₦airaland Forum

yungboss: but the w320 is a superb car, driven one in the past. It's more beautiful than the BMW

Yes , it may be more beautiful and with sharper chassis, but i dont know if the e46 are as problematic as the w203? I dont know much about the e46, but for the w203, man you've got to be a money bag to maintain it. Their problems are out of this earth , and never ending, so is the cost of their spare parts, though it makes a very sweet, comfy and sharp driving machine

Ikenna351: Similar ? Yes, but not identical.

For example, Peugeots have bleed valves for their cooling systems, while some car brands don't. Like the ES9J4S in my 406 V6, the cooling system has 3 bleed valves. Meaning, no matter how stubborn a trapped air in the cooling system is by refusing to go out, it will easily be bled out at any of the 3 bleed valves at different locations. And Peugeot cooling system is bled when engine is not running and when engine is cold. But for some brands, the engine have to be running while bleeding the cooling system, especially those without bleed valves, i think. Some, as i read, the front end need to be jacked up while bleeding the cooling system.

My point is, Benz may a different or better method of troubleshooting its cooling system, which i do not know of.

@ aikerism,

If you are replacing the thermostat (if you still have one there, that is), make sure you bleed the cooling system. The clowns that remove thermostat have a way of making you feel bad going against their suggestions. A cooling system without thermostat can tolerate air lock/air in the system without overheating, unless you are stuck in a traffic jam for a long time, since the water pump will be circulating the fluid from engine to radiator and back to engine continuously, since there is no obstruction anymore, and the constant spinning of the fan will help in preventing the boiling of the fluid. But with thermostat in, there will be obstruction. And with air behind the thermostat in the cylinder head, the trapped air will immediately boil uncontrollably and then the overheating starts. Thats why when they warn you against re-installing the thermostat and you insist, they will install it like you ask without proper bleeding or no bleeding at all. Few minutes as soon as you drive out, you will drive back with some sorry face "You told me so!". Find out how to bleed benz cooling system and do it yourself or insist they do it properly, after re-installing the thermostat. Good luck.

Ikenna

@ Ikenna, if i may add to your contributions, my experience with Benz c180 without a thermostat(thermostat removed) will definitely overheat at holdup.

Also, after installing the thermostat, do not lock the little returning hose not until you see the water spill out of the return pipe with force(that is bleeding in Benz). Before then too, as you are pouring the water, be pressing(suction) the bigger hose that terminate at the radiator head and check the water level again to gauge as the car is idling .

benz1x: Ive checked and Im extremely grateful for your response.

May your generosity be deeply rewarded.

Amen!! and thankyou for your kind words

ziccoit: Hmm. I have similar issue too. The coolant gauge always stands at 76- 80 degrees Celsius. I also noticed my radiator fan always kick in and stays on about 5-8s after I start the engine. I heard this might be related to the faulty automatic A/C heater control unit. This is what I need to replace as soon as I get one.

@au.hanson, kindly help me source for the part (automatic A/C heater control unit) in your area if you don't mind. I'll appreciate.

Thanks sir.

I will my dear, but give me a little while to come out of the "grub". My hands are really full, just that i cant resist nairaland.

However are you really sure that that is the problem? Because what you state looks like something of a wrong thermostat temperature range. Have you taken time to actually look at your thermostat rating?

inze: Looking at the first pics on your post, i can say that your car idling is relatively low. _{I stand to be corrected though}

Yes it is low because the engine is perfect, if it perform optimally at that level; no rough idling;picks ac well and no dragging.

But i'm not comfortable with the temperature reading , there's something wrong with the thermostat reading; you may be having a wrong temp thermostat there, the right thing should be 87 degrees centigrade. You have to check that too soon to maintain that nice engine of yours else...

ziccoit: Chief au.hanson. You are welcomed back to the house. You're very right

This is what the owner manual says about the fuel consumption (L/100km) :

Yes you are right too. C180 get that low because of the little horsepower, but you can achieve the equivalent of the:c200, c230 by stepping up your tuning, on the contrary, it will take less fuel because it wouldnt struggle to make movement anymore, the reason it took that low.

