G service????
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 370
Likes: 30
E420
You could do the service with a floor jack no problem. I would lube the door hinges and latches, also the key locks and ignition with dielectric grease otherwise the electronics will go crazy. Lightly lube the moonroof rails. I lube the steering shafts to but that requires taking the panel under the steering wheel off. You could get the whole service done in 5 hours taking your time. I have a long list of stuff I do let me know if you'd like to hear.
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Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 47
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2003 e320
Originally Posted by E42AMG???
You could do the service with a floor jack no problem. I would lube the door hinges and latches, also the key locks and ignition with dielectric grease otherwise the electronics will go crazy. Lightly lube the moonroof rails. I lube the steering shafts to but that requires taking the panel under the steering wheel off. You could get the whole service done in 5 hours taking your time. I have a long list of stuff I do let me know if you'd like to hear.
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 370
Likes: 30
E420
If you have the tools available, if not you could buy floor jack and spark plug puller, wrenches for bleeding brakes etc. from Harbor freight for 200 dollars what they would charge you bare, very bare minimum at the dealership just for labor.
Spark plugs easy to get at I'm sure there is a diy on it so look that up.
Air filter.... If you can't figure that out by yourself well, read everything 10 times before you do it.
The cabin air filter might not be terrible depending on how much you use AC/heat might be able to knock the dust out and save 10 dollars, on my e420 it isn't as excess able as most cars, it's most likely under one of the windshield cowls.
Oil change there is a diy look that up, use the manufacture specific oil and filter.
Bleeding the old fluid out is a two person job, but harbor freight has a one person bleeding kit for like 15 dollars. I would use some good penetrating oil on the caliper bleeding valves before you start doing anything with the car and do the brake fluid towards the end.
The fuel filter, where safety glasses and expect to make a mess, so have a big drain pan. And buy the clamps for the hoses because they get rusty and break overtime and I know your like... "I'll be fine!" Wait until that clamp breaks and you can't drive to get some.
Ok now for testing the suspension jack up the car you can do one wheel at a time or put the car on four or more jack stands. Grab the wheel at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions and push back and forth, this is testing the wheel bearing. Some small amount of wiggle isn't a big deal but if you can hear it and it feels unsafe, for lack of a better word, the bearing is bad (ask for a diy on that later then.) Then at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions grab and do the same if there is play then ball joints are bad.
Ok so now you removed the wheels u want to look at the brake pads if you don't know how low they are use a ruler to measure or go to the part store and say you want break pads for your car or a similar midsize sedan and keep in mind that they can last up to 100,000 miles of mainly highway or all the way down to 30,000 miles city driving. Don't buy them of course but depending on your driving style this gives you a general ballpark of when they will need to be changed, if the sensors aren't working properly. Make sure both pads are worn close to the same.
Also you want to look at the rotor if it doesn't have a smooth wear on it that tells you something isn't functioning right. Make sure to lube the slide pins if they are fixed calipers if they are floating calipers it isn't necessary because they are enclosed, I do it anyway.
The fss has different resets for every year make and model but there is videos on how to on most.
Then just do a general inspection make sure nothing is leaking or overly rusted and when checking suspension put your hand on everything and give it a good shake to make sure it's tight, and check the springs to see if they are broken. For your struts/shocks an easy test is push down on the front a couple times to get it moving and see how quick it settles if it bounces for awhile after then they are going bad, same for the rear.
Also if you have a smart phone you can buy obd II scanners for 15 dollars on eBay and 10 dollars for an app that translates it. iPhones need wifi compatable ones any other phone can use a Bluetooth one. (I bought the elm327, and the dash command app just to see and it will compete with a 400 dollar scan tool.) I always clear the computer system when I service just for piece of mind.
If you maintain everything regularly the car will last you awhile, that being said things do go wrong no matter how well you treat it.
Any questions feel free to ask also I do a engine bay inspection I can give you the details on that also.
Sorry for this crazy long post....
It might take you a weekend to do this the first time btw
Spark plugs easy to get at I'm sure there is a diy on it so look that up.
Air filter.... If you can't figure that out by yourself well, read everything 10 times before you do it.
The cabin air filter might not be terrible depending on how much you use AC/heat might be able to knock the dust out and save 10 dollars, on my e420 it isn't as excess able as most cars, it's most likely under one of the windshield cowls.
Oil change there is a diy look that up, use the manufacture specific oil and filter.
Bleeding the old fluid out is a two person job, but harbor freight has a one person bleeding kit for like 15 dollars. I would use some good penetrating oil on the caliper bleeding valves before you start doing anything with the car and do the brake fluid towards the end.
The fuel filter, where safety glasses and expect to make a mess, so have a big drain pan. And buy the clamps for the hoses because they get rusty and break overtime and I know your like... "I'll be fine!" Wait until that clamp breaks and you can't drive to get some.
Ok now for testing the suspension jack up the car you can do one wheel at a time or put the car on four or more jack stands. Grab the wheel at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions and push back and forth, this is testing the wheel bearing. Some small amount of wiggle isn't a big deal but if you can hear it and it feels unsafe, for lack of a better word, the bearing is bad (ask for a diy on that later then.) Then at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions grab and do the same if there is play then ball joints are bad.
Ok so now you removed the wheels u want to look at the brake pads if you don't know how low they are use a ruler to measure or go to the part store and say you want break pads for your car or a similar midsize sedan and keep in mind that they can last up to 100,000 miles of mainly highway or all the way down to 30,000 miles city driving. Don't buy them of course but depending on your driving style this gives you a general ballpark of when they will need to be changed, if the sensors aren't working properly. Make sure both pads are worn close to the same.
Also you want to look at the rotor if it doesn't have a smooth wear on it that tells you something isn't functioning right. Make sure to lube the slide pins if they are fixed calipers if they are floating calipers it isn't necessary because they are enclosed, I do it anyway.
The fss has different resets for every year make and model but there is videos on how to on most.
Then just do a general inspection make sure nothing is leaking or overly rusted and when checking suspension put your hand on everything and give it a good shake to make sure it's tight, and check the springs to see if they are broken. For your struts/shocks an easy test is push down on the front a couple times to get it moving and see how quick it settles if it bounces for awhile after then they are going bad, same for the rear.
Also if you have a smart phone you can buy obd II scanners for 15 dollars on eBay and 10 dollars for an app that translates it. iPhones need wifi compatable ones any other phone can use a Bluetooth one. (I bought the elm327, and the dash command app just to see and it will compete with a 400 dollar scan tool.) I always clear the computer system when I service just for piece of mind.
If you maintain everything regularly the car will last you awhile, that being said things do go wrong no matter how well you treat it.
Any questions feel free to ask also I do a engine bay inspection I can give you the details on that also.
Sorry for this crazy long post....
It might take you a weekend to do this the first time btw
Last edited by E42AMG???; Nov 7, 2015 at 11:18 PM.
