2010 C63 P31: Porous Aluminum Head, Leak in Bottom Plate, & Bad Head Bolts
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Joined: Jan 2010
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From: Bellevue, WA
'10 C63 AMG P31, '88 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, '78 Toyota FJ40, '10 Audi Q7 TDi
Regarding MB service techs, I thought that there was an AMG certification on top of their MB certs. ? Without it, they aren't supposed to touch an AMG (only certain dealers can service). 
Don't blame you for wanting to sell. I like to believe my cars are prestine, untouched, and flawless (I always buy a brand new car with only a few delivery miles). Knowledge of an internal flaw would totally turn me off.
(crossing my fingers that my build goes well)
Don't blame you for wanting to sell. I like to believe my cars are prestine, untouched, and flawless (I always buy a brand new car with only a few delivery miles). Knowledge of an internal flaw would totally turn me off.
(crossing my fingers that my build goes well)
At the same time, I will likely insist that my next AMG has someone other than Torsten Oelschläger on the engine cover. He's let me down.
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From: Bellevue, WA
'10 C63 AMG P31, '88 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, '78 Toyota FJ40, '10 Audi Q7 TDi
For the record, I'd like to state that my dealer (Barrier), has done a fantastic job of taking care of me as a customer. The problems with this car are not, as far as I know, their fault.
I've been treated with respect, solid communication, and loaner cars. They were gracious in letting me capture the **** shots of the M156 and the tech spent a lot of time explaining (and showing me) what was going on. Everything has been handled under warranty and I have not had to spend a dime.
The only real downsides are: Loss of use of the car while it was being serviced (all told it was something like 4 or 5 weeks total since January) and the fact that I'm simply not comfortable having someone other than the AMG factory take the engine apart and put it back together.
I've been treated with respect, solid communication, and loaner cars. They were gracious in letting me capture the **** shots of the M156 and the tech spent a lot of time explaining (and showing me) what was going on. Everything has been handled under warranty and I have not had to spend a dime.
The only real downsides are: Loss of use of the car while it was being serviced (all told it was something like 4 or 5 weeks total since January) and the fact that I'm simply not comfortable having someone other than the AMG factory take the engine apart and put it back together.
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Joined: Jul 2010
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From: Lower Mainland, BC
2009 C63
I guess you can blame him for not going over all the parts with a fine toothed comb before assembly but it was the poorly manufactured part that was the cause of your coolant leak. I guess in your case, it's "one engine, two men" and you should find a place to slap on a second plaque in the engine bay with the dealership tech who tore it down & put it back together!
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 258
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From: Bellevue, WA
'10 C63 AMG P31, '88 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, '78 Toyota FJ40, '10 Audi Q7 TDi
I guess you can blame him for not going over all the parts with a fine toothed comb before assembly but it was the poorly manufactured part that was the cause of your coolant leak. I guess in your case, it's "one engine, two men" and you should find a place to slap on a second plaque in the engine bay with the dealership tech who tore it down & put it back together!
Here's a summary what's gone wrong with this car (engine related):
- Radiator was replaced due to a small coolant leak in seam on left side.
- Secondary air injection relays replaced due to intermittent failure (check engine light).
- Oil leak between case and bottom plate.
- Head bolts replaced due to service bulletin.
- Left cylinder head replaced due to coolant leaking via porosity.
It would be funny to put John's (the tech) name on the engine next to Torstens! :-)
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Joined: Jul 2010
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From: Lower Mainland, BC
2009 C63
Lol - I would have to agree then, Torsten really dropped the ball and didn't have his coffee that morning when he went to work! Don't bother looking for a 2nd spot, just slap John's name plaque over top of Torsten's!
As an aside, the head bolts are a known issue across the board for the 6.2L - had mine done at 50K kms.
As an aside, the head bolts are a known issue across the board for the 6.2L - had mine done at 50K kms.
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Lexus ISF
I'm curious to know if MB offered you anything for your inconvenience or diminished value of your vehicle. A free extended warranty perhaps?
