I am the 2nd owner of a nice 87 560 SL with 148K miles. I bought it 2 years ago from the original owner. Most service records came with the car, but no record of brake fluid, antifreeze or tranny fluid changes. The original owner's daughter sold it to me and had no knowledge of these services, and the records reflect little else.

I have put 15K miles on it in 2 years, and it runs like new. However, I have never had any of these fluids changed. I change the oil and filter every 5K, and have had the timing chain looked at by a qualified mechanic, and he said it is fine. I have not had to add anything to these 3 reservoirs to date, and all 3 appear to be clean. Should I change these fluids? My concern is that I could start having leaks or problems (especially in the transmission) if I do. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is one maxim I remember from past mistakes with other cars.

Undoubtedly, I will have to change out these fluids, but is there a way to improve the probability of a leak-free procedure?
Your thoughts?

As an afterthought, was there another SL forum a year or so ago similar to this one? I used to follow it, and posted several procedures (with pictures) that I had performed on this car. I could not locate the old forum, and found this one, which I just registered with today.
Bob

 

I wanted to update all 89 who have looked at my thread, and perhaps get some additional input. I took the car to an indy, and to the local MB dealer for estimates on the work. I will summarize.

MB: $450 for tranny fluid and filter; indy was $241. Dealer said most of the cost was for the fluid??
MB: ps fluid and filter change $150; indy was $94
MB: brake fluid change and flush $150; indy was $109
MB: coolant flush and change $150; indy $103.

I have a reasonable amount of mechanical prowess, but at age 62, am not too enamored with lying under the car and doing these services. Frankly, if I screw anything up (especially the tranny) it would be outrageously expensive, so I wanted to ask a couple of questions before I would attempt this myself.

Exactly what kind of fluids are needed? The dealer just quotes “MB” tranny, ps and brake fluid. I have gone to Advance Auto and NAPA, and they don’t seem to know precisely what to use. Nothing seems exactly rated for the 87 SL. I went on line and searched. Some say use Dextron ATF for the tranny and the ps, but there are multiple generations of Dextron. Which is correct?

For the ps service, do I just suck out all of the fluid I can from the reservoir with a turkey baster, change the filter, and then add fluid?

For the coolant change, what is the procedure? What is the exact brand and type? Are there drains on the bottom of the radiator to release the old coolant? Drains in the block? Any special procedure to add new coolant to insure no air pockets in the flow?

Finally, the indy told me I needed to replace the cam oilers and valve cover gaskets for a cost of $257- most was labor @ $217 (2.3 hours labor). He said they are plastic and break, and when that happens, not enough oil gets to the camshafts. Is this rocket science to do?

Any input on any of the items is appreciated, and Happy Holidays! I am not driving the car too much now, so I am not in a great hurry to have (or do myself) these services performed.
Bob