This is my thousandth post.

I just figure I finally create one of these threads for my car. Not so much as a log of what I've done to the car, but more to show the things I have learned from these forums.

I originally created an account with these forums like many other people, because I finally ran into my first problem with the car. I bought my car used with 44.5k miles on the clock in August 2005 and it ran flawlessly in stock form until around April 2006 when I randomly got a CEL that came on during basic city driving.

I had my share of newbish post w/in the first few months, but kept my post count low and kept on reading and searching about all the stuff you all have done to your w203s. It really gave me an appreciation to level of detail and care given to our vehicles to make them unique and reliable.

Before signin onto these forums, I had little, if any, concept of how to maintain/mod a car, but with the information provided here I started to build my confidence in my ability with the car. In Spring of 2007, I, finally, felt ready to mod and figured that I would do it right if I was going to do it at all. Suspension, brakes, power, then cosmetics, but with the OEM look.

That spring, I went on to create a thread about installing Tein Basic Coilovers. This got rid of my wheel gap and I was content with the drop, but then I discovered fender gap. By mid summer I had gone on to buy myself a set of wheels (from the classifieds) and tires to eliminate the fender gaps. The cls500 wheels had the exact offset I was looking for to clear coilover and future BBK, they also boasted a very OEM look that matched the brilliant silver (744) color of my car perfectly, and no one else had these wheels on their 203.

With the joys of stiffer/lower suspension came the desire to handle better. - Not that I drive like crazy or anything, but there is a satisfaction for the ability to keep all four wheels on the ground and the car flat through corners - Next were sways bars with adjustable end links that came in late fall of 2007. I really took my time and made sure I got the thickest bars I could for front and back (other than the brabus set up).

This past winter (2008), I blew out the reciculating gasket seals ontop of my motor which resulted in oil being sprayed all over my engine bay and massive oil loss. Within a few days, I was able to figure out exactly what was going on, dismantle the top portion of my motor and reseal my motor all thanks to the people on this forums.

As much as I wanted to do brakes next, they are more of an expensive venture to tackle, so I found myself a few satisfactory mods. Under Drive pulley kit and Super Sprint cat back are the latest of mods for my car.

During my time here I also learned how to: Do a complete Service A. Flush my brake fluid and change out all rotors + calipers + pads. Killed one battery + figured out exactly how to deal w/ the pesky seat control modules that drain batteries. I also figured out how to update all of the lights on a w203 except for the tail lights and rear brake light. (i figure those couldnt be much harder than the front lights anywho). I also changed the lights and suspension on a friend's w203 while I also guided a friend through installing coilovers on his VW golf. Also learned how to color match side markers..

Next:
LET Wires and NGK plugs.
New transmission gasket, filter, fluid, and upgraded O-ring.
New fuel filter.
6 piston front and 4 piston brakes with SS brake lines.

To all the newbs, STFF == Search The ****ing Forums. I didnt understand this concept until this past year. Having spent enough time just searching and finding everything I need, I can finally understand why the guys who have been around for a bit are so adament about getting people to search.

To all the old school folks: Many thanks for creating these forums. They are more social now a days, but that is only because the majority of DIY solutions have already been discussed.

Current Mileage: 89,5xx

Stay Tuned.

 

congrats on your 1K post

 

 

What a thoughtful post, TruTaing. Pleased you’ve chosen to pursue a new automotive endeavor.

You are valued member here, with many excellent contributions. Personally, I try to give a little, take a little, and perhaps bs more than my fair share. When you post from the beautiful Pacific Northwest, it makes me wish I was closer to my kin on Mercer Island. Nonetheless, our time invested here is worthwhile and memorable.

Trust you feel the same. Oh, you may want to fix the title; it’s not stock anymore!

-John

 

Great post, I enjoyed reading it. I completely agree about searching the forum. I'm still finding time to read through some of the really long threads completely. This forum is like a magazine that never ends, and is never boring. This forum can make someone who knows nothing about cars, to knowing more than than the majority do about a Mercedes.

I'm coming up on my 1000th as well. Congrats!

 

Here are some interesting things that have happened to my car...

Tons of rock chips, this one is especially deep...


Right when I bought my car, someone gave me this nasty carving above my passenger wheel well....


I just discovered this in the morning.


Someone gave me this during this past summer...


