Mercedes 2.9 1994 - opinions please.

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joggerman

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I am currently considering a 1994 Hymer S550, approx 18 feet long, Merc 2.9 five cylinder non-turbo, and have read much about how older Mercs are better than the newer ones.

Are there any views on the quality or otherwise of this engine (80k miles).
longevity, reliability, faults to expect during use etc?

Also, being a non-turbo, how will it perform (max weight 3300kg). Will it's lack of power drive me nuts? I have not had chance to drive it yet.

Generally, what is the wisdom or otherwise of buying a van of this age?

Thanks in advance.
 
80k miles on a merc, no problem!

S class well built, good quality but 18 year old van highly likely to be damp somewhere.

Non turbo, bit gutless and has it power steering, if not you need muscles!

Also needs to be cheap

Good luck

Peter
 
Johns_Cross_Motorhomes said:
80k miles on a merc, no problem!

S class well built, good quality but 18 year old van highly likely to be damp somewhere.

Non turbo, bit gutless and has it power steering, if not you need muscles!

Also needs to be cheap

Good luck

Peter
Click to expand...
About £14k from Ikonic Kampers.
Apparently has no damp?
Do you know the bhp of this engine?

Thanks
 
ref 1994 merc

Hi
myself and my partner own a 1993 hymer s700 .
this vehicle has the same 2.9 5 cylinder engine
as the s550 and my only gripe with the vehicle
is the lack of power , it is adequate only just.
should be ok in the smaller s550.
The horsepower is approx 80 .
yours Paul and Jane:thumb:
 
80 horsepower........Really
How does that push a motorhome?

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Is this a Merc Hymer that has the one piece fibre glass roof?

Mine is a 660 (1987)

Mine does NOT leak or have any damp issues.

I bought it from Ikonic Kampers.

However if you want to drive in the same way you do with more modern vehicles you will be highly frustrated.

I travel at 80 - 90 kph on a good surface and know I will slow down up inclines/hills.

If you want to go faster these vans are not for you (unless you are deaf or have a very loud stereo :Rofl1:)

What's the rush?

I feel it is all about enjoying the (different) experience... taking your time... smelling the roses... de-stressing and relaxing! :Wink:

JJ :Cool:

PS. Been with motorhome/camper vansfor over forty years... never had a damp problem (or habitation check) other that one leaking roof light on one of my self builds. I built it so I resealed it... took 15 minutes.
 
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Should be fine! We have a 1992 S700. Power steering is really needed, but otherwise 60 mph is maximum for us. Bit slower uphill :Smile: but as has been said before well built and solid. Our local Mercedes truck dealer is always pleased to see us. MOT this year passed with no advisories .........

Cheers

PS The S700 is 4.6 ton Max so you are much lighter than ours ......
 
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Some great comments by Folk who own and use these great veterans , take advice by folk who know, We own a wonderful veteran Mercedes,she's 30 years old and at 370000 km and still going strong,and returns 1litre to every 10km, in your money its around 28 mpg, its the 5 cylinder 3litre non turbo,all we have done is changed the rear axle to a coach diff, much better crusing speed and better hill climber, and to have the Mercedes running gear,you will not find any better, and its a Hymer another excellent German quality , the only thing i will say and its my opinion only that you would better off with Manual gearbox rather than auto, ho and our does not have power steering , i have no problem with this or my wife when driving, so yes if the moneys right we can certainly reccomend this model , reliable and a great living area, what else do you need for those great travels, good luck and any more advice just ask,cheers:thumb:
 
I see they are both sold on ebay, I'd have gone for one of the bigger versions based on the 410D which though a bit longer give you a huge load capacity (though you need six tyres, but they are cheap!) .......

Cheers

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A couple of further questions -

Are these older vans well insulated?

They seem to be mainly LHD.
Is this a major issue, as I would be using it mainly for UK breaks and rarely abroad.

