Hello, as you all can see that I'm a new poster in this forums, I do have a few questions.

Since i've got rid of a car that i literally Found On Road Dead and ended up being the "unofficial" owner of a nice 1988 300 TE station wagon.

here's a few tidbits about the car, has no rust, but headlights has seen better days though. Could do a new paint job as well.

I doubt it has broke the big 100k yet seeing that the odometer stopped working about 10 years ago at 43k miles, maybe it has and lets safely say its at 120-140k. Just had a major tune up, new belt, plugs, wires, all the filters. I know it needs gasket/seal work done.

Now here are the questions..

How much would the gasket replacement cost? (Top end job; head gasket, timing belt and other gaskets) the shop the car was usually taken to and got its tune up at Eurosports in Merriam, KS if anyone is familiar with the shop.

The paint job.. the 300TE aint no Volkswagen, but how much would it run me and where?

For the headlights, would a E320 set fit on the 300TE with no problems? If it is possible, could i be pointed to a guide/writeup on doing it? Or would i have to go after market? Any recommended after-market sites? I'd rather try to avoid EBay until its a last resort. ( Seeing those DEPO W124 Headlight Combos)

and last, any good Aftermarket sites to go to?

Sorry for the wall of text. Thanks in Advance!

Also forgot to add, Engine is an Inline 6 and i believe this to be a true import. Found some paperwork and a receipt that was printed/signed in Germany. This makes me wonder if the Euro headlights could be a direct fit without any modifications.

Depos are acceptable. Better than my stock headlight units in terms of bulbs, but much poorer (the plastic is exceedingly brittle). That being said, they've held up so far and were very reasonable.

Yes, e320 lights would fit but the e320 is a facelift car so you'd get a gap between the light edge and the grille edge.

Stick with lights for the 86-93 w124 bodies (doesn't matter CE/TE/E, 300,400,500[to some extent, real 500e lights are different]).

Swap is more or less plug and play, just get a set of the rear tail-light connectors from your dealer and new wiper panels (260e if you want to delete the wipers, 94/95 e320/420/500 if you want to keep them - but you need new wipers/motors).

There is a wiring diagram here or on the web if you search.

Wasn't sure if i should make a new thread or use mine so boards aren't so cluttered.

My 300TE's insulation under the engine hood is peeling off, and i want to replace it. Is it possible to pick a replacement at the local parts store or is it something i have to pick up from a benz parts dealer?

Welcome to TE's! It's best to get estimates for the head and paint work, prices depend on local and quality. Go the shops with extensive experience like independents. Expect up to $700 in parts/machining plus labor which can be $600 to $1k. As for paint, you don't want it cheap or you may need repaint in a few years. Decent paint in CA starts at $3k. I suspect you are not on the West or Southwest if concerned about rust.

Autohausaz.com for basic parts, specialists for others, dealer if you have to.

I collect TE specific parts for my 2 and for anyone in need.

There's no need to get E320 lights unless you get them cheap or do the hood upgrade as mentioned. I'd get Depot for the value and I have Bosch, Hella, and stock on my cars. You are on the right track as stock plastic eventually yellows. pits, and cracks.

All full glass face hl are "Euro" type, they have provision for vacuum flash and mount with 3 screws.

Welcome, any pics?? Enjoy your kombi!

Thanks for the welcome.
Ill post some more pics (Droid quality unfortunately ) after i clean out the school crap i've left in the car. Finished school a year ago. Im such a slacker.

After doing some bit of research, i think i'll have to improve my TLC on the kombi. I was pretty shocked on how long those w124's can last, i've done some work on w124's when i was a student taking up comm. college shop classes couple of them were in the 250k mile range and at that time i thought the owners just loved being on the road. Now i realize how versatile my kombi is both mechanically, quality and utility.

Went to a junkyard today, found a 300E gem, cool thing about it that it was RHD, bad thing about it, the RHD mirror was worthless to get

well today was a nice surprise for me. My g/f's father was complainin about how my 300TE looked like, and decided to do a sample cleaning on a door. Man i couldnt believe that the clear coat was still good, just basically had a decade of road dust, tree dust and dirt covering up the clearcoat.

basically needs a days worth of detailing done to the exterior, followed by a good wax.
cant wait for it to become a shiny red ridin' wagon.

ps ill try to remember to do a before n afters when i take it to get detailed.

edit: added a pic of the sample area


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Pulled into the lot lookin' like this..



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after 8 hours of hard work...



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I was pretty shocked that there was all this beauty underneath decades-worth of crap building up on the panels. So whoever told me in person that i needed a paint job can kindly eff off so glad its so shiny will be doing a 2nd coat sometimes next week even while waxing the first coat, it was still dirty.

now for some random photo effect shots.



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Wow, what did you do/use to raise the shine like that?

The first step was to use some sort of shampoo-y soap that had cutting strength which was Meguiar's Fine Cut Cleaner, which was used to remove the buildup also used a power buffer.

Then used a 1/4 tub of Heavy Duty Turtle Wax to clean off then rewax to give it the shine it has right now. Didnt use anything to wax off, just old fashioned elbow grease..

i'll admit this, the roof n hatch door was kicking my ***.

new problem..

Today was cruising on way to home, suddenly i lose power, doesn't rev up when i try to floor it. Thought i lost my tranny or a part of it until i get it out of overdrive into 3rd gear and back into OD, not the tranny. with luck i manage to coast into some driveway and engine dies on me before i can even stop it.

so im thinkin' fuel issue or could be egr valve. also probably all parts are still factory originals. It does turn and crank, but it feels like fuel isn't bein' sent to the throttle body. Im kinda hoping its a simple job such as clogged fuel filter or fuel lines, and hoping its not an expensive part i.e. fuel pump or fuel regulator.

so need a few tips about what to look for, i.e check pressure, throttle body and some stuff here n there. also i'm deaf, but was wondering will the fuel pump make a clicking noise to indicate that it may be working proper?

hopin' for a response soon, thanks in advance

You or someone near the tank should listen for the pump motor when the key is turned. You can also jumper the pins at the fuel pump relay next to the ECU. I forget which pins on the connector. Search for FPR or no+start. Even if good the OVP and FPR are relays you should have in your glovebox as spares.

at this time, fuel pump is functional, it ain't getting power. So testing the electrical stuff (im not saavy at those, so having g/f's dad's mechanics lookin' it over). So here's to hoping it just needs relays and/or switches replaced.

Yay, got mah kombi back! All it needed was a new fuel pump relay. here's to hoping no unforeseeable problems popping up in a few months.