tfalater

I opened the hood to change the spark plugs on a 1997 C230 and .....WHERE ARE THEY?

How do you change them? Is there any online manual or other service manual I can buy for it? I found a guy selling CD's a repair manuals on ebay and was going to buy one from him but I'm not sure. Sometimes, they just say, "Take your vehicle to a qualified Mercedes mechanic.."

Also, I want to do the brakes too....any material on that that is accessible to me?

Thank you..

Tom

saturnstyl

Ya know that metal plate in the center of the valve cover with the 3 allen head bolts holding it on? They are under that.

tfalater

Hi,

Thank you. I thought so but I wanted to ask first.

Is there a gasket or that I would need after I take it off? Or should just buy the plugs? Any recommendation on the plugs? Buy them from the dealer right? Or is there one brand that's better on a c230 with 100K miles?

Tom

electric blue

Their is no gasket under the cover. Once you remove and are ready to reinstall the cover just screw it back down. I think Bosch plugs are what you should use. Your brakes are pretty basic to change. I mean doing it at home might be a bit difficult if you dont have the proper tools and jacks. When i perform a brake job on a mercedes, i never turn the rotors, i always have them replaced. Sometimes you can get away with not replacing your rotors if their not to dished out, but if you can afford to then i think your best off.

saturnstyl

I agree with everything he said....

tfalater

Thanks for the advice. I agree that I should change the rotors and not turn them and I plan to do that. And I will replace the brake pad sensors too.

And I'm told to stay away from those 'lifetime' pads and metal pads and stick with high quality regular ones.

When I do the plugs, I'll change the air filter, fuel filter, oxygen sensor too.

Tom