Thanks
 
Hymers are well insulated - both new and older models: quite capable of winter use.
LHD is no problem for me, in fact we set out to find one in preference to a RHD. You may need to fit an extra mirror on the right hand side to overcome blind spots, and / or stick a fresnel lens on the right hand window.
In my opinion, the older Merc-based Hymer S-class are beautiful vans (but ours is a newer Star-line and we like that too).
 
cbrookson said:
I see they are both sold on ebay, I'd have gone for one of the bigger versions based on the 410D which though a bit longer give you a huge load capacity (though you need six tyres, but they are cheap!) .......

Cheers
Click to expand...
The 2 that are on ebay are his previous stock. He has 2 550.s that don't appear to be listed on ebay yet!:Smile:
 
joggerman said:
A couple of further questions -

Are these older vans well insulated?

They seem to be mainly LHD.
Is this a major issue, as I would be using it mainly for UK breaks and rarely abroad.

Thanks
Click to expand...
LHD is no problem, as said above you just need extra lenses and mirrors which are not too expensive - see our site for details. It's easy just to follow the curb rather than the lines in the middle of the road! And yes ... insulation is fine for winter use. Even when it is snowing :Smile:

Cheers
 
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You should have no problems with an old merc,they last longer than the newer ones.i have mot'd these old Mercs with over 500000 miles on them ,and still running strong.as to the speed thing,they are not fast or powerfull ,but they almost certainly will get you there without any problems,and it won't cost you £500 to get a light on the dash turned out. What you need to do if you can is think to yourself your Holliday starts as soon as you lock your front door at home and enjoy the journey and soak up some of the sights enrought .afterall it's a Holliday not a race.:thumb:

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Nice S700 on ebay .............

Link Removed

Cheers
 
hdvrod said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_OM602_engine
Our MH has the 2.9 turbo sprinter engine (1997).has enough power for us and returns 25-28mpg.Went up over the pyranees last summer,only problem we had was brakes overheating when we came back down.
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In my opinion this is one the best engines you can get in a smaller motorhome,until you make the leep into rv's then of course it's a cummins .both capable of over half a million miles without any problems if looked after. I have had both, they are superb.:thumb:
 
Merc Chassis ?

How good are the old (S550) Merc chassis in terms of corrosion compared with say Fiat ?
I'm thinking that a 20 year old van has had plenty of time to rust !
 
joggerman said:
How good are the old (S550) Merc chassis in terms of corrosion compared with say Fiat ?
I'm thinking that a 20 year old van has had plenty of time to rust !
Click to expand...

Hi, Joggerman, I,m having a towbar fitted at the moment and had a look under the back of the van, hardly any rust- just a little on some edges, so I would say they are very good compared to anything else on the road, and better than some!
I am in Bolton, where are you in Lancs?
Cheers, Dave:thumb:
ps my van is a 2000 S520

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Am running a Merc 410 chassis with the the 2.9 diesel and after market turbo on a 5000kg motorhome at the moment. Towing a trailer with a sand rail on it. The chassis is now 23 years old with zero rust and the engine has just covered 167000kms. Its just getting going. Its common for that engine to do 750000kms without overhaul. before this I ran Cummins engined RVs and at 100000 were hardly run in. No gearbox judder with the old Mercs and if you ever do have a problem it can be sorted on any street corner in the world. The S class Hymers were renowned for there one piece fibreglass wrap around roof so no damp problems ever and were winterised properly to German standards not English. Of course you do not want one of these vehicles if you are in a hurry, but for retired and people that enjoy life in the slow lane they are the dogs nuts. It can be very satisfying to know you will get where you are going and get back home, and with the factory fitted diff lock and rear wheel drive know that a little wet grass will not be a hindrance. Especially if some inconsiderate motorhomer has dumped his waste water on the grass.
 
