed right after my extended warranty expired. It was not too bad since the roadside assistant came and fixed it on the spot.

I will be going the 2nd pan flush in 2-3 months and will make sure the indie to do a scan with his Star scan software. I will only change the plug wires if there is a code.

I am not familiar with the transmission electrohydraulic bush. Not sure if i changed it in the first pan flush.

The car is driving nicely now with no irregular vibration so the flex discs should be fine. But I will still check when the car is raised at the pan flush.

mis3

Since my car was mostly serviced by the dealership, I did not get to see the bottom of my car too much.

At the pan flush, while we were waiting for the ATF to drain, we checked the underbody I was surprised that there was no rust at all. I was impressed.

Glyn M Ruck

See your post #122 on our transmission fluid thread & my reply post #123.

2MCHCAR

Voltage Regulator is a consumable item. DIY is not too bad, took me about an hour to do.

Glyn M Ruck

That's what I would expect!

Benz had issues in 2000, 2001 & 2002 mainly with W203 C Class & W211 E Class - especially the E Class. Some of these cars were terrible & they know it. They were unreliable, they rusted & were crap. They made the mistake of trying to computer simulate endurance testing for the first time instead of doing it on the road. By 2003 they had all the cars back road testing in South Africa, Namibia & winter testing in Finland. The cars have been hugely better since then. QC is now great.

Glyn M Ruck

Yeah - tends to be more of an issue with Valeo alternators than Bosch ones.

mis3

OK, thanks. I remember it as the 13-pin connector.

Not sure if I have the Valco or the Bosch alternator. I think since I did not have any issues in that area, I must have the Bosch one.

mis3

I checked my service booklet. It did mention to inspect the flex discs.

One thing I never did is power steering service. Should the steering fluid be replaced from time-to-time? How about the filter?

Glyn M Ruck

No - just keep the PS fluid topped up. It is not really practical to flush & change the PS fluid. Too many valves in the way. Some have tried but I'm not sure that they have really achieved much. Some clever people attach a small magnet to the dipstick on the cap. That might have some positive benefit to catch any wear debris.

mis3

Thanks.
I guess there is nothing more to do with my w209 for now.