I'm in a similar situation with my Lexus ISF, needed complete engine removal, tear down and rebuild at the dealer level with only 30K on the clock (problem first noticed at 20K).
My repair took 123 days.
I'm in a similar situation with my Lexus ISF, needed complete engine removal, tear down and rebuild at the dealer level with only 30K on the clock (problem first noticed at 20K).
My repair took 123 days.
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From: Melbourne
(a)'12 C63 P/P, LSD, 19" m/spoke,comfort pack. (b)Astra SRI.
cek...GREAT THREAD mate, very informative,.....and hello from Australia.
I wish you all the best & hope the car is good.
I'm sure you'll keep an ultra close watch on the engine for noise, oil consumption etc....maybe, when the engine's run in, you could even give it a go on the rollers to make sure it's "producing" as it should.
Keep us posted.
Cheers, Pickles.
I wish you all the best & hope the car is good.
I'm sure you'll keep an ultra close watch on the engine for noise, oil consumption etc....maybe, when the engine's run in, you could even give it a go on the rollers to make sure it's "producing" as it should.
Keep us posted.
Cheers, Pickles.
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C63 AMG
Lol - I would have to agree then, Torsten really dropped the ball and didn't have his coffee that morning when he went to work! Don't bother looking for a 2nd spot, just slap John's name plaque over top of Torsten's!
As an aside, the head bolts are a known issue across the board for the 6.2L - had mine done at 50K kms.
As an aside, the head bolts are a known issue across the board for the 6.2L - had mine done at 50K kms.
Can you post in Bhamg's thread about how you went about getting these replaced... Was it out of pocket or warrantied?
Do you have the bulletin number or anything, my tech cant find anything on his system (canada) about these head bolts. Please and thank you.
Also, technically your engine hasn't been rebuilt. The engine was simply removed and the heads taken off. It doesn't look like any of the internal were touched... so really your engine is in tacked, you just had a new head installed on one bank.
There is another member on here where he had his engine rebuilt at the dealer. New pistons, rings, etc, because it was burning too much oil.... Now that is a complete rebuild.
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Member
Joined: Jul 2010
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From: Lower Mainland, BC
2009 C63
Most certainly, I have the paperwork for this at home & will post in the other thread later tonight. Mine was done under warranty so it cost me nothing.
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From: Massachusetts
'14 911S (garage queen) '13 X3 (family hauler)
@CEK, So after this fiasco, you're still going AMG?
***** happens and I consider myself pretty rational, but if my car was torn apart for 4-5 weeks, I'd have a hard time buying another AMG.
All cars are machines and do fail from time to time, but I think we all enjoy thinking our cars are invincible lads
***** happens and I consider myself pretty rational, but if my car was torn apart for 4-5 weeks, I'd have a hard time buying another AMG.
All cars are machines and do fail from time to time, but I think we all enjoy thinking our cars are invincible lads
Thread Starter
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From: Bellevue, WA
'10 C63 AMG P31, '88 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, '78 Toyota FJ40, '10 Audi Q7 TDi
True, the crank, rods, pistons were not removed.
I think whether it has been rebuilt is a matter of degree.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jan 2010
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From: Bellevue, WA
'10 C63 AMG P31, '88 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, '78 Toyota FJ40, '10 Audi Q7 TDi
@CEK, So after this fiasco, you're still going AMG?
***** happens and I consider myself pretty rational, but if my car was torn apart for 4-5 weeks, I'd have a hard time buying another AMG.
All cars are machines and do fail from time to time, but I think we all enjoy thinking our cars are invincible lads
***** happens and I consider myself pretty rational, but if my car was torn apart for 4-5 weeks, I'd have a hard time buying another AMG.
All cars are machines and do fail from time to time, but I think we all enjoy thinking our cars are invincible lads
Listen, the vast majority of AMG cars don't have problems like this. In my mind the benefits of this car (which are really quite irrational) far outweigh the 'risk' that something bad would happen to another one.
