Project CLK55 AMG

[bembo449]

very "oh dear" but I admire your enthusiasm sasha

 

[Sasha94]

Thanks, it's all very exciting buying a new car, I like to do all the little repairs and a full service when buying them to give me piece of mind so yesterday I got started on the service side of things. I also received the floor mat plugs from Latvia so I installed them. The drivers mat is damaged slightly but for £3 these make it look a bit better for now. It started like this



Not good enough, so let's sort it





That's better



Next I decided to start the under bonnet jobs and change all 16 spark plugs! Started by removing the front half of the engine cover



After removing the air box it's clear there's another thing to add to my list!



The rocker cover gasket is clearly leaking...





On the other bank there's just oil around the filler cap which is expected from spills etc



So I started by removing and labeling all the coil packs and masking over the electrical plugs





The clean up is going to take a lot of my time!!



I ended up giving the engine a quick de grease and tidy up as I hate putting dirty stuff back together and it will help me determine if the gasket is definitely still leaking



Time to do something now! The iridium plugs I ordered ended up not being in stock and I got a phone call from the supplier asking me if I did like to wait or have these laser platinum plugs and some money off instead. That reduced the cost by quite a bit so it became a no brainer and I went for these

 

[Sasha94]

But first, it's time to take the plugs out and you will need a 16mm spark plug socket, a half inch ratchet, a universal joint and extension a 17mm open ended spanner and a 3/8ths ratchet, extension and spark plug socket really help for the hard ones at the back.



That combo works for the front 5 plugs but the last 3 are harder work so time to break out the UJ





That worked for the next one, but the 2 at the back of this bank are much better accessed with a 3/8ths set



Time to install the new ones



Nip them all up and re attach the coil packs; that's the drivers side bank done! Passenger side bank to go





Here's where the photos get a bit thinner on the ground. Laura has a migraine and had to go in but I soldiered on with the passenger side bank. I found it much harder to do these, but working with the 3/8ths sockets on cylinders 6,7 & 8 made it possible although the plugs on cylinder 8 are a mare to get out, you have to feed the tools in piece by piece before removing them piece by piece. The 16th plug was a proper task to remove and took about 30 mins to free, first the coil pack was welded on and impossible to remove. Much tea was consumed while I tried to work out how in God's name I was going to free it but then I managed to get the spanner in at just the right angle and it came out! Phew!

So here are all 16 old plugs, but wait, what is this interloper?!?



Yes! The 16th plug, the one that wouldn't come out was a genuine MB plug made by NGK. I guess whoever did this last couldn't get the plug out and gave up but I did not!

After spending 4 hours on that, it was time to turn my attention to the airbox



Filters not bad



New ones are better though!



Time to get the cover cleaned!



And back in the bay



And that is all she wrote! Nice clean bay with 16 new spark plugs and 2 new air filters.



Oil change later today, seat trim and wipers also on the to do list. It never ends!!

 

[Sasha94]

Sorry but I'm getting an Photobucket error message on those links

Sorry, the requested page does not exist.
Please check the URL for correct spelling and capitalization.

Please be paitient with me, I posted before I was ready!!! I'm fixing it now

 

[Srdl]

Please be paitient with me, I posted before I was ready!!! I'm fixing it now

All fine now - just catching up with a quick coffee before getting back into the gardening!

 

[flowrider]

Great job on the spark plugs, i need to change mine on the SL but i never seem to have the time or the inclination to start the job.

 

[Sasha94]

Thanks, I've fixed the whole post now so the whole saga can be read

 

[gramey]

Hi Sasha, I've only just seen this thread so welcome to the forum, very nice car and nice to see a lady who gets past even rudimentary basics . I couldn't even get my ex wife to learn how to check the oil or water on her car, bet she wished she'd learnt now! Anyway enjoy your new ride and look forward to reading your progress.

 

[Craiglxviii]

For your engine bay I fully recommend ACF50. It's great. It gives plastic a dull shine that lasts for ages.

The rocker box gasket leak is well known on the M113 engine... make sure you clean off all traces of the original material before laying the new bead!

 

[Sasha94]

Thanks both, I try but my capabilities are limited.

The engine bay will be dressed with Auto Finesse Dressle when it arrives as I've run out!!

I'll be back with an update shortly

 

[Craiglxviii]

Thanks both, I try but my capabilities are limited.

The engine bay will be dressed with Auto Finesse Dressle when it arrives as I've run out!!

