Rob M
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,915
Club RR Member Number: 41
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Ive been reading the advice given regarding Merc buying and was wondering if the people ITK could give me some further advice regarding a 1982 380 SE auto I'm going to take a look at on Saturday.
Apart from the obvious checks for tin worm and making sure that all that is supposed to work does, can anybody tell me whether there is anything specific to this engine that I really need to look/listen for? Any big "Do" or "Donts"?
Any info that will stop me buying a lemon will be very much appreciated.
Many thanks.
PS: I know that fuel consumption will be less than enviromentally friendly, its not my biggest concern, but are we looking at high teens and low twenties? Will i need to rob a bank to run it?
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hi zeb, welcome to the site.  380 is a V8 if I remember correctly. how many miles does it have on it? if its high look for a reciept for a timing chain. if there isnt one id budget for changing it, ECP or german and swedish do these, and I don't think they're mega bucks. if looked after thse motors are capable of intersteller milages, my 500 SEC had nearly 200k and went well, didnt smoke or knock. as you've already pointed out look for the rust. check round the rear window and under the parcel shelf in the boot.these are common spots on the coupes, so may well affect the saloons. rear arches tend to suffer on benz's too. if you've read the thread for looking at W123s you'll see rev dick advise to lift the carpets to see what the state of play is there. MB put a lot of underseal and some sort of rubbery stuff there, which lulls you into a false sense of security. check the hand brake.its a mini drum in the disc and is a pain in the ar$e to sort out, not hard, just a pain. as for the fuel consumption, my 500 was at a minimum 8mpg, round town and at about 145, and maximum 20ish plus on a good motorway run. hope that helps a little. more help to come I'm sure. |
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Rob M
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,915
Club RR Member Number: 41
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Thats brilliant, just what i was looking for!
As far as I'm aware, the mileage is a tad over the 100,000 mark. I shall be looking at the areas you have suggested and will deffo look at any evidence of timing chain replacement.
curse word, I suddenly feel very confident and, assuming all goes well, I shall be handing over the folding stuff!!! ;D
Thanks TC, your advice hit the spot.
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no worries.   and friends call me TCC. |
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380 engine is good but check for tapping noise at top end - the cams/followers turn to chocolate if not serviced regularly - cams are about 100 pounds each from GSF, followers 8 pound each, but they are all easy enough to replace. Also, as said above cam chains are very resilient, but need replacing every 100000 miles along with the guide rails and tensioner. Check down left side of engine as you look in the engine bay, down near alternator. The tensioner looks like a huge nut sticking out the side of the engine. If engine has over 100000, make sure this part looks newer than rest of engine.
These engines also suffer from a high idle problem. If more than 800rpm idle when warm, walk away!
Other than that, they are bulletproof engines. Make sure kickdown from 4th to 3rd is smooth, and no vibration above 70mph as they do suffer from driveline imbalances.
Rust wise - worst bits are front wings (cheap for an SE), under the rear window (open boot lid, stick your head in and look back up under window), and the rear kickups above the driveshafts can be problem areas, and major expense at MOT time.
Don't worry if brakes are worn - cheap aftermarket parts are available from GSF. Handbarke components are cheap, but fiddly to set up.
Err, I think thats about it - Air con probably won't work, and you need an expensive conversion kit if you want to get it working again as they originally used the now illigal r12 gas.
The 3.8 is quite efficient (I used to get 25 on a run), but they are gutless. This is not really a problem as it makes the correct noise - just don't try racing those little saxos off the lights!
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There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes
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mercmad
Posted a lot
Flush Hard,it's a long way to McDonalds.
Posts: 1,740
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Hi,I have (had ,until yesterday when a brother bought my best SEL) 3 W126's ,2 380's and a 500SEc .
There are lots of things that go wrong because the newest 380 is going on 20 years old now.Rust is hardly an issue thanks to great build quality.
First,sit in the car and turn on the key ,without starting.
All the warning lights should light up.Any ,especially the orange ABS warning ( if fitted) that don't light up mean there is a fualt and some one has removed the bulb rather than repair the fualt.
Now the key is on ,try the aircon switches,if nothing happens the contact in the back of the switch has died.
These are available cheap from Mercedes,you remove the speedo cluster to reach it.
Does the key feel stiff in the lock?,If 'yes' change it before you start using the car as it seize,usually when you are miles from home and the nearest merc dealer.You will need to buy a new key and lock.No big deal to changing it,a 5 minute job and far easier than cutting the old broken lock off the column.
Go for a drive...any rattles from the front?.if any,the lower ball joints in the front end are worn and need replacing.they're easy but you need to borrow a special tool to replace squeeze them in.
