dbldog

My 95 e320 has 118k, 96k when i bought it 3 years ago. One of the first things I did was to have the transmission serviced, change fluid, flush, new filter...

I was returning to work at noon today and backed out of the parking space and it took several minutes for the transmission to engage. The was something of a whinning noise, but no clunks. I backed into my space here and the same thing happened. The fluid level seems fine, the fluid is clear and is a light reddish brown. I don't know if I read the dip stick correctly...the fluid was about 1/2'' above the highest notch. (btw, I also noticed that the markings on both sides of the stick are different?)

What are tests that should be done to assess the condition of my transmission? Thanks for any thoughts...

shdoug

Thought- Back the vacuum modulator adjustment out a 1/2-1 turn and Drive directly to your nearest car dealer to trade it in. A clutch pack is fried. The whining noise is the clutch pack spinning freely until it builds up enough heat to grab. This is very common with the W124 if you do a search on this forum, and is one reason I will never own another one. There's little warning, it just dies leaving you with no reverse and a $1200 repair bill.

Another thought- $1200 is a lot of money to sink in a 17 year old car with an AC evaporator waiting to go out with no warning and cost you another $1200. Did I mention the $870 wiring harness and the $1500 head gasket?

The above are the thoughts that were in my mind when I discovered the leak in my evaporator and the reverse delay in mine. I haven't missed that car once. My new Caliber is no sports sedan but most of my driving is in rush hour traffic. It's under warranty and Life is too short to have an amazing, unique, unreliable car. But that's just my opinion.

Chappy

You make some valid points. But, please, to compare a new car with a 12-17+ year old car with 100K+ miles is just silly.

Some of us would rather have a safe car and no car payments (unless of course you paid cash for the Caliber). I tend to examine expenses for my cars over time....my 300CE ended up costing me between $2K-$3K per year. Really peanuts when you think about it.

Good luck with your new ride.

shadowgriffen

ouch...

I'm sorry why are on this board again?

haha!

FLsimFlyer

He secretly has Benz-envy.

shdoug

That's about what my Caliber costs me, except I know when the payment is due. I don't like surprises like having to make 6 payments all at once to a mechanic while wondering how in the world I'm going to get to work. Just my personal preference.

shdoug

Is something I said untrue? Are my opinions unwelcome? I understand. I'll tread lightly.

I guess I'm here because the W124 is an amazing, unique car, even if slightly impractical for those like myself. I like to help people with problems when possible, and learn from others who do the same. I'm a mechanical type and the Caliber forum is extremely boring- nothing really breaks on them because they haven't been around long enough. Everyone just talks about wheels, TSBs, and gas mileage .

shdoug

It's no secret- I confess to Benz Envy!

I just don't have the money or the time to support my habit. Any my wife complained every time I would go out to the garage and pop the hood. That gets old fast!

spmbass

1200 lmao!!!! i dont think if my dad was a mb mechanic i could get it done that cheap.. I had the same problem on my 87 300e i bought the car with a little tiny slip from 1st to 2nd which turned out 500 miles later to well die....
i called over 20 local shops that i could limp over to since i could only srive in 1st gear, half the shops wouldnt work on it the cheapest quote i got was 1800, most were 2200 or 2000. long decsision but i loved the car so much i couldnt part with it but 1800 hundred dollars latter it still clunks from gears and the *******s ****ed up the nuetral safty switch left me stranded at a Wawa food market. anyway learn from my mistakes sell it n get your moneys worth before turns into a headake, go buy a new amg

crr1612

wawa...you from nj too?

shadowgriffen

LOL hey man, it's all good with me doug I was kidding with you hence the "haha".

This place is serious business I know

White_Knuckles

Man, Shdoug does spark a scary point. It's all about assumed risk. At any moment these babies could spank ya with catastrophic failure.

I've repaired, debugged, relamped, tweaked, tuned and spent unmentionable time working on this machine. I've considered selling it quickly while it's perfect.

While shopping other cars of interest, I found spendy, scary things with nearly all. My friend just threw a timing belt on a late model Honda. He was greeted with a $2000 repair.

Sell mine? Nope, can't do it. Idiot? Probably, but for now I'm still driving the benchmark of what all cars should be. Actuator? Tranny? Bah, not to worry just drive 'em.

spmbass

ya atlantic city

shdoug

Cool- Yeah, I missed the "haha"

bjay51d

i hear you shdoug i miss my benz but glad its gone...

ksing44

Lately I’ve been trying to be good and not complain about my 1995 E320 W124 with “only 108K miles”, but it really is disappointing to be driving my beautiful car when I know my wiring harness is bad, my head gasket leaks, my front timing cover leaks, my transmission 3rd to 4th gear shift flair has been only temporarily controlled with a vacuum modulator adjustment, my AC compressor leaks and needs to be replaced, my deteriorated leather steering wheel has been temporarily fixed with shoe heel repair, my leather seats are getting pretty cracked on the same front leather panel on both front seats, and I even need tires.

I am just doing as little as possible, hoping to make it a while longer without fixing anything. I will be getting the tires soon for inspection and I will probably do the AC compressor next summer if the other things don’t stop the car this year. I may just try another refill of the refrigerant first, however, just to see if maybe I can make it one more year without doing the compressor. The good thing as that I don’t drive too many miles in a year, so maybe the issues won’t actually stop me from driving the car for 1, 2, or even 3 more years.

