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Short video during the mini meet

K-Mac

Re “Camber was never set correctly” - Fitting of the Camber bolts (available for front suspension only) provides only a minimal .3 degree (⅛”) Camber change !

Seeing OEM is no longer providing Front Camber and Caster or rear Camber adjustment (only basic TOE - directional adjustment).

It is all to do with “ever increasing speed” of new car assembly lines. Now above is set at one fixed position - to suit “showroom height conditions” (allowing adjustment and having to stop production line to adjust IS NO LONGER AN OPTION).

Putting the onus “back on owners” - to fund costly, premature tire replacement !

WE THEREFORE MANUFACTURE A COMPLETE RANGE OF FRONT AND REAR ADJUSTER KITS TO SUIT ALL MERCEDES BENZ MODELS !

PROVIDING SERIOUS ADJUSTMENT - TO FIX IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME - Front and Rear kits providing up to “2 degrees Positive or Negative adjustment”.

AND IT IS ACCURATE - K-MAC UNIQUE PATENTED DESIGN - providing precise, single wrench, easily accessible. Ultimate - direct on alignment rack UNDER LOAD !

ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING CAN BE IMPROVED. At K-MAC therefore we are constantly upgrading - Strength, Adjustability and Ease of fitment.

LATEST DESIGN BREAKTHROUGH - FITTING (FRONT & REAR) NO SPECIAL TOOLS REQUIRED OR NEED FOR TIME CONSUMING ARM REMOVAL !

SEE SPOILER W219 ALL incl. CLS 55/63AMG







AUDI to VOLVO - Experience Of Resolving OEM Suspension Shortcomings (and costs) Since 1964 !

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At the alignment shop who didnt want to touch my airmatic suspension

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I ordered a set of Hankook S1 Evo3 K127, which I had previous experience with. A performance tyre with comfort in mind (softer sidewalls compared to Michelin PS4S)

2x 255/30/20
2x 285/30/20

Don't worry, I moved them over to the garage Due to some illness I havent been able to get them fitted to the Japan Racing wheels

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Received a tip from a CLS buddy. Check for this small fuel hose, which connects 2 hardpipes. Its right in front of the drivers side rear tyre, This also applies to the CLS500 and possibly also to W211 chassis! His fuel hose was deteriorated further and started leaking. You only need to remove a couple of plastic 10mm nuts to get access.

My hose was in pretty decent shape, but its a small insurance to get it replaced with some fresh new fuel hose



In the end I re-used the original clips as they can be re-used and provide more even clamping force than jubilee clips

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And decided to make the air guides black (matte). I have to agree it looks better in the end I used anti gravel spray, which is an underbody spray to protect against gravel.

Had to built up the professional paint booth again The box is for 1 bolt I use for mounting one of the guides.



The spray has a textured finish, which I don't mind



How it looks with the grille removed



And with the grille back on, for a more sleek look.

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Published 2 videos, 1 for cleaning a second hand pre-fuse / prefuse / pre fuse box F32

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And 1 for actually replacing it. Seems I could not find a proper video which showed the steps, so I made one for you

bbirdwell

If that is a capacitor attached to the power line, one should consider discharging it with a resistor prior to working on the pre-fuse box. If the box has been out of the car for awhile it should be safe but if it was just pulled from the car and put on the workbench, it could be very exciting if the leads are shorted together. If I'm wrong about it being a capacitor, disregard.

nd-photo.nl

@bbirdwell Nope, its a capacitor alright good tip!

MBSVRICH

What a gift this thread is my fellow Dutchman. I really appreciate it and learned a **** ton.
Your Mako is a beauty, from a time where cars were not made of plastic. Keep it going

Groeten uit El Salvador.

Rich.

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Thank you for your comment Rich! I stel dit op prijs

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So last friday disaster struck. As I went to meetup with my buddies, the CLS had other plans. I noticed some small hesitation shifting between 1-2. I needed to make a stop, and when I continued driving, it went out of gear and it seemed like it was slipping (revs climbing, but not making any speed). Fortunately, it wasnt very busy, so I was able to get it parked on a nearby parking place and I started scanning for faults. First with Torque Pro, and then I remembered I had the iCarsoft in the trunk.

Some relevant codes:
P0730 incorrect gear ratio

P220A The Speed Comparison of Y3/6n2 to Y3/6n3 Is Implausible


P2561 The gear Is Implausible Or The Transmission Is Slipping. (2. Gear)


I got it somewhere safe where I wouldn't be towed away and started making calls to get my car home asap. In the end it was towed by a salvaging company and I got home with a loaner car (thank god I made some good choices for my car insurance). Today the CLS55 was dropped off at home and I parked it in my garage.

I replaced the conductor plate in august 2022, but with an unknown brand. I will be swapping it out with OE or similar quality. Im also thinking to replace the sonnax valves and a shift kit (which was recommended earlier here). The error messages seem to point to the conductor plate, but all tips are welcome. I will be draining the fluid and removing the valve body over the week.

- It has enough gearbox oil
- The TCU connections are bone dry

bbirdwell

Concur with your diagnosis of conductor plate.

UncleBenz55

Get the one from Febi Bilstein. That's oem minus the oem part number

nd-photo.nl

Ah ok, good to hear

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Sad to see your car like this. People who follow me on Instagram noticed these ysterday...

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But yesterday the CLS was already back in my possession (luckily!)

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Short update
-Febi conductor plate ordered and received
-New gasket for oil pan ordered and received
-5 liters of LiquiMoly ATF 1800 ordered and received (I have 3x 1L in stock)
-I have 1 trans filter in stock

-Sonnax Overlap valves ordered and are underway
-Sonnax TCC damper ordered and is underway

I also looked into the shift kits, but it seems they dont fully apply to the V8 722.6 valve bodies. So I left that out of the equation.

The CLS is still in the same place as the picture above. I will start working on it as soon as I know when the Sonnax stuff will arrive.

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In the meantime, I replaced the seconadary coolant pump with a new Bosch pump. I didnt even know there was a secondary coolant pump, I just assumed the humming noise came from the intercooler pump





The old pump, situated near the passenger side headlight and SBC pump





The rubber isolator







New pump assembly completed. Swapping them out is done easily and without much coolant loss using those big plastic hose clamps

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Received the Sonnax parts today and went to work immediately. When I drained the gearbox oil, I was a little bit worried as the oil was quite dark already. I refreshed it in April this year. When I dropped the pan, I got a little bit sick to my stomach





Removing the filter and cutting it open revealed even more metal shavings...







Seems like a rebuild is needed

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Got the tip to buy a Febi mechatronic, as they should be the OE supplier. And it seems that is correct, as the partnr and logo are scrubbed off





Sonnax Overlap valves and TCC damper

Partnr 68942-05K (overlap valves)
Partnr 68942-23K (tcc damper)

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2 weeks ago, my car was picked up at home to be transported to the gearbox rebuild specialists. Fortunately, they also arranged transport, which made my life a lot easier. It was quite a hassle to push 2.000kg out of the garage, but his winch helped a lot Also, I forgot there is no power steering with the car off hahah

After about and 45-60 mins of struggling, the CLS was on the trailer & I had to wave goodbye again

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They started the rebuild this monday, at around 9 or 10'o clock in the morning, I received pictures that the gearbox was already removed from the CLS







And the rearside

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Further progress. As you can see, the oil was wayyyyyyyy too dark for its age. I refreshed the gearbox oil this april, so it was apparent that something was wrong off course.





And it seems this was the culprit in my case. The torque converter...



I explicitly asked about the oil pump, as mentioned by @UncleBenz55 , which was in good shape according to the specialists