rnelson

Hey Everyone,

It took me a while but I finally found the perfect one. I have been doing tons of searches on this board, trying to figure out what I wanted.

The one I found on has 50K miles, pristine paint not one door ding or scrape. Interior is perfect and looks brand new. Exterior looks new as well. One owner. Has seat A/C and nav. silver seat inserts. Silver exterior.

I know, I know where are the pictures, I will take some this weekend after I give it a bath from the long drive bringing it home from LA to Phoenix.

I have questions!!!!! PLease help, I did the searches, but still not sure where to start.

What upgrades should I do?

1. Hood Badge - Done

2. Springs - Which ones to buy? Will H & R give me the super low sport look? Can anyone show me a picture of a W210 with monoblocks and H & R springs?

3. Is there a standard intake upgrade? I don't need the crazy Carbon Fiber one?

4. What is the deal with this ECU reset thing?

5. The brakes are very squishy, tons of peddle travel, the second pump is better? should I bleed them? I will take the wheels off this weekend and inspect the brakes.

6. I'm confused with how people get Bluetooth to work? I have the nav system, but I don't have a telephone or telephone hook up. It has telephone controls on the steering wheel and on the nav unit.

7. What are the most affordable performance upgrades?

8. What maintenance should I do? The owner did not have any records but serviced it at the dealer, so I'm going to call and see if I can get the records.

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

Rodney

Solo wing

Welcome! And congrats on your car.

1. Hood Badge - Done:
TBH I've never liked the aftermarket hood badge, I think the stock is classic and suits the E much.
But to each his own

2. Springs
When I bought the car it had
H & R springs, the car was pretty low with 17" mono block replicas, also the ride was a bit harsh.
I bought the stock monoblocks, stock springs and returned the car to factory. We have alot of snow, and I wasn't in the mood to help the city with snowplowing !

3. Is there a standard intake upgrade? I don't need the crazy Carbon Fiber one?
The stock AMG intake is already great, the intake is not the bottleneck on this car.
However, you could grab a pair of AFE Pro Dry S filters (amazing results, so far so good)

4. What is the deal with this ECU reset thing?
You can soft-reset the transmission adaptations to the aggressive factory settings. But know that with time the car will return to the previous state. The transmission is designed with economical driving in mind.
I believe you could hard-reset by using a Star-tool or disconnecting the battery overnight, but I'm not fully sure about that.

5. The brakes are very squishy, tons of peddle travel.
Check your rotors, pads, lines, maybe there's air in the system, try bleeding. if you have aftermarket pads(ceramic) it could cause the squishy feedback, I have Semi-metallic pads with a strong bite and the feedback is great!

6. I'm confused with how people get Bluetooth to work?
Sorry I can't talk about OEM navigation and Bluetooth.

7. What are the most affordable performance upgrades?
Replace the rear cats with a 2.5 X-pipe. Remove the resonator for sound! Quiet under idle but sounds like a proper N/A V8 AMG.
ECU tunning, headers.
The muffler is already straight through, it's the best design out there.

8.
You could go to any Mercedes dealer and ask them to give you a record about the history of the car.
However, some/most will refuse due to privacy concerns.
If they refuse, tell them that you don't want a printed copy and they will read it for you.

Good luck!
Faiz

benzokirk

Hey Rodney- Congrats, and welcome to the Forum! So, check this out, I'm gonna answer as many questions for you as I can, starting with:

2. Springs: my research tells me to go with Vogtland. I went the Carnewal route and got Euro springs for mine and I'd like it to be a tad bit lower. My next suspension will be the Vogtlands with Koni adjustable shocks.

3. Is there a standard intake upgrade? - No... I don't need the crazy Carbon Fiber one? - Don't worry, it's crazy expensive and not easy to find.

4. I think you mean, ECU Upgrades - but I'll answer the ECU Reset:

ECU SOFT RESET:
NOTE: ALL the electrical must be shut off, including climate control. Don’t operate anything electrical, including radio, windows, dome light, etc. during the procedure.

Turn the ignition key to the “ON” (not start) position
Press the gas pedal to the floor and hold for five seconds
Turn the ignition key to the “OFF” position (do not remove the key), then release the gas pedal
Wait for at least two minutes for your ECU (Electronic Control Unit) to reset

5. It is never a good practice to "pump" your brakes. One of the first things you want to do is purge and recharge the brake fluid. That should correct the "squishiness" you're feeling.

6. I think you'll have to install an entirely new Nav unit, although there has been some talk about this on the forum, I'm not up on it, so I'll let someone else chime in on that one, and maybe I'll learn something too!

7. I would start with the exhaust system: headers, downpipes, resonator delete, secondary cat delete, and x-pipe. That'll gain you a few horsepower there. Superchargers (Kleeman, Westec.... or find some on E-bay) would be a bit more expensive but well worth it, I'm told, and then you'd need the ECU to be upgraded as well... On the cheaper side, again, I would go with K&N Air Filters, or AFE Pro Dry Filters

8. Besides the brake fluid purge and recharge, mentioned above, you should also do the same for the transmission. Check the head gaskets, they're notorious for needing a good tightening. They that before replacing them, if you're leaking a bit of oil. Also check your plug wires for cracks, and just change them out, along with plugs if the wires look worn. Be aware that your E55 has two plugs for every cylinder, so you'll buy a set of 16 plugs and wires.

I'm sure I missed something that someone will chime in and add, or hopefully they'll feel free to correct... hope that helps!

benzokirk

Good response, Faiz, I didn't see it until I finished mine

Solo wing

No worries mate
You did a better job.


Cheers

mls92255

Hi,
I'm glad that you're enthusiastic about your purchase! I have a '99 E55 in fair condition . . . the clearcoat is 50% gone and there is significant rust showing through. It's not worth fixing these cosmetic issues. Mechanically great, although no mechanic has been able to figure out why it sticks in first gear when the temperature is in the low 30s. The further below the longer I have to drive to get the car to shift . . . sometimes this process can take up to a mile of driving. The car cannot go on the highway in these conditions.
Anyhow, I'm thinking of saving the car for my kids and getting a more recent car like your '01. What did you pay for it?
Thank,
Martin

Midwest

I see your questions have already been answered, so I will just say enjoy the car! With only 50k miles on it, she has A LOT of life left... A LOT.

rnelson

Hi everyone! Thanks for your replies! I'm taking pics this weekend. Last weekend was all about inspections, service, and detailing everything.

Martin, I paid top dollar at $14,800. It seemed that good ones can actually be had as low as 9,900 with 80k. But I wanted lower miles and had to had to have nav and silver in color. There are some fools on ebay and on auto trader asking prices as high as 19k for 60k miles! I lost a good one from a forum member 60k miles for 12,500.