M156 head bolt problems
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 344
Likes: 5
From: Battle Ground WA
C63AMG, NIssan NX2000, Pontiac Fiero GT
Seen recently. Lisle Tool pn LIL 36880 cam lock tool. See video on lisle website. Work on C63? Unknown. List under$50, half that on summit racing.
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,556
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From: Canada
07 E63 + 07 CLK63CAB
Brano, good work, but tell us what were your symptoms, Great pain in side 
or ache in head!
Did you do the one for one bolt replacement, was this just preventative maintenance for you or did you have coolant lose.
Bolt heads look good, what year car are they from and the mileage. Buckets look good too. Would it be possible to sort through and give pictures of the bad ones.
or ache in head!Did you do the one for one bolt replacement, was this just preventative maintenance for you or did you have coolant lose.
Bolt heads look good, what year car are they from and the mileage. Buckets look good too. Would it be possible to sort through and give pictures of the bad ones.
Member
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 105
Likes: 3
From: Slovakia
C63 T-model with PP, E63s T-model
I did had some coolant loose, nothing major, about 0,5 - 0,6L in last 8 months, so was worried little bit about this, so did asked local MB to sort this out , to my surprise, as the car is 2010 year but had only 48,500 km (30k miles) on the clock now (when I bought it last may - almost year ago) it do had just 22,800 km (14k miles) on clock (pre previous owner had it beside 4 other cars just for weekends) MB told me they will cover 75% of the repair cost (the car is almost 2 years out of warranty) , so happy now so I don’t do the repair, all was done by local MB garage , and I do have 2 years warranty for this job 
so happy as **** the "bad" screw are in local MB garage, but if I want I will be able to take pictures of them, but had look on them when did take this pic, and there wasn’t indications about cracks etc, so not a lot what I photograph there…
so I don’t do the repair, all was done by local MB garage , and I do have 2 years warranty for this job so happy as **** the "bad" screw are in local MB garage, but if I want I will be able to take pictures of them, but had look on them when did take this pic, and there wasn’t indications about cracks etc, so not a lot what I photograph there…
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 344
Likes: 5
From: Battle Ground WA
C63AMG, NIssan NX2000, Pontiac Fiero GT
Brano, thanks for the pictures. The headbolt coatings mostly seem to work except on a couple.
Glad MB europe is somewhat helpful. A shame they also withold failed headbolts. I was going to ask for a couple.
Headached indeed. Same mileage as our C63. I am now sending an oil sample to Blackstone and will advise.
Glad MB europe is somewhat helpful. A shame they also withold failed headbolts. I was going to ask for a couple.
Headached indeed. Same mileage as our C63. I am now sending an oil sample to Blackstone and will advise.
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 267
Likes: 0
2010 C63 P30
I did had some coolant loose, nothing major, about 0,5 - 0,6L in last 8 months, so was worried little bit about this, so did asked local MB to sort this out , to my surprise, as the car is 2010 year but had only 48,500 km (30k miles) on the clock now (when I bought it last may - almost year ago) it do had just 22,800 km (14k miles) on clock (pre previous owner had it beside 4 other cars just for weekends) MB told me they will cover 75% of the repair cost (the car is almost 2 years out of warranty) , so happy now so I don’t do the repair, all was done by local MB garage , and I do have 2 years warranty for this job so happy as **** the "bad" screw are in local MB garage, but if I want I will be able to take pictures of them, but had look on them when did take this pic, and there wasn’t indications about cracks etc, so not a lot what I photograph there…
so I don’t do the repair, all was done by local MB garage , and I do have 2 years warranty for this job so happy as **** the "bad" screw are in local MB garage, but if I want I will be able to take pictures of them, but had look on them when did take this pic, and there wasn’t indications about cracks etc, so not a lot what I photograph there…75% of the repair costs sounds like a reasonable deal! Congrats!
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 267
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2010 C63 P30
I am curious if MB will be able to tell if the car has a tune on it or not and if they would maybe void warranty if they found it.... I suppose I can flash back to stock if I get problems and take it in. What do you guys think?
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Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 158
Likes: 0
From: Victoria Australia
C63 AMG, C36 AMG, SL500
I think if it was tuned and they knew you would have little change of them contributing. My car was also serviced at MB dealers only as well which I thing would help anyones case.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 344
Likes: 5
From: Battle Ground WA
C63AMG, NIssan NX2000, Pontiac Fiero GT
Another unknown is what role high rpm plays. Does it accelerate the stress on the headbolt heads? Some say yes, some no. IF really "designed" this engine should accept frequent hard runs within its stock range. i don't know if 'tunes' are enriched, higher rpms or midrange torque, both?
The doubt creeps in when we realize this engine did not break new ground. The Brits ran 4 valve dohc's in motorcycles over a hundred years ago. And what about the Euro Sedan racing series. I don't follow it closely but have only see "also rans" among the C63's.
The doubt creeps in when we realize this engine did not break new ground. The Brits ran 4 valve dohc's in motorcycles over a hundred years ago. And what about the Euro Sedan racing series. I don't follow it closely but have only see "also rans" among the C63's.
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
'14 E63 AMG S
What if the head bolt issue shows up when you are out of MB warranty and you have a 3rd party warranty (CarChex) ? I am sure the warranty guys will blame it on MB since it was a design defect and not pay for the work. Will MB pay for part of the repair or will the owner have to shell out ~$16K to repair it?
Anybody in such a situation?
Anybody in such a situation?
Member
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 218
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C63s now in the garage. Sold-GLA45 AMG Edition 1, Sold-2010 Mercedes C63
Just had my head bolts fail!
