eddad

Doug is correct I have gone for the head gasket, valve job,wiring harness, mb reconditioned trans $3200, SAME SYMPTONS YOU DESCRIBE, actuator $1200, blower motor and relay, radiator, water pump, mass air flow, sterring wheel is deroriating, oil pan gasket, exhaust sys $1000 original lasted 13 yrs, its been good for 2 yrs but now I have a grinding in the rear driver side and I fear its wheel bearing or cv problem and this may be the last repair I do. its a 95 e320 with 214K on it.

Hakk403

I'm having the same problem now, I can back up slowly on a flat surface, it isn't quite as bad as yours sounds, but reverse up any sort of incline and I'm screwed.

When the tranny goes I think I'm going to LS1 this benzo.

I'm not too dissapointed though, I'm at almost 300 000km.

ZorroAMG

That's something I thought about for a while too Hakk....have you looked into teh costs at all for the LS1?

Hakk403

No, not yet, I've been thinking about doing it for a long time but never had the money, then I saw some guy do it on his 190, figured if he could do it, so can I.

I've found ls1 motors with tranny for less than a grand, I wouldn't be surprised if we could get it done for a reasonable price.

Other than the power gains I think the maintenance will be a lot cheaper, which makes it a worthwhile swap.

I'm not sure about the complications with the tranny though, can an ls1 tranny be modified to fit a w124? I don't know anything about trannys, not sure if people are using their original tranny and mating it with the ls1 motor or what...

Maybe we can get some sort of deal if we get the work done at the same shop. Less trial and error.

When are you thinking about doing it?


Reading around it looks like they can be had for less than 2 grand, seen some bids on ebay starting at $500, don't know what the reserves are.

ZorroAMG

Tranny and motor for less than 2k....****, they want 2500 for a tranny re-build that you obviously and i WILL need....

Let's do some research with Rob and see what he thinks it'll take to make it fit....what kind of power does an LS1 put out anyway??

Hakk403

I think its 310 hp, don't know what the torque is.

Edit - looks like it is 305-350hp, 335-375ft/lbs torque. Not entirely sure why there is such a large variance in the numbers.

forcedawd

Displacement 5.7L
Gross Horsepower 310 @ 5200 RPM
Gross Torque 340 @ 4000 RPM

forcedawd

power/torque varies upon application:

LS1, 5.7L
305@5,200 335@4,000 '98-99' Camaro
335@5,200 335@4,000 '98-99' SS Camaro
345@5,600 350@4,400 '97-99 Corvette
350@5,600 350@4,400 2000 Corvette
350@5,600 375@4,400 '01 Corvette
350@5,600 360@4,000 '01 Corvette Auto
310@5,200 340@4,000 '01 Camaro Auto
325@5,200 350@4,000 '01 Camaro six-speed

ZorroAMG

Thanks guys! I will be looking into this this week Hakk...I'll let ya know what I find...

Sorry to hijack this thread BTW!!

ATL_S124

I dont know whether to scream and run from this thread in terror or sympathize... I think the first feels more proper though, so... "BLASPHEMERS!!!" Who dares speak ill of the 124 or the Benz in general?! ... I spose Im just lucky, most expensive thing Ive had done was $700 to replace the accumulators on my SLS in the wagon... my previous W126 300SE had over 300k when I finally decided to sell it, had 3 kills (it totaled three other cars, NONE my fault, thankyou) and I only let it go because after totaling 3 cars in 2 months, right after making it over 300k on the original everything I decided my insurance couldnt afford for me being under 21 at the time and making an attempt at 400k... so I down slash upgraded to the 124 Wagon and its been smooth sailing... sure newer cars are nicer and have tons of techno-goodies; just remember though, when our cars came out, their heated seats werent replicated in American cars for another decade! Benz's have saved my life on more than one occasion... (okay, Rio time "A Benz has saved my life 3 times, and every time has been wicked friggin awesome"), and I just cant ever see driving any other car... Its all about balancing the cost of admission; are you willing to pay for the ride? I sure as hell am!

