BenzE

Yesterday, I saw a C36, maybe mid-to-late 90s, on the highway. I didn't know such a car existed. Could someone tell me the specs for it, compare it to the C43, or at least tell me where I might look to find such specs and stats? Thanks!

steve s

roughly 900 c36 came over to the us, 1995-1997, about 300 per year. 95-96 4 speed auto, 97 5 speed auto, all had hand-built 24-valve inline-6 putting out 268 hp, 280 lb-ft torque (97 had 276 hp). then came 98-00 c43 with a new 24-valve v-8 putting out 302 hp, 302 lb-ft torque. c36 comes with amg body kits, 17x7.5 front and 17x8.5 rear amg monoblock wheels, 225-45-17 front, 245-40-17 rear. the engines were hand-built, with modified rods, forged aluminum pistions in bigger sleeves to provide 10.5:1 compression ratio vs 10.0:1 for the normal c280. took s350 turbodiesel crankshaft and specially machined it and balanced it, putting out 3.6 liters instead of 2.8. enlarged cylinder-head ports, used sodium-filled exhaust valves, amg intake camshaft with greater lift, e320 intake manifold (larger-diameter and variable-length), low-pressure exhaust system, and basically the whole computer was reprogrammed. installed heavier-duty differential used in current e-class. additional oil-spray jets installed on engine block. four piston calipers and 12.6 inch front brake discs from sl600. 10.9 inch rear from e420. upgraded anti-roll bar stiffness, 35% front, 49% rear; shorter springs from euro-sport-spec (although if u put c280 and c36 side-by-side, c280 is actually lower). interesting AMG "degressive" gas shock absorbers. Schmevlar Kevlar (carbon fiber) used on B-pillars (door pillars) instead of plastic. interior had tasteful amg badges to remind u it's an amg. has two sets of fog-lights. one is a "street light" which uses the high-beam part of the assembly to shine down and spreading it down a few feet infront of car, lighting up the road (great for looking out for potholes). second is a more conventional one that projects quite far but is from the air dam and sits really low. don't know about c280, but i think c36 also came with euro-spec headlight assemblies instead of the normal fuzzy us dot-spec, because on the left side of the beam pattern, the cutoff is horizontal, and on the right half of the beam pattern, the cutoff rises to the right at a 15 degree angle.

basically, amg/mb's first collaboration was to take parts from everywhere else, machine/enhance it, and put it into a c-class. the new c-class (w203) has a purpose built c32 amg, i think, that doesn't have so many borrowed parts.

read my follow up for test data and for pics (from others too) on pot-head's post about body diff between c36 and c43:
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...&threadid=1886

BenzE

Dear Steve S: Thanks for the info. As soon as I posted my query, I found your earlier replies regarding the vehicle. Very interesting. Did the C36 have the same problem with the cylinder heads that other MB Inline 6's had, where those at the back of the block tended to blow? Just curious. Nice cars, both C36 and C43.

steve s

didn't realize c280 had problems with rear cylinder heads...c36 had larger ones. besides...only 900 were in the states and there were a lot more c280 on the road, so statistically u'd record more different problems. there is this slight "tick" noise when the car's running u could hear when u turn everthing else off (very soft sound). dealer said it was just part of the old inline-6 engine (don't really remember what it was), nothing to worry about. one peculiar thing was the right rear tire would roll over on hard corning...even on fresh bridgestone s0-3 tires...alignment all checked out too...weird.

those new c32 are amazing...under 5 sec to 60 mph and automatic too =). makes these c36/c43 look...well...old.

BrabusCClass

Wow Steve I am impressed. You know your C36 and C43.

One thing I dont like about the C36 is the availabity of parts. Or should I say the unavailabilty of parts. This was the biggest factor when I traded in my C36. It just takes too long to get a part for the car. And if they send the wrong part from Germany then its going to be a month before you get your car back. Another thing is that they had a hard time diagnosing the car. I had a weird sound coming from my engine and the dealer had my car for a month. I would visit them to check progress and saw the head off and the sound was still there. They were stuck and they admitted it. It didnt deter them but still. One day they call me and told me they fixed it. I asked how? They said a tech from Germany was there and they showed him and he told them exactly what it was. The car is just too rare and technitians are not familiar with the car which make it hard to fix.

My .02

steve s

yeah, tell me about it. i'm still waiting for one single bolt since dec.

btw, brabuscclass, what kind of noise was it? i talked to dealer about a very quiet and subtle "click/dik" (don't laugh) u hear from i guess the engine, they said it's part of the i6 design. the minute i told the dealer he recognized it and said it was normal, he did attend mb's training in germany, even went on their test track on the embankment part in a bus going 100+...

steve s

sorry, no i don't have a black c. it's a silver c36, and it's under my mom's name. i don't usually drive it; start it like twice a month, but other than that it just sits there until either of my parents visit sf. i drive a volvo 850 turbowagon. yeah, i think i've seen a black c43 (i think) around battery st a couple of times, some middle aged white male.

delisi

i have the same problem with the ticking noise on my c36. I took it back to where i had purchased the car and they told me it was n ormal. I think it is normal because it's such a big engine in a small car e-mail me at delisi@hotmail.com and let me know if it can be fixed i still have 1 1/2 years left on my warranty

jmg1848

resurrected for fun...

"roughly 900 c36 came over to the us, 1995-1997, about 300 per year. 95-96 4 speed auto, 97 5 speed auto, all had hand-built 24-valve inline-6 putting out 268 hp, 280 lb-ft torque (97 had 276 hp). then came 98-00 c43 with a new 24-valve v-8 putting out 302 hp, 302 lb-ft torque. c36 comes with amg body kits, 17x7.5 front and 17x8.5 rear amg monoblock wheels, 225-45-17 front, 245-40-17 rear. the engines were hand-built, with modified rods, forged aluminum pistions in bigger sleeves to provide 10.5:1 compression ratio vs 10.0:1 for the normal c280. took s350 turbodiesel crankshaft and specially machined it and balanced it, putting out 3.6 liters instead of 2.8. enlarged cylinder-head ports, used sodium-filled exhaust valves, amg intake camshaft with greater lift, e320 intake manifold (larger-diameter and variable-length), low-pressure exhaust system, and basically the whole computer was reprogrammed. installed heavier-duty differential used in current e-class. additional oil-spray jets installed on engine block. four piston calipers and 12.6 inch front brake discs from sl600. 10.9 inch rear from e420. upgraded anti-roll bar stiffness, 35% front, 49% rear; shorter springs from euro-sport-spec (although if u put c280 and c36 side-by-side, c280 is actually lower). interesting AMG "degressive" gas shock absorbers. Schmevlar Kevlar (carbon fiber) used on B-pillars (door pillars) instead of plastic. interior had tasteful amg badges to remind u it's an amg. has two sets of fog-lights. one is a "street light" which uses the high-beam part of the assembly to shine down and spreading it down a few feet infront of car, lighting up the road (great for looking out for potholes). second is a more conventional one that projects quite far but is from the air dam and sits really low. don't know about c280, but i think c36 also came with euro-spec headlight assemblies instead of the normal fuzzy us dot-spec, because on the left side of the beam pattern, the cutoff is horizontal, and on the right half of the beam pattern, the cutoff rises to the right at a 15 degree angle."

Benjii

Thank you for resurrecting. Great info here