OWNER jlaa (500E & w210 E320 & w220 S350)

[maw1124]

Great, now you can come do mine.

Jokes.

Well done!

maw

 

[RicardoD]

Great write and great job, your skills are growing! Saved some big $$$$ too

 

[gsxr]

@Jlaa, the bearing play on the old pump is insane. Sure don't make them like the old M119 pumps that last forever, eh?

 

[Jlaa]

With time, I think these aftermarket parts are getting less impressive. I last replaced the air filters in 2016 with Mann C33102. I replaced them again with another set of Mann filters in 2024. The filters looked to be constructed the same, but the printing on the pleats is different. The 2015 filters have a "Micro Top" logo as well as two different Mann logos on them. The 2024 filters don't have the "Micro Top" logo and the Mann branding looks more simple:



At the same time, I just did an oil change - Compare the Hengst filter I used in 2022 versus the filter I just used in 2024. Again, the construction looks exactly the same though.

Oh well, I just stocked up on 5 more Hengst filters at $8.37 per filter. The dealer filters are not much more - $9.99 for a made in Germany Knecht, but I am fine with the Polish Hengst filters because I like the swiveling handles (as opposed to the bendy handle on the MB-Knecht / aftermarket Mahle filters). Those 5 filters should last maybe 5-10 years.

 

[gerryvz]

Fortunately, Hengst is still making M156 oil filters in Germany ….

 

[Jlaa]

I got back the oil analysis report on my 500E. It turns out that I only drove this car 1,779 miles since October 2022 (two years), and I could have waited for more miles to accumulate before changing the oil. Changing my old Mobil-1 15W-50 oil with a TBN above 6 was a waste of time, money, and effort. I am hoping with some changes in life / spouse retirement that I will drive this car a bit more than 900 miles / year in the future.

 

[gsxr]

Interesting additive package on the M-1. But yeah, you could have pushed that out closer to 4-5k, ignoring the time (months) it's been in the sump. Numbers look great!

 

[Jlaa]

Well, time flies. @TerryA can be a good judge of this - I left the land of McMansions, Horses, G-wagens, Ferd Raptors, Cybertrucks, and political flags / American flags flying from nearly every other residence (north Orange County) and arrived back to the land of ticky-tacky boxes on the hillside, E-Bikes, Rivians, Waymos, and no flags whatsoever (San Francisco).... and.....

I realized that I hadn't driven the 500E since my last post --- the oil change in early October 2024. The car started right up (C-tek battery tender donchaknow) and gosh darnit it took 25 miles of driving at 75+ mph to convince the tires to stop identifying as squares and start identifying as the circles that they were assigned at time of manufacture.

That said, man this car is glorious. I love it so. I have been driving my w210 E320 for the past 4 months, and the 500E - WHAT A DIFFERENCE. It just grunts down the road, riding on a wave of torque --- super smooth (aside from the square tires that is.). What a difference from the E320 which is smooth because of syrupy transmission calibration and balance shafts in the M112 engine ...... not smooth because of just grunting down the road.

I hope never to sell this car. My favorite angle below:

 

[maw1124]

[Weird... somehow my Apple Display settings changed to a different setting didn't bring up emoji responses beyond Like the first time.... no matter.]

Yes, @Jlaa you know I know what you mean by getting back to this car and remembering how wonderful it is, and manifestly different from the "other Benzes." The AMGs are different and nice and special in their own right.

But this one is in a class all its own, as the owner of an air cooled Porsche (and others) would recognize.

Cheers,

maw

 

[TerryA]

Well, time flies. @TerryA can be a good judge of this - I left the land of McMansions, Horses, G-wagens, Ferd Raptors, Cybertrucks, and political flags / American flags flying from nearly every other residence (north Orange County) and arrived back to the land of ticky-tacky boxes on the hillside, E-Bikes, Rivians, Waymos, and no flags whatsoever (San Francisco).... and.....

I realized that I hadn't driven the 500E since my last post --- the oil change in early October 2024. The car started right up (C-tek battery tender donchaknow) and gosh darnit it took 25 miles of driving at 75+ mph to convince the tires to stop identifying as squares and start identifying as the circles that they were assigned at time of manufacture.

