How not to treat a Mercedes....

[Alcibiades]

Perhaps I should add, too, that I replaced the wipers. One was about to start scratching the windshield. No joke, however absurd it all may sound.

As for the question of what was in it for me, simply this: I didn't want to let a friend of the wife die from total brake and/or engine failure on a highway on the way to Florida. What was I supposed to do? Plus, I'd never worked on a Mercedes before. And I did get reimbursed eventually for everything I bought.

Anyway, I'm glad you all were entertained by this.

 

[eljefino]

I think we all know someone like this, for me it's a coworker's 98 sunfire. He had been losing antifreeze for months and eventually a rusty pipe let go, stranding him.

His brakes ground down to metal. Fixed this. I think some shavings are still on his ABS tone rings as his light comes and goes. His red "brake" light came on, a metal line was rusted through and dripping...

Alternator went out, he got jump started and made it another block then of course was confused and befuddled. Told him the red dashboard warning lights were very serious, if it's red, either the car or driver will soon be dead.

I changed his oil last, hmm, March, and I gave him a windshield sticker reminder. I check it from outside, it's still there. I put high mileage 10w30 in for extra abuse protection and can now imagine the stuff in this -10'F weather.

 

[SuperDave456]

I worked in a shop in college and I got to change A LOT of oil.

One day a lady drives in with her brand new Dodge Neon and says "It is making funny noises."
So it goes to a tech, not me.

It turns out that she has been on a business trip for the past couple of months all up and down the Mideastern USA and has the origional factory fill in there.

FOR 30,000 miles.

I don't know if she actually paid for a long block or not. But the engine was amaizing once the tech pulled off the valve cover.

I remember her saying "I guess I just forgot."

 

[oilyriser]

There should be a program that kicks in if the OLM has been in the negatives for a while, that causes annoying driveablility problems. It could briefly cut off the injectors every few seconds while idling, to tell the owner that something is wrong. As things get worse, there could be audible alarms going off, flashing dome lights, speedometer going haywire, and so on.

 

[pzev]

When I worked at an autoparts store, a customer walks carrying a bad looking brake disk. He proceeds to ask for a quote on a front fotor for a 97 Ranger. I make a breif comment stating that it's definately time change it, as it looks pretty bad.
Mind you, I was only looking at one side of the rotor the entire time. When I made my comment, he said look at this, and flipped the rotor over.

The other side was worn down to the vents....there was absolutely NO rotor surface left on that side....just the vent grooves. He said there was no brake pad left, not even the backing steel. It was just the caliper piston making contact with the rotor. The driver had driven through the pads, and worn it down to the CALIPER PISTON!
He eventually brought the caliper in, and the piston was worn down to nothing...and partially pulled out of it's bore. I am positive that had this truck stayed on the road, its would have lost all braking power when the caliper piston was finally ripped out....loosing all brake pressure. As it is, I am astonished it was even drivable....it had to have been making the worst noise imaginable.


That owner was not only negligent, but downright criminal. Brakes in that condition are a threat to anyone on the road around that truck...and if the brakes had failed in an urban area, the truck could easily drive into a house, people, etc.

 

[typ901]

I hate suggesting this, but a mandatory annual vehicle safety inspection would help so many people. I get [censored] when I have to take my car in for emissions here in Illinois, but a safety check like the MOT in the U.K. would save machinery!

 

[eljefino]

^ buddy with sunfire went 4 months over his inspection then found someone he could bribe!

The joke is his car would actually probably have legitimately passed... they don't care about oil condition, just lights, tire tread, ball joints etc. They would have caught his leaky brake line but it could look good today and bust six months from now, six months prior to the next sticker being due.

 

[StevieC]

I agree... Crooked mechanics are too easy to find. There are lots of guys that will give you a bogus smog test up here for $20 on top of the fee.

 

[chet2]

40,000 miles on oil..impressive...ocis are overated

 

[SMB]

Originally Posted By: John_K
Originally Posted By: drivewaytech
Absolutely amazing! A car treated in that manner is still running at 240k miles. However, my religious and sometimes neurotic maintenance schedule yields vehicles that start falling apart before 150k miles. Maybe I should just drive them and carry them to Jiffy Lube every other year. Absolutely amazing.


Same as my experience. Makes me wonder...



same experience with some of dad's previous cars.