[R129 SL] peculiar noise and remedy

Tue Dec 13 15:49:30 EST 2005

I'm not a mechanic, but I have a very good one who works on only MBZ cars.  On my 400E & 500SL he said that the transmissions last anywhere form 80-100,000 miles, but the 8 cylinder engines are bullet-proof!  He has one with over 400,000 miles on it.  I sold my 400E with 125,000 miles and it was as strong as new with no leaks (I had put a new tranny in at 95K miles).  My current 91 blk/blk 500SL was just purchased (my 2nd one) and it has only 38K miles on it and I plan on driving it a very long time.  

My 2 cents worth...

Cheers,

Greg Conte
West Hills, CA
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Michael Winiker 
  To: 'SL Mailing List' 
  Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 11:27 AM
  Subject: [SPAM] RE: [R129 SL] peculiar noise and remedy

  I haven't had a similar event and sincerely hope your peculiar noise isn't a recurring problem!

  I noticed on your website that we drive the identical car, a black opal '97.  I also drive my car through the winter, anywhere any time!  This time of year I run 4 Michelin Alpins and find the SL to be a perfectly decent car for Canadian winters.  The traction control, winter mode and sheer mass make it the equal of any 2-wheel drive car I've driven.  It's a fact, but a hard one to get anyone to believe!

  Here's a general question for anyone out there re: R129s:  What's a reasonable mileage expectation before (a) the motor goes, (b) the tranny goes and/or (c) the whole car becomes a nightmare.   Years ago my parents drove 2 Turbodiesels into the ground, an '82 300SD 5-cylinder and an '87 300D 6-cylinder.  Both needed transmissions around 250,000 kilometres (a little over 150,000 miles), the '82 popped its motor at 495,000 Kms and the '87 at 498,000 kms.  Both had turned into nightmares by the 400,000 km mark with things like power windows, power seats and sunroofs regularly malfunctioning and A/C a distant memory.  Just curious if anyone has similar first hand or anecdotal info about R129s.

  Cheers from the Great White North,

  Michael Winiker

  Toronto, Ontario

  97 SL500

  98 E320 4Matic

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  From: r129list-bounces at mbcoupes.com [mailto:r129list-bounces at mbcoupes.com] On Behalf Of Deneal Schilmeister (Portege)
  Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 10:00 AM
  To: r129list at mbcoupes.com
  Subject: [R129 SL] peculiar noise and remedy

  I had a strange occurrence the other morning.  Because of the cold snow and ice, I had to take my woman to work in the morning.  Her daily driver is a Z4, which she learned the previous day is NOT a snow car in any way shape or form!

  As I'm driving, about five minutes after leaving the garage, a shrill high-pitched gurgling noise started emanating from the rear of the car.

  At first, I thought it was something on the radio.  Turned of the radio and the noise remained.

  For some reason, I thought it might be a hydraulic anomaly in the top mechanism. (Hard Top was installed)  But in that cold and icy weather, I didn't want to risk cycling the top, fearing it might get stuck in the unlatched position.

  So, I decided to cycle the roll bar a few times.  And then the noise stopped and has not returned

  . 

  So I'm posting this as a point of interest.  I'm sure most of you put up your cars in inclimate weather, but my SL is my only car.

  Has anyone has had a similar event?

  ___________________________

  Deneal Schilmeister

  St. Louis - Cincinnati

  1997 SL500

  http://homepage.mac.com/deneals/SL500.htm

  http://homepage.mac.com/deneals/Sites/My_Commanders.htm

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