BenzMan1

I am a first time MB owner. Two days a go I purchased a 1999 C230 Kompressor with 58849 on the odometer. I have restored Porsche 911s for some time and have done all mechanical work from general maintenance to dropping engines.
My question is; will I be able to do general maintenance on this car or do I need to bring it to the shop for things like oil changes, etc…etc…

Thanks,
BenzMan1

mleskovar

Of course you can do your own maintenance. MB are put together like any car (except for some quirky German things but you already know about that with the Porches). The electrics are different in that they use a signal bus on the later cars (I believe the '99 does). With your experience all you need to know is differences between makes/models. It would help to have an OBD II tester (about $130) for Check Engine Light etc.

BenzMan1

Thanks for the reply...

My Porsche was really quaky. My fuel regulator was fused through my dome light and the light bulb it self was the junction for the circuit. I found this out the hard way, I was changing the bulb out at the local auto parts shop and the car would not start so I had it towed home. When I started researching the symptom I was @iss3d to know that all I had to do was out the light back in...What is the OBD II that you mentioned? Where can I get one?

Does any one know where I can get a set of shop books for my car? I have a Hanes put I would like the real deal.

I have notices in the tech section that people use a type of suction canister for oil changes is this necessary?

John_Collins

There's not much information available on newer cars. However, there are two web sites that offer online manuals for a fee.
Try http://www.alldatadiy.com/ for a model specific annual subscription.
For a more expensive service direct from MB at http://www.startekinfo.com/StarTek/
Startek wil allow you to purchase access for only one day for $20 if you have a specific project.
So far I haven't tried either, but have read good reports on alldatadiy.com.

mleskovar

On Board Diagnostic tester version two. All cars since '95 are required to have OBD. There is a port accessed beneath the dash to the left of the steering column. The tester looks at the status of sensors etc. Many of the status relate to smog equipment. It can also give you manufacturer specific failure codes if you get one that has that type of support. One model is the Equus 3100, but search the web and you will find many more.
The tester can also delete/turn off error codes like "Check Engine"
light.