That said, man this car is glorious. I love it so. I have been driving my w210 E320 for the past 4 months, and the 500E - WHAT A DIFFERENCE. It just grunts down the road, riding on a wave of torque --- super smooth (aside from the square tires that is.). What a difference from the E320 which is smooth because of syrupy transmission calibration and balance shafts in the M112 engine ...... not smooth because of just grunting down the road.

I hope never to sell this car. My favorite angle below:

View attachment 208592

@Jlaa,
Sorry I missed you. I thought by now you would be moved in to your new pad but you have retreated back to “Yuppie Land”

You should bring that “Red Beauty” down here before May so you can attend the C&C at the Mercedes Classic Center in Long Beach.

 

[gerryvz]

That said, man this car is glorious. I love it so. I have been driving my w210 E320 for the past 4 months, and the 500E - WHAT A DIFFERENCE. It just grunts down the road, riding on a wave of torque --- super smooth (aside from the square tires that is.). What a difference from the E320 which is smooth because of syrupy transmission calibration and balance shafts in the M112 engine ...... not smooth because of just grunting down the road.

This prose sounds almost "Derfish" in its eloquence....

cc: @DerFuror

 

[Jlaa]

@Jlaa,
Sorry I missed you. I thought by now you would be moved in to your new pad but you have retreated back to “Yuppie Land”

You should bring that “Red Beauty” down here before May so you can attend the C&C at the Mercedes Classic Center in Long Beach.

Ha! I'm getting there! I moved in with an air mattress and sofa and a TV --- and then I decided that the place needed remodellin' and expandin' --- particularly a bigger garage --- so I started down that path and didn't move anything else in!

 

[JwashE]

Well, time flies. @TerryA can be a good judge of this - I left the land of McMansions, Horses, G-wagens, Ferd Raptors, Cybertrucks, and political flags / American flags flying from nearly every other residence (north Orange County) and arrived back to the land of ticky-tacky boxes on the hillside, E-Bikes, Rivians, Waymos, and no flags whatsoever (San Francisco).... and.....

I realized that I hadn't driven the 500E since my last post --- the oil change in early October 2024. The car started right up (C-tek battery tender donchaknow) and gosh darnit it took 25 miles of driving at 75+ mph to convince the tires to stop identifying as squares and start identifying as the circles that they were assigned at time of manufacture.

That said, man this car is glorious. I love it so. I have been driving my w210 E320 for the past 4 months, and the 500E - WHAT A DIFFERENCE. It just grunts down the road, riding on a wave of torque --- super smooth (aside from the square tires that is.). What a difference from the E320 which is smooth because of syrupy transmission calibration and balance shafts in the M112 engine ...... not smooth because of just grunting down the road.

I hope never to sell this car. My favorite angle below:

View attachment 208592

I SO relate to these sentiments. I've had some pretty complex life circumstances that I've needed to navigate the last few years, and as such the 500E hasn't gotten the use that I wish it had. But those gaps in time have made those times with it even more prescious, and my observations of its excellence even more acute. Glad you're getting the time back and relishing it, JLAA!

 

[Jlaa]

Well it turns out that I decided I wasn't drowning in projects enough so I fulfilled a life-long "want" and bought, in the grand tradition of @JC220's S280, a marginally under-powered Sönderklasse. I bought this w220 S350 sight unseen from MBMarket - 2006 Mercedes-Benz S350 w/63k-Miles For Sale | The MB Market . I figured the price was inexpensive enough and the car is simple enough (base model S-class with minimal doodads) that it was worth the gamble.

I should mention - Ben (one of the founder of the MBMarket) went out of his way to telephone me on the morning of July 4th weekend to make sure that the auction-close and subsequent financial transaction went smoothly for me. Kudos to Ben.

I should mention that this is a one-year-only-2006 USA market car -- a short wheelbase S-class (5 inches shorter than all the other w220s imported into the States). As well, this car uses the proven m112 v6 engine, which I am familiar with in my w210 E320. This m112, though, is the m112e37, so its a 3.7L v6 that shares the exact same bore and stroke as the m113 5.0L engine minus two cylinders. Since its a 5-speed 722.6 (whereas all the other RWD w220s had moved on to the 722.9 by 2006), I have experience servicing it as it is the same transmission in my w210 E320.

