The four speed hydraulic auto is considered to be MB's best, although they prefer a regular 40K service. Their top gear is direct, first is extremely low like reverse. My 4 cyl at 350K has still got its original driveline, the trans was shifting poorly until it got a service. The torque converter has its own drain plug so is easy to service DIY. The rest of the driveline is pretty robust too.Quote:
Originally Posted by rovercare
What goes wrong with them is silly things like the heater control valve and electric windows. I found 9 out of 10 wrecked W124s had stuffed heater control valves, but I eventually found a good one. They are electric solenoids driven by a PWM circuit to allow differing doses of hot water to enter the heater. Their failure mode is fully on, and the heaters are pretty powerful!
Later models suffered from degrading insulation on their engine bay wiring looms, pre 1992 ones don't seem to have the same problem. A well maintained late model car will have a new loom fitted at some point in its service history, like my two did.
Lots of parking outside will wreck plastic interior components, just like on any other car. Windscreen visor clips are missing on most wrecks. Rear window winders have a nylon component that can break and drop the pane. So apart from all the niggly stuff, they're pretty reliable.
