Water-damaged Mercedes CLK550 Brought Back to Life
Destined to become a parts car, one brave MB World member gave this CLK550 a second lease on life.
When it comes to cars, water damage is one of the worst things you can encounter. That evil liquid wrecks havoc on electrical systems, in particular. Which are, by the way, quite prevalent on modern automobiles. And in light of recent world events including multiple catastrophic hurricanes, avoiding water damaged cars is getting harder and harder. But that didn’t scare away MB World member Merc Mania. In fact, he knowing purchased a water damaged Mercedes CLK550 as a project.
Why would somebody do such a thing, you ask? Well, it was cheap.
“After scouring online auction houses for a 2009 Mercedes CLK550 that would be affordable to a die-hard cheapskate like me, I stumbled on a non-running car classified as “water damaged” going under the hammer in Texas. I was able to snag it with my miserly bid of two grand, even.”
And that isn’t even the best part. The OP doesn’t live in Texas. Or the U.S. Rather, he lives in West Africa. Which obviously plays at least some part in seeking out a cheap ride, because Mercs aren’t exactly cheap over there. Regardless, the OP admits this is sort of a risky bet.
“When the car arrives, my plan is to start by draining and refilling all the fluids in the engine, tranny and diffs. Before removing the spark plugs for that nail-biting turn over test to see how many gallons of water, minnows, and jumbo shrimp erupt from the cylinders.
If it fires up after that initial effort, I will consider myself one of the luckiest punters alive. And will then embark on a comprehensive testing regime to see if the electronics and computer modules survived submersion in that Texas flood.”
On the bright side, the body and interior of the water logged Merc appear to be in excellent condition. And even if he can’t get the engine to run, there is a backup plan in place.
“Even in the worst case scenario in which the engine proves beyond repair, I should be able to snag a 5.5-liter V8 engine of comparable vintage. Perhaps out of a junkyard S-Class Merc. Used European car parts from junkyards are a tad cheaper here in Africa than in the US. So I still hold out hope that I will be able to restore this car to full working order by doing the usual junkyard rounds.”
