driveability

HEY
i hope you don't think I haven't searched but I know sooner or later my 2005 twin turbo V12 will need a rebuild. Are there non Benz parts available ?
Are there machine shops that could handle the crank and rods being machined ? I've been a pro tech, mainly Gm for 25 years and have the knowledge or can read LOL .
John

driveability

Come on guys, it can't be so hard to type out a few resources ??
Pretty please

boostd

Speedriven could do it. Eurocharged too probably.

Speedriven1

Hi, John. The tough thing about these motors is the Alusil lining, which require special coatings on the pistons and different rings and blah blah so doing like a 0.030 overbore and re-ringing isn't really an option. We've had success with sleeving the block and going to a different piston ... and, oddly enough, that's usually cheaper than the OEM parts.

Here's a video of a V12 on our bore mill from last week. Enjoy!

BlownV8

There are places that can do it but like Speedriven says it is much easier and cheaper to sleeve the engine with a cast iron bore and use aftermarket parts.

driveability

Wow,
For sure its an AMG !
My engine has 206K on it, I haven't herd any odd noises and uses the same amount of oil as it did at 80k. I've changed the oil at low intervals as well as ALWAYS warm up the entire drive-train before revving over 3k. But it can't last forever !!!!!!!

BALL PARK FOR THE VIDEO UPGRADES ???

BlownV8

It's also less expensive to buy a used engine and drop it it. There will be less down time too. The only reason to do a rebuild is if you are getting upgraded turbos and or if you are using some other power adders and want to make extremely high hp.

Speedriven1

Around $15K for what's in the video- using stock crank and flywheel that are polished and balanced, stock cams, etc. Optional stuff like powder coating the valve covers, machining the combustion chamber, more extensive headwork (with before/after flow bench testing) etc. is available, but not really necessary if the goal is to simply "refresh" the stock engine.

Speedriven1

I totally get what you're saying- but that's not really accurate. It's sort of like saying "you could buy a new car, or you could spend less and get a used car."

Sure, you'll spend less initially- but there's no telling whether or not the engine you're buying is going to last another twenty thousand miles or hundred thousand miles. You don't know if it was on a tuned car and beat to he(ck) and run on crappy fuel, etc. etc. Even if you think you're getting a good engine, you're looking at $5K on the extreme low end to buy a decent engine and another $2500 or so to do the swap. Assuming everything goes well, you're $7500-8K into a used engine that's very much an unknown quantity. If it lasts 40K miles and a rebuilt one goes another 200K, which one is really cheaper?

BlownV8

The used one will still be cheaper. You can check the engine, do a leak down test, and even scope.the bores for issues. These engines are very stout and good for well past 200k miles. Most parts yards have warranties to cover engine problems so you may be out a bit for.labor but an engine swap is.really not that big of a deal. Rebuilding one.of these is a big deal.

Alusil has much better wear properties than cast iron but it does not take extremely high boost levels as well. I would not consider cast iron bores an upgrade in any sense other than if my goal was to make a 1,000 hp engine.

Edit.

I should preface by saying this would be for the standard 600 engine. For a 65, a rebuild may be comparable in price or less expensive than a used engine unless you can find a great deal. 600 engines are readily available and fairly cheap.