Advise on Headbolt Issue
I bought my 2009 C63 back in Feb of this year. The car is completely stock with 62k miles;
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I'd at least get a quote from an independent shop. It's most likely less.
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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. |
Go to a smaller shop that focuses on Mercedes and knows these engines. There is no way around doing this work now. Hope you aren't driving it.
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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. |
Originally Posted by s.e.a.n.
(Post 6883193)
I bought my 2009 C63 back in Feb of this year. The car is completely stock with 62k miles;
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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. |
Originally Posted by AMG3.2
(Post 6883465)
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.
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. |
Originally Posted by realjones88
(Post 6883755)
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.
Originally Posted by computertom
(Post 6883491)
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. |
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. |
Originally Posted by realjones88
(Post 6883279)
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.
Originally Posted by Merc63
(Post 6883324)
Go to a smaller shop that focuses on Mercedes and knows these engines. There is no way around doing this work now. Hope you aren't driving it.
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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
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A little update
Pull the motor. https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8486/2...40c63426_c.jpg This one bolt is corroded, a few of them completely snapped off. Horrible engineering by Mercedes Benz https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8191/2...ece2aa12_c.jpg The old head bolts v.s the new design https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8194/2...00da32c7_c.jpg https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8109/2...a6335be3_c.jpg I hope to have the car back on the road by the end of the week, I am also changing the buckets |
Jeez. The thought of breaking a bolt makes me terrified of taking on this project...
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Originally Posted by s.e.a.n.
(Post 6919473)
I hope to have the car back on the road by the end of the week, I am also changing the buckets |
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.
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What was the total cost and what parts did you replace if you don't mind sharing?
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Any pics of the broken ones?
Mine looked similar to what you saw, but I caught them before snappage. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...45af0a1368.jpg Mine ended up going to auction after I traded it in. Someone got a smokin' deal! |
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?
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Originally Posted by akmatic63
(Post 6920198)
Good news is that now you can enjoy your car knowing that the issue is fixed:y. My car is in the shop for this as well right now.
Did you go with the Weistic APR studs?
Originally Posted by Case1906
(Post 6920218)
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.
Originally Posted by AMG6.3
(Post 6920542)
What was the total cost and what parts did you replace if you don't mind sharing?
Originally Posted by Mag1c Carp3t
(Post 6921282)
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?
Originally Posted by computertom
(Post 6920669)
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! |
Glad to see that your car is on the road to recovery. Now you can enjoy it again.
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Originally Posted by s.e.a.n.
(Post 6921312)
Yes can't wait.
Did you go with the Weistic APR studs? |
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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Originally Posted by s.e.a.n.
(Post 6952362)
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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Originally Posted by s.e.a.n.
(Post 6952362)
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... |
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