Some W140 help peeps.

[tigran]

Hey guys I'm going to go have a look at a W140 S500 for some daily sensibleness duties.

Are there any Benz gurus out there (bigperm looking at you here) who can point me to model specific weaknesses in the cars?

I know the big Achilles heel is the wiring loom on these, are there any easily accessible bits that i can check for if it's started biodegrading yet, or more to the point how bad it is.

There'll be some cool benzo pics as penance in a moment.

[tigran]

Pic-a-churs







If anyone has some more cool ones stick em up (pun intended).

[TurboDieselWeasel]

500? Get the 600 if it doesn't have to be sensible... The general saying about these is "5000 to buy one, 15000 in yer pocket". Many of these cars get 'trashed' by people who can't realy afford (to maintain) them and then sold on... The fate of so many desirable luxury cars with big engines...

The 'loom-of-doom'; one thing is electrics that play up, then fire and cracking cable coating. You can perhaps spy on a cable on a sensor etc. where the hull doesn't cover the loom.

Apart from that they'r great cars with electrical everythings. Especially the 600SEL has got almost everything they could offer from the factory. And it's stupidly quick. I mean - realy STUPID. It doesn't make any sense, at all, that 2.2 tonnes can be that quick. ;D

[tigran]

Yeah I've got major want for a 600 but there's a specific 500 that has come up, I know the car well and the price might just be right. If it falls through and i have to actually properly buy a car it will be a 600.

Does anyone know if there's a specialist company that will supply a complete new loom for it? I dread to think of cost and what not, but just wondering.

[mrabody]

Check with Mercedes for the loom.

[tigran]

Oooh another cool one

[TurboDieselWeasel]

At a guess there are so many different looms (CAN-Bus, optional stuff fitted etc.) that the only source of a correct loom would be Mercedes themselfes... But that's only a guess. Which probably translates into 'weight of loom in gold'. For the W124 they'r between 600 to 1000€

[carat 3.6]

I don't think the loom is that big a problem on these, it was the w124 that suffered badly with that fault.

[tigran]

I saw the loom that Christoff on here took out of his track w140 and it was completely fubar'ed. But yeah i'll try have a look at it, i think if i lift the rear seat base that would be some easy loom access.

I'll have a look.

[bigperm]

Hey tigs !!...these do suffer with the bio-degradable engine wiring loom , i replaced one on my cl 500 a few years back , really easy to change , mine cost me about £250 or so from work with my discount,
Can also suffer with strange missfires , you will have to change both dizzy caps , rotors and flashplates , last time checked this little lot was well over £300!!
Timing chains can jump, which can cause all sorts of headaches , you would also like to know the gearbox oils been changed on time as the 5 speed autos can be trouble ....oh and just to confuse you in my eyes they are the best mercs ever ,, i love em .....hit me up with a pm if you need me brother !! oh and i'll leave some of my old ones here too

[tigran]

Cheers dude, your satin black one is what reafirmed these as my fave merc let alone fave S-class. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

[UtterPiffle]

Ok, waffle mode on...
Only pre 96 cars have the loom trouble, after that they switched away from the daft soya coating. There is a duct that runs along the first firewall skin from the ecu on the left as you stand in front of the engine bay. You can pop the cover easy enough and see if the wires have little cracks. I made a new loom for one of mine, as a replacement from Merc was over £500, without the Rayo discount. It was only 22 wires for the v8, so not too bad to cobble together.

Also post 96 s500 (and post 94 6-cylinder cars) don't have dizzys (yes, two!), but went over to coil pack, so more reliability there. Based on my experience of 4 w140s', I would now only buy a post 96 car (clear rear indicators instead of orange ones), as there are loads of tweaks on them - better air con, updated body mouldings, parking sensors, 5-speed auto etc.. and generally a higher spec.
Rayo is correct as always in that the later 5-speed boxes are weaker, but get a good one (as I had in my track w140, pictured twice above - the black and silvers ones are in fact the same car ), and it will do you well...

Would avoid the v12. It is a complicated engine that gathers all manner of faults - just look at Benzworld.org for details! However, the engine blocks do make nice coffee tables
S500 is a fairly quick beast, even by today's standards - 322bhp and it sounds ace, but don't expect any more than low 20's mpg, even on a run. S320's are my favourite - enough power to get you past stuff (240bhp), but 33mpg on a run. LPG it, and it becomes Focus money to run. The very last S320's were generally pretty well specced too...

The best thing about these cars is their modular design. No CAN bus to worry about. Clear separate wiring diagrams for each part of the electrics are freely available... Oh look, there are some here on my server
www.utterpiffle.com/Cars/Benz/W140Diagrams/

Also, I know a little trick to temporarily disable the driver aids (ABS, Traction, stability) without dropping into limp mode, y'know, should you feel the need to look out the side window whilst driving.

Love these cars, and plan to trade my Passat in for another in the Autumn - Rayo, you hear that mate? If a late w140 LWB turns up at work, you know who to call

[UtterPiffle]

Check this thread for some inspiration:
www.benzworld.org/forums/w140-s-class/1587392-my-mercedes-w140-s500-wald-build.html

[tigran]

As always brilliant input dude. The post 96 thing is quite handy. I'll go get some pics and have a look and report back.

[hairnet]

May 28, 2012 17:54:12 GMT TurboDieselWeasel said:

At a guess there are so many different looms (CAN-Bus, optional stuff fitted etc.) that the only source of a correct loom would be Mercedes themselfes... But that's only a guess. Which probably translates into 'weight of loom in gold'. For the W124 they'r between 600 to 1000�

thats a bargain if its the whole loom

600cc bike loom with no luxury - is 600 + vat ;D

[UtterPiffle]

So? What happened?