bvkeys

So I just bought a 97 E420 - 53000 Mi. It's in practically mint condition. I have never owned a MB before and am not sure if a few things I've noticed are normal or not. Please excuse my ignorance. So here they are:

1. When I take my foot off of the gas - particularly at slower speeds, the car doesn't just smoothly glide/slow down, it almost feels as if it has a subtle brake on.
2. While driving, at around 30-45mph when the car is at around 1300 RPM's it seems to very slightly hesitate or skip when it either accelerates or I let off of the gas, but really only at around at 1300 rpms. Also, it's not severe, it feels more of a noticable shifting transition.

Could any of this be the result of a rear differential leak, oil level sensor leak, or front lower control arm bushings? I do need an alignment, it pulls to the right a bit. Also, I have to change my oil soon and now I don't know what to use after the big AMSOIL/Mobil 1 debacle. Any other regular maintenance I should do? Thanks.

Peteski

I don't know about the first two questions, but here's what I know about the oil: that particular engine requires regular oil, not synthetic.

lexrex

Pardon my ignorance, but what's the big AMSOIL/Mobil1 debacle?

bvkeys

It was on a different thread, there was someone giving a sales pitch basically for AMSOIL - he loved the stuff, other people were getting on him and they all had an oil analysis war of some sort. It turned into a big thing, I was making light of it all...anyway, I'm still green to the mercedes world and do need help....thank you

d2Benz

Bvkeys,

Welcome to the site and congrats on your new ride.
1st, I'll take the car to a mercedes mechanic, OR to a stealer to diagnos any possible problem/s with your ride. You can then take the result of that diagnosis and search this site for solutions OR ask any question/s after you've searched the site with no luck. There are a lot of usefull threads on this site. If there is any problem with your car, believe me, atleast someone has experienced it be4 and shared the issue with members, and a lot of times shared solutions too.

2ndly, on the oil issue, I believe a lot of the forum members use mobil 1.
search the threads and you will see. I'm aware of the Amsoil/Mobil thread. I have nothing against Amsoil, but I use Mobil cos, that's what the stealer use.

Good Luck.
Cheers!

E-Klasse

Actually on the older E-class even Mobil 1 was not originally used. There was no spec given for synthetic oil before 98.

I have used AMSOil in my Benzes even when I had an 86 190e. The only comment that I have about Mobil 1 is that they have changed the formula several times in the past decade. Dealerships use it because they have too and it is put in the new Benzes as a corporate aggrement so that they get it for less money. In short, I trust AMSOil more than Mobil 1.

cragigotgame

My e420 slows down like that when I take my foot off the gas too, has since Ive had it. All Ive ever used is mobil 1, 171,xxx miles so far, and still runs awesome. Ive heard that synthetic oil prolongs the life of the timing chain too.

tony

I've been using Mobile 1 0W40 European Formula in my E420 for the last four years without any problems or leaks and my '97 E420 now has 120K miles.

bvkeys

Thanks guys, I'll go with the Mobil 1. It's also nice to know about the slowing down issue.

MB AMG

I can confirm that the same thing happens to me when I take my foot off the gas. It does for some reason slow down as if the tranny shifts to a lower gear.

Helmut430

welcome BVKEYS,,, the slowing down as you take your foot off the gas is a proper function of the car. Mercedes has a "transmission brake" ,used mostly when going down steep hills, that will slow the car down as you remove your foot from the gas. Trusst me, when you are driving through a mountainous area( the Smoky Mountains for me) , you will GREATLY appreciate the feature!

Ala-benz

I used to have a 97 E420 and I noticed the same "brake feeling" upon slow down of the car especially when it finally downshifted into 1st gear when nearing a stop. When not driving aggressively, I actually preferred using the Winter mode on the transmission switch which does not use 1st gear.

As far as the hesitation, it could be multiple things. The easy thing to check is the air filter. Another thing to check is all the fittings on the air intake. If you remove your engine cover (remove 2 small nuts on the rear of the engine, and the hose clamp connected to the air filter housing. Lift the cover over the studs you just removed the nuts from then pull the whole cover toward the front of the car), you can check the air distribution hose that goes from the valve cover to the air mass meter. It is probably brittle and torn.

I really enjoyed my E420 before someone plowed into me and totalled the car. The car is built well and everyone in my car walked away. The other car was not so lucky.

Welcome to the forum