Advise on Headbolt Issue
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Advise on Headbolt Issue
I bought my 2009 C63 back in Feb of this year. The car is completely stock with 62k miles;
- Low coolant popped up about 2 weeks ago
- Bought the coolant from MB topped it
- 2 days later same thing
- Took it to the dealer
- Turns out that the head bolts is the issue and now the head gasket is leaking
- Car does not have factory warranty or extended warranty
- Dealer quoted $5,400 for the repairs
- Got MBUSA involved, however they are only willing to pay $500 as a "courtesy"
#3
Senior Member
If you decide to repair definitely look at an independent it could be half the price.
Me personally I would not dump $5400 into the car as it will add no value. Consider trading it in for something else? The dealership is not going to knock $5K off your trade in value especially if you buy another car from them (they will do the repair on their own time or auction the car). I don't know how movable the car is, but you could trade it in elsewhere as well.
Me personally I would not dump $5400 into the car as it will add no value. Consider trading it in for something else? The dealership is not going to knock $5K off your trade in value especially if you buy another car from them (they will do the repair on their own time or auction the car). I don't know how movable the car is, but you could trade it in elsewhere as well.
#5
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Jeez. Really sh*tty of Mercedes to simply throw $500 your way. I know it's out of warranty, but I expect more from such a well respected auto manufacturer.
OP, for what it's worth, I was quoted $3k to replace with the "one at a time" method that others have successfully gone with. New M159 tappets included in that price as well.
OP, for what it's worth, I was quoted $3k to replace with the "one at a time" method that others have successfully gone with. New M159 tappets included in that price as well.
#6
I bought my 2009 C63 back in Feb of this year. The car is completely stock with 62k miles;
- Low coolant popped up about 2 weeks ago
- Bought the coolant from MB topped it
- 2 days later same thing
- Took it to the dealer
- Turns out that the head bolts is the issue and now the head gasket is leaking
- Car does not have factory warranty or extended warranty
- Dealer quoted $5,400 for the repairs
- Got MBUSA involved, however they are only willing to pay $500 as a "courtesy"
#7
Member
Sadly you can't do the "one at a time" method after you've got a gasket leaking. $5,400 is about $1,400 more than I paid for an AMG trained engine guy to do mine with the heads off (and replacing all the parts, including SLS buckets, and everything on the from of the engine).
Bummer. Just a bummer. Sorry to hear about your situation.
Bummer. Just a bummer. Sorry to hear about your situation.
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#8
Senior Member
You've only had the car six months? I wonder if the previous owner saw a low coolant message and traded it in. Unlikely, but not impossible.
#9
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I agree that maybe $1K or a labor discount would be nice as it's a known fault, but you can't expect Mercedes to cover this engine forever. It's a 7 year old car with 62K miles. OP chose not to purchase a warranty or a newer car and this is one of the risks of that.
You've only had the car six months? I wonder if the previous owner saw a low coolant message and traded it in. Unlikely, but not impossible.
You've only had the car six months? I wonder if the previous owner saw a low coolant message and traded it in. Unlikely, but not impossible.
Sadly you can't do the "one at a time" method after you've got a gasket leaking. $5,400 is about $1,400 more than I paid for an AMG trained engine guy to do mine with the heads off (and replacing all the parts, including SLS buckets, and everything on the from of the engine).
Bummer. Just a bummer. Sorry to hear about your situation.
Bummer. Just a bummer. Sorry to hear about your situation.
Last edited by AMG3.2; 08-10-2016 at 11:20 AM.
#10
Member
Sorry to hear you ran into this problem. I'll be following closely to see how it works out for you.
Just my $.02 as I'm also an owner of a 2009. I'm at 72k miles. I chose not to get an aftermarket warranty because to get one that would actually cover this specific repair would have cost around $5k at the time. Most of the cheaper warranties won't cover this. So there really is no way around paying that amount. It just comes down to paying it to the warranty company or the repair shop. In my case, I didn't want to pay it up front and I'm hoping to get the bolts swapped out one by one before it becomes an issue.
Best of luck getting it back and enjoying it again.
Just my $.02 as I'm also an owner of a 2009. I'm at 72k miles. I chose not to get an aftermarket warranty because to get one that would actually cover this specific repair would have cost around $5k at the time. Most of the cheaper warranties won't cover this. So there really is no way around paying that amount. It just comes down to paying it to the warranty company or the repair shop. In my case, I didn't want to pay it up front and I'm hoping to get the bolts swapped out one by one before it becomes an issue.