And I got a new windshield because the guy who came out to fix a small crack... ended up cracking the whole windshield.


Cosmetics of the car aren't my highest priority at this point, so... We'll work on the pretty stuff later..

Maybe one day:

(updated bumper and some paint mostly - amazing photoshop abilities)

Edit:
Random things I learned from the windshield replacement: The windshield is just basically held on my the black strips that run down the sides of the windshield/roof, a black cover on the bottom of the windshield under the wipers, a black strip that runs along the top of the windshield (all of these items can just be gently pried off the car - its dirty under there!), and some sort of very scary looking adhesive.

The rain sensor was just clipped onto the windshield from the bottom side and had a few wires that could be unplugged. There were a few parts for the rain sensor that could not be removed from the windshield and were already attached to the new windshield, so dealing w/ the rain sensor was mostly plug and play.

 

Maybe one day:

(updated bumper and some paint mostly - amazing photoshop abilities)[/QUOTE]

yeap.

I always thought painting that "piece" black on the facelift lux bumper is pretty cool. especially constrasting a light car.! do it!

or. take it off...and black gloss vinyl wrap it!!!!!!!!!

 

... or CF vinyl wrap it!

 

I just had the SS resonator removed. Well worth it! I love driving w/ my windows down now I dont have a camcorder, so no sound/video clips :\

I also just had my transmission fluid flushed (including the torque converter) and had a new gasket, filter, magnet, and o ring installed. I got it done at Mercedes Garage for $275 and asked Adam to also check my radiator fluid and make sure there were no contaminates. I do have the potentially faulty radiator, but haven't had any issues.

Flushing the torque converter was exactly what my pops said it was gonna be: turn the car on with a hose pulled from the radiator to allow the fluids to come out of there and then shut it off real quick. I don't know the specifics here, but I specifically asked how they were gonna flush the torque converter and that was the answer they gave me. No fancy machinery or pumps used!

All in all, the car shifts like when I first got it at 44.5k miles - now at 90.6k. Flushing the trans fluid is definitely worth it at an earlier mileage - mine was "very dirty." I chose to have a pro do it because of reading E's post about how finicky the transmission was w/ a variance of 50-100ml difference in fluid resulting in a very dramatic difference in performance. I pulled 26mpg the other day on the highway - something I haven't done in a long time! (considering my car is rated at 19 city / 25 highway, I'm pretty happy, but at one point, I was able to pull 28.2 mpg. I'm hoping plugs and wires will take me back to that)

This weekend: Hopefully meeting up w/ some of the local Seattle (w210) E320 guys who are replacing their plugs and possibly get under my car and replace the fuel filter.

The following weekend: Planning to replace my diff fluid - just need to get a hold of a 14mm allen wrench to open up the plug.

Also I'm really considering installing a catch can off the crank case breather hoses (I think its what they're called) after having seen all the pictures of dirty throttle bodies and intake manifolds from m112s on the crossfires forums...

 

This newbie says 'thanks,Tru'! I'm still at the STFF stage; learning, researching & still figuring out what to do first. Killer post & cant wait to have something to contribute!

 

Awesome post! and Congrats on the 1K posting.

 

i did my fuel filter like 3 months ago are you getting that new fuel filter by LET?

 

Ive had my fuel filter sitting in my bedroom floor for WAYY too long. I dont think LET has a fuel filter (correct me if I am wrong) - there have been discussions on the crossfire that have shown the limitations that our fuel filters present for creating more power, but no one has found a solution yet. Im hoping they find one soon though

 

Today, I replaced the two rubber o rings on both ends of the elbow that hold the MAF to the throttle body. I replaced these because the elbow was very loose and could potentially be letting air out after passing the MAF quite some time ago (20k miles ago), but never got around to ordering the proper pieces. When I removed the elbow, the o ring between the throttle body and the elbow was rock solid and was definitely not functioning properly anymore. The o ring between the MAF and the elbow was old enough that when I removed the MAF the o ring came off attached to the MAF. Bad. Both were replaced and they fit was VERY VERY snug. It was a bit difficult to get the two new o rings + elbow + MAF back on.

More importantly, I noticed a little bit of build up from the crank case breather hoses that goes into the elbow. I am thoroughly convinced that all m112s should install some sort of catch can + filter.