The steering box coupler wears too,and if the steering box is leaking you can swap in a good used one .They all leak and the oil drips onto the two big rubbers in the support bracket,wrecking them.
Rear shocks bang if they are self leveling .the lower ball joint on them wears out,it can be replaced but a better solution is to get rid of the self levelling and fit stock shockers.
380's have the same trans as a lot of other mercs of the sa,e vintage but have a built in fcukup.Occaisionally they will hangup in the 3-2 shift which feels like the trans is slipping.You can get rid of by tightening up the modualtor setting.
The modualtor on the trans also leaks which gives a smell of burning oil in the car.Fill the trans to the level on the stick with STP trans stop leak and all will be OK.
The Speedo odometer always fails on the W126 so never believe the milage in a w126 .Better to go on the condition of the car overall.
Most a OK ,but I have seen some real dogs too,and when a merc is worn it's WORN!.
Never ever buy one until you know for 100% sure thsat the timing chain and tensioner have been replaced!!!
I can't emphasize this enough,there are literally hundreds of 380's in the world where the timing chain has been neglected and of course the left hand inner chain tensioner rail has failed and been eaten by the left hand cam ,RESULT? smashed chain,cam cover,wiped out valves ,smashed pistons .worthless car.
You can change the chain the chain yourself,I do them in under an hour,but I've done dozens.
If the seller won't let you remove the left hand cam cover,negotiate a lower price ( knock a few hundred off becuse the cost of chain etc ) .If you can get it off ,make sure the colour of the plastic rail is light cream and not dark Coffee .Dark brown means old rails which are due to fail very soon.
The drive shaft center bearing and flex discs need to be done at the 100 thou mark so be prepared to spend some time under the car if you need to keep costs down.
The shifter bush (gear lever bush) fails about now too,so don't be surprised if the gear lever feels vague when trying to find gears.Change the bushes when doing the drive shaft.
High Idle is really only a 420-50-560 problem and is normally only a fualt in the electronic idle control.Theres plenty of advice on the web on how to sort that out.
leaking injector seals cause it too,but it's easy and cheap to fix.
Central locking fualts are normally just perished rubbers in door actautors and dozey pumps ,which are in the boot next to the spare tire.I never bother fixing them.
Good luck with new car!!!
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Last Edit: Apr 7, 2007 12:03:07 GMT by mercmad
Many years ago I changed my driving style to cope with rising fuel prices; I have now reached the stage where I am contemplating keeping my eyes shut in order to lower wind resistance.
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mercmad
Posted a lot
Flush Hard,it's a long way to McDonalds.
Posts: 1,740
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The 3.8 is quite efficient (I used to get 25 on a run), but they are gutless. This is not really a problem as it makes the correct noise - just don't try racing those little saxos off the lights! A 380 can be made to run well by just making sure the throttle opens properly. Remove the aircleaner,with engine off ,get a mate to push the pedal to floor,just above the kickdown position. Look at the rod running along side the intake system,at the front end of the engine is another rod pointing down.That comnnects to the throttle.grab this and push it down.if it goes further dwon the throttle isn't opening up . The pivot point of these two rods is what causes the throttle to not open fully.You can get a new bush for the pivot from Mercedes. Once you have full throttle the power increase can be startling. Fit straight pipes with out those half way foot balls in the middle of the car. If you want some real pick up,fit the diff head from a W107 ( 450SL/SLC) they are 3.07-1 instead of 2.50- 1 of the 380. |
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Many years ago I changed my driving style to cope with rising fuel prices; I have now reached the stage where I am contemplating keeping my eyes shut in order to lower wind resistance.
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Rob M
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,915
Club RR Member Number: 41
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Well what can I say? A huge thanks to you all for taking the time and trouble to share your knowledge and experience.
I went to see the car today and, well, it was a bit of a shed TBH.
It was a PX at a classic car dealer,the car had clearly been standing for sometime ( not neccessarily at the dealers) it smelt damp, there was the humungeous dashboard split, a leaking rear diff, oil all over the front crossmember and rust which had begun to take a foothold on the sills, one area being around the jacking up point.
All in all I was somewhat disappointed but, hey, the search for a suitable ride continues. It may not end up being a Merc (I would like it to be) but whatever it will be I'm certain that I will get all the technical and moral support needed should it all go tits up, which we all know it does sometimes!
Once again, many thanks to you all!!!
PS: I rang an insurer to get a quote on said beast. Bearing in mind that I only have two yrs NCB but am the wrong side of 40 I was amazed when I was quoted £135 fully comp, full legal cover etc, etc. Couldnt believe it....................................
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