I discovered that in the process of setting mine . I now enjoy good mpg and perfomance all round

Gee2728: That's all I cld achieve with a full tank of fuel on city drive.... 306miles.

Gee, this is good enough for a c230 almost 500km on a full tank, waoh! Never you complain of mpg anymore.

What did you do to achieve this?

ziccoit: @Eyop, Smartchoice, Kuntash, benz1x, aikerism, jahjehova, Gee2728, au.hanson and others too numerous to mention here; thank you all for the well wishes and encouragement.

When I finally got delivery of my car, I noticed the following.

1. Coolant, Brake, engine oil and windshield washer low fluid lights as well as ABS and brake pad lights were on when I start the engine. Making the instrument cluster looked like Christmas tree.

2. The Odometer, temp gauge, tachometer and speedometer were not functioning.

3. The automatic climate control unit is not working

4. The coolant fan starts running immediately the carb is on.

5. I saw a can of Dextron III ATF fluid in the boot. When I contacted him; he said he actually put the oil into the transmission! Harshhhhhh . The transmission runs fine, very smooth but I need to drain it before it starts causing damages.

So far, I have been able to solve problem 1 & 2 by removing the instrument cluster. I gently cleaned the pins and everything backed to normal. A "rewire" I called to look into this said I should not bother that "everything will later go". Lol! Clown.

3&4 may be related. I need to change the automatic climate control unit and reprogram it for my car model.

for 5, I have to park the car looking for the recommended MB transmission fluid.

Please house.

Where can I get the recommended MB ATF fluid and how much. Remember mine is 5-SP. I got to know that the fluid should meet MB 236.10 spec sheet. I will need 7.5L

Where can I get automatic climate control unit and how much? I know how to reprogram the stuff to meet my car model.

Thank you all.

All i can say is congrats bros , and very happy too that you have been able to sort out issues yourself(DIY).
Enjoy your performer mix with efficiency.
cheers

Gee2728: Nothing is wrong with turbo chargers, the problem is how some of the manufacturers make and program them.

A typical example is a review I read on how temperamental the turbos on a E90 335i are that after driving the rly hard all day when u get home its not safe 2 immediately switch of the engine. Allow it run for a while for God knows what 2 happen before switching off.

How man wan take dey remember some of this small small science everyday.

na waoh! thanks ma Gee

JUO: he is starting with BMW that machine is like audu 80 tiger face. When fuse cut mechanic go tell am say na brain box. why don't he start little?

izyoku: Guys what do you guys think am bringing in this 328i inline 6cylinder bmw directly from the USA 2008 model simple engine no turbos any advice?

Can someone tell me what s really wrong about turbos? whats the fear?

My understanding of turbo is that it makes the ride more efficient with greater performance even at smaller engine size.
Please can someone really tell what is all these fear with turbos?

inze: @smartchoice and all.

Pardon my long-silence, i've been busy since 1st Nov.

Anyway, i had her filled-up and trip reset, and now its at half-tank and i have got 211km on it.

Whats ur verdict on it?

@au.hanson

How ready do i need be for the scanner, hook a brother up na?

Guy, believe me or not , you have very little or nothing wrong with your car. If you did 211km on a half tank in Lagos, man your mpg is good no doubt.

If you want to perfect that you might as well buy a new injection system(actuator or throttle body) then you'll have a little improvement being that it is newer than the older one in your car, then you could be achieving something of about 250km in a half tank fuel or thereabout.

I track down the scanners as at yesterday to have pass custom clearance in Lagos. So , its already in Nigeria. I am expecting it soon in PH. Hopefully this week.

inze: Funny enough, i went for a refill at "the supposed" half-tank. It took 49litres to fill it up. Whats ur take on this?

