new member 91 300E Ice Blue 63K needs assistance - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

maui · #1 01-05-2008, 03:55 AM

I just picked up a one owner 300E with only 64 K miles in Ice Blue my fav color. Car is almost perfect inside and 8/10 exterior...

The car has been well maintained by one owner and I was able to retrieve the service history from the dealership knowing that the big 30 and 60K maintenance - oil and fluid changes, brakes, a/c and other issue were taken care of.

My drivers power seat goes up and down unevenly so there must be a stretched cable or equivalent. I am assuming this is a common failure on this car and would appreciate the expertise of someone who can tell me to proceed and where I can purchase parts wholesale preferably on the west coast...

I plan to install the glass Euro headlights with clear corners and replace the chipped up front bumper guards as well as get either 16 or 17" aftermarket wheels on lower profile tires. Tire rack has a 5 star 17" Sport Edition wheel for a good price and it looks great. Was going to go for Avon M500 or Bridgestone RE750 tires to set it off.

Any advice greatly appreciated as I can't stand broken bits in my cars and like to fix everything and keep it that way...

All the best,

Maui

Jim B. · #2 01-05-2008, 04:51 AM

Hello Maui

Welcome and congrats!!

You have just landed on a fantastic website with plenty of people seriously sophisticated and informed about these cars.

Sounds like you have scored a beautiful, as new, car for yourself. One of the best ones Mercedes ever built; that were all over the place in Europe as Taxis, with diesel engines.

Parts are definately available, and probably your best best on the West Coast would be Phil at Fastlane, on the portal page, of this site, who has a great rep and is really helpful and has good prices, and if you use him, you'll be supporting the site's premier sponsor.

A good second choice might be Randy Steele at EPS parts in Santa Barbara, I had great service from him but it was quite a few years ago I last bought from him.

I wouldn't go higher than 16" wheels on these. The cars weren't engineered for them, and there is the possibility that the steering geometry could be affected in a bad way if the wheels were too big.

Tire Rack is a GREAT way to go. I just did a few months ago, after months of research about it. You will need to fine a co operative Tire Shop to work with, and you could pay them direct, and the Shop could then order them on their Tire Rack account. Tire Rack supports the site, you are helping them and the site if you use them

You will need to buy your own center caps, but those are on ebay all the time, usually
for about $25 the set. Also, you will need buy and to select wheel locks (I don't like them) or not. Tire Rack wheels usually don't come with center caps and wheel locks.

When dealing with Tire Rack try to get wheels with the proper offset thatdon't need hubcentric spacers; also, make SURE the wheels ARE in stock.

You will hate it if they aren't. I had delay after delay because I did not check. It took months; Tiore Rack has NO control over its manufacturer.

Great idea to get Euro lights. It's the first and best thing you could do for your 300E W124.

There are lots of write ups on how to do the install, and where to get the best set ups cheap. You gotta use the search function.

I'll start you out with a couple of links. BENZ-LGB is the resident expert W124 headlight install guru, and could walk you right through it. You'd love not only the look, but the wonderful beam pattern increased output and sheer pleasure of night driving with them.

Euro Headlights--Help deciding

where to find cheap euro headlights? W124

You can search more for more pictures and information.

Don't forget to fill out your profile more fully, and an avatar, and signature, and mention where you are located and the cars you have. It is good manners and helps us help you, faster.

"Maui" suggests you might be in Hawaii someplace. (Maybe Maui???!!

)

Why do you want clear corners? A personal choice, but the ones the car comes with are fine.

Also, some of the aftermarket corners might be low quality, not seal correctly or not very reliable.

There used to be a Mercedes Benz advertisement which said, "Every time somebody installs an aftermarket part of a Mercedes Benz, a Mercedes engineer in Stuttgart gets a bad headache."

Ferdman · #3 01-05-2008, 05:56 AM

Maui, I recommend staying with genuine MB wheels with the same offset (ET Number stamped on the back of the stock wheels) instead of any aftermarket types since MB wheels are hub-centered. Even with genuine MB wheels be sure that the lug bolts have the same thread engagement in the hubs to prevent causing problems with the parking brake mechanism ... simply place a lug bolt in a lug bolt hole of a loose wheel and see how much of the lug bolt protrudes beyond the back of the wheel. You can check the Tire Rack website for info on the circumference of different tire sizes (shown as Revolutions per Mile). Keep in mind that switching to a tire with a different number of Revolutions per Mile than the original tire size will affect the speedometer accuracy. As already mentioned larger wheels may adversely affect the handling characteristics of your 1991 300E ... the MB engineers designed the suspension with 15" wheels.

gmercoleza · #4 01-05-2008, 12:13 PM

Personally, I would just upgrade to a 16-inch OEM 8-hole wheel if I were you. Direct bolt-in with no hassles worrying about offset or rubbing on the fenders. In fact, I believe the 94/95 W124s came with these wheels, so it doesn't look out of place. Back when I was looking, Discount Tire had them on their website for about $100 apiece (excluding tires of course). One of the sites even has a feature where you can "see" the wheel installed on your car. I recall the 8-hole looked great on my 300E. I never did get around to buying them, though.