Snowbird said:
Am running a Merc 410 chassis with the the 2.9 diesel and after market turbo on a 5000kg motorhome at the moment. Towing a trailer with a sand rail on it. The chassis is now 23 years old with zero rust and the engine has just covered 167000kms. Its just getting going. Its common for that engine to do 750000kms without overhaul. before this I ran Cummins engined RVs and at 100000 were hardly run in. No gearbox judder with the old Mercs and if you ever do have a problem it can be sorted on any street corner in the world. The S class Hymers were renowned for there one piece fibreglass wrap around roof so no damp problems ever and were winterised properly to German standards not English. Of course you do not want one of these vehicles if you are in a hurry, but for retired and people that enjoy life in the slow lane they are the dogs nuts. It can be very satisfying to know you will get where you are going and get back home, and with the factory fitted diff lock and rear wheel drive know that a little wet grass will not be a hindrance. [HI]Especially if some inconsiderate motorhomer has dumped his waste water on the grass.
Click to expand...
[/HI]

Can't imagine who that might be.:RollEyes:


Pete:Cool:
 
Hi Joggerman. I have the same model as Snowbird and agree with his comments.If you are not in a hurry fill you boots. They are realy well made [ no flimsy plastic, they are finished inside in wood] and winterisd to German standard. Also they cost a small fortune when new. Quality always pays in the long run. :thumb:
Pudseykeith
 
duane0001 said:
80 horsepower........Really
How does that push a motorhome?
Click to expand...

My LeSharo has a 1985 Renault Trafic 2.1 turbo diesel engine and it pushed out at new, 70 BHP, be a fair bit less now I reckon, still does 70 mph on the flat, struggles up steep hills though, hates going to Whitby!!!:Wink:
 
Pudseykieth is correct that these older Merc chassied motorhomes cost a small fortune when new. At least the price of a semi detached house in the UK. They are so well winterised that I did not even drain the water down on mine. The S class Hymers and there ilk were the best of the best when built as there was little or no competition in those days. If you wanted the best you were willing to pay for it. Not like today were motorhomes are built in every country in and out of Europe to a price with quality coming in at second place. There are ex German taxies running around in Morocco as taxies with the 5 pot Merc engine that have covered over a million miles on the original engine and still earning a living. After Gardner, Cummins was the king of diesel engines but the Merc is still the poor mans Gardner. Slow revving with a long stroke and loads of torque.

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Froggy my Mercedes Sprinter campervan use to be a local taxi with stop en go city traveling (hard work) since new in 1997 total 357 000 km on the clock. (before I did the campervan convert) I had to rebuild motor after overheating after broken water hose. Have done 4000 km since motor rebuild.

1997 model 412D 2.9 L Turbo 122 horse power. With the standard highroof and standard body it wil run at 140 km/h easy. Its got enough power for my use.
 
joggerman said:
I am currently considering a 1994 Hymer S550, approx 18 feet long, Merc 2.9 five cylinder non-turbo, and have read much about how older Mercs are better than the newer ones.

Are there any views on the quality or otherwise of this engine (80k miles).
longevity, reliability, faults to expect during use etc?

Also, being a non-turbo, how will it perform (max weight 3300kg). Will it's lack of power drive me nuts? I have not had chance to drive it yet.

Generally, what is the wisdom or otherwise of buying a van of this age?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

These engines are bullet proof
Chain driven.
Run for ever

Downside. No turbo so not a race car speed
Should plod along for ever at 60mph

You can add a turbo ( standard sprinter parts )
For around £2000.00

Will make the drive far more responsive and will give better Mpg
Had one in 2006 went like a sprinter and was over 3.5 ton
:thumb:
 
660s

Sorry to hijack but as you all seem to know your stuff, I am looking at a 660s rather than cl I think with single wheels aft but the owner can't tell me the gvw. Anyone any idea? Think the cl was 4.6t but I only have licence to 3.5. Thanks!
 
ck12680 said:
Sorry to hijack but as you all seem to know your stuff, I am looking at a 660s rather than cl I think with single wheels aft but the owner can't tell me the gvw. Anyone any idea? Think the cl was 4.6t but I only have licence to 3.5. Thanks!
Click to expand...

The 660 sclass was 4.6 tons and had twin rear wheels.

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