NB: Full tank usually takes about 63litres or thereabout

The full tank of that car is about 62 litres, i think you have been scam just like i told you earlier. Don't depend on the litres reading at the filling station. Find a reliable filling station and always calculate your mpg from there just like we discussed on phone. You can hardly find a perfect station in Nigeria, they all have almost adjusted their metres. Funny enough Govt. don't seems to check those things, though you can still find somehwere a bit better than others.
Your half tank should consume about 31 litres , anything less than that is scamming.

tommysparks: @ Hanson will this scanner and connector cable work for my w203 c240? i really need one.

Sure it will.Then for the w202, there is a 38 pin adapter that will adapt it to the odbII to do the scan

Finally a big apology to you guys cos i have been very very busy..i'm working on deadlines. I miss you greatly. The thread has been wonderful

benz1x: Thank you for responding au.hanson.

On the issue of oil, I know all the discussions that went down on it as Ive been through the mercedes benz thread twice. I know the theoretical value of synthetic oils, but I wanted practical experience. Now that you have given me the go ahead, I will switch to mobil 1 0w-40 at the end of the month.

I also know the issue of coolant was controversial and never really settled. If I remember correctly, Trac said to avoid the green one and get something close to Zerex G05 by valvovine. The problem is that it is not readily available. Well, I guess I will go with what you are using then and change it every year or two.

I will look for Dextron III as I dont know what is in there currently. I will do this at the end of the month as well.

Please I am looking forward to the answers to the rest of the questions when you have the time.

Thanks, you are a great man.

Sorry my dear! I was really determine to answer all, but my home network messed up seriously over the weekend. i have better network in my office(broadband).

I have just manage to respond as the network permit, check back above.

benz1x: AU Hanson,

let me start by appreciating you. It is very encouraging to find people like you who are enthusiastic and willing to share their knowledge with others.

Thanks for the compliment ,i must say that i'm flattered and encouraged the more

benz1x: My newbie questions

As you know, in Nigeria, OEM or manufacturer specific items may not be that easy to find hence the following questions

1)
What engine oil to use. I know Mobil 1 but I have not seen any mineral oil of 0w-40, 5w-40 or even 10w-40.

I know I should ordinarily use Mobil 1 0w-40 but because of the high mileage of the car 210,000, some are speculating that the oil will be too thin for the engine due to the wear and tear it must have accumulated over time and as a result, leakages will occur.

Is there any truth to this or can I just go ahead and use Mobil 1 0w-40. If I cant use Mobil 1, whats the next best available oil for me to use.

Pls use mobil 1, 0w40. If that myths is correct, by now my benz 190 of over 6years of ownership with way far beyond 210,000 mileage that uses mobil 1 or total quarts 9000, 5w40 would have parked up by now, not to even mention my w202, c180 that i bought scrap and turn(restore) it to factory new. Don't even look at any bodies face; be rest assure that you would have a lot of discouragement just as you have stated ; even by the dealers of those oil and our local mechanic; but the usage of it will justify this decision. I am very very busy at the moment, but just attracted by your nice words and for the fact that you are enthusiastic about giving your car the best treatment , i wouldn't have the time to tell you all about the mobil1 or any other fully synthetic 0w40 , 5w40, or or MB specification sheet 295, then you would have been convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that you cannot be mistaken using these fully synthetic oil, cos you actually stand to gain more and so much by using it.Actually, you stand to lose nothing. Most importantly, you will never swap your engine, if you constantly uses it.
How i wish Trace could throw more light on this?.. in absence of non, what ever be the case, once i'm through with the urgent projects at hand,i'll give it a convincing treatment in this thread.

benz1x: 2)
What coolant to use? This was another controversial topic and I would like to learn from my Seniors in the W202 family what is good enough to run my baby.
3)
How often to replace the coolant

I wouldn't want to go into this issue of coolant again, because different school of thought understand it differently. Even distill water is recommended by MB to use in place of coolant. But if you were to ask me, what coolant i use? I will tell you that it is totall coolant, based on my research and observed usage over years with my 2 cars.