Behold the roominess of the engine bay when the engine bay lacks 6 cylinders and two turbos as an S600/S65 might have! You can even see the transmission bellhousing super clearly!



So my kid and I flew into Wisconsin and picked the car up. It was as expected -- the dealer is a highline used car / boat / jetski dealership. They are a dealership. That means they try to make the transaction relatively easy, but they are all about the transaction. Service records, maintenance, fastidious upkeep, troubshooting niggles ---- what's that? . Like I said, the seller is a dealer. To their kudos, they did pick me up from MKE airport! A couple of issues / niggles but nothing I can't solve with time and patience.



Without doing a single bit of maintenance, my kid and I drove the thing 2000 miles back home. We visited various universities (college shopping) in Illinois, Culver's in Wisconsin, the SPAM museum in Minnesota, lots and lots of Arby's, The Badlands in South Dakota, Wall Drug, THE GSXR in his settlement in Montana, and more Arby's. I had a great time with my teenager as we drove across the country and we talked about stuff. We killed lots of bugs. And the teenager said, after riding @gsxr's 6.0 liter M119 v8 car, "our car's acceleration is just so....... frustrating." LOLOL.



Note Airmatic jacked up high for rough road driving:





Note one of @gsxr's spare engines and how clean the distributor area looks:

 

[Jlaa]

So I've been back at home for 2 days now and aside from recovering from being under the weather, I've been doing the usual "catch up on all the deferred maintenance" that buying a used car with unknown provenance brings.

New battery (AGM Made in DE @ Costco for the win) [Sorry Tampa Bay]
De-mousing
New air filters (almost same exact airbox setup as the M119 for a little v6 - UNLIKE the w210 M112 which uses a single airbox)
Oil change
New crankshaft position sensor (easy access to the bellhousing from the top makes this a snap)...

 

[Russell R Coe]

So I've been back at home for 2 days now and aside from recovering from being under the weather, I've been doing the usual "catch up on all the deferred maintenance" that buying a used car with unknown provenance brings.

New battery (AGM Made in DE @ Costco for the win) [Sorry Tampa Bay]
De-mousing
New air filters (almost same exact airbox setup as the M119 for a little v6 - UNLIKE the w210 M112 which uses a single airbox)
Oil change
New crankshaft position sensor (easy access to the bellhousing from the top makes this a snap)...

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Very cool jlaa. Love the road trip pictures, and all the work you do to your cars to make them near perfect.

 

[TerryA]

@Jlaa,
Congrats on the new ride. It looks like you drove the same highway west that I drove east in a 1972 Volkswagen Van in 1975 (or at least parts of it) from Yellowstone Park thru the Badlands of SD all the way to my hometown of Bennington, Vermont. Unfortunately we failed to stop at Wall Drugs after seeing 100s of miles of signs. I still regret not stopping.

The W220 SClass from the early 2000s is one of my favorite MBs. Not every car we own has to have gobs of HP/TQ. Your W220 is a great color combo I hope to see it one day in SoCal

Take Care

 

[Jlaa]

These things are NLA. Superglue to the rescue.



Lots of room to swap in a new MAF. Not really sure if this is gonna solve my occasional hot idle stumble, but it was cheap. Also, I THINK Icorrected a small vac leak while putting in the new MAF. Can't really remember if I'm the one that dislodged the gasket from the MAF to the throttle body, or if it was already dislodged when I got there.



Swapped in a new (used) passenger side air nozzle. I detest broken plastic bits that previous owners were too unbothered to address:

 

[Jlaa]

Swapped in new cabin filters. Old ones were Hengst and super dirty. New ones are Corteco. Same exact design and model as used in a w210.



Swapped in new charcoal filters. Old ones were generic and had no charcoal in them whatsoever. They smelled awful - like wet feet. UGH. New ones are Hengst and much heavier and actually have charcoal.

 

[nocfn]

Why do you know what wet old feet smell like.... UGH