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OWNER DrP **High Mileage E500**
- Thread starter DrP
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Awesome !!!
This is what you call a "proper daily driver", 150miles a day!!! Not unusual for cali I guess. My sister's 2004 SLK230( just 4 cylinders) just clocked up 210kmiles - she commutes from Vaccaville to San Francisco daily...nuts!
I often use it when I visit and it's bloody uncomfortable!
I often use it when I visit and it's bloody uncomfortable!
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Ahh, Vacaville .... how I miss thee, o' Nut Tree.....
Also immortalized in the opening line of this song:
[youtube]-nkFIvT0qZ4[/youtube]
I woke up one day in Vacaville
Round the corner from the pen, phat house on the hill
All the homies in the pen straight locked down
But I gotta get dressed and hit the Oaktown
Also immortalized in the opening line of this song:
[youtube]-nkFIvT0qZ4[/youtube]
I woke up one day in Vacaville
Round the corner from the pen, phat house on the hill
All the homies in the pen straight locked down
But I gotta get dressed and hit the Oaktown
well how can you have a W124 E500 and NOT drive it as much as you can??? I have a 120 mile commute 6 days a week, we go hiking, to National Parks or to the beaches on the weekends, visit Northern Ca very often, our kids live near San Diego and in San Francisco, so the miles come together pretty quickly. 1000miles/week is rather the norm than the exception....I don't look at my car, I drive it...
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well how can you have a W124 E500 and NOT drive it as much as you can??? I have a 120 mile commute 6 days a week, we go hiking, to National Parks or to the beaches on the weekends, visit Northern Ca very often, our kids live near San Diego and in San Francisco, so the miles come together pretty quickly. 1000miles/week is rather the norm than the exception....I don't look at my car, I drive it...
Well said sir.
Another update after I detected that the engine is still loosing oil after the oil filter housing had been fixed : : the culprit turned out to be the timing chain front cover gasket, i.e. the front part of the engine (well hidden behind servo pump etc.). This is not easy to exchange, the heads would have to come off, essentially a total overhaul, which at this mileage does not make a lot of sense as there is no need for piston work or similar. And it's 30h of work. So I have to live with that and watch the oil level like a hawk to minimize the ticking, as the ticking starts to occur with oil levels in the lower third of the (allowed) range. It's all about the oil pressure build up......I have driven now 40k miles with a ticking engine as it started around 500k (and with no visible damage to valves, lifters or cams), so let's see how far she goes....
All I can say is extraordinary DrP! I love my car even more now...and I fully subscribe to your driving, not looking at the car mindset. It is no surprise to hear how many miles you drive on a regular basis, as I like the rest here I'm sure, can't get enough of the "unique driving experience" the 500 delivers every time you get behind the wheel. The downside is living in a 4 season environment(storing the car) that doesn't allow year round pleasure.
New update : I have another opening of the valve covers by a friend of mine, a German mechanic with >40y experience. He is retired and will get the car for two weeks to fix that annoying intermittent clicking. He thinks it's collapsed lifter. They should stay up even after the engine is off, we'll see. In addition I am moving to SoCal for a new job. Of course I will move into a town 50 miles away from where I work, what did you expect?...:wink:...there are of course several reasons for this but accumulating mileage is on the top portion of that list...... well I like to drive
Current reading is 547000. More after the valve covers are back on again, end of April
Current reading is 547000. More after the valve covers are back on again, end of April
74 564 more miles and you will reach 1 Million kilometers. Do not miss it!
There is a,,,,,,,,,,,,,USED,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 500E for sale on mobile.de driven 519.000 km,, with 60 inspections,, a stunning car IMO
http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-insera...&negativeFeatures=EXPORT&categories=Limousine
Same car here:
http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-page/106826/1991-mercedes-benz-500/
And discussed here (well, a bit!) :
http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?2267-1991-Silver-500E-form-Switzerland-519-000-km-)
I remember this car being advertised, based in Zurich, about 2years ago by PO. Think around november 2009 and as it says in the old classifieds on "classicarsforsale" at that time it had 260kkm. Now it's 519kkm!! Driven a lot then since, bloody hell!
I could be wrong, but both histories on both ads sound close.
http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-page/106826/1991-mercedes-benz-500/
And discussed here (well, a bit!) :
http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?2267-1991-Silver-500E-form-Switzerland-519-000-km-)
I remember this car being advertised, based in Zurich, about 2years ago by PO. Think around november 2009 and as it says in the old classifieds on "classicarsforsale" at that time it had 260kkm. Now it's 519kkm!! Driven a lot then since, bloody hell!
I could be wrong, but both histories on both ads sound close.
