Why the 1997 Mercedes Benz S320 SWB is an over-engineered couch on wheels
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- Опубліковано 29 тра 2024
- The Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W140) was produced by the German automaker from 1991-1998. This is a '97 S320, with a 3.2L inline 6-cylinder engine pumping out 228hp. This over-engineered monster is a two-ton couch on wheels...check out my review!
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I have the 1995 version of this car, which is similar in most aspects. The lady I bought it from was a real estate agent, and used it to take clients around. The reason the cup holders are shallow in the center armrest was because they were more when the car was stationary, since you were to be driven around rather than drive yourself. This is also why there are cigarette ashtrays in the rear passenger doors. The rear armrest was also configured to hold whiskey tumbler glasses and several mini bar glasses. Being this a luxury car, in the trunk you had besides the stand jack stand a full size spare tire and a small tool kit for some assistance (replace bulbs, tighten screws, manually open/close the sunroof, etc.). The trunk also held the car's battery, a storage box well for gloves, and another storage well for two quarts of engine oil all while being extremely roomy (could fit two people with space for a third).
Also interesting is that the wood paneling in the car was all 100% wood, rather than a steel base and a thin layer of wood or just wood laminate. This makes it a bit difficult to repair/refurbish these days but it's still very cool to see. All in all the definition of luxury for the time period, but as stated it is by no means a performance car.
Congrats on your S320....big fan of the W140 bodied Benzs.......lucky enough to have added one to my collection of cars this year myself.
I have the same car and had the same issue with the soft closing doors. I reset the system from the fuse, works for a bit then stops. Just buy a new vacuum pump. I bought a used one from Ebay for $100 and now it works perfectly. It’s located in the trunk, not very easy to access but not that hard as well. There are DIY videos. Great looking car btw they cost 5-6 times more in Europe. I just bought another 1997 S500 W140 for $8000, Great cars and they’ll only go up in value. All the best.
I just saw a clean one owner car for 12k
The soft close pump, located in the trunk, is fixable. The shutoff switch pressure has to be adjusted lower to shorten the interval of the pump’s cycle. The pressure shut-off is a balancing act. You want to set the shut-off pressure high enough so that enough pressure is developed to latch the door or trunk, but you don't want it set too high so that the pump takes too long to reach the set pressure. Otherwise it times out and subsequently deactivates to avoid damaging the system. That’s why you are having to do a hard reset with the fuse.
The pressure sensing diaphragm is a simple piston which has a screw on the end of it that regulates the shut-off pressure. If you screw it out counterclockwise a bit, then the pressure threshold will lower. Optimal setting is pump shutting off 2-3 seconds after latching. Good luck!
congrats amigo. i just bought a s320L yesterday. they gona have to bury me in it. enjoy in the best of health.
The wipers were positioned like that in order to clear the drivers side of the windscreen instantly and avoid the water from the passenger side being pushed into the drivers vision. Also the switches on the centre vents are great as they allow you the option of having hot air from the heater coming out of them or fresh air from outside.
228 horsepower is a pretty respectable amount of power for an inline 6 back in the 1990s. This was back when lesser cars had the same horsepower but needed a V8 to make that happen and even then that is quite an accomplishment for a V8.
The purpose of the upper vent temperature controls were so you could have two different temperatures for your feet and face on the same side. BMW does this too.
It's funny as a european to see americans considering expensive to fill up that 26 gallon tank (almost 100 litres) with 75$. Where I live, to fill that up with premium gas, it would be over 180€, which exceeds 200$. Now THAT is expensive...
Yikkkkkes
I just bought the same exact car a yr ago and you're right I love it, and especially the 14 Bose speaker cassette player WOW what a great sound🔥
What a beautiful car you have there! Even though I owned a s320L v140 but I really like the swb than the lwb cuz i rarely get to seat at the back & it is much fun driving the swb than lwb especially when park it at the multistorey carpark.
For the soft close you should try adjust the timeout of the CA Pump.. for the trunk gap you had you should try slide the knob at the back of the panel behind the trunk lid when the soft close is not functioning as it should & close it like a normal car.. I think it's written in the owners manual book.
Have you ever gone out on a cold day with warm clothes but want to feel the cool air on your face? Or on a hot summer day when you have something to fan yourself with - you tend to fan your face. That are what the blue and red buttons on the dash are for. They blow warm or cold air through just the center vents independent of what the rest of the car is doing heat/cold wise. You might be surprise just how often you use that feature when it's available!
They are going up in value.
I cant get over the fact that MB designed the LWB version so smoothly, so smoothly infact SWB looks a little unusual. Meanwhile the BMW E38 (although I think it is overall a better looking car) LWB looks like someone pulled it from front and rear. I think MB first designed the LWB and then converted into SWB but BMW first designed the SWB and then converted into LWB.
This is the best car company ever I had got.
Thanks for this! Im shopping and found a sweet ride for a nice price. Def fed my expectations.
That is a good review of a beautiful mercedes!
