iFlyE55

Hi all,

I recently picked up my first Mercedes, a 2003 E55 Kompressor. I've only had it a few days, but am really loving it! It's a high mile example (~190k) so I knew there would be warts with it. Like most other Mercedes I've worked on or driven in the past, it's held up remarkably well. The interior and exterior look like the car has 50k on it. I do all my own work on my vehicles and used to be a professional Jaguar mechanic. I've not worked on a Mercedes this new before, but have worked on similar era BMWs and Jaguars (my wife's daily driver is a '97 BMW 740iL). The car has been a southern car and is rust-free, with the suspension also looking to be in good shape.

I have a few questions:

1) The power steering fluid is a hair low. Is this something where I do need to go with the factory fluid, or can I use something cheaper without concern? Obviously I don't want to put in something that's going to damage anything, just curious due to the much higher cost.

2) Is there a good code reader/computer interface software that I can buy for dealing with the factory codes? I don't particularly want to go to a dealer and pay them a bunch of money to read the codes since I'll do my own work. Right now I have three malfunctions that will need codes read/reset: SRS, Brake, and the third is the picture of the car with the arrow pointing up in the middle, so I'm assuming air suspension. The suspension does still work, so not sure what the error would be. I understand the brake error is likely just the brake's regular maintenance reset. Oh, and of course a check engine light.

3) This car had a K&N air filter put on it at some point. In the BMW world, K&Ns aren't recommended because the oil tends to get on the MAF and cause bad readings, which lead to engine running issues. I had this issue on my wife's 740iL. Is that the case on these cars as well? If so, I'll replace it with paper. If not, I'll leave it alone.

Thanks!

2000UZJ

OE Power Steering Fluid is the best IMO.

STAR/WIS/DAS for the car codes. Standard OBDII will only read a fraction of the codes these cars throw.

I run K&N. No negatives that I can think of other than slightly less filtration specs. I don't live in a dusty environment. YMMV

iFlyE55

Appreciate the feedback. I'll get some OE power steering fluid on the way. I'm also not in a dusty area.

Do you have recommendations for where to buy STAR/WIS/DAS? I'm not familiar with any of those.

kompressede

Where are you located, maybe someone local to you has a Star, otherwise you may consider purchasing one?
OEM fluids, inlcuding anti freeze (when you need it)
K&N are good also.

GLW your new toy, they are fun just keep up with the maintenance.

iFlyE55

I'm located in Kansas City. I don't mind purchasing the tool, but obviously if I could simply borrow one, that'd be preferable. I'd happily pay a rental fee to someone who had the system locally.

There is an MB dealer up the road, so I can go there if I have to, just trying to avoid it.

iFlyE55

So I'm Googling around and finding many STAR readers, but it looks like most are coming from China. I've also read some threads on here saying to avoid the Chinese ones. Then there's the install on the computer as well.

Is there a good run down on the best way to do this?

iFlyE55

Bump - can anyone provide guidance on what to look for a STAR tool to purchase? The websites that sell them (mostly in China) don't give much info, and it seems that I want to avoid those from the few threads I've found.

Bean93x

Pm MackHack for a STAR unit

iFlyE55

Thanks! I PM'd him.