Best of luck getting it back and enjoying it again.
#11
Member
Thread Starter
If you decide to repair definitely look at an independent it could be half the price.
Me personally I would not dump $5400 into the car as it will add no value. Consider trading it in for something else? The dealership is not going to knock $5K off your trade in value especially if you buy another car from them (they will do the repair on their own time or auction the car). I don't know how movable the car is, but you could trade it in elsewhere as well.
Me personally I would not dump $5400 into the car as it will add no value. Consider trading it in for something else? The dealership is not going to knock $5K off your trade in value especially if you buy another car from them (they will do the repair on their own time or auction the car). I don't know how movable the car is, but you could trade it in elsewhere as well.
No I haven't drove the car in about 2 weeks. You would think a high end auto manufacture like MB would do better. Taking it somewhere else is my only option at this point.
#12
Senior Member
I would take it to a MB indy with a good name i see you're in Miami, I've heard a lot about a shop called JS Benz. Its labor intensive, but Ive read in a bunch of threads to be in that 3500-4000 range... i plan on changing mine out in a year or so as precautionary maintenance along with the sls buckets
#13
Member
Thread Starter
A little update
Pull the motor.
This one bolt is corroded, a few of them completely snapped off. Horrible engineering by Mercedes Benz
The old head bolts v.s the new design
I hope to have the car back on the road by the end of the week, I am also changing the buckets
Pull the motor.
This one bolt is corroded, a few of them completely snapped off. Horrible engineering by Mercedes Benz
The old head bolts v.s the new design
I hope to have the car back on the road by the end of the week, I am also changing the buckets
Last edited by s.e.a.n.; 09-19-2016 at 04:45 PM.
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Looks like you went with an indy shop? Who did you use? Thanks for update and let us know how things go when you are back on the road.
#18
Member
Any pics of the broken ones?
Mine looked similar to what you saw, but I caught them before snappage.
Mine ended up going to auction after I traded it in. Someone got a smokin' deal!
Mine looked similar to what you saw, but I caught them before snappage.
Mine ended up going to auction after I traded it in. Someone got a smokin' deal!
#19
Super Member
You're lucky you got symptoms of a head bolt failure vs hydro locking the motor for complete engine failure. My indie shop quoted me $2400 for the bolts as a future reference for when needed. I also plan to send the heads out for pnp if I ever do the bolts. Are the rest of the components required to be replaced or that'll be determined upon inspection of condition?
#20
Member
Thread Starter
Did you go with the Weistic APR studs?
You're lucky you got symptoms of a head bolt failure vs hydro locking the motor for complete engine failure. My indie shop quoted me $2400 for the bolts as a future reference for when needed. I also plan to send the heads out for pnp if I ever do the bolts. Are the rest of the components required to be replaced or that'll be determined upon inspection of condition?
I'll grab some more pics later.
Last edited by s.e.a.n.; 09-21-2016 at 03:49 PM.
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#22
Senior Member
I haven't started the work yet, but yes I plan on going with the apr studs and all the neessary parts through weistec (buckets, gaskets etc) and Im most likely going to get the forged internals kit form them too! Cars been down for over a month now, the anticipation is killing me.
#23
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This has been a long intense journey, when I got the car back the mechanic told me that the lifters are a little noisy and that it should go away within a few days. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago I brought to car back since the noise was still noticeable and the car started making a weird knocking noise upon start up. Turn out the cam adjuster are going bad which are almost 700ea, he suggested I change all 4 including the washers. I had no idea these cars were so problematic!
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C63 AMG - LSD
This has been a long intense journey, when I got the car back the mechanic told me that the lifters are a little noisy and that it should go away within a few days. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago I brought to car back since the noise was still noticeable and the car started making a weird knocking noise upon start up. Turn out the cam adjuster are going bad which are almost 700ea, he suggested I change all 4 including the washers. I had no idea these cars were so problematic!
#25
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This has been a long intense journey, when I got the car back the mechanic told me that the lifters are a little noisy and that it should go away within a few days. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago I brought to car back since the noise was still noticeable and the car started making a weird knocking noise upon start up. Turn out the cam adjuster are going bad which are almost 700ea, he suggested I change all 4 including the washers. I had no idea these cars were so problematic!
Honestly, when I was DIY'ing this, I was looking at these dang things and couldn't for the life of me figure out what they did...