And you can replace them every year or two depending on some parameters

benz1x: 2)
4
What brake fluid to use and how often to change it?
5
What steering fluid to use and how often to change it?
6
What Automatic Transmission Fluid to use and how often to change it? (mine is a manual transmission though)
7
What spark plugs to use and how often to change them. Also, what can be used if OEM plugs cannot be found? Can autolite plugs serve as a replacement?

For steering fluid you can use dextron III , or the other the Mercedes Benz ATF

Also, i use the dextron III for my steering and Auto transmission fluid.. just drained and replaced for my 190 recently. It is adviceable to replace in about 4yearly interval

If you check the hood of your car you'll see the recommended spark plug for your model, and the allowable once too. Different MB model years comes with specific spark plugs. Some, like mine specify BOSCH, others specify STAR, and could allow CHAMPION, NGK etc.I uses bosch in my case, and it works perfect, star and ngk do normally underform in my case overtime,so i stick to bosh the recommended model.

If you do not find the original OEM, you can stick to the same barnd name found in our market(God knows where they got them from)cos they are quite cheap, about 1k for 4), which you and i know, but it must be the recommended brand , for efficiency and better performance.Once you start perceiving retardation , just change it for newer ones.

For the brake fluid , use the green fluid, that is recommended for MB, i'll find out the name again

benz1x: 8
How often should the MAF be cleaned or changed
9
How often should the fuel filter be changed
10
How often should the throttle body/ actuator be cleaned/changed.
11
What are the recommended tire sizes and PSI

The MAF must be cleaned once they are dirty and underperform your car.
Personally i change the the fuel filter,clean the throttle body at every servicing interval , and that is usually 1 year or 9 months

For your model, the recommended tyre size is 205/60/15 you can also use 225/55/16 and 225/45/17, this is the one i use in my MB 190 recently .
Though, i fault the rule here in my benz c180 by using 215/65/15 due to our bad state of road and also i actually want to gain more on the highway, that's why i go by that

chibabe3: thanks for the information. How do I make this order online.

under automotive parts and accessories,http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dautomotive&field-keywords=O2+sensors+for+Benz+c180+1999+model&rh=n%3A15684181%2Ck%3AO2+sensors+for+Benz+c180+1999+model. Use your Nigeria atm master card and place the order to ship to your address. Good luck

inze: Sadly enough,

Do you have any idea where i can do a scan on it? Its not obd2 acceptable i guess, since its a 95 and obd2 kicks from 96.

I wouldn't want to start gambling here and there with replacement parts

NB: The 85.0km statistics was with the A/C turned ON always, i don't drive without it.

I dont i think its poor considering your location, "Lagos",people hardly achieve more than that overthere, because of the almost dragging slow movement that barely lift you above 20km/h

I know people in free traffic city would always wonder why cars in densely traffic city consume so much.There are some axis here in PH that i avoid so much because i can barely achieve 160km on a 32 litre tank of fuel no matter how much i try.
I noticed these when i started observing my car in Calabar and uyo compare to PH. The feats i achieve in those cities can never be achieved here in PH. Infact during peak ours over here, i still achieve 13-16 mpg in few cases, a very sharp contrast with the 20- 27mpg i achieve most times in off peak period, so i time my movement. Of course i use ac 99.9% of the time, and ac is worst at peak period with these 4 cylinder engine, it gulp.

Once in a while, take your car out to less densely populated city, or try observing constantly during off peak period, i mean your mpg, you will notice what i have just told you

Then for the scanner i can get you that when you're ready.

danadam: @au.hanson
I currently drive a w203. which scanner would be most compatible for my ride? any idea bout price? I want to start getting some minor things done myself DIY.

Amzdeal MS 509 OBD2 EOBD Code Scanner Reader Tool will be very good for your Benz. It is also very useful for other German cars like BMW and Audi etc from 96 model and above , then for below you could buy the New Mercedes Benz 38 Pin to 16 Pin OBD OBD2 Diagnostic Adapter Cable Connector and attached to it head to do the scanning as well.
Its about 47 dollars, shipment may cost you about 24k naira extra and the adapter for those who may need it for the older c class will cost about 11dollars

ziccoit: Looking through the engine pix now. I discovered I was unable to locate MAF sensor where it should be. Is this model devoid of maf sensor?

