Mercedes-Benz 1984 300SD, Owner'S Manual

Page: 63 / 101

Spare Parts Service Cleaning and Care of the Vehicle
All MERCEDES-BENZ service sta­
tions maintain a sto ck of original
spare parts required fo r maintenance
and repair w ork. In addition, strategi­
cally located parts distribution cen­
ters provide quick and reliable parts
service. More than 200 000 different
spare parts, even fo r rather old
vehicle models, are available.
MERCEDES-BENZ original spare
parts are subjected to m ost severe
quality inspections. Each part has
been specifically developed, manu­
factured o r selected fo r and adapted
to MERCEDES-BENZ vehicles.
Therefore, MERCEDES-BENZ original
spare parts should be installed.
In operation, your vehicle is sub je cte d
to a great am ount of varying external
influences which, if gone unchecked,
can attack the paintw ork as well as
the underbody and cause lasting
damage.
Such damage is caused not only by
extrem e and varying clim atic co n d i­
tions, but also by air pollution, road
salt, tar, gravel and stone chipping.
Grease and oil, fuel, coolant, brake
fluid, bird droppings, tre e resins, etc.
should imm ediately be rem oved to
avoid paint damage. Frequent w ash­
ing, however, reduces a n d /o r elim i­
nates the agressiveness and potency
of the above adverse influences.
More frequent w ashings are neces­
sary to deal with unfavorable co n d i­
tio n s; fo r example, near the ocean, in
industrial areas (sm oke, exhaust
em issions), or during w inter opera­
tion.
You should check your vehicle from
tim e to tim e fo r stone chipping or
o th e r damage. Any damage should be
repaired as soon as possible to
prevent the start of corrosion.
In doing so, do not neglect the
underside of the car. A prerequisite
fo r a thorough check is a washing of
the underbody follow ed by a th o r­
ough inspection. Damaged areas
need to be re-undercoated.
Y o u r vehicle has been treated at the
fa c to ry w ith a wax-base rustproofing
in th e body cavities w hich will last fo r
th e lifetim e o f the vehicle. P o st-p ro ­
d u c tio n treatm ent is neither neces­
sary no r recom m ended by
MERCEDES-BENZ because of the
p o s s ib ility of incom patibility between
m aterials used in the production
p ro c e s s and others applied later.
A fte r every engine cleaning you
should have the engine com partm ent
re-ru stp ro o fe d . Before rustproofing, all
co n tro l linkage bushings have to be
lubricated with hydraulic oil (check
w ith your local MERCEDES-BENZ
dealership fo r recom m ended brands).
We have selected car-care products
and com piled recom m endations
w hich are specially m atched to our
vehicles and w hich always reflect the