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good to hear that others run on high mileage as well. The repair list as per the link on the German website sounded 1:1 identical to mine (except transmission)...switching from N to R allows time for getting a coffee from Starbucks in between now.. It's just weak pressure valves, the message is to just not drive in reverse that often.....
My hydraulic valve / lifter problem is increasing in loudness so I make another attempt now next week to get it fixed by a retired experienced MB mechanic...let's see. Mileage = 552600 or 884160km
It's just weak pressure valves, the message is to just not drive in reverse that often.....My hydraulic valve / lifter problem is increasing in loudness so I make another attempt now next week to get it fixed by a retired experienced MB mechanic...let's see. Mileage = 552600 or 884160km
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Ditto. I'm just tickled pink knowing what the M119 in the 036 is capable of, in the long run.
update over the weekend : my friend found two defective oil tubes. Now the question is why have they been overlooked before : the do absolutely look identical to a working one, only the endcap is soft, meaning they cannot maintain the oil pressure in the lifters. The only way to "see" that is to press at the end with a screw driver. This is good news as my friend a) found the issue and b) oil tubes are inexpensive. Trust the experienced people, it made my weekend!
I will get the car back next weekend and test drive it. Update follows.
I will get the car back next weekend and test drive it. Update follows.
Hello.
That sounds good - the "ticking syndrome" will be fixed then!
I've enclosed a photo for those never seen this culprit before. I just wonder which path that small caps takes inside the engine.?.
I guess it has to be considered in the "oil additive" categori.
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Hey, Dr. P, you've got the plastic cam oiler tubes - if you can't get your hands on MB branded ones, I can whole-heartedly recommend the aftermarket aluminum ones. I bought mine from here, although they appear to be on backorder. There may be other retailers, and I know there was at least one other member that has done this (he picked it up through his mechanic in nor cal).
I bought my e500 with the ticking noise, and had it fixed straight away, now have 25k miles on it. In addition to being made from metal, they do look cool
I bought my e500 with the ticking noise, and had it fixed straight away, now have 25k miles on it. In addition to being made from metal, they do look cool
I got the 500 back now and drove 300miles ( I was more flying than driving this week). Result : no more tick tick. I am a happy camper
It WAS the defect tubes (2 of them)...just rely on experienced people!!!! Bill (the retired mechanic) told me that he never exchanged more than 2 tubes on the same (M119) engine. The funny thing is they appear to be always on the same spot (2nd and 4th from the back I believe) in the M119, so it seems to be a thermal problem or similar. Anyway my rule of thumb still holds up : every 100k miles I have a greater nuisance which turns out to be a relatively cheap fix:
@350k I had the inner aux. fan go bad (this is not good as the engine here in Ca is thermally stressed anyway), @ 450k I had that darned idle switch which cost all my nerves. Now @ 550k it's two little oil tubes. let's see what happens @ 650k
Anyway my German mechanic rocks
and I can sleep in peace......more soon
It WAS the defect tubes (2 of them)...just rely on experienced people!!!! Bill (the retired mechanic) told me that he never exchanged more than 2 tubes on the same (M119) engine. The funny thing is they appear to be always on the same spot (2nd and 4th from the back I believe) in the M119, so it seems to be a thermal problem or similar. Anyway my rule of thumb still holds up : every 100k miles I have a greater nuisance which turns out to be a relatively cheap fix:
@350k I had the inner aux. fan go bad (this is not good as the engine here in Ca is thermally stressed anyway), @ 450k I had that darned idle switch which cost all my nerves. Now @ 550k it's two little oil tubes. let's see what happens @ 650k
Anyway my German mechanic rocks
and I can sleep in peace......more soon
That sounds familiar. On my Limited I changed the 2nd tube from rear on the right bank. I recently did this job on a E420 with only 109kkm, and that was also the same tube on the right bank. But I also discovered that the 5th tube on the left bank had a loose end cover, so that was replaced too.
Good to hear that your car became good again. Good luck on the way to 1 million km!
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small update : I reached 561000 miles now, I believe this constitutes having crossed the 900k kilometer mark. The celebration constituted of a new set of tires and plugs so the car drives like new again. ATF is still red...:wink:
No other issues to report I am afraid, for 50.000 miles now (last was the servo pump @ 510k as it was leaking like crazy) if you disregard that it took me three attempts to get the two oil tubes exchanged which I should have done once the clicking started (around 505k miles)
This reminds me of a experience I had in Germany, I came from a flight from Malaysia, completely fogged in jet lag, and as a rare exception I took a taxi as my car then (an '82 280SE) was at the shop while I was gone. In my fog I discerned that the first figure on the 6-digit taxi odometer was a "9". So I complemented him on having reached 900k kilometer. The driver, of course proverbially grumpy, responded "No. That's 1.9 Mio kilometers. And I am pissed as my second engine - a 200Diesel - is going bad now, I need to rebuild it AGAIN!"