ZorroAMG

Who is blasheming? I simply see no reason to do a tranny rebuild for $2500 when I can have a way better engine and tranny for a little bit more....

ksing44

I have to say that I am coming around. The new cars are nice, but there is just something special about driving my car. It would be very expensive for me to get into another vehicle that made me feel so good. You can do a lot of fixing for much less than the cost of admission to owning a new vehicle that would be as cool. In fact there are not many new vehicles that would make me feel as good as driving an older W124 that is perfectly maintained. A BMW M3 or AMG version of a car from Mercedes would get me the exclusivity, but of course the price tag would be very high and I just have no interest in all that motor. Part of me also thinks I could give up loving a car so much and just get dependable transportation with great mileage, but I know I would miss that special feeling. I could definitely afford to buy another car, probably would not spring for an M3 or AMG, but for now I am back to thinking about fixing and keeping the gorgeous W124 for as long as possible. They really are special cars, even with the problems that seem to be inevitable as they age.

Quicksilver500

Lies! All LIES!!!!!! hahaha

The 104 and 103 motors are about the best damn motors MB has built in the last 25 years. If you can find someone to rebuild a trans for 2200 be careful, it cost me 1200 in parts with discount to rebuild it myself. If w124 cars are properly maintaned, cleaned and cared for, you can't beat them for reliablity. The wire harness maybe annoying but most of them have been replaced, if not its a 500$ DIY item. You need a trans about every 150-200k if you do fluid and filter every 30k and don't romp the hell out of it. Waterpumps last atleast 100k, never have to do a timing chain, the head gasket may need to be done eventually, but the replacements last forever. I have had my 300E almost 4 years and 35k and haven't put more than $1200 in it a year, in maintaining it. The LS1 swap is going to cost you more in mod and engineering than just rebuilding a trans. Honda may be nice to start, but after about 8 years they fall apart, all of my friends bought 2000$ Hondas or Acuras, or whatever jap car they thought was good from the mid 90's and they have all easily spent twice as much as me on maintanence and they can't out handle, accelerate, or even ride as comfortable as me in my 5000$ 300E. They aren't really big problems, all cars have these problems with age. The thing about a benz is, it takes it 15 damn years for the parts to wear out, so once you do the work, your set for another 15years. ALSO, everything is rebuildable, something you won't find on newer junk, instead of a 400$ alternator you can buy the internal voltage regulator for 60 bucks and keep on trucking, instead of a PS pump for like 1500$ you buy a rebuild kit for 100$ and have your mech spend a few hours on it. I think its nuts to spend 20k on new car with a warranty that it will really need (dodges is only 36k I think) than to hop in a prime example of a 300 for 5-6k and toss a few grand at it to make it new again. But thats why they call them opinions.

I was an engineering intern at Chrysler when the Caliber came out and as far as that is concened....no comment....

-Mike

Hakk403

LOL. After 8 years? My mom's 2007 civic has pieces falling off or loose all over the place, and the driver side window gets stuck after putting it down all the way, you have to hold the button with one hand and pull with the other to get it back up.

Quicksilver500

Amen my brotha amen

W124_2.8

I got my 93' 300E handed down to me from my mom my senior year in highschool,

My life was saved in a 190E, and the 300E I recieved. I probably have an emotional bond to these cars because i grew up with them and they saved my life. Ironically, I wanted to get our much newer accord when i started drivng because i though the merc felt heavy and slow.

But after driving it for almost 5 years now, I don't want to get rid of it. It is awesome on the highway! I wish we had the autobahn here... and most girls do not seem to know that its a pretty old car, probably helps that i clean it every week...

Of course the wireharness was replaced, and as i write this post, my mechanic has my car because the AC is not working correctly. My transmission also acted funny as it took a REALLY long time to engage into reverse, so i added ATF, and problem solved (found the leak, just keep adding ATF when i need to, dont know how long this will last)

~I am only 21 and can't afford to fix my car much longer unless my parents help me out, but honestly, riding and driving all of my friends newer hondas, toyotas etc, I am still convinced they do not know what it feels to drive a real car, not hating on other cars though.
It's not a practical car for me, but I can't imagine what it would be like to not have it anymore. I think the only reason why any of us who drive one and continue to pour money into it is because it has nothing to do with practicality, it fills my mind with contentment when i drive it, after you taste the good stuff, you just cant go back.
I promise I am not jealous of people my age who drive newer benzes, but I can't find many young people in my area who really appreciate the w124 as much as I do, and they think they are just cool because they have a newer benz
w124-It is truly a car for someone that loves cars, not for someone who just drives from a-b, but obviously it does that nicely to .

