B Feelgood

I looked through the DIY thread and also did a quick search on the forum but didn't come across any.

Is there a DIY for replacing the front upper/lower ball joints, motor mounts, and transmission mount on an SL55?

I'm also looking to do the brake fluid, engine coolant, and transmission fluid on the vehicle.

It looks like you need DAS/Star to do the brake fluid and transmission fluid?

latemodel21

A lot of this is not model specific, so you would do well to look over other DIY sections (the E55 DIY section is good) and then the WIS for the R230

I will mention a couple of things I found out from doing (did not find searching)
Upper ball joints depend on the year as early ones are not replaceable (you need to replace the whole arm). On my 2003, I had one bad upper BJ, so I bought a low mileage upper arm (newer style) from a newer year,so that I can replace the ball joint in it later if I need to.

Lower ball joints are very tight; use a ball joint separation press AND smack the control arm on the side at the same time.

Transmission mount is easy

Front Motor mounts are not very hard, but you HAVE TO remove the exhaust (manifolds stay on , but cats have to be unbolted at manifold and dropped)

Transmission fluid does not need DAS ... you would be doing yourself a big favor if you not only replace the filter and fluid .... but also replace the "pilot bushing" (this is what mercedes calls the electrical connector seal) while you are in there. You will also need the tranny fluid dipstick/tool NOTE ON PILOT BUSHING ... the screw that secures this needs to be loosened while the transmission is cool or cold - otherwise you may spin the captive nut (in the conductor plate) making a mess of things.

Brake fluid .... DAS is required to bleed properly ... However, you can probably flush it sufficiently without DAS using a "power bleeder" tank on the master reservoir (keep an eye on the level).

Hope that helps,
Chris

desired_speeds

I actually didn't have to unbolt my exhaust for the engine mounts. It takes a bit of strategic maneuvering on the drivers side but I managed to get the old one out and the new one in without unbolting anything aside from the mounts themselves (and the under panels of course). The mount needs to go over the steering rack lines then comes out right behind the ABC pump. The passenger side comes out really easily. Both engine/ trans mount took me approximately 3.5 hours from start to finish.

latemodel21

I must have given up too easily on doing it with the exhaust in place. Nice work.

Cheers,
Chris

m-svt-amg

Hmm i probably need to look into mounts as well... man its gonna be worth it when shes all back together

B Feelgood

Thanks for the info everyone!

Chris: Would this allow me to check the trans fluid temp, reset a SRS light, lower the ride height, etc?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-D630-ME...505727&vxp=mtr

latemodel21

That auction does NOT include the multiplexer and cables (the important parts). If I'm not mistaken Shardul still sells these set-ups (and provides good support I imagine) .

Cheers,

Chris