Sulaco

I did remove radiator. Probably replacing a few hoses. They appear dry. Water hoses on oil cooler are definitely getting replaced.

Will order a new belt too, since this one was COVERED in motor oil.

Crank pulley appears straight. With front torn down i cranked engine so I could test crank pulley for wobble. Was better than the one on my 99. I did not look at rubber, though. Will check that later.

Water pump looks pretty old, but hard to say since everything was filthy with oil and dust. Bearing and pulley appear fine.

Saaboteur

My comments re: plug replacement:

Shop for the plugs as they get expensive when you're buying so many (now that you have two C43s, you need 32 plugs!!).

Also get wires too, because if the plugs on there haven't been replaced in a long time, it can be a bugger to get the wires off, sometimes you destroy the plug. They make tools for this, it's basically an open ended, angled 17mm wrench. I bought a really cheap set of angled box end wrenches and cut open the 17mm one with an angle grinder, done in 30 seconds.

If you're going through all of the plug and wire replacement, you might just want to invest in a set of valve cover gaskets too, and do them all together. For one, having the valve covers off makes it easier to get at the plugs and wires (but then you don't have the valve cover on which to leverage the plug wire removal tool), and second, if you're going to do the valve covers later, you basically need to either remove the coil packs, or disconnect the plug wires anyway. Doesn't add that much to the job, time wise.

For flushing the engine oil, I'd just warm up the engine for a 5-10 minutes, then dump it out, then fill with your chosen brand. Which is Mobil1, of course...

Sulaco

Yes, I do plan on both of the cars getting all this, in time.

Quick question: what plugs do I use? I know with M104 I always ONLY used OEM Bosch and none of of the fancy newer ones. But I don't know with the M113, I'm seeing a lot of conflicting information out there.

KJI3jflarryfe93

NGK plugs are the best for c43

ngk PFR5R-11

Sulaco

Jeez, those are almost $10 per plug. That's over $300 in plugs! Anything more economical? I'm hoping to spend no more than half that.

DRBC43AMG

I have always used Bosch and never a problem!

KJI3jflarryfe93

nothing but the best parts for your dolls.
are these cheap for you?
http://www.ebay.de/itm/16-NGK-Zundke...item4175953efd

this is what I got from germany 16 stück zündkerzen
dude is cheapest on german fleabay and ships world wide

Saaboteur

I found if you shop online - ebay, or some of the specialist sparkplug sites, you can get some decent deals. It's the only way. Well, either that or don't own two C43s! Seriously though, just shop around. In the end, I think you may just have to bite the bullet. Better to buy something decent because it's such a relatively time consuming job to replace them, especially if they haven't been done recently. It's not like a typical four cylinder engine with the plugs really easily accessible. The sheer number of them adds to the job time, and the ones closer to the firewall are a bit difficult to get at. The other tool suggestion would be to get a spark plug socket with a universal joint on it already, although I always managed with a variety of spark plug sockets and various length extensions. Wobble extensions are very helpful too. What I'd do is have them all at hand, then just mix and match once in a while depending on the space available. One that was very helpful was a deep spark plug socket, with a knurled section on it, so that it gave grip to just loosen with fingers.

Here's a link to the Koch Tool's spark plug tool, they say it's for V6s but it'll work:
http://www.kochtools.com/index.php?p=product&id=22

As for brand, I went with NGKs too. On my C43 I think I got NGK wires as well, but more recently on my 203 C55 I got Berus (OE spec), but again with NGK plugs. I think you can get Magnecores cheaper, but I stay away from them, didn't like them before on my Saab Turbo (but others love them).

Sulaco

Oh yes, I would love to always only use nothing but the best for my babies! But right now I'm in a rush to get them to the point where I can trust them as daily drivers. Need to save as much money as possible. Later on, I can afford to buy my wife a new car and shove both of these beauties in the garage and start REALLY fixing them up.

Saaboteur

Well, if it's cheap and running you need, then I'd suggest this - if the car's running now without major hiccups, then I'd leave the plugs and wires, and save up for good quality parts. Otherwise, you'll be buying parts twice, and pay more in the longer run.

My old boss (from one of my first jobs when I was a teenager) instilled the idea into me - buy cheap (quality wise) and you spend more in the long run; buy good quality and you're only going to buy it once. Or words to that effect.

Sulaco

That's good philosophy and I try to live by it as well. Sometimes my bank account dictates otherwise...

You're right though: both engines are performing flawlessly right now. No point spending some of my repair money on things that don't need replacing yet.

Black one is storing codes for 2 bad o2 sensors, and silver one is triggering a CEL for EGR. Other than those issues, I really don't have a reason to dump money into the engines (outside fresh Mobil 1). I love these cars so much, I might actually stick to Mobil 1 every 3k miles (I normally go 15k miles)

So after oil leak is fixed, I need motor mounts on both cars and hopefully that's all I need to get them road-going for now.

Saaboteur

Hopefully the EGR code is just a loose vacuum line. If you or someone's been messing around in that area, it's really easy to knock the vacuum line off.

The oil cooler seals are relatively cheap, a bit of a pain to get at them with the engine in the car, but doable. The best price I found for the engine mounts was AutohausAZ. I think I paid just under $200 for the engine and trans mounts all together. Of course I guess you now double your costs with two cars, but ah well....

Lol, I think you should name the black one DONNER and the silver one BLITZEN, then you can differentiate easier! Although, anyone who sees them might think you love reindeer and thinks he's Santa Claus, but I always thought it'd be cool to have two German cars with matching vanity plates like that...maybe just 'BLITZ' instead of Blitzen though.

Sulaco

Alternator replaced, quiet engine now!

Trunk star replaced.

Amg badge ordered.

Crank shaft seal replaced.

Drive shaft replaced.

She runs smooth and quiet now. Wife's daily driver.

Triggering CEL for bank 1 sensor 2 o2 sensor and secondary air injection. Has somewhat poor MPG right now. Needs plugs and filters all over. Running 2 bottles of techron right now.

Sulaco

just a quick update. thought I'd post some new pics from both my cars.

hood is in the process of being repainted. also took a couple pics of my C43 and its recent milestone and awful C36 replica bumper.

jmg1848

275k, amazing!

Is the black c43's suspension raked a bit from front to back?

Sulaco

haha, nope. it's all stock. in the pic where it looks raked the front end is on ramps for various work I've been doing on it.

Super B

Hey fix that light that's out....


Looking good man. 275 is no joke. Be interesting to see how far it goes.