Dealer just confirmed it's my HEAD BOLTS!!!!! MB is covering 100%
With 4 days remaining on my warranty!
For those interested, here are the details of my car
2010 C63 March 2010 delivery
48,000 kms currently on car
no ECU mod, stock engine
Head Bolt failure occurred while driving on a cool night at 30 km/h 9.5 degrees Celsius outside temp
Dealer just confirmed it's my HEAD BOLTS!!!!! MB is covering 100%
With 4 days remaining on my warranty!
For those interested, here are the details of my car
2010 C63 March 2010 delivery
48,000 kms currently on car
no ECU mod, stock engine
Head Bolt failure occurred while driving on a cool night at 30 km/h 9.5 degrees Celsius outside temp
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 5,351
Likes: 1,677
From: Kitchener, ON
2010 C63 AMG
Just had my head bolts fail!
Dealer just confirmed it's my HEAD BOLTS!!!!! MB is covering 100%
With 4 days remaining on my warranty!
For those interested, here are the details of my car
2010 C63 March 2010 delivery
48,000 kms currently on car
no ECU mod, stock engine
Head Bolt failure occurred while driving on a cool night at 30 km/h 9.5 degrees Celsius outside temp
Dealer just confirmed it's my HEAD BOLTS!!!!! MB is covering 100%
With 4 days remaining on my warranty!
For those interested, here are the details of my car
2010 C63 March 2010 delivery
48,000 kms currently on car
no ECU mod, stock engine
Head Bolt failure occurred while driving on a cool night at 30 km/h 9.5 degrees Celsius outside temp
Member
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 218
Likes: 0
C63s now in the garage. Sold-GLA45 AMG Edition 1, Sold-2010 Mercedes C63
Engine sounded deeper but seemed to idle normally.
I managed to pull the car over and call MB roadside. They said don't drive it and sent a flatbed right away. I have to say I've used roadside twice in 4 years and both times they were amazing!! As good as I could ask for.
Super Member
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 842
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New, old Mercedes and REAL AMG's.
Looking at these recent failures, is there a place where one can find out the date manufacturers guaranty expires in our cars (other than calling the dealership)? The mileage is a no brainer at 50k miles.
Member
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 221
Likes: 2
From: Memphis
2009 SL63 AMG
I have a 2009 SL63 with 30,300 miles. Took it to my BMW/Mercedes Mechanic. A tiny bit of coolant in the oil. Just through blind luck, the problem has been caught WAY early. No smoke on start, no low coolant level.
Changing Bolts with upgraded design, Gaskets, Tappets, and Buckets.
Gonna be about $4k. I have an E39 M5 as well, so I am no stranger to cost. My wife said I was taking this very well. I told her I was glad it was this. Something that has been studied and beat to death, vs something unknown or rare that nobody sees often.
Changing Bolts with upgraded design, Gaskets, Tappets, and Buckets.
Gonna be about $4k. I have an E39 M5 as well, so I am no stranger to cost. My wife said I was taking this very well. I told her I was glad it was this. Something that has been studied and beat to death, vs something unknown or rare that nobody sees often.
Banned
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,811
Likes: 7
C63 AMG
I have a 2009 SL63 with 30,300 miles. Took it to my BMW/Mercedes Mechanic. A tiny bit of coolant in the oil. Just through blind luck, the problem has been caught WAY early. No smoke on start, no low coolant level.
Changing Bolts with upgraded design, Gaskets, Tappets, and Buckets.
Gonna be about $4k. I have an E39 M5 as well, so I am no stranger to cost. My wife said I was taking this very well. I told her I was glad it was this. Something that has been studied and beat to death, vs something unknown or rare that nobody sees often.
Changing Bolts with upgraded design, Gaskets, Tappets, and Buckets.
Gonna be about $4k. I have an E39 M5 as well, so I am no stranger to cost. My wife said I was taking this very well. I told her I was glad it was this. Something that has been studied and beat to death, vs something unknown or rare that nobody sees often.
did you do an oil analysis to find the coolant?
how could you loose coolant to the oil and the coolant level not change?
you pulled the head and found a broken bolt?
pictures please of the bolt
which bolt location?
Banned
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,811
Likes: 7
C63 AMG
Just had my head bolts fail!
Dealer just confirmed it's my HEAD BOLTS!!!!! MB is covering 100%
With 4 days remaining on my warranty!
For those interested, here are the details of my car
2010 C63 March 2010 delivery
48,000 kms currently on car
no ECU mod, stock engine
Head Bolt failure occurred while driving on a cool night at 30 km/h 9.5 degrees Celsius outside temp
Dealer just confirmed it's my HEAD BOLTS!!!!! MB is covering 100%
With 4 days remaining on my warranty!
For those interested, here are the details of my car
2010 C63 March 2010 delivery
48,000 kms currently on car
no ECU mod, stock engine
Head Bolt failure occurred while driving on a cool night at 30 km/h 9.5 degrees Celsius outside temp
how about posting the warranty invoice when completed?
it would be nice to see the codes used and parts
obviously redact your personal info
how long did they have the car before they told it was head bolts?
Last edited by Ingenieur; Mar 26, 2014 at 06:23 PM.
Member
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 221
Likes: 2
From: Memphis
2009 SL63 AMG
Yes, my guy pulled the head and found th broken bolt.
Don't know and don't know.
Member
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 218
Likes: 0
C63s now in the garage. Sold-GLA45 AMG Edition 1, Sold-2010 Mercedes C63
They had the car about 36 hours until they broke the news to me
