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W210 .... 1997 E320 with almost 250k under her belt.
I have stayed on top of maintenance, oil changes, tranny flush, replaced tranny speed sensor, mounts...the usual. When there's a gasket I use only mercedes as I had issues with a transmission leak with an after market.
I have the dreaded timing cover leak needing addressing which I am avoiding but as I am pondering selling the car to a friend (aside from it really needs a paint job (NM sun 25 years)) I am wondering if it is worth it.
I did a coolant flush per a mercedes video I found and let the coolant system run with distilled water til it ran clear, waited for it to warm up to 80c and refilled with recommended fluid....
Because the coolant didn't appear to have issues and after examining it (color was like light urine) do I need to do a head gasket due to mileage? The passenger side and front is pretty grim from a caked on oil standpoint which I may spray down to get a better idea if it is just the timing cover U gasket
Also, I had. PS leak which I thought came from the banjo bolts and steering dampener (o-rings and crush washers replaced) but it appear to be originating at the plastic sleeve above where the steering attaches to the box. How hard of a job is this. I imagine I might as well do tie rods if I have to rip this thing apart. As it stands now I have a rag zip tied around where the plastic sleeve is and it is definitely there. Car handles fine otherwise.
Thanks for your time and (hopefully) input. THese forums have saved me thousands of dollars over the years.
My experience is from other cars, so it may not apply to our MB, but ask yourself. If indeed is leaking from where the shaft goes, it's probably the seal. There are several more seals on the rack. Do you want to replace just one when other may be going? Because it's not leaking today, that doesn't mean it's not gonna leak tomorrow.
Yes, I understand it's very expensive, but if you going to tackle one, might as well do it right and replace the whole thing. You may be able to change all seals on the rack, or you may need to replace the whole rack. I haven't see or read the service manual, so can't tell you at the moment. Usually, and that's usually on other cars, when one goes, other are not too far behind. So unless it's something fairly easy to work on or something very cheap, we usually change the whole thing so that we don't have to deal with it again.
One last factor is, just how long are you planning to keep your car in question. If you're planning to keep it for a while, do it right. If not, guess the band-aid fix is good enough until you get rid of it. But if you're planning to sell it, the leak or whatever deficiency you have will de-value your car, so keep that in mind.
And again, my experience is from all other cars and motorcycles I've worked on.
I would suspect the valve cover gaskets are seeping oil; after 27 years I would be surprised if they aren't.
Head gaskets I wouldn't touch unless one blew out and in that case you would have water in the coolant, combustion chamber gasses pressurizing the cooling system and blowing coolant out, or a misfire if the failed gasket is between two adjacent cylinders. So...in this case, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Steering rack...if you can get the seals for it, a rebuild shouldn't be too bad but look for instructions first. Could possibly have one-time use parts involved. Boots, inner and outer tie-rod ends also. If all parts on hand, I would expect to have it removed, rebuilt, and reinstalled in half a day's work. You'll need to perform an alignment for proper toe angle afterwards. Having said that, if you are not going to keep the car, I wouldn't bother with the work.
Alternatively, if you are pondering selling the car, see if your friend would be willing to come over to assist with the work. Many hands make light work.
Thanks for the replies and suggestions. Happy Holidays as well. It looks like the valve cover has a small leak at the back (driver side) and the dreaded "bermuda triangle" timing cover definitely leaks. While I don't have Star MB diagnostics I managed to get codes read and nothing major stood out and the indy said he was surprised how well it runs overall. We are still a little dumbfounded about the PS leak...still trying tot find exactly where it is originating but tie rods were changed in May so I know they're good for now.
I guess valve cover and timing cover gasket are top priority.
Off topic anyone familiar with the short lived Mecedes B series?
So I am about to finish up the dreaded bermuda triangle timing cover gasket; went off without a hitch. I was actually able to pull the timing cover off with the top chain guide pulley staying intact. Chain never went slack either. I put the cover back on, reattached all of the hoses etc and all that is left is serpentine belt, fan and valve cover.
Do I need to do anything timing wise with chain? I have seen multiple threads across several boards about this but nothing specific (that I can tell) for an M104.995. The chain seems pretty tight but I never really checked it when I took the cover off.
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