280SEL 4.5

[Jordan]

I was hoping someone out there could stear me to somewhere I can get more infor on the W108.068 early 70's sedans.  They have the V8 engine so I imaging there is not much similarity with the W113.  Should I be staying away from this car and stick with the 6 cylinder engines.  Is there anything about these sedans (I'm looking at a 72) that is notoriously not good.  I assume they are pigs on gas  but then you don't buy and drive them for their fuel efficiency.  Any help is appreciated.  Thanks. 

[ja17]

Hello Jordan,

A good 4.5 is an excellent and reliable vintage car. It has classy styling, is depedable, well built and great comfortable drivers.  They are gas hogs. 13 to 15 mpg (US) an 17-19 mpg on the road is somewhat typical. Fortunately the 4.5s  do not have the complicated and expensive air suspension systems.

Some years back they were voted by Mercedes Engineers as their favorite Vintage MB Sedan, with classic looks but very drivable by today's standards.

The electronic fuel injection scares a lot of unfamiliar techs but is quite dependable and easy to keep running. It is quite repairable and only has one computer. The giant injection "brain box" is mounted next to the radiator. This box is NLA from Mercedes at the moment, but rebuilt units are suppled by other suppliers. I keep a spare around for my 450SLC which uses the same unit. Used units are fairly plentiful, since they were used on all the early 450SL and SLC cars also.

Things to look out for....  Spend some time under the car, chassis rust on a unibody can be costly to repair.  Check the heater controls (tend to break as in the W113 cars). Check the heater fan it is in the dash and is different than the AC fan which is mounted in the passenger kick panel.  Major day and a haf labor if the heater fan is bad. It is buried deep in the dash. The top left heater control lever turns the heater fan on when it is moved all the way to the left. Be sure to check its operation.

The expensive rear hydraulic compensator on the rear axle (in place of the small horizontal spring as in the W113 cars) often loose their charge of nitrogen causing the rear wheels to camber out at the bottoms. These compensators can be replaced with the fairly inexpensive springs if you wish.

The big heavy cast iron V-8 engine can be hard on the front suspension if it has not been greased on a reg. basis. The front king pin suspension is basically the same as the W113s.

The engines are basically bomb proof even after 200,000 miles. However depending on care they may  be ready for a failty involved valve job sometime in their lives. Timing chains as in most MBs should be replaced at 100,000 miles.

If you end up with one keep my email adress close by. I will be glad to help you deal with any issues or questions.

Take care,
Joe Alexander
Blacklick Ohio

[Richard S]

I concur with everything Joe said.  I've had a 280SE 3.5 for the past 30 years and wouldn't part with it.  On the highway it's a dream to handle; In town it's a bit of a tank.  The engine is virtually the same as the 4.5 and mine has done almost 300,000 miles.  The only work I've had to do on the engine is to replace the timing chain and valve seals at 200,000 miles.  The rear compensator I replaced at 150,000 miles but will use a spring if I have to do it again.  The heater fan is inop; I started to replace it once but gave up after almost a day of trying to figure it out.  I'm always getting complements on the style and few believe that it's almost 40 years old.  Mercedes styling transends the years.