I really like the 2007 BMW coupe. I would get the 328, not the 335. I also just looked at the new 2008 Honda coupe and compared it to the BMW. On the computer, the Honda looks very comparable, costs about 50% less, and I am very confident the Honda would have fewer problems down the road than the BMW. I will have to see a Honda coupe in person to see if it would suit me. I am thinking 2010 might be a good time to ditch the W124 for a slightly used coupe of some kind. Hopefully I will like the Honda, because I would love to be able to save the difference in price and I am very sure the Honda will end up with a better repair record than the BMW. The Honda dealer is also very close to my home, whereas the BMW dealer is pretty far away, across the street from the Benz dealer that I never go to anymore.

I will have W124 envy when I get rid of my car. I loved owning it for the past 10 years, but I can’t see spending all the money required to keep it rung in a form that I would trust to take my family on a long road trip. If I get stranded on my way to work, well I will just call to get picked up by my wife and that won’t be a tragedy. For trips, I will have to use my wife’s 2001 Honda Accord. The thing is remarkable, in terms of needing repairs. Absolutely nothing has ever gone wrong with her car and she has almost the exact same number of miles as I have on my W124!!! It will be interesting to see how long that continues for her car, considering it still looks and rides just as it did when she bought it new.

shdoug

^ Now that's we're hopelessly , I too am considering the 2008 Accord as a replacement for the BMW X3 when the lease is up next fall. My wife wants the coupe but I like the extra doors in the sedan. I'd be interested in your opinion of the Accord since I also love the new BMW 328xi but am trying to save money.

ksing44

I went to visit a Honda Accord Coupe. The one I found was Polished Metal Metallic with a black leather interior. It was beautiful!!! There is no comparison to our W124 cars!!! These new cars are absolutely awesome!!! Don’t kid yourself into thinking your car is as nice as these new vehicles!!! It costs half what our car cost when new and the thing has 18” wheels, air bags everywhere, bluetooth so your cell phone is totally handsfree, it is faster than our car, it goes like crazy in the snow, it has a great stereo that connects to your iPod, it gets 30 mpg, it doesn’t need a tune-up for 100K, the interior just looks and feels at least as nice or nicer than my old car, it has Navi, it has a rear camera if you want it, ….

It wasn’t hunkered down like the BMW Coupe, but it costs 50% less, it is just as fast or faster, it has front wheel drive, which might not sound as cool, but it will sure go like crazy in the snow. Did I mention that it costs 50% LESS than the BMW!!! I didn’t even mention the C-Class because it sucks to own a Benz!!!

I’m afraid my old car has seen its day. Honestly, I think the new Honda blows me away!!! I suppose my car really was pretty good, considering it does measure up at least close to a car that is 13 years newer, but when you think that the new Honda is half the price of my car when new, you just have realize that times have changed!!!

I am just trying to make it to 2010 without fixing my piece of sh?*. The new cars are just much nicer than our W124 cars, even if the new cars do cost less to own and operate and even if they do get much better mileage and are faster and much safer. My car is cool except it sucks!!!

neanderthal

how much have you spent on repairs in that ten year period? im not goading or being a smartass. im genuinely curious.

ksing44

I have added it up in the past, but I don't have it on the the tip of my tongue at this moment. As I remember, it really wasn't too horribly bad to this point, except that now I think it really does need more than a normal amount of repairs. As I remember from an earlier calculation, I think it generally cost about 2x or a bit more to own my car as it did to own my wife's Honda over about the same period of time until this point. My wife's 2001 Honda Accord is still like new right now with no repairs needed, however, so now the calculations will have to change.

I always thought 2x was OK since I really enjoyed the car, but now my car is really going to pieces and the newer cars are just so much better. I just think it might be almost time to call it quits. I am going to try to make it to 2010.

ksing44

You have it just right. When it stops going I am done!!! I wonder how long it will go with all of these problems I have. My friend drove 60K miles with oil in his coolant, so maybe I can still go for years. Don't get me wrong, it won't be like driving a nice new car and you wouldn't want to trust the thing for a family vacation, but who knows how long the thing will get me to work and back.

ksing44

SELL IT!!!

ksing44

How are the head gasket, front timing cover, wiring harness, exhaust, water pump, AC system? The transmission is just the tip of the iceberg!!!

CharlestonN

The reverse on my 95 320 coupe went out a few months ago, i parked my car at the store then went to back out of the parking spot and reverse was basically neutral, now it kicks in after a few seconds if i tap the gas and has enough power to reverse if i am on a fairly level surface but does not have enough power to back out if on an angle over like 10 degrees

I was told by 2 places that the tran needs to be rebuilt and was quoted $2200 which would rebuild the whole tran with a 100k mile 2 year warranty

White_Knuckles

That looks like a nice example worth the trans if the millage is still in there.

There are rebuilders on the web (I think Cal) that ship complete crated rebuilds to your installers shop. They work exclusively with these and are completely under warrantee. You have to ship the old trans core back for credit. I remember it somewhere around $1700 (shipped). Less down time the trans can be exchanged in one day. If there was a problem the company has backups in stock.

If a local shop performs the rebuild make sure they are qualified and can demonstrate experience.