HanSolo

hey guys
I'v been looking at a 2000 s320L and the mechanic told me he'd its engine swapped with a 2004 s350 with salvage parts
the original engine seized 'coz there was an oil leak and the 1st owner didnt notice.
the 2004 s350 was involved in a minor crash but not head-on(according to the mechanic,he isnt sure though but theres no damage to the engine)

I tried the ride and its real zippy compared to the s320 2001 I'm driving now?
normally I would shy away from buying a car with such questionable history,but do you guys have some opinions?
Thanks!

Welwynnick

If it actually runs without any obvious faults, I guess that's a good swap, but there's a few possible issues:

Insurance companies will presumably want to know about the modification

Doesn't the S350 have better brakes than the S320 - there's quite a big difference in power?

Are the engine and tranny properly integrated - does it shift smoothly?

What else did the first owner neglect to maintain properly - there's lots more to looking after a car than checking the oil?

Nick

HanSolo

Thanks for the reply Nick!
I don't plan to tell the insurance,its 3rd party,I'm not covered..
The better brakes - Hadn't thought of that bit
Will it help if I drove a bit slower??

The shifts are buttersmooth(I think) - I kept it under 100kph and as far as I could tell- no discernable problems -I'm no authority on this though -


the car looks well maintained - on the inside - some of the plastics havent yet come out( eg the metal mercedes benz stepping strip we see as we open the door - at the bottom)

I dont know of the transmission - but the mechanic tells me its A -ok then again he sells ice to Eskimos!
However since the drive-train is original it must have run many more miles than the newer engine.

HanSolo

Are there any tell-tale signs know for sure if the drive train has been damaged or might need replaced in the near future?

S600Keith

No, there isn't without doing a thorough diagnostic of the entire engine to include compression check. If you question the mechanic's integrity you would be wise to spend the $100-$200 to have another mechanic give you a second opinion. You could also acquire the CarFax for BOTH vehicles involved to find out how well the other car was maintained.

I, personally, have swapped engines on a Nissan Sentra and an Audi 100LS with no problems. It is a good, inexpensive way to save a good car from the scrap yard. There is generally no issue with replacing the engine with a new(er) one. It would not scare me a bit, ESPECIALLY since we are talking about a 12 y/o car and an 8 y/o engine. HOWEVER, You should be able to use THAT information to negotiate yourself a better deal on the car. He obviously got a sick deal on the car/engine so I am reasonably sure there is a LOT of room for negotiation there.

Good luck sir,

Keith

tusabes

It's a better engine and if the swap was done correctly there should be no problem

Just make sure when getting it serviced they know its a 350 so they use the correct filters and parts - that's the biggest risk down the road someone putting wrong parts on it thinking its a 320

HanSolo

thanks you all for your valuable inputs!

The mechanic wont know what hit him!

I'm planning to sell off my current s320 however I spend loads of $$ on repair including the rear airmatics(spanking new),I plan to swap all those too,so the mechanic has the upper hand here...

One concern I've had is the aircon, while I try to turn down my zone temp I hear a nosiy motor,some kind of whirring sound(its loud), it stops but my current car does not have that problem./>
is this something to be concerned about coz with mercs we never know....

tusabes

Ac can be a multi thousand dollar repair

HanSolo

Thanks! I'll look closely into that one then...

I plan to swap tires too,this one feature original tires while I'm running 255 45 18'' ,do you recommend I swap or stick to the original tires/will it make a vast difference in ride quality/ >

also the engine sounds racy compared to the s320 - is that normal ???

thirdly,my current s320 has tight gears,but this car the gear slips effortlessly through R-N-D, I dont know how the stick is mated to the trasnmission but can this tell us anything about one tranyy being in a better condition than the other, conclusively ??

tusabes

The shifter is electronic and not connected to the transmission by a lever like old cars . So it wont indicate a transmission problem

The shifter itself is a common problem area on these cars, as many get stuck in park due to a cheap plastic piece inside the shifter

HanSolo

that would mean a bad situation,hopefully the shifter doesnt get stuck in D!!

the odometer on this car has been rolled back - its was > 400000 but next day it was 100000

the mechanic tells me the transmission is rock solid,so i neednt worry - my current car has only 200000kms on it,now I'm not sure if I should trade in my car for a transmission that has run double.but everything else seems to be in top shape as my current car seems to have a problem with the steering bushing?it makes clunking sounds while coming back straight after turns[ I might be looking at a hefty bill if I dont trade the car in]

tusabes

400,000 km is a lot. Lots of stuff will start failing on that car

HanSolo

if you mean the airmatics - I've got a new pair,brake pads new,engine 2004[less kms], no rust,coolant tank brand new,rubber hoses show no signs of deterioration - spark plugs new - and no system errors -
if something were to give, it would have failed by now,dont you think?

S600Keith

NOOOO!!!

That's not how it usually works, HS. The older it gets the more things start failing. 400000 km is a lot of miles on a car and there will surely be some failures to come. Soon.

Keith

HanSolo

the indie tells me that the the instrument cluster [screen] was changed with a used one so it took on the reading of the replaced one - which was 400,000 kms -
is that possible you guys think?

w4sim

Sounds like with this guy anythings possible

S600Keith

It means "buyer beware." Do not trust anything the salesmen tells you, check it for yourself. The money invested in an independent evaluation would be money well spent.

But we are...

Keith