mr747

Subcribed

GeorgeSmooth

I stand corrected but I think the 2010 and up cars got the new design aka SLS valve buckets.

Sincity

Late to the party due to being absent from mbw for a while. That corrosion is not good news. Good thing you are taking on this project and thanks for posting your progress.

Jasonoff

I'd be sweating every time I crack a bolt loose lol

Merc63

I am because they are torque to yeild bolts and already stretched to their yeild point. TTY bolts are known for breaking off when removing them.

rags260z

I've been thinking about this for a few days now and for the life of me I can't figure out why the bolts would be rusting at the top of the shaft. The only logical explanation I can come up with is trapped moisture which turns to steam when the engine is running.

Anyone else come up with a better explanation?

Joe

jvanbrecht

Here is the thing.. is this a unique instance of the bolt rusting, also it may just be surface rust.. In the short term, that is not an issue, long term is another story.

We have 1 engine with rusted bolts (was it all of them, or just the 1)? We know most MB dealers probably won't admit to whether or not the bolts in an engine they worked on were rusted (as that would be admitting to a problem they seem to want to ignore till there is a catastrophic failure).

We will need a few more people to either get their engines checked independently, or do it themselves... If it does appear to be a consistent problem, a formal complaint with NHTSA will need to be made.

We can ***** and moan all day on forums, blogs and chat rooms... but that won't make MB respond. An official complaint to NHTSA (at least in the US), will require MB to respond to NHTSA in a timely manner (which in gov speak could take a year..). Nothing may come of it, but it may result in a recall

Merc63

NOT ALL BOLTS ARE RUSTED.

Around half were.

They go into the water jacket in the block and are exposed to coolant.

rags260z

Which confuses me even more. Coolant contains rust inhibitors which should prevent this if the rust on the bolts was caused by coolant.
There is no real seal at the top of the headbolt and if the top of the headbolt was where the water seal is occuring, to get rust at the top would mean the entire bolt was submerged in water which would rust the entire bolt.

I'm not trying to be a dick here, just trying to understand what is happening.

Joe

ZephyrAMG

Heat on a cool surface will cause condensation. So hot/cold/hot/cold develops water condensation which in time will develop rust...

bhamg

jvanbrecht - Weistec has probably seen more head bolts in different motors than anyone. Perhaps they will weigh in here. I was planning on linking this thread in the sticky at some point but perhaps Merc can offer an opinion as to whether this discussion about head bolt corrosion component should be moved to its own thread or continue here.

bhamg

And one other thing Merc - can you post a more
detailed photo of the base of the bolt head where it meets the shaft? I'm interested in getting a better look at the corrosion there, thanks

Merc63

Remember guys this car was winter driven in Canada. It can be on average -15c and get to -30c. Also a heater core plug was used to warm the engine over night so it would start easy.

Perhaps this contributed to the rust?

I'd like to know if Weistec has seen bolts rusted like this as well.

bhamg

^ Much of Europe has a cooler climate like Canada...you'd think that part of engineering would be tried and proven from long ago.

Merc63

Trying to install the Weistec crank pulley and there is no degree marks on it that I can see.

Going to be hard to put the engine to 40degrees to remove cams with no degree marks.

Calling Weistec now to figure it out, will update with answer.

Merc63

Update:

- Drilled the crank for the keyholes in either side with the tool weistec provides. Everything went smooth. To answer my question above; basically you have to put the stock crank pulley back on whenever you need to degree the engine. It can only go on one way, so no worries removing it.

- Put the MHP headers back on. Much much easier with the valve covers removed. One side is completely on, the other partially.




Saturday we finish the studs on the other bank. Below is a pic of the tranny with the valve body dropped out.



Just spoke to Anthony at Weistec and they received the ECU today. Hopefully we get that back fairly soon and can complete the install.

Merc63

Just my F'ing luck. I sent my ECU and Valvebody in two packs. They got the ecu a day ago, but the valve body hasn't showed up and the tracking hasn't updated since march 29th.

Better yet, if its lost I have to get a new one because its married to the tranny and locked. So a used one won't even work, unbelievable!

Praying its just in customs or something!

Sincity

Just give it a few more days. Probably stuck in Customs.

Merc63

Around $4000 for a new valve body with towing and programming. Just bloody perfect. It better show up or I may just blow the car up and call it a day.

yazid

Merc63:

Thanks for sharing your DIY change of head bolts, especially with them pictures of rusted/corroded bolts.

Prior to the last major service in January, I have had a number warning lights on the coolant level, so I suspected it had to be the issue from the head bolts. After the service was done, no more warning signs on the coolant level and so forth, however I have taken the liberty to call my dealership to look into replacing my head bolts and they have acknowledged on my request and info on the pre-2010 C63 issues. Fingers crossed if they can replace and work with no added costs.

Thanks again mate!

Merc63

Yazid, The head bolts run into the water jacket, if one lost its seal, you would get coolant in your oil. Have your oil tested.


Update, headers are installed. Throttle bodies removed from intake manifold and necessary sensors. Praying my valve body gets delivered. More head bolt action Saturday.

yazid

Merc63, yes will do in getting the oil tested.

How are the LTH's?

Notice you have a bike on the life next to your car.. softail?

Merc63

Thank God, the Valve body finally updated its tracking and looks to be making progress.

I was in depression there for a few days.

Back at it again today, finished the driver side bank head studs and got the valve covers and cam adjuster covers back on. Everything we smooth with the studs.



Now we start on the actual blower install next.

Driver side head bolts:

motoman

Merc63

None broke. The 10th was in the car at the time of pic.

To answer your question in the other thread, the sucker was used to suck coolant from the block when a bolt was removed and to clean the threads. Secondly, it was used to suck oil from the head to help keep the working area clean.

The area where the washer on the head/stud clamps/seals must be cleaned 100% of oil or any contaminates. The washer, threads and the bottom of the stud nut are coated with 500f gasket maker (silicone) to seal the head from the coolant below.