Hello Eyop, pls confirm your vin check again, because to my eyes this engine looks like a c180 engine,i stand to be corrected,the steering pump there too is that of the early model and that doesn't carry the MAF, I beg to differ.

Just confirm that there was no mix up, thanks

ziccoit: Thump up. MB thread is full of resources. Thanks a lot.
*Angry* @C230
My prescription was either C200 or C180. Now that I'm landed with C230, who can tell me the fuel economy is still going to be fine? At least for psychological priming.

The agent is still insisting all the papers carried C180. I should have run here b4 I gave him go ahead. Kai.

Please, somebody has to tell me the fuel economy is going to be fine.

Guy, you have nothing to worry about , you should even be thanking God that you have good power there and MPG, Better hurry up and embrace that power house. My MB 190 is vboot 230 engine too, and her power is amazing
There is one thing about the c230; performance combine with fuel efficiency
See the following in uk MPG(thats the standard):

Displacement 2,295 cc as against c180 of 1,799 cc
Cylinders 4
Valves 16V DOHC (4 valves per cylinder)
Torque 220 Nm → 162 lb-ft (3,700 rpm)
Power Output 150 bhp (5,400 rpm) as against c180 of 122 bhp (5,500 rpm)
Kilowatts 109 kW
Gearbox 5-speed Manual
Performance and Economy

Top Speed 130 mph (210 km/h)
Acceleration 0-60 mph 10.50 sec. as against c180 that does it in 12.00sec
Average Mileage 30 mpg as against te c180 that does it at 31 mpg averaging
Highway Mileage 39 mpg same as c180
City Mileage 22 mpg same as c180

smartchoice: pictures?

sorry, i never taught of posting or do reference to it so didn't snap anything.

Besides, the task was so enduring being my first time of doing it, i would have given up if it wasn't my car .. but next time i could do it within a very short time interval.

Actually what you'll nee will be a wrench and socket or a rachet 15, 17 spanner, 5 star alen key and a phillip screw driver.

inze: Thanks a lot hanson and smartchoice. You guys have been wonderful.

Will inspect all these by nextweek. Already had no2-changed to recommended new 195/65/15, no7-cleaned, no9-changed(oem Mercedes plugs, thanks to cardoctor)

You are welcome, could also be 205/60/15,or 195/60/16 Just follow the math that way.

chibabe3: 1. Can someone help me on how to get a spare key for my C180 (1998 model) sucking type.

The key you mentioned will probably require changing the entire kits alongside your ECU to match with the newly precoded one by your dealer, and will definitely cost you close to 200k.

Alternatively , of recent, i learnt there's a scanner that does the coding to align your spare key with the originally coded one if you may not wish to change the entire kits with its sensors and ECU. I'll find out for you, i think a friend did a spare key this way.. though the scanner on its own can cost over a couple of some hundreds of thousand.Why do you really want the spare key?

chibabe3: 2. How do I get a brand new camshaft sensor too. My C180 1998 elegance does not fire very well at low speed. After scanning, it was detected that the cam shaft sensor is bad and I have replaced it twice and yet no changes on the performance. do you think that the fault is coming from somewhere else? PLEASE ADVISE.

That's easy, you can order it through amazon, and it will get delivered to you between 2 to 5 working days by DHL.
But then, when you replace the camshaft did you scan your car to check for what usually kill the camshaft sensor?
Usually, if you have a problem and the scanner point to something , while replacing that component it's always wise to a rescan to know if there's any other thing behind that could keep spoiling that particular component.

