1997 Mercedes SLK 230 Kompressor for £300
Discussion
Last week I picked up an SLK for the princely sum of £300. It had unsuccessfully completed several auctions on eBay and the usual silent bidders never made contact with the seller.
A years MOT, 103,000 miles, tidy enough and everything seems to work - except it's stuck in limp mode (2nd gear I think).
This has been my first foray into the world of working on an automatic transmission - but all has been pretty easy so far. I have changed the trans fluid and filters - and the conductor plate now searching for someone with a code reader who can clear a code from the gearbox control module - apparently separate to the ECU and this car pre-dates the now standard OBD2.
Fingers crossed I get the code cleared and I have a little german summer hack for under £500!
If anyone has experienced a similar issue with their mere of late 90s vintage please share experience - any info I can get will be much appreciated.
A years MOT, 103,000 miles, tidy enough and everything seems to work - except it's stuck in limp mode (2nd gear I think).
This has been my first foray into the world of working on an automatic transmission - but all has been pretty easy so far. I have changed the trans fluid and filters - and the conductor plate now searching for someone with a code reader who can clear a code from the gearbox control module - apparently separate to the ECU and this car pre-dates the now standard OBD2.
Fingers crossed I get the code cleared and I have a little german summer hack for under £500!
If anyone has experienced a similar issue with their mere of late 90s vintage please share experience - any info I can get will be much appreciated.
I’ll get some pics of it shortly.
Given I only have 1 gear to play with at the moment it’s pretty quick by my standards.
NSF wing has some blistering but the rest of the body is pretty good, its a local car and they don’t salt the roads much in my part of the world - that said I know my uncles car of a similar age he had from new went back to MB many times for rust which kept reappearing from an early age.
I drove home giggling, I still cant quite believe how cheap it was. Just hope clearing the codes is going to do the trick - plenty of reading on forums is giving me a lot of hope!
Given I only have 1 gear to play with at the moment it’s pretty quick by my standards.
NSF wing has some blistering but the rest of the body is pretty good, its a local car and they don’t salt the roads much in my part of the world - that said I know my uncles car of a similar age he had from new went back to MB many times for rust which kept reappearing from an early age.
I drove home giggling, I still cant quite believe how cheap it was. Just hope clearing the codes is going to do the trick - plenty of reading on forums is giving me a lot of hope!
We've had a 2003 one since new and my wife will never part with it. I have a perverse respect for it even though it's really not my cup of tea. In those 16 years and 120k miles it has never let us down and only required servicing and consumables.
Having said that it's currently at the specialist as they investigate what I think is the heater matrix failing, while that's out they can replace the blown bulbs on the dash and when I went to take it over there the other day I noticed the roof was stuck shut. Seems to be sticking at the windscreen header rail.My wife reports she's had to thump it a few times to get it to release so now something I maybe could have sorted easily with some minor fettling and a squirt of wd40 may need more work.
They're certainly not quick by modern standards but are respectable. The engine is a gruff joyless thing though and the steering is more of a device to direct your intent to the car like the captain of a ship rather than any sort of "man and machine in perfect harmony" arrangement. I get odd satisfaction driving it trying to maintain a decent pace despite all this
For £300 for some summer motoring though, that's a screaming deal.
Having said that it's currently at the specialist as they investigate what I think is the heater matrix failing, while that's out they can replace the blown bulbs on the dash and when I went to take it over there the other day I noticed the roof was stuck shut. Seems to be sticking at the windscreen header rail.My wife reports she's had to thump it a few times to get it to release so now something I maybe could have sorted easily with some minor fettling and a squirt of wd40 may need more work.
They're certainly not quick by modern standards but are respectable. The engine is a gruff joyless thing though and the steering is more of a device to direct your intent to the car like the captain of a ship rather than any sort of "man and machine in perfect harmony" arrangement. I get odd satisfaction driving it trying to maintain a decent pace despite all this
For £300 for some summer motoring though, that's a screaming deal.
Benmac said:
They're certainly not quick by modern standards but are respectable. The engine is a gruff joyless thing though and the steering is more of a device to direct your intent to the car like the captain of a ship rather than any sort of "man and machine in perfect harmony" arrangement. I get odd satisfaction driving it trying to maintain a decent pace despite all this
For £300 for some summer motoring though, that's a screaming deal.
Crikey, what does everyone drive if this is considered slow? For £300 for some summer motoring though, that's a screaming deal.
I mean I dont claim to race around anywhere, I am admittedly a bit of a wafter but no idea how this could be considered slow. Drive a Hyundai Accent 1.1 litre loan car with 150k miles on it in a high altitude city like Johannesburg - you need to understand what slow really is!
For £300, this thing can practically handle Warp Factor 3, Mr Sulu.
Edited by mattswan on Wednesday 3rd July 12:26
mattswan said:
Crikey, what does everyone drive if this is considered slow?
You're quite right. Years ago I drove a large estate with the same engine and it never struck me as slow - must be somewhat more rapid in this body. You've got a great little car there. I look forward to hearing that a simple oil and filter change resolved your issue, as these things seem rather reliable - I still see plenty on the roads and they consistently raise a smile.The car has tended to be looked down upon over the past decade but I never really understood the hate. It's a small two-seater with a clever folding roof for very little money that will in all likelihood keep going if looked after.
I ran one of these for a year, 2001 MY with the 'Tip box. The previous owner had put some form of Brabus tuning on it, ECU I think. It went pretty well, and was not as hair dresser as everyone perceives. I chopped it for a C-Class Coupe with the same engine.
At that price you literally can't go wrong.
At that price you literally can't go wrong.
A code clear will either do the trick, or it will come back fairly shortly. It might well be the 'conductor plate' in that gearbox, as its a common failure of the 722.6 gearbox. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVbcuKcnC2Q
They're pretty cheap too, about £100 for the part, but it might need a coding off a STAR system (can't remember for that generation).
They're pretty cheap too, about £100 for the part, but it might need a coding off a STAR system (can't remember for that generation).
devnull said:
A code clear will either do the trick, or it will come back fairly shortly. It might well be the 'conductor plate' in that gearbox.
I have replaced the conductor plate, I think it was £130 for a kit with gasket and filter - and from what I have read to complete the job a TCM module code clear is required. But yes, if I havent done it right or havent seated any of the valves back correctly the code will likely come back. mattswan said:
devnull said:
A code clear will either do the trick, or it will come back fairly shortly. It might well be the 'conductor plate' in that gearbox.
I have replaced the conductor plate, I think it was £130 for a kit with gasket and filter - and from what I have read to complete the job a TCM module code clear is required. But yes, if I havent done it right or havent seated any of the valves back correctly the code will likely come back. Failing that, negotiate with your Mercedes dealer for 30 mins of labour to get your codes cleared.
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