DIY Service help

[dazzler1976]

I have a 2000 E240 (W210) 80,000 miles that I was wanting to service. Just had a look under the bonnet and the spark plugs look like they are going to be fun to replace. Should I change the leads as well as the spark plugs? Can anyone recommend a good place to buy these parts?

Was also going to change the engine oil and filter. Any suggestions on oil?

As I dont have a haynes type manual can someone tell me where the fuel filter is located?

Any help or advice greatly recieved.

Derek

 

[renault12ts]

And you will not get one ( Haynes ) !

 

[w124coupe]

I would suggest you build up the "things to do" list based on recent service history plus the mileage-related items from the maintenance book (should be in with the handbook).

The basic service is just oil and filter plus visual check. The bigger service add a wheels-off check.

Mileage and/or time related items include air filter, fuel filter, a/c filter, transmission fluid and filter, change of brake fluid etc etc - best to work out what the car is due for and go from there? (especially if you are doing this yourself to save money).

 

[stevesey]

Spark plugs on the 240 are a 60K service item - seems very out of sequence to be doing them at 80K.

Oil - fully synth if you are sticking to the 10K+ intervals (the shorter intervals debate is going on elsewhere at the moment so lets not raise that here).

 

[whitenemesis]

Try here for sevice info

 

[rpe2]

As above, use decent oil e.g Castrol Magnatec/ Shell Heilix/ Mobil..

The Spark plugs are 'fun' as you suggest. Check when they were last done as they are good for 60k miles.

Richard

 

[garethh]

I made the mistake blood knuckles amd swearing changed all the spark plugs for no reason at all, take one out and check it before you go and buy.

 

[Dieselman]

use decent oil e.g Castrol Magnatec

 

[219]

Another Scottish member called DEREK

Why not come to one of our forthcoming events in Glasgow and we'll all have a look at your car and advise .

Agree with replies so far .

 

[dazzler1976]

Spark plugs on the 240 are a 60K service item - seems very out of sequence to be doing them at 80K.

Oil - fully synth if you are sticking to the 10K+ intervals (the shorter intervals debate is going on elsewhere at the moment so lets not raise that here).

For some reason the spark plugs were changed at 34k, according to the service book.

The reason I thought I would service my car was that the wife got an MX5 and I changed the plugs, oils and filters etc. Got a trade card so the parts cost about £60, couple of hours work, I now have an accurate date/mileage of when things were changed. So I thought Id do the same with the Merc, near sh*t myself when I found out its going to cost about £70 just for the hard to reach spark plugs.

 

[dazzler1976]

Another Scottish member called DEREK

Why not come to one of our forthcoming events in Glasgow and we'll all have a look at your car and advise .

Agree with replies so far .

Yeah will do, dont get back to Glasgow anywhere near enough.

 

[vijilants]

For some reason the spark plugs were changed at 34k, according to the service book.

The reason I thought I would service my car was that the wife got an MX5 and I changed the plugs, oils and filters etc. Got a trade card so the parts cost about £60, couple of hours work, I now have an accurate date/mileage of when things were changed. So I thought Id do the same with the Merc, near sh*t myself when I found out its going to cost about £70 just for the hard to reach spark plugs.

If you wish to do the spark plugs yourself, get yourself the proper tool to pop the spark plug caps/ boots off or else this job will become very hard and there is the possibility that you will damage the leads and they are expensive to replace.

Also make sure that your socket set has a universal joint and an assortment of small extension bars.

I had a go at this a few weeks ago and it too me approx 2.5 hours start to finish.

 

[SilverSaloon]

maybe we should have a "dirty hands" meet and service the car. Might be useful for some people to learn how to do stuff and also tips/tricks etc.

 

[w124coupe]

maybe we should have a "dirty hands" meet and service the car. Might be useful for some people to learn how to do stuff and also tips/tricks etc.

Hello Dear, I'm just off out with some people off an online forum for a "dirty hands" session. See you later!

