1994 Mercedes Benz 280

THIS VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A LEAKING HEAD GASKET AND FAILED ENGINE WIRING HARNESS. THE OIL LEAK HAD BEGUN OVER THREE YEARS AGO, BUT WAS MINOR AND I WAS LEAD TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS A MINOR SEAL OR GASKET. UPON CONTACTING OTHER OWNERS OF THE SAME TYPE OF VEHICLE, I FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS GENERALLY KNOWN BY MANY OWNERS OF C280'S THAT THE HEAD GASKETS LEAK OIL AND THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESSES GO BAD. THE TERM MOST USED WAS "IT IS NOT A QUESTION OF IF IT WILL FAIL BUT WHEN IT WILL FAIL". UPON LEARNING THIS INFORMATION I INSPECTED THE WIRING IN THE CAR AND IN AREAS WHERE THE WIRES WERE NOT WRAPPED TOGETHER, I COULD SEE THE INSULATION CRACKING AND WHERE THE WIRING LOOKED FINE, ALL I HAD TO DO IS LIGHTLY MOVE THE WIRES AND A NEW CRACK WOULD DEVELOP. WHERE THE CRACKS EXISTED YOU COULD SEE THE WIRE STRANDS BELOW. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THE WIRING HARNESS FAILURE CAN LEAD TO EQUIPMENT FAILURE AND POTENTIALLY AN ENGINE FIRE. IN MY OPINION AN ENGINE WIRING HARNESS SHOULD LAST THE LIFE OF THE CAR, DEFINITELY LONGER THAN 50K MILES AS SHOULD A HEAD GASKET THAT HASN'T BEEN STRESSED IN AN OVER HEAT SITUATION. IT IS ALSO MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE HEADGASKET HAS BEEN REVISED IN LATER VERSIONS. DT