There's this scenario of a friend whose c240 always embarrasses him on the road and will keep him stranded, He will need to call service centre , they will come with their train and carry the vehicle for fixing returning same to him at a cost close to 200k .This fateful day the ugly incidence repeated itself , he called them again, they told him same ..he was actually coming to meet me for a biz deal, so he called me and narated his ordeal and i told him to wait for me to meet up with him. I borrowed a friends scanner and met him right at the spot. we scan the car and discovered that it was just a 250 naira fuse that got bad. we left and bought the fuse and replace , the car started up again very normal but i wasn't satisfied. Out of curiosity i decided to scan the car again and this time it pointed at the ignition coil, though it never brought up any fault. I decided to go down all the way to check the ignition coil what i saw there was amazing , strange oily colouration . He confesses that when the mech guys were changing oil sometime ago , the oil accidentally spill over , he never knew it had gone that far.. causing him so much money as such. we call for the ignition coil at the after market and replace it for just 4k he couldn't believe his eyes. He beg me to mention my price but i decline , he had to finally forcefully refilled my tank and took me out for celebration, because he had just avoided spending one hundred and something thousand naira again. Finally i ordered for a scanner for him at amazon. Today he is the happiest guy with his benz, which was once a night mare to him. Infact he scan his car every weekend. He finally orederd for this scanner after one day when the car was kind of doing a jerking kind of movement and the mech guy told him that it was time to change his injector, he came to me again, on scanning, it was a camshaft sensor that was not socketed well during oil change(as this started after oil change , or probabbly could have been our bad state of the roads that shook it off it place. when that was snap in into position again, the jerking stop, since then the car has been very smooth

What i'm i trying to say? Always do a re scan , it cause no harm, Perhaps the hidden fault could show up itself and save you another nightmare, and make sure the camshaft sensor is well seated in place[i][/i]. Goodluck

vizboy: if person meet president of nigeria na so e dey be.


See the way these guyz humble

'No be to be humble', but to resolve the bottleneck?

smartchoice: Au Hanson is being modest.

Sure man!!

Bros, i spend 6 hrs in that process, all the spares brought to me by my dealer could not match my head shaft that terminate into the gearbox . I loosen almost all the looseable trying to swap components with the ones brought to me with my uninstalled gearbox but all to no avail. What i finally did was to flush out all the fluid in it, assemble it back and install to my vehicle. I then use that opportunity to examine my centre thyroid, it didnt look too good,too soft for my liking(my road is terrible no doubt, worst than an off-road, tho under endless construction), had to bring it down and ordered a new replacement, another 3 hrs to install all them back . Mehn during testing the car felt like just bought it new from MB factory, i never felt any of the endless gallops and the clearances in the steering wheel, went for alignment and came home was only cushioning through my horrible road at the greatest ease as though i was driving an ML.

It felt so solid. What am i trying to say, this car components are so rugged and reliable .I can now say it has finally pick the standard of my MB 190

smartchoice: Au Hanson is being modest.

Sure man.

Bros, i spend 6 hrs in that process, all the spares brought to me by my dealer could not match my head shaft that terminate into the gearbox . I loosen almost all the looseable trying to swap components with the ones brought to me with my uninstalled gearbox but all to no avail. What i finally did was to flush out all the fluid in it, assemble it back and install to my vehicle. I then use the opportunity to examine my centre thyroid, it didnt look too good(my road is terrible no doubt, worst than an off-road, tho under endless construction), had to bring it down and ordered a new replacement, another 3 hrs to install all that back . Mehn during testing the car felt like just bought it new from MB factory i never felt any of the endless gallops and the clearances in the steering wheel, went for alignment and came home was only cushioning through my horrible road at the greatest ease as though i was driving an ML.

It felt so solid. What am i trying to say, this car components are so rugged and reliable .I can now say it has finally pick the shape of my MB 190

Guddy: I just arrived Edo state yesterday and I was so baffled at the rate at which people use the w202 c class in this state. From the capital city, Benin, to all other towns, car lots and roads have a good number of this car. I made enquiries why the users like the car and they all have a couple of good things to say about the cars ranging from economy, durability, style, etc.