Great review
The single best car ever! Love the color, the rims too :)
W140 The mistake of the Germans benefited and protected and won the pride of its visitors and will not be repeated and I respect all groups
S class 👍
The best car ever made
Congrats for getting this wonderful car! I just got ONE unit recently. Doing it up as a rolling restoration project...enjoying every minute of it! Cheers!:)
I LOVED this car, but I only had it for 4-5 months and sold it for a small profit! It was always going to be a fixer upper, and had some issues that I was able to fix myself...so I did the review right before I sold it, and after everything was fixed!! Congrats on your car, I'm jealous!! Have fun.
@@overdrive_reviews
You SOLD it? Whaaaaaaaat? Are you nuts? OMJee, I can’t believe you did! This thing was so so cool, you got it for dirt cheap; for its year, just like you pointed out, it’s very PRISTINE. Sounded great. Sounded like you were in love with it, (I know I am), infact I almost love it more than mine! Exact same Make & Model.Not unless for some reason you really could not afford to continue on with 2 cars and really needed that extra money you made from the sale, then OK. My heart felt almost crushed though when I read this, lol.
I have a V140 500SEL, for me it's the best car of the world and don't need other car: Greetings from Ecuador.
Try not to mess around with your lumbar support dial as if the inflatable bags and/or lines have deteriorated over time (which most do) then they'll leak and you'll burn out your PSE pump, which means you won't be able to open your boot (or trunk), unlock and lock your doors, and your rear headrests won't go down as they're all operated on a vacuum system controlled by your PSE pump.
Masterpiece
¿Qué piensa del S 400 CDI 2003? Gracias.
A mí me encanta éste w140. Pienso que cualquier versión de estos modelos son fantásticos y son los mejores.
Éste S320 también es bellísimo y no le veo mucha diferencia entre el S500 y éste, la diferencia es sólo por los horse power y no más de resto ése 320 no tiene nada que envidiarle a ningún modelo mucho más reciente.
Saludos desde Colombia 🇨🇴 para todos por allá en 🇺🇲
I had a long wheelbase '98, same color. You're so right about all the gadget technology, half a ton of it unnecessary.... But fun!
How is maintenance on these ?
@@SK-mh4mz the engine was flawless and reliable, but inherent design issues with the front suspension arm design lead to TWO replacements of control arms in 100k miles. This is a regular problem with this car. Sunroof has well. transmission leaked at 105k miles, Engine maintenance cheap, the rest of the car, iffy. The materials used were impeccable, can't say that about MB anymore these days.
I want one
German engineering is the best!!! . I own 1996 S320 black With 230k on it! But every time I drive it on Highway, I make other car shame with my old Mercedes! 😊
I’ve got the same one but 1997 LWB
Where can i get a clean one for similar amount you got yours?
I LUCKED out, dude. I don’t know where you could even come close haha
I just want one
I have a 94 s320. Do you have transmission issues?
I don't have the car anymore, unfortunately, but I didn't have any issues with the trans whenever I had it!!
I never seen a w140 this clean
The best 1982 300D
@Overdrive Reviews: A LOT OF MERCEDES ENTHUSIAST SAY THE W140 IS THE LAST GREAT ENGINEERED GENERATION OF MERCEDES S CLASS…I’M CURIOUS YOU SAID YOU PAID ABOUT $1250 FOR THIS CAR…THAT’S A STEAL, BUT HOW MANY MILES DOES IT HAVE ON IT?
It had 140K I believe!! I no longer have it but it was an incredible piece of machinery.
Is you’re car still working well ?? I want one Thanks !!
I sold it a while ago 😩
Looks good and engine reliability 👍
But the maintenance is 🤑🤑🤑.
So, my final couch on wheels is either Cadillac or Lincoln Continental.
Both head gasket blowing bastards
I love them to death, but I wouldn't describe the 6 cylinder engines as indestructible, as head gaskets are known to fail. At least you have one without a problematic wiring harness.
They are known to fail but I've seen m104's with 500 000km on the original gasket. Cooler climate might help though.
My 99 S320 AC and Heat blower stopped working
Your voltage regulator is bad it located in engine compartment at passenger side , I replaced mine many years ago only cost $35.00
i rather this car 1000 times to modern computers on wheels....that pop up trunk handle is for ceep that clean and dont make your hands dirty when open and close the trunk!
Hope the engineers that designed the pathetic cup holders got fired.
26 gallon tank, 24 miles per gallon, means it goes 600 miles plus sth with 1 tank full. or 988 kilometers. and that's a bad news ? =))))))))
You couldn't have bought this car for 1250 bucks unless it was on its road straight to a junkpile. These cars well maintained cost 10k plus.
I bought it for $1250
@@overdrive_reviews well, much congrats, if it wasnt in junk state you were extremely lucky
ASR IS SHORT FOR ACCELERATION SLIP REGULATION.... A FORM OF TRACTION CONTROL SIR.....
Weather🤣
the S stands for Summer and W stands for Winter
According to the handbook, "S" stands for "Standard" and "W" is for "Winter"
Damn...you talking very fast! :-) i don't folow....
You must be further down south than I....I'm from South Carolina, and I was able to catch it all, lol.