I'll be back with an update shortly

Try the ACF50. I'm a convert. It's safe on electronics, it's a persistent rust stopper, preventer and inhibitor and it cleans up engine bays just great too it even makes the cruddy cast alloy finish of the intake manifold look good!!

 

[Sasha94]

I've heard of the stuff, will have to have a closer look!

So, first things first it was time to do the oil, break out the filter removal tool and a 3/8ths ratchet





Just in time too, although the oil was clean and fresh this filter was doing it no favours and is one of the reasons I wanted a genuine filter as this shouldn't happen with one of those





Next job was to change all the seals (don't worry, I made sure none of the wood chippings my Dad left got on what I was working with)



The genuine filter is ribbed so it shouldn't crush like the last one



After that it was time to tighten the sump plug up again and fill up with 7.3 litres of oil before resetting the service counter



And check all is well



After cleaning up I went over the small jobs that needed doing, check the new floor mat plugs



Then remove the damaged seat trim





And refit the new one



After that it was time to bin the cheap wiper blades for these



I can see now!!

And then the really sad bit; for the history file





Amazing how much road tax for such a car has gone up in the last 14 years and also amazing how much the car cost compared to what I paid! Adding up the options (rear blind and keyless go) it comes to just under £60,000. I only paid £6495! There should be more over the next few weeks now the more urgent mechanical jobs have been done. Waiting for the detailing goodies to get here now!! Shame I have to go back to work Monday. Boo!!

 

[AMGeed]

You've done well Sasha and showed you are very capable of maintaining your car. Good job.

 

[Sasha94]

Thanks, I try!! Hopefully in the next few weeks you'll see I'm pretty handy at cleaning it too!

 

[JBell]

Thanks, I try!! Hopefully in the next few weeks you'll see I'm pretty handy at cleaning it too!

Clay, polish, Wax, Sonax - simples

 

[corradoman]

Hi sasha, great job i`m up the road from you in colwyn bay, may see your car around as i visit bangor a bit, so if you see a burgundy r171 SLK 350 waving at you it will be me,ha, how have you got on with the pipercross filters, i was thinking of using the k&N one as i had one in my previous TT and sounded nice, is there any noticeable noise difference as my airbox is the same as yours and has 2 filters

 

[Craiglxviii]

Hi sasha, great job i`m up the road from you in colwyn bay, may see your car around as i visit bangor a bit, so if you see a burgundy r171 SLK 350 waving at you it will be me,ha, how have you got on with the pipercross filters, i was thinking of using the k&N one as i had one in my previous TT and sounded nice, is there any noticeable noise difference as my airbox is the same as yours and has 2 filters

The noticeable difference you will find with performance filters is reduced engine life. They might give a different sound, they do not filter the air as well as standard OEM paper filters and that directly translates to increased engine wear...

 

[Sasha94]

Clay, polish, Wax, Sonax - simples

That's a good routine but there's so much more to it than that when I'm out there!! Even on a silver car... The first detail on a new car for me usually takes 2-3 days.

Hi sasha, great job i`m up the road from you in colwyn bay, may see your car around as i visit bangor a bit, so if you see a burgundy r171 SLK 350 waving at you it will be me,ha, how have you got on with the pipercross filters, i was thinking of using the k&N one as i had one in my previous TT and sounded nice, is there any noticeable noise difference as my airbox is the same as yours and has 2 filters

I'll look out for you! I work for Conwy Council so I'm in and around the Bay and my in laws live in Mochdre so I'll definitely keep an eye out although I'm usually in the Volvo, the CLK will get the occasional run. It's too early to say what difference the foam filters make but I bought them for cost reasons rather than performance reasons really. They were cheaper than MB filters and they last a lot longer, they are dry filters unlike K&N which have to be oiled (you can end up over oiling them and killing the MAF) and if they do provide better airflow then great but it wasn't the primary concern. I haven't heard any difference in the noise but that could be because I haven't been listening out or because I've always had the windows shut.

As for engine wear that may well be true in some cases but as the car will only do 2-3000 miles a year and will have an oil change every year I'm not worried.

 

[Wighty]

Excellent updates and pics thanks , I really need to up my game now . I'm looking forward to a lot of detailing pics as well . Keep up the good work .

 

[Sasha94]

Thanks, I don't know how long it'll be before it gets cleaned but I'll try and do it in the next couple of weeks, weather dependent