My brother they aint lying, i own one in PH and i'm always happy all the way, cos of her low maintenance cost and reliability with very durable parts.. I was going to change the steering box of mine today , but i ended up changing the centre thyroid and draining out the steering fluid replacing with a new dextron IIId fluid and my steering became so tight and precise as no other once again, so i come to wonder if the steering box of this car do ever get bad at all, i mean a car that is approaching 20 yrs old and the steering box still handles like new

oxygen sensor is a plug like substance that terminate into a cable end

Hello Inze, Several things could cause bad fuel economy, I'm going to start from the most commonest ones that we knowingly or unknowingly do to our detriment, and i'm going to be as brief as possible:

1.wrong oil viscosity in your engine( your car suppose to carry oil weight 0w40 or 5w40 not more than 40 weight as some do even put 20w50, which is very wrong: this alter the frictional level of your engine,hence demanding more drag coefficient to operate also limiting your performance, efficiency and lifespan of your engine

2 Bigger than recommended tyre size and wrongly inflated tyres, Too big tyres or less air increases the surface area conatc of your tyre with the road and hence does more work expending more fuel to run in town, but with bigger sizes rightly inflated you could achieve more on the highway on the contrary to the city.

3. Aged catalytic converters

4. bad O2 sensor: The O2 sensor is part of the emissions control system and feeds data to the­ engine management computer. The goal of the sensor is to help the engine run as efficiently as possible and also to produce as few emissions as possible. When they are bad the obvious is expected

5. clogging mufflers

6. clogging air filter

7. Very dirty throttle body(actuators)

8. Leaking current

9. Wrong plugs and leaking plugs cable(not recommended oem ones for your vehicle)

10. Driving habbit(sudden frequent acceleration and deceleration) and two frequent start and stop movement etc


see images of catalytic converters

yungboss: preventive maintenance is good, but I think it's not the best to change a cat just when there are no signs of failure, well it depends on how you feel. But a good OBD2 tool would be best to use first before embarking on such a costly project...

When they are driven for over 100000km, its just good to change them(catalytic converters muffler and you o2 sensors) to have your car perform again like new and for fuel efficiency purposes(infact you'll see a drastic return in your fuel economy).Even your strutt, shocks,tensioner pulleys and shock adjuster etc are not left out. I dnt thing your ODB2 will detect anything at this point because they are still good but just too old .Who says older cars cant be made to return efficiency and performances like new? Well, its personal cos i'm use to old cars and their performances

If these components are too old in the lower 4 cylinder Benz(c180, c160) and BMWs(318,316), you will start having serious lethargy effect and inefficiency, no scanner will read lethargy for you. It will feel like they are underpowered machine, but its not so, just those components age.

Eyop: Hello brother...what's wrong with your catalytic converter?

Eyop, dont mind Gee, i know him, not as if there is anything wrong with his catalytic converter-he is only playing save, but it's good practice to swap part like that for better efficiency and performance.He loves that his ride so much that he just want to keep it like new all through. Just like i just want to change the steering box of my c180 this morning, to make it feel so tight like that of my 190. Its good to keep things new and efficient always by so doing, you wouldn't have a down time, you would have settle issues before they even raise their ugly head and get faulty and embarrass you on the way.

Gee, you can buy from ebay and from http://www.amazon.com

Siena: You're obviously simply reading, but not taking in what you've read.

Are there only public highways in the UK? Private roads, testing facilities DO exist. And as for the Autobahn, well I'll let you digest a bit, you might just learn something. Read what I posted previously, and S-L-O-W-L-Y this time.

If you're a car enthusiast, and you dont know autobahn and the crazy performances cars does there, then u're lost

lonelydora: Thought u would say In Nigeria! None of our Naija roads can handle that speed.

For me, on any highway - 140km/hr average.
Not that I cannot do more, but that's how I drive to anywhere and considering our roads. Have done 180km/hr before on Abuja - Kaduna

That's not true, A.K.S.(Akwa Ibom State) 4 intercity freeways handles that adequately.
I comfortably maintain 200km/h on this road, and thats the top speed of my ride, c180 MB