 

[w124coupe]

Re the place(s) to buy parts:

Firstly don't overlook the dealer - discounts can be had on older car parts and many items are cheaper than you would think. Go in with your VIN and and for a quote (it will contain the part numbers....).

Air/combi etc filters can often be bought under the OEM brand elsewhere cheaper (look on the old ones for the OEM brand alongside the Merc star).

Ditto brake pads.

Some electrical items in the fuel and control systems (e.g. MAF) can be had outside the dealer network - they are usually Bosch or Pierberg parts (with the OEM number on them somewhere).

ECP and/or GSF offer good prices (beware that a quick haggle over the counter often beats the web price - especially when you buy several parts).

Euromerc has a lot of real Merc parts at good prices (e.g. trim, brake discs, light units etc) BUT you need to be sure of the part number to be able to use him as they are often listed incorrectly on the website.

Expensive parts used to be worth sourcing from German dealers - since the £ collapse the savings are not so good but still significant if a big ticket item is needed.

You need a way to get error codes read to home in on faults (expensive to try to fix by changing parts!) so a dealer or indie needs to be part of your plan going forwards. Often experience plus a code will point to a known but not obvious fix...

 

[dazzler1976]

Re the place(s) to buy parts:

Firstly don't overlook the dealer - discounts can be had on older car parts and many items are cheaper than you would think. Go in with your VIN and and for a quote (it will contain the part numbers....).

Air/combi etc filters can often be bought under the OEM brand elsewhere cheaper (look on the old ones for the OEM brand alongside the Merc star).

Ditto brake pads.

Some electrical items in the fuel and control systems (e.g. MAF) can be had outside the dealer network - they are usually Bosch or Pierberg parts (with the OEM number on them somewhere).

ECP and/or GSF offer good prices (beware that a quick haggle over the counter often beats the web price - especially when you buy several parts).

Euromerc has a lot of real Merc parts at good prices (e.g. trim, brake discs, light units etc) BUT you need to be sure of the part number to be able to use him as they are often listed incorrectly on the website.

Expensive parts used to be worth sourcing from German dealers - since the £ collapse the savings are not so good but still significant if a big ticket item is needed.

You need a way to get error codes read to home in on faults (expensive to try to fix by changing parts!) so a dealer or indie needs to be part of your plan going forwards. Often experience plus a code will point to a known but not obvious fix...

Cheers, Bought a diagnostic tool a while back, its pretty good, reads codes, clears them and you can reset the service indicator.

 

[219]

maybe we should have a "dirty hands" meet and service the car. Might be useful for some people to learn how to do stuff and also tips/tricks etc.

Nice idea !

There are a number of 'indys' in the West Scotland area ( elsewhere ? ) .

Maybe if one of us is on good terms with one of them we could arrange a workshop evening - perhaps a good one for a winter evening - whereby we could all learn something , and the incentive for the garage is they might pick up some business .....

Anyone willing to take this one on ?

 

[219]

Yeah will do, dont get back to Glasgow anywhere near enough.

Six places still available for the visit to the Road Policing Unit on Tue 14th July .

 

[SilverSaloon]

Nice idea !

There are a number of 'indys' in the West Scotland area ( elsewhere ? ) .

Maybe if one of us is on good terms with one of them we could arrange a workshop evening - perhaps a good one for a winter evening - whereby we could all learn something , and the incentive for the garage is they might pick up some business .....

Anyone willing to take this one on ?

i've never used an indi so cant really offer to sort it out, but would be very interested in this. Eccosbev mentioned a good merc guy he uses.... maybe

 

[Phil Thomas]

Cheers, Bought a diagnostic tool a while back, its pretty good, reads codes, clears them and you can reset the service indicator.

Can you tell me more about the diagnostic tool please? Does it plug into the lead in the car and then into a laptop or PC? Cost? Meaning of codes? I think it is time to get up to date! Building engines up, rebuilding gear boxes and back axles in the 60s and 70s is out of date experience now!