280s

[Janse]

I was just wondering if any of You are in possession of a 280s and could tell me a little about the engine. I have read the specs of wikipedia, but I am more interested in how it handles in real life. I am also interested in the mileage of the engines, and how far they have run before things started falling apart (if that ever would happen

Thanx
Jan E

[Martin 280s]

I have a 280S wirh 132K kms on it. I think that they are as reliable and robust as any other of the W116 series. Maybe not as frugal as a 280SE but I really enjoy the car.

[Janse]

132k is quite low. Mine had gone almost 300k when the original engine broke down. I don´t know why because I am going to change the engine anyway. I tried turning the engine around by hand, but it was completely stuck.

But does the engine feel lazy, does it fit the weight of the car? And do you know of any common issues?

[Martin 280s]

Janse,

I know 132K kms is low, most MBs in Brazil have low kms. Although my 1992 300E has covered the same kms as my W116 and is 17 years younger. Even so, 132k kms at 17 years old is still low!

[Janse]

Hehe, Just passed 300 000 on my 250D from 1992 But those engines are meant to last forever it seems.

[Yesmar]

euro 280s 1979
141,263miles...227,340km
nothing is falling apart, and never worry about this car stranding me anywhere. I feel it is the most reliable car we own.
it loves the highway, and for a big 31 year old car it handles itself very well in the city. i make sure i let it properly warm up before i take it anywhere, and never worry about it.

i don't really worry about mpgs but for an old car this size i feel it does pretty well.

the trans is auto.

sometimes i wish it had a little more "umph" but when im actually driving the car, the only thing i can complain about is the lack of a front center arm rest

[Janse]

I guess it has a lot more "umph" than my 250 diesel, cause it is the slowest thing in the world But it has the arm rest though :p I am quite excited to see what actually works and not on my car. haven´t checked out anything yet and wont find out before I have fitted a new engine. But if what you say is true, that it is really reliable, then I might get lucky. Been prepping the engine bay for paint the last 2 weeks. A lot of 30 years old dirt that wont go away without a fight

[ozzy83]

i have a 75 280s with 385k on the clock, still running sweet. a little hard to start on a cold morning but that is the glory of owning an old girl like mine. good luck with your benz mate.

[another sad 280s]

mine is up to 480,000km. no rebuild and minimal maintenance. the engine itself is bombproof. the carby can be a problem. best advice i got is to use a wing nut when closing the air filter cover and don't actually tighten it.

[Janse]

I envy all of you guys who have functioning vehicles. Cant wait to get an engine in mine, but that seems to take forever!

[Martin 280s]

mine is up to 480,000km. no rebuild and minimal maintenance. the engine itself is bombproof. the carby can be a problem. best advice i got is to use a wing nut when closing the air filter cover and don't actually tighten it.

I always replace the air filter nuts with brass wingnuts, it does avoid overtightening.

[another sad 280s]

don't envy me yet. i'm still thousands of dollars away from being able to legally drive mine. best i can do is start the cold engine with the flick of the key and enjoy the sound

[Janse]

Whats wrong with your car then? I am glad that my issue is the engine, cause that is a relatively easy fix, compared to a lot of rust.

[Yesmar]

the carby can be a problem. best advice i got is to use a wing nut when closing the air filter cover and don't actually tighten it.

I always replace the air filter nuts with brass wingnuts, it does avoid overtightening.

can you guys let me know what the dealio is with doing this? i have mine fairly tight. it does have the wing nut on it but i tighten it pretty well.  what is it going to help?
thanks

[Rewind]

I recently bought a 1975 280S in Bahrain, Middle East which has just 11,370km from new.  It has been kept in air conditioned storage for most of its life and it is in mint condition with no rust anywhere.  It drives beautifully and I'll be bringing it back to the UK soon.   Best regards, Les