Robjr

All.......

My 140,000 '05 C55 had a leaky fuel sending unit that received two JB Weld Marine treatments that only held for less than four months. Pulled the trigger on a new one purchased 2 weeks ago from Mercedes Benz of Daytona Beach at $220 plus tax and shipping. I checked with my local dealer parts guy (I have a wholesale account at MB of Ontario, Ca.) and he could not find an OEM anywhere in the USA. According to my sources, scouring the internet and got a referral from a mid-west MB dealer for MB Daytona Beach and immediately call and they verified it was the last one on their parts shelf and, again, the last OEM part in USA. They're unavailable at present time with unknown backorder status.

Installed it today with only one issue that hampered the installation. There were two issues with the largest one being the three hoses; one with a 90 degree elbow that pushes on the unit; the 2nd and the 3rd hoses were open-end corrugated plastic tubes that were nearly 1.5 times larger in diameter than the tubes on the removed original sending unit. Consequently, both were too big to insert into the "Y" shaped tube clip mounted on the sending unit. I had to zip tie both tubes together with their open ends pointing downward to the bottom of gas tank. We'll see if that turns the trick......I believe it will hold well.....

I also purchased two OEM green seals that fit perfectly. The second, and last issue, was I also purchase two OEM lock rings for the gas tank portholes and they would not fit. Using a micrometer, they were just small enough not to fit without using a "heat gun" to stretch for fitment. Heating them would, more than likely, create a cracking issue down the road so I chose averting any risk. I'll return them for my "giant refund" of $5.......lol

Overall, it was a gas-smell, 3 hours of slightly tedious work that saved me quite a bit of money that I can spend on my other vices, i.e., golf, house, wife, grandkids, etc.

For DIYER's with some tools, basic MB/car knowledge, and researching MBWorld forums, I believe the opportunity to save quite a bit of your hard earned dollars is incentive enough to take on this project yourself!

Also, as has been detailed in this forum by experienced forum members, I had to buy the AC Delco GM Original Equipment PT2785 Black Multi-Purpose "pig tail" which worked like a charm.

Checked for leaks on both pump and sending unit portholes and ZERO leaks after 5 minutes runtime. Buttoned everything up in less than 3 hours and "sprayed interior to remove gas smell". Its in my garage with open sunroof and all four windows for a good night's sleep.

The only tool I bought was the Mercedes Benz Fuel Tank Lid Remover / Installer from an Ebay seller which worked very well. I've attached a picture of this tool.

Good luck if you're going to tackle this project.......

Rob