Well that's for the expectations of taxi drivers in Germany. 1mio km mimimum per engine, I have read about 1.2Mio and 1.3Mio km on a single engine on German websites. Let's see when mine breaks.......
No other issues to report I am afraid, for 50.000 miles now (last was the servo pump @ 510k as it was leaking like crazy) if you disregard that it took me three attempts to get the two oil tubes exchanged which I should have done once the clicking started (around 505k miles)
This reminds me of a experience I had in Germany, I came from a flight from Malaysia, completely fogged in jet lag, and as a rare exception I took a taxi as my car then (an '82 280SE) was at the shop while I was gone. In my fog I discerned that the first figure on the 6-digit taxi odometer was a "9". So I complemented him on having reached 900k kilometer. The driver, of course proverbially grumpy, responded "No. That's 1.9 Mio kilometers. And I am pissed as my second engine - a 200Diesel - is going bad now, I need to rebuild it AGAIN!"
Well that's for the expectations of taxi drivers in Germany. 1mio km mimimum per engine, I have read about 1.2Mio and 1.3Mio km on a single engine on German websites. Let's see when mine breaks.......
Topic : tires. I just had them changed again (the 10th set if I remember correctly). I only drive Michelin, MXV4, R-rated as they give me a mileage between 50k and 57k. Usually they wear on the inside of the rear tires because of that E500 specific axle/tire rear construction (Mercedes was very proud of that when introduced as it was the first wheel suspension 100% designed on computers). The rear tires have more pressure on the inner side than the outer one. I still have not managed to get the tires down evenly because of that phenomenon. I assume others have the same experience, let me know. And let me know if someone manages substantially more than 60k miles on a set of tires, I would be curious about the brand.
She drives beautifully (mileage 562500). The engine stinks because of the rotten front cover gasket covering the timing chain. But the oil consumption is still manageable (1qu/3000 miles). No blue smoke on long descents.
This summer was hot in California (relatively speaking) so the auxiliary fans were busy. The solution to the overheating would be a free wheeling fan, temperature controlled and additional oil cooling for the pistons. Back in the late eighties they did not yet have that technology......
She drives beautifully (mileage 562500). The engine stinks because of the rotten front cover gasket covering the timing chain. But the oil consumption is still manageable (1qu/3000 miles). No blue smoke on long descents.
This summer was hot in California (relatively speaking) so the auxiliary fans were busy. The solution to the overheating would be a free wheeling fan, temperature controlled and additional oil cooling for the pistons. Back in the late eighties they did not yet have that technology......
+1.
With stock wheels/tires, the suspension geometry is designed to allow the rear tires to wear evenly. It's only when the camber is out of spec that the insides of the rears will wear prematurely. This is very common when wider wheels are used (like my 18" AMG Mono IIs). I don't have this problem with stock-width wheels.
As Michael says, this may be due to worn chassis rubber (control arm bushings, etc.) which would keep the camber out of spec.
Cheers,
Gerry
P.S. Love the continuing updates, Dr.P !!
The 124 normally wears the edges of front tires, and center of rear tires. You need to rotate them FREQUENTLY, front to rear. Like, every 5000 miles or so (at oil change time is usually convenient, if your change interval is 5k-7.5k or so). If you are already rotating frequently and still wearing the insides, I'd be curious how good the alignment is. Try to only get the alignments done at the MB dealership. Very few indy shops can do MB alignments properly, they almost never use (or compensate for) the required spreader bar.
That said... excess negative camber in the rear can be caused by worn rear wheel carrier joints (click here for photos). If you have never replaced these, inspect them and/or replace on principle. They are cheap, about $25 each, but require a special tool to R&R. With new joints, and all good suspension rubber (that's been looked at too, right?) you should not be wearing stock tires unevenly. There are camber correction kits available but you should not need them with stock springs, stock ride height, and stock wheels. Then again... if you are getting 50kmi per set of tires, I'm not sure how much more you're expecting! How deep is the tread on the outer edge? Can you post a photo of your old/worn/57kmi tires?
I've owned my E500 for 8 years and only put 20kmi on it... don't think I'd be much help, lol!
There is an offset bushing to allow extra rear toe adjustment only. Only aftermarket solutions are available to change rear camber, but this should not be needed with stock suspension/wheels/etc.
Not only he's the Mileage King, he's also the Tire King! I mean 50kmiles on tires with uneven wear that's bloody excellent, and I can see why you've lived with the uneven wear all these years, likely not severe I guess?. Given that, I think you deserve a little slack and I would not lose sleep over it. By all means tinker with the rear cumber but I bet you won't get more mileage afterwards.
