Terryamg04

Can we visually see the headbolt without removing any engine cover ?

My car is a 2010 and supposedly an affected model . But visual inspection seem like
I have the new bolts instead of the old one

Where is the exact placement of the headbolts affected

DuaneC63

When MBZ changed the head bolt design they also used the SLS lifters (buckets). So you have nothing to worry about other than buying rear tires. As an aside, the tune flashes add back the 50hp the factory detuned out of the C63. So putting it in doesn't overstress your engine. More low end grunt and It just keeps pulling.

C63fora2w1

As some of you may know I am aspiring to C63 ownership and looking at the more affordable cars they tend to be pre-FL and that means.. head bolts issues. So I called my dealer and asked for a quote to replace head bolts on a 10' sedan.. $6300 is what I was quoted.. This seems on the high side to me. Service manager said they don't normally replace them unless they fail..

AMG3.2

A good MB indy shop should be able to do the job for half of that cost.

midnightfang

Hello ValveStud, can you please check this VIN?

WDDGF7HB2BF546977

Thanks in advance.

Valvestud

Not affected .

Regards,

Joe

andrickjohn

I received a nice reply from Weistec regarding the head bolts. They believe it is a rust issue, but did not say it was inevitable.

They also said that they prefer to remove the heads when replacing them, but they are aware that some people do the "one at a time" method and provided the torque sequence.

Since there has been mention in this forum regarding the "one at a time" method, can anyone refer us to an actual procedure on this?

Thanks

Jasonoff

There's no official DIY

Sticky has a few...
https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...-stickies.html

And this one
https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...adventure.html

VII

I replaced my bolts one at a time (I did NOT have coolant loss) about a year ago and I'm happy to report no problems so far

Btw if someone needs the tools in the US I can rent mine for the week (So far they have only been used the once and they have proven they work)

There is a kind of 2 part guide to doing one by one. Someone started a detailed guide but did not post the latter part of the job, I then tried to complement that guide with my own. Total cost of parts was 200-300 if I remember correctly

https://mbworld.org/forums/w219/6292...-part-2-a.html

Jasonoff

Wow, your bolts were nasty. My worst bolt was better than your best lol.

Assuming they were from the 08 CLS63 (Didn't read the thread, just the pics)?

arrowskartax9

Does anyone have current figures for actual failures. The reason i ask is i have spoken to my local Mercedes service manager in Melbourne Australia and they have not seen or heard of any failures. I have also asked a few local indy Mercedes mechanics and same, they havent had or heard of any failures. I cant even find a good mechanic to replace the Head bolts and lifters in Melbourne because it hasnt been done before.

Jasonoff

PM mr747

He's from your area and likely knows a good shop you can take it to.

arrowskartax9

Great,
Thank you.

VII

Failure rates are only a guessing game, Mercedes probably keeps that info very closely guarded and there is no easy way to extrapolate data since not all failures are reported and forums always concentrate failures.
Preventive makes sense if you can get it done right at a good price if not just keep a good eye on your coolant. As long as you don't hydro lock it parts for a fix would be less than 1k.

andrickjohn

I can see the parts are reasonable for a prenptive repair. However I am running into the same issue; the dealers around here have either never heard of it or want to do the head gasket as part of the deal.

FYI, I started calling random dealers in nearby states and speaking with service advisors about this. Most (all) have not heard of this. Only one came back after digging in and looking for TSB; they quoted $6007.00 for the repair as recommended by TSB.

I read on another site where a forum writer (non expert) surmises that engines aren't good for even 100,000 miles. Just winced at this unsubstantiated posture.

glennhl

I'm betting Mercedes has a good handle of when these failures are going to occur. They most likely have taken the failures they know about and made an estimate of the number of cycles each of those engines went through before they failed. They would then make a Wiebull plot that predicts when the failures are going to occur. The best example is popcorn, some kernels pop early and some late, but the majority of them pop near the average time. The same will go for these head bolts. They are a bad design, Mercedes confirmed that when they came out with a new better bolt in 2011. They probably plotted the Weibull curve and decided that most of the failures would occur outside of warranty.

Personally, if I had a 2010 or older C63, I would be replacing the bolts one at a time. And by the way, there is no torquing sequence for doing this. Just remove 1 bolt and leave all the others tight. Replace that bolt and torque it to spec. Then go onto the next bolt until they have all been replaced. If you wait until you have a coolant leak, first you are risking major engine damage if you get a hydrolock, and second, you have compromised the head gasket and those have to be replaced.

Good luck.

VII

Dealerships are very unlikely to do one bolt at a time as that is not an MB procedure. If you have a relationship with a Tec you might be able to get it done and just pay by the hour for the custom procedure (you won't have a warranty on that though).
A specialist might be a better bet but be sure they have removed and replaced camshafts on these engines before.

Phantim

Can someone check my VIN please?

WDDGF77X99F259465

Valvestud

All 2010 and older, and some early 2011s are affected.

Vladds

I counted recently 13 failures on this forum, meaning only on the C.
They seem chronologic, at first there are only 2009 and in fact, I only found 2-3 2010.
Then there's a guy posting on the Private lounge that 2010 bolt problems are a myth, meaning there was some sort of other revision, prior to the bolts being changed, maybe corrosion related.
I tried to correlate that to the people that did bolt by bolt, to where some pulled pristine bolts while others pulled rusted bolts.

Euler

Have you run across many/any 2008 failures? I have one of the first off the line and all seems well so far. I'm at 76K and keeping my fingers crossed. I have had a low coolant alert once. It was about 10F outside, so I attributed it to the cold. Level stable since, 2 yrs now.

Euler

I was quoted $600 at an indy shop for one at a time if I provide the new bolts. New bolts from the dealer are about $400.

Vladds

yes, there were some

mdotk

Had a full service 2 weeks ago (including coolant top up) and now today got the dreaded "Coolant levels low, see manual" message in my '09 ML63 (60K km). Engine runs very well and don't get any rough idling or the like.

Gonna call the mechanic Monday and see what they think I should do. The coolant message has gone away on subsequent startups, I am waiting for the engine to cool before physically checking the levels.

Edit: do I just top the coolant up with water or is anti-freeze need too? Manual suggests the latter.

izzyz

your problem doesn't necessarily have to be head bolts, I had a leaking water pump and never knew about it because it never drained onto the floor. When we removed the plastic undercarriage covers we discovered it was pooling up in there and draining off when I drove. Haven't had low coolant since the pump was changed. I kept topping up with a water/coolant mixture and eventually we changed the headbolts for safe measure anyway