SL fuel tank problem

Alex Crow

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we got the new tank today for a job in next week, it's not even painted! not that it matters i suppose, but still. more worrying perhaps is the fact that it is delivered without any packaging whatsoever! very poor. we have apparently quoted £660+vat for labour and the tank is around the £600-700 mark i believe.
 

television

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All that work and the inside to be gutted,,I can do that in my sleep :D:D:D
 

Alex Crow

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got going on the job today, 5.5 hours into the job and the new tank and metal cover are back in. all told this will be about ten hours total i would think. i guess i could get it down to the 8hrs wis suggests after a little practice, but it is still a time consuming job. i stalled for a while at the point of removing the tank metal cover with the vario in the intermediate position. eventually realised that the roof needs to be almost fully forward to remove/replace the tank and cover, but the roof does NOT need any sections removing thank dog! underneath i got away without removing any exhaust sections or driveshaft, which was nice (thanks fast show). quite an enjoyable job really, if i could get two of these in the workshop every week next year that would do me just fine, sadly it does not work like that.
 

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That is true, that once you have the knack of removing all of the trim,it makes a huge difference to the times, just knowing off by heart the sizes of the torx heads.,, When removing the rear trim, knowing the angles that the panels must be held, all stops damage and speeds thing up.

I think that I could gut the boot and the rear trim panel in about ½hour now
 
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SL55 AMG

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Penultimate update...

Car booked in with main dealer for Thursday. Managed to get them to quote £1400 all in for the job, which is fantastic considering my original quote (another dealer) was £2300.

Am in final discussions with regards to a goodwill gesture from MBUK which will hopefully bring my cost right down, potentially to zero.

Will post back once the car is done if all is well, but I must say I am very impressed with how MB have dealt with this issue so far. It took a while and some strong negotiating, but I am thankful as they could have stuck to their guns and made me cough up for all of the work and parts as my car is an '04.

My faith in MB is almost restored. May well be fully restored once I have my car fixed and back with me depending on the amount of goodwill I hope to get.

It seems persistence may well pay off in this instance, fingers crossed.
 

television

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Good luck with it,, They do not ever answer me,, they must read the forums
 

Alex Crow

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got the job finished last saturday. it took 9.75 hrs, this included a little time spent removing a seized fuel pipe - perhaps 1/2 hr. i would expect to get this time down a fair but next time. i guess there will be a next time judging by the number failing, i think mbuk have sold over 150 to date.

i did have a look at the viability of removing the baffle with the tank insitu. it looks very tricky and would risk damaging or displacing the internal pipe/s, i will not be recommending this.
 
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SL55 AMG

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got the job finished last saturday. it took 9.75 hrs, this included a little time spent removing a seized fuel pipe - perhaps 1/2 hr. i would expect to get this time down a fair but next time. i guess there will be a next time judging by the number failing, i think mbuk have sold over 150 to date.

i did have a look at the viability of removing the baffle with the tank insitu. it looks very tricky and would risk damaging or displacing the internal pipe/s, i will not be recommending this.

Mercedes told me they hold a large stock in the UK......Strange item to hold in stock unless they fully understand how poorly they were made in the first place.

Did you notice anything on the new tank that gives you confidence it wont fail again?
 

Alex Crow

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Did you notice anything on the new tank that gives you confidence it wont fail again?

sorry, i did not look. a quick inspection of the old tank reveals woefully minimal spot welds, i understand these simply fail leaving the baffle loose. if the part number is revised then the tank will be a redesign - i might have a look today to see. our customer was extremely philosophical about it, but did comment "i expected more froma £60,000 car", me too.
 

lippu70

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Photos of baffle in petrol tank

HERE ARE A FEW PHOTOS OF THE BAFFLE WHICH i HAVE REPAIRED, HAD IT BRAISED INSTEAD SPOT WELDED.
 

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television

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Thank you and welcome to the forum
 
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SL55 AMG

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Final update....
Got my car back from Mercedes today and all seems well. A combination of the dealer offering further discounts and MBUK providing a goodwill payment meant no cost to me at all.

Am very happy with both MB head office and the dealers in taking a fair and pragmatic approach to this leaving a very satisfied customer.

Took a lot of work, emails and phone calls but it was clearly worth it in the end.

If anyone has a similar problem with a car out of warranty and normal goodwill conditions (over 5 years old), I would recommend you persist with Mercedes and escalate until someone listens.

Thanks for everyones input to this thread and good luck to others with the same problems.
 

Alex Crow

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well done mr amg. this further shows that if you don't ask, you don't get. sometimes you even have to insist! sadly our customer fell at the first, accepting MB's response of "we are sorry this has happened, but your vehicle is no longer covered by our warranty".
 

alan bennett-jones

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A friend of a friend of a friend, solved his by removing the pump/float and pulled the baffle out by twist it round and winding it out

Yes a rotten deal from MB on this one
have 500sl with same problem. woulld it be possible to send PDF on it . many thanks
 

television

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have 500sl with same problem. woulld it be possible to send PDF on it . many thanks

Hello and welcome,, would you be doing this yourself, or did you just want to read the Instructions,,I only ask as this means a lot of work and many PDF's to be copied and sent
 

alan bennett-jones

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Sl55 amg

SL500 Fuel tank problem.

Fantastic that MB rectified your tank problem.
I would greatly appreciate any contacts @ MB also any references i.e. dealer who carried out the work, as this may speed up my own case.
I look forward to your response.

Alan Bennett-Jones

07889 707873
alanbennettj@aol.com
 

alan bennett-jones

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SL500 fuel tank problem

Fantastic that MB rectified your tank problem (SL55 AMG member)
I would appreciate any contacts @ MB also any references i.e.dealer who carried out the work,as this may speed up my own case.

I look forward to your response.

Alan Bennett-Jones
07889 707873
alanbennettj@aol.com
 

television

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The first thing to do is to ask your dealer to help with the problem,,and the good ones will fight on your behalf. If this fails then you could ask another and or write to MB direct.
 

carnut13

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Am I missing the relavance of this post?:confused:

Or is it just a blatant Spam ad:rolleyes: From China!!! All Yellowstone posts are the same...just an ad

If so can the Mods please take action as the last thing we want is Spam ads from all over the world
 
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