cek

My tech is AMG certified (so the dealer claims). I still don't like it.

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.

cek

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.

derspi

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!

cek

I blame Torsten, in jest.

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! :-)

derspi

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.

UCrazyKid

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.

Pickles

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.

Merc63

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.

derspi

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.

black-clk500

@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

cek

It is not just as simple as removing the heads (both were removed) and putting them back on. The valve train needs to be pulled apart and re-assembled and tons of other components come off.

True, the crank, rods, pistons were not removed.

I think whether it has been rebuilt is a matter of degree.

cek

I'll buy another C63 in a heartbeat. In fact, I sorta view this whole fiasco as an opportunity to upgrade to a 2013...

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.

JohnnyUte

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.

Sheep

****... I am so f**ked now, my engine was built by the same tech...

Also +1 to Barrier MB, I lived in WA for a long time and they had always been great.

Sheep

crazy1eye

I'm sure there was excessive smoke coming from the left exhaust but they informed me it's just the exhaust cam actuator, my vtec kicked in too early will see on Monday

Jons95c36amg

I've noticed the newer 2011- c63 have the black plastic valve cover gaskets. Because of this thats why weaker bolts are used?

cek

Just so you all know, i'm completely joking about Torsten. I do not really think it's his fault. **** happens.

cek

Not sure what you are saying/asking. No comprende.

Keithb

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.

DuaneC63

Here the reference to the service bulletin, but MBZ will not give you a copy of it.

DuaneC63

Update. I spoke with Mercedes Customer Service (Nicole Kennedy 800-367-6372x7809 who gave me the same information my local dealer service department did. MBZ-USA will not retro fit the new head bolts on a car until the part fails. I would suggest a letter writing campaign to:
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.

SonnyakaPig

Is the black build up on the pistons something to be concerned about? Or is this expected in the M156's after thousands of miles? Also, can the compression ratio be affected if the build up reaches a certain thickness?

b16

This is expected in any internal combustion engine. My Evo motor on E85 had significantly less buildup though.

SonnyakaPig

Thanks.

Is the black build up carbon deposits or just from combustion or detonation, perhaps?

bhamg

^ 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.