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C350 4matic coupe
Good to hear you've been treated well by Barrier. I've been talking with them about getting a used C63 and they're service has been great. If you're looking at selling in say, two months, I may be interested in picking it up, just saying. Out of curiosity, how much would this cost if it wasn't under warranty? Seems like it'd be prohibitively expensive.
Out of curiosity, how much would this cost if it wasn't under warranty? Seems like it'd be prohibitively expensive.
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From: Pittsburgh, PA
2013 Nissan GT-R BE
Also +1 to Barrier MB, I lived in WA for a long time and they had always been great.
Sheep
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From: Montreal Quebec
2016 C63S, 2012 ML350
lol, just had my 2010 C63 P31(APX) with 23630km's(14769miles) towed to the dealer yesterday. Started it up & pulled out from the parking lot at work & chuga chuga, CEL, white smoke coming from left exhaust, called MB roadside asst., my first guess is left bank head gasket but will see...
Thanks for sharing
I'll update on my situation when I know more
Thanks for sharing
I'll update on my situation when I know more
will see on Monday
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 258
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From: Bellevue, WA
'10 C63 AMG P31, '88 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, '78 Toyota FJ40, '10 Audi Q7 TDi
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 258
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From: Bellevue, WA
'10 C63 AMG P31, '88 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, '78 Toyota FJ40, '10 Audi Q7 TDi
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From: Ontario, Canada
2020 A35, @021 F250, 96 Mustang
The plastic cover is the cam cover (somewhat like the old school days of a valve cover) and have nothing to do with the head bolts. Head bolts hold the engine head to the block deck and have a fairly precise torque spec and torque order to make sure the head to block joint (including the head gaskets) is sealed correctly.
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From: San Diego/San Francisco
AMG GLC63. Audi R8
Here the reference to the service bulletin, but MBZ will not give you a copy of it.
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From: San Diego/San Francisco
AMG GLC63. Audi R8
I am worried about these head bolts. Ive done some reading and other guys have had problems with the head bolts snapping off, which caused coolant to enter engine the cylinder, then game over.
Obviously if they have new head bolts out and service bulletin about it, there is a problem.
I've ask my tech to check for this SB and he couldn't find anything (In Canada). He said the USA has a separate system.
Guy with the silver dragon C63 had his head bolts changed out at Weistec as he was concerned about it as well.
Ill be calling the dealer and see what they are going to do about this as I am almost out of warranty and it will be just my luck that one of these ****** will snap off 2 weeks after my warranty is up.
Obviously if they have new head bolts out and service bulletin about it, there is a problem.
I've ask my tech to check for this SB and he couldn't find anything (In Canada). He said the USA has a separate system.
Guy with the silver dragon C63 had his head bolts changed out at Weistec as he was concerned about it as well.
Ill be calling the dealer and see what they are going to do about this as I am almost out of warranty and it will be just my luck that one of these ****** will snap off 2 weeks after my warranty is up.
Mr. Ralph Fisher
Mercedes-Benz USA LLC
Customer Assistance Center
Three Mercedes Drive
Montvale, NJ 07645-0350
If you have actually experienced the problem, please pm me with your VIN and a copy of the warranty repair order. MBZ-USA will not give a copy of the bulletin to a customer.
Last edited by DuaneC63; May 3, 2012 at 03:48 PM.
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C63 AMG
^ The BMW dealer where I bought my M5 and M Coupe let me freely wander the shop floor so I could visit with my tech friends. Over a few years I saw 20+ engines in both M and non-M cars with the heads off. In almost every instance there was (to me) shockingly thick carbon buildup on piston tops. No matter who I asked in the service department about these deposits the answer was always the same - "They all do it." My M5 was exactly the same at 37k miles...the heads were taken off and in spite of a history of alternating every 2k miles between Shell and Chevron fuels the piston tops were thick with carbon. There is no doubt in my mind the compression ratio is raised over time. If I go the Weistec head bolt route post warranty I''ll have them cleaned off for sure.
