Offtrack excursion.. ooh.. do tell.. is there video ??

 

Due to the 12 commandments of the Advanced Driving Academy there is no video
1. Thou shall not bring a go pro camera into the car
2. Thou shall not pass your instructor's car
3. Thou shall not hit your instructor's car
4. Thou shall not turn off the ESP
5. Thou shall not switch to manual mode
6. Thou shall not use the paddle shifters
7. Thou shall not get lost on the autocross course
8. Thou shall not get airborne in the corkscrew
9. Thou shall not covant thy neighbors' ceramic brakes
10. Thou shall not drop the top on the SL63 or SLK55
11. Thou shall not use the skip pad to practice your drifting skills
12. Thou shall not rat out your co-driver's errors

 

Only rules 7 and 12 should be followed. Do all the rest.

 

Hi all,

I just posted the pics of the damaged head and head bolt:

https://www.facebook.com/mrtazzymotorsports

Look for "The C63 damages"

I tried getting a direct link but it didn't work.

 

That's insane. I hope the lawsuit is settled soon so MB can start the recall for the affected parts.

 

What lawsuit is everyone talking about? Bec only class action I've seen is for excessive wear on bucket tappets and cams.

 

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...oncerns-8.html

 

I even posted the same question/statement in the thread you just linked for me. Chan vs MBZ is for cam adjusted, tappets clicking and excessive wear based on metallurgy and crap like that, not head bolts.

 

Damn, so the head popped off the bolt and rattled around with the cams. Crazy..

 

Too bad there isn't a way to get this whole thing documented with detailed repair reports, pictures, etc. and it to hit the web like those infamous recalls.

 

I still don't understand why you had to remove the motor, this was as simple fix by removing the heads only. I just don't see it unless you hydro locked. In most cases you will know the symptoms of a head gasket leak way before it gets to a point of getting hydro locked and bending a rod. One quart of ATF mixed with your oil would have cleaned your motor better, you just need to run it for 500 +/- miles then change the oil. It acts as a detergent and will not hurt anything. Many cars have head gasket issues including Porsches and along with many others. As for the rest check your oil often especially if you notice a ruff idle at cold starts. If its milky don't drive the car and get the gaskets replaced. Spend the money and get some APR bolts put in.

 

Your first step in the event of an issue you think should be a recall, is to complain to NHTSA (in the US anyways, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), ie the people who track vehicle defects. Complaints to them are taken seriously (while it may not seem like it), but MB has to respond to them.

When you lawyer up and start suing, the only result is that MB will lawyer up as well, and this can go on for ages. If everyone that has had an issue (probably many more then just on the board) complained to NHTSA, then MB would be forced to issue a recall, if there is sufficient evidence (I am not saying there isn't) that it is a wide spread problem.

However, considering how many M156 engines are out there, even if 100 had this problem, the percentages are extremely small, no recall may occur.

 

Roland,
Some of those new pictures are AWESOME!!! Look like freaking artwork! I really need to buy a new camera!
Thanks for all your hard work!

Jonathan

 

Great photos...scary to see but fascinating at the same time...thx for posting!

 

1.) All the coolant mixed with the 9 litres of oil in the crankcase while the engine was running which means there could be bearing failure which must be inspected, moreover, the entire engine with all the oil ports and galleys were full of thick brown paste that should be removed manually instead of running multiple oil flushes using a concoction of random oil products.


2.) The broken bolt was still in the block and I was not interested in trying to extract the bolt while the head was still on the block and there is not enough clearance to pull the head up high enough in order to clear the broken head bolt.


3.) The ARP stud kit was defective, one of the studs were missing the Allen head so it could not be installed while the head was on the block.


4.) Installing the head studs first is a wise choice to be sure of correct installed height. Again, there is not enough clearance to install the heads on this motor while the studs are installed in the block and block is installed in the car.


5.) You make it seam like removing the engine is a dramatically difficult procedure, which it is anything but hard to do. Once the trans is separated, it's two wire connectors, two motor mounts, two fuel related hoses and three coolant pipes and you're done.


This is not a motor you can take foolish risks with, you can't just pull pocket change out to replace it if you make a mistake like you can a Civic. I know I wouldn't want to pay some guy money to run ATF through my $40,000 motor in hopes that somehow that would clean out 18 litres of paste.


All this aside though, if you have one of these motors and it hasn't popped a bolt yet I have no doubts that you could replace the bolts with studs without even removing the heads if you know what you're doing.

 

As Mike Holmes on Homes says...Making it right.

 

Roland,

We want more pictures!!! Got any of the finished motor? Sounded great on the phone!

Update for everyone:

I got a phone call from Roland about six thirty one evening last week and he said he John listen to this: insert engine roaring noise! Love it! What a great shop. Mr Tazzy rocks.

Should be good to go next week after they do all the fluid changes etc. might as well do the tranny and the diff at the same time!


Question for Roland: are you sure you can change the bolts to studs without pulling the heads? I thought the head gaskets would leak for sure?

For anyone in Ontario I would highly recommend Mr Tazzy for this job. The three guys in the shop are great.

JN

 

Also Roland my folks asked what I wanted for Christmas and I will be asking for a few Dyno runs at steeda. Let me know if you want to come. You should be there it will be fun.

 

I guess you didn't get my message then? Your car has been ready since last Monday, I've put on about 80km on it and had no issues. The rear diff has gotten a lot quieter with the fluid change, trans fluid changed, rim welded, snows installed and all done for less than original quoted price.

 

As long as the head bolts are not and do not break then they can be changed one at a time while motor remains in the car and heads can stay on the engine. Coolant would have to be drained completely from the block and a special torquing process would have to be applied.

 

Hmmm, wonder what the at wheel HP will be. Anyway, if I can I will be there. As for your car's power, on wet cold pavement it does 0-160km/h in under 1/4 mile which I believe puts it right in factory spec.

 

WOOO HOOOO! See you tomorrow morning!!!!

 

Dude I was not trying to insult you but simply asking a question, I'm around race motors all day long and currently building a Porsche motor with custom crank , rods , pistons for my own car. I'm saying this as I fully understand motors more then most. I was just asking a simple question that's all. I'm glad it's all worked out and you did not really have any major damage. As for the ATF this is done to motors that cost over 80k and in fact a lot of guys do it from time to time to clean things out. At the end the most important thing is that your back on the road and once more can play

 

No insults, merely stating the facts as they are.

The ATF trick is good for a noisy lifter or an engine that has been sitting and I would have used it if this were the case with this motor.

All the best with your Porsche motor.

 

Go to https://www.facebook.com/mrtazzymotorsports, I just added the final pictures and a real good closeup of the head of the bolt which really shows why it failed.