I bought my E500 in August, 2003, for $21,500. The same month that 500Ecstasy commenced operations. I still owned my 300SEL 6.3 and 450SEL 6.9 at that time, and also my 560SEC, which I purchased in August, 2002.
The real oldstersoldman here would be folks like Glen, Cannoli, Need2Speed, the Jimbonian, Afshin (MBZ 500E), and a few others. 
Cheers,
Gerry
The real oldsters
oldman here would be folks like Glen, Cannoli, Need2Speed, the Jimbonian, Afshin (MBZ 500E), and a few others. Cheers,
Gerry
GSXR : I remember the previous owner of your car (unusual career choice) was on the 500e.com forum too... your car was one of the first 500e images I saved!
GVZ: was thinking of combination purchase date and forum membership; good to see older members still got their cars
As we say: "older than you by a day, wiser than you by a year" works for the forum too
GVZ: was thinking of combination purchase date and forum membership; good to see older members still got their cars
As we say: "older than you by a day, wiser than you by a year" works for the forum too
GSXR's first 036 is (and forever will be) the "Ballin' on a Budget" car. I saw it once at a GTG we had in San Francisco at Fisherman's Wharf....
I always wondered how much ballin' GSXR has done with it since he got it.... "The Boise Baller"
Driving my car home from the Bay Area, August 2003
Just a few miles north of the California border, in Oregon
I always wondered how much ballin' GSXR has done with it since he got it.... "The Boise Baller"
Driving my car home from the Bay Area, August 2003
Just a few miles north of the California border, in Oregon
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I love the I5 in NoCal and going into Oregon across Siskiyou....nice drive...southern and central Oregon reminds me of Germany...wooded hills. Nice in summer time. In winter you better carry chains.....and always watch out for drivers with Oregon license plates...the only ones I know to go left before turning right (with cars, not 18 wheelers) and going a strict 62 in a 65 zone....maybe remnants of learning to drive on John Deere..I do not know - very opposite to Ca driving (which is more Italian style, relatively speaking).
well I assume 50k+miles is not that bad, I got the same feedback from my tire guy. Regarding the wear : The first set of tires (@ 80k) had the very same wear pattern. So I brought it to MB dealer for alignment. Next set wore again exactly the same way (I remember because I changed them together with the fuel pump @ 130k as the car sat dead on a parking space in San Jose). So I got to an experienced indy mechanic who did nothing than alignments. He told me that he could not change the negative camber to a 0 degree one because of the axle construction of the W124's. He recommended just frequent rotations ( I do it always every 10k miles or so) but predicted I will always wear out the inner threads on the rear first, he had seen that with one other 500 W124 as well. So I live with that. Interesting although that some members had different wear experiences and none so far identical too mine...that's suspicious.
The carrier joints are worn for sure....the car is sometimes creaking when I go into curves slowly and loaded in the trunk - like an old piece of furniture.....the hydraulic suspension is not what is was either...the back suspension if you want to call it that a little on the raw hide side, I never fixed it as we usually only have Belgian beer cases on the back seats. The pump (in the right front fender) sometimes screams ..then I put this $5 mystery lubricant (to prevent leaks in the servo systems) in and the screeching goes away...curiously nobody volunteers to sit in the back of the car again after being transported there once......
well I assume 50k+miles is not that bad, I got the same feedback from my tire guy. Regarding the wear : The first set of tires (@ 80k) had the very same wear pattern. So I brought it to MB dealer for alignment. Next set wore again exactly the same way (I remember because I changed them together with the fuel pump @ 130k as the car sat dead on a parking space in San Jose). So I got to an experienced indy mechanic who did nothing than alignments. He told me that he could not change the negative camber to a 0 degree one because of the axle construction of the W124's. He recommended just frequent rotations ( I do it always every 10k miles or so) but predicted I will always wear out the inner threads on the rear first, he had seen that with one other 500 W124 as well. So I live with that. Interesting although that some members had different wear experiences and none so far identical too mine...that's suspicious.
The carrier joints are worn for sure....the car is sometimes creaking when I go into curves slowly and loaded in the trunk - like an old piece of furniture.....the hydraulic suspension is not what is was either...the back suspension if you want to call it that a little on the raw hide side, I never fixed it as we usually only have Belgian beer cases on the back seats. The pump (in the right front fender) sometimes screams ..then I put this $5 mystery lubricant (to prevent leaks in the servo systems) in and the screeching goes away...curiously nobody volunteers to sit in the back of the car again after being transported there once......
Replace those carrier joints, and look at the rear camber numbers after the next alignment. I bet you'll find the rear camber increased maybe half to a full degree more positive, which will help with your tire wear problem. This assumes you saved the previous alignment result sheets. Click here for a sample from my car (with camber correction kit installed).
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