Cleaning And Care Of The Vehicle - Mercedes-Benz 300SDL-TURBO 126 D 1986 Owner's Manual

Cleaning and Care of the Vehicle

In operation, your vehicle is subjected
to 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 condi­
tions, but also by air pollution, road
salt, tar, gravel and stone chipping.
Grease and oil, fuel, coolant, brake
fluid, bird droppings, tree resins, etc.
should be removed immediately to
avoid paint damage. Frequent wash­
ing, however, reduces and/o r elim i­
nates the aggressiveness and
potency of the above adverse influ­
ences.
M ore frequent washings are neces­
sary to deal with unfavorable condi­
tions; fo r example, near the ocean, in
industrial areas (smoke, exhaust
em issions), or during w inter opera­
tion.
82
You should check your vehicle from
time to tim e fo r stone chipping or
other damage. Any damage should be
repaired as soon as possible to prev­
ent the start of corrosion.
In doing so, do not neglect the under­
side of the car. A prerequisite for a
thorough check is a washing of the
underbody follow ed by a thorough
inspection. Damaged areas need to
be re-undercoated.
Your vehicle has been treated at the
factory with a wax-base rustproofing
in the body cavities which will last fo r
the lifetime of the vehicle. Post-pro-
duction treatm ent is neither neces­
sary nor recom m ended by
MERCEDES-BENZ because of the
possibility of incom patibility between
materials used in the production pro­
cess and others applied later.
A fter every engine cleaning you
should have the engine com partm ent
re-rustproofed with MB anticorrosion
wax. Before rustproofing, all control
linkage bushings have to be lubri­
cated with hydraulic oil (check with
your local MERCEDES-BENZ dealer­
ship fo r recom m ended brands).
We have selected car-care products
and com piled recom m endations
w hich are specially matched to our
vehicles and w hich always reflect the
latest technology. You can obtain MB
car-care products at every
MERCEDES-BENZ dealer.
Scratches, corrosive deposits, corro­
sion or damage due to negligent or
incorrect care cannot always be
removed with the car-care products
recom m ended here. In such cases it
is best to seek aid at your authorized
MERCEDES-BENZ dealer.
The following topics deal with the
cleaning and care of your vehicle and
give im portant " h ow -to " inform ation
as well as references to recom ­
mended MB car-care products.