I also finally got around to changing my fuel filter today. The clamps that hold the hoses onto the fuel filter are such a pain to remove and I thought the hoses were kinda tough to remove too, but I think most of my difficulties came from having to work on my back under the car

Up next - finally gonna get a power steering pulley puller and install those LET pullies Ive had in my sig for months now... Pending on instructions from LET or TVT.

 

tru, you have any DIY for the MAF throttle body? how to take it out and the O ring?

 

Removing the MAF as been well documented, but I snapped a couple pictures of the elbow and the o rings after I had removed it them from the engine. I can post a mini DIY later this week when I get home about the removal of the elbow (MAF housing is what the parts department called it).

 

Yep, the transmission was quite finicky about having just the right amount of fluid in.

Great working on the car yourself. Having over 164k miles on my M111 Coupe, I'm hoping to cross the 225k barrier with no issues...knock on my wood desk.

So the car sounds better without the resonator?

E

 

Ya, the car sounds better That resonator just works too well w/ muting the exhaust note. Thanks again for shipping the whole thing in one piece :P

Id love to one day cross the 225k mark as well - im wishfully thinking for more more though Im about to cross 92k miles and the car has been mostly problem free aside from a bit of suspension noises (seriously cant figure this one out) + rubbing with too many people in the car. Checked the tire wear while I was under the car yesterday and Im thinking that I will need those adjustable camber arms sooner than later as my negative camber is wearing the insides of my tires significantly faster than the outside...

Im also itchin to buy that TVT crank pulley also and Im trying to justify its cost by the potential "3-5% increase in fuel efficiency." So many fun things to do so little time and $$, ehehe

 

Today, I had the differential fluid flushed and replaced for $40 from Mercedes garage in Bellevue. I wanna say that the car does feel a bit smoother, but its probably a false sense of satisfaction from finally taken care of this task. I also had them look at my suspension squeaking that I could not narrow down and they told me everything was secure and decided to just spray some silicone lubricant all over. :viola: no more squeaking.

Still haven't had a chance to install the under drive pulley kit. Hopefully will install that soon because its the one thing preventing me from justifying the light weight crank pulley.

Sadly, someone decided to back into my car at the work and scuffed up my front bumper even more. My bumper has been hit / scratched / scuffed / dented 4 times now while my car has been parked. Kinda sucks, but at the same time I was lucky that they did not hit my grill, hood, or headlights and that the scuff is not too bad.

Ive crossed the 94.xxx miles and I averaged 28.5 mpg the other day while driving about 100 miles.

E - I use to NEVER drive w/ my windows down. Now that the resonator is off combined w/ the exhaust - I drive w/ the windows down as much as I can. It sounds just right!

Updates soon w/ the resolution to my ongoing CEL issues.

edit: I also randomly installed new w211 mirror blinkers because the old ones were leaking a bit. They are MUCH brighter than I thought that they would be. I wanna say brighter than the 05+ updated lights, but I could just be imaging that new == better.

 

new bumper is calling your name MH-DEZENT MH-DEZENT!!

and then follow by the picture

 

Hmmm...

Frank, is that a photoshop of the w204 front bumper?

 

nah. it's real.

 

Tru - this is a great thread! Thanks for your replies to my PMs - You know I love the CLS 500 wheels on your car. I have located a set of mint condition CLS wheels - real expensive in South Africa but I want them - also located the correct bolts as per your signature - One final question - with the tyre sizes you have fitted have you ever, under any condition of load, had a tyre touch the fender or inner wheelarch? If not I'm buying - your help is much appreciated

FrankW - any advice from you would also be appreciated. I noted in a very old thread on CLS wheels that you had concern about the CLS wheel offset on a W203

 

after few people have tried them they seem to work perfectly. The rear has an aggressive offset tho. those are the standard wheel on trutaing's car, so I'm not sure about the spec, but for the CLS550/55 AMG dual spoke wheels those are 18x8.5 ET30 and 18x9.5 ET31 I believe. tire size should be 225/40/18 and 255/35/18.

you should have no problem with rubbing if you run Falkens or Toyos. other brand will have fat sidewalls which may rub.

 

Thanks Frank. I can get exactly what Tru has fitted - see his signature - I'm a Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 (present) man. Will definitely fit Michelin for noise/handling reasons - no cold temperature requirements - want to match rolling circumference so that no speedo recal. is required as Tru has done.