ATL_S124

Maybe the femmes in your area just appreciate clean, sexy cars

RHW

Nice thing is, you get to choose your own car. Since I do not wrench much, I pay indes.

I've replaced 3 headgaskets, 2 evaporators, a tranny, loads of other stuff. My car choices are not the cheapest. But with these forums, NO ONE is going to be surprised by an evaporator, head gasket, wire harness, need for monoblocks, audio, tint etc.

No one gets to scream "why me" anymore, the history is documented. The choices are RIGHT there. Paths have been cleared.

Plenty of other car choices, if you choose a 124, you'll pay to indulge. It's documented.

SHDOUG- I wager I still have my Sportline and Cabriolet when that Caliber is in the third owner's hands. And your posts have often been way helpful, so blowing steam now is not outta line imo.

By the way, my 2004 and 2005 Honda Odysseys have been shop heavy - I bought them assuming low down time but they have not impressed- the 05 sat over a month last July without AC. The 04 is in the shop with maybe tranny trouble, post warranty period but <100K I am not sold on Honda reliability like I once was. And when our 04 Pilot had some weird seat heater problem, they denied all knowledge until I posted a pic on edmunds dot com of a Pilot seat that had caught fire due to an overheating seat heater. We leave pets in these cars, and would have been risking their LIVES if we had listened to the Honda dealer 1 mile from my home.

BTW, Honda USA called the dealer, and the dealer called me with a solution about 16 hours after my post at edmunds. Solution: After 5 repeat visits and denials, they replaced the seat heaters- the insides of my seats were CHARRED and clearly a fire hazard. I've probably said 5 times I'll never buy a Ford again, same with Dodge. LOL, we get to choose our cars. And again, with these forums, we all get to decide whether to buy sell trade based on a long line of wisdom here.

GEDaggett

Hey SHdoug,

saw earlier in this thread you mentioned an adjustment that can be made to the trans via a vacuum modulator or something like that. Where is it and how do you do it. I am getting a bit of hesitation going into 3rd when under moderate to light throttle. Goes in good and hard under full throttle and smooth when under very light.

Thanks

Gary

ATL_S124

Now for two replies at the same time!

First! RHW, i included the 'important' parts of your post (not to say the whole thing wasnt enlightening, just that mine... well, mine reads in a more humorous manner ). Teh real reason I replied to you though was, and this is primarily a personal opinion, but did anyone else notice that as soon as foreign manufacturers established plants in the US, their quality suffered large? (unfortunate coincidence maybe? ) I include MB, after '96 and the reign of the Ameri-dude, quality seems to have suffered.

Reply Number B (B is for B33rs): Gary, I am having the same problem. I fail at recalling if you are pre-face lift or post, or if it even matters for this, but the Tech's at work told me most likely i just needed to replace the K1 or K2 spring pack on the tranny (cant remember which ) but it seemed to only involve lifting the car, dropping a tray, and fiddling some...

RHW

ATL: I think most do realize that era/ generation shift, and for me that is the draw to 1995 and older MBs.

Or should I say

...generation shift...prefer <1995 cars

LOL!

ATL_S124

hehehe, your sense of humor is greatly appreciated! these forums have felt so serious since i joined, and its good to know there are other light-hearted (read: 'Drunk off PBR') members out there ! Certainly the newer MB's are fassssst as a drunk sorority girl (and if anyone wants to give me a C63 i have no arguments, please? ) but they just dont have the 'timeless quality' (read: 'Mechanical Fortitude') to out-last the Pre-'95ers... it pains me to say this, but unless you are talking Pre-'75 American Muscle (and even then there are some major issues we wont get into), Americans need not be involved with automobile manufacturing. They make nice things into cheap things too quickly.

GEDaggett

94 320 (post lift). Any idea how much those two parts cost?

ATL_S124

my buddy supposedly sent me an email about it, but it should be the K2 spring pack and that should be around $35 if i remember what he said correctly... forgive me though, im 5 beers in at this point, so its everything is a little bit fuzzy at this point (also, how the fsck do you do strikethrough?! )

shdoug

Is it hesitation or slipping? Backing the modulator out will help it shift firmer with less slip. There's a cover on the left side (driver side in the US) of the tranny. Under that cover is a little metal lever you can spin clockwise to make the shifts firmer. I read about that on another post here, but have not tried it myself.