New Owner in Socal. Need a shop to do the headbolts
 

Hello Everyone,

I just purchased a 2009 C63 W/42000 miles.

I must admit I did not do a lot a of research on the head bolt issue until after I bought the car. I would like some advice on what you would do in my situation. I have roughly 3500-4000 in savings. I have the option of buying a warranty through USAA for $2500 years (24000miles) or paying an indie shop to do the work.

What do you think would be the best route to go? This is me just being cautious and being preemptive. The car was purchased through a private seller.

Does anyone know any local shops in Orange County that will do the 1 headbolt at a time removal? I have asked MB elite in Newport for a quote. I have also called Maurices benz but he had never done the one bolt at a time method and was swamped in work.

Does anyone here have good feedback on what the best route would be? Purchasing a Warranty through USAA or Repairing the car before it happens? Also what would be a reasonable quote for this job? So far the only quote I have seen was around 2600$

Thank You for your help

Check out HG Motorsports. I'm having mine done in April there

MB wanted 13k to do mine. Don't even bother with them, use a good Indy shop.

$2600 sounds decent, I think someone in another thread mentioned $3200 for weistecs with buckets too.

Sent you a PM.

Interested in Anyones recommendations for Los Angeles Area. I'm going to be looking into doing this preventative maintenance as well.

You guys should check out the AMG SoCal Lounge facebook page, we've got lots of active local members.

Thanks!

Autohaus Frankfurt sent me this quote. I saw another member recommend them. Does it seem high? Chris's HG spot was 3400$ but that is a bit of a drive to leave my car.

Hera are the 2 estimates for you.

1st estimate is about $ 4,000.00 - we provide the parts with lifters ( parts labor tax )

2nd estimate of labor only is about $ 2,000.00 - you provide your own parts

* if we get the pats all together it will take a total of 3-4 days to do the job


They didn't send me a formal quote or estimate.

You comfortable with a shop that won't even send you a formal quote for a multi-thousand dollar engine servicing? If the drive is far, have enterprise rental pick you up there and use a car for a week at $25/day or something. Still would be cheaper than $4,000 and more of a warm fuzzy feeling than "we might charge you $4,000 but we can't give you a real quote because we are too lazy to even look up part numbers for you."

I think I should get this done on mine as well . I have 42k miles on it

Autohaus Frankfort in Murrieta is EXCELLENT. Myself and 4Ramin go to him for EVERYTHING and he did the headbolts for us. Richard knows the M156 platform like the back of his hand. Shop is clean as a surgical room. Perfectionist.

Been recommending him for a long time.

It's honestly not like that. Both Ramin and I purchased our own parts and provided him everything only because he was so swamped at the time. He also installed H&Rs for me, does all my oil changes, installed my Wavetrack, and changed all the lifters, seals, gaskets, and bolts down to every last detail...

Trust me on Richard at Autohaus Frankfort...He does the bolts one at a time with exact torque specs. He is a Benz and BMW maniac. You can PM for more info if you would like...

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...f5215af824.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...3115003c85.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...e939e064d1.jpg

Two of the shops I'd trust to do it in OC are Benzworks in HB and Star Motor Works over in Santa Ana. Not sure if they'll do it one at a time though.

For Benzworks in Huntington Beach .

I would go to Golan at AutoTalent. They are a vendor on these forums as well. It's like going to a car meet every time I stop by there :)

I agree with SoCal208 . Benzworks in Huntington Beach. I talked to them about mine as well.

Fair enough. I used to go to a shop like that in VA. Being new to area, I like more specifics on exactly what is going to be done and what parts are going to be used. It just gives me peace of mind. Member experiences like yours help as well.

Is their anyway someone can send me a list of literally everything you would need to take to a shop and only pay for labor? I saw the sticky but was not sure if that was the complete list.

Also are replacing the lifters a must? What is the standard that most people are doing to future proof this motor?

Chris at star motors seems very helpful. So as of right now I am looking at having it done their.

The only shop I'd trust to do the work is Benzworks in HB. They're honest and very meticulous. I had do a lot of work on my current car.

Star Motor Werks has no idea what he's doing on newer model years cars. His shop is like a mad house. Call Serge or Nick at Benzworks, you'll be taken care of the right way.

Just search headbolt on here and some threads with kists pop up. And I'd do the lifters while you're at it. They can be problematic on PFL cars. With the cams out of the way, it's a good time to do them.

Edit: I'm bored and will be nice. I tjink this list just need 10 intake manifold bolts since they are torque to yield.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...part-list.html

I have been happy with AMG in ..... Fountain valley I assume (newhope and slater area.) If it would be of interest to you I can upload the work order/receipt from having the head bolt issue addressed on my C63. It was done by a shop in SD area by previous owner right before I bought it, close to $6k out the door.

I considered the warranty from USAA as well, but ultimately passed as the previous owner had already forked over the cash for the common large dollar repair these cars are known for. Since then the possibility of needing at least a valve body repaired in my trans, at worst a trans rebuild has become a reality. A full trans rebuild would run about $5k, so something to keep in mind. All things considered the C63 is cheap to own compared to other cars in its class, but still there is always the possibility of very expensive problems creeping up.

Thank You,

I have read that thread before. But I was more or less hoping for pricing and a website I could order all of the parts from. I am new to benz's so I do not know where I can get them all from. If I buy all the parts listed and decide to have the lifters replaced, then what lifters should I buy and is their any additional small parts needed to install them? Are those. Do I need to go for weistech lifters or are their cheaper alternatives?

oediscountparts.com

Talk to Tracy, she's the best. She knows all the weird stuff we all order, and can usually get the best prices and fastest delivery. She can really pull off some magic particularly on hard to find items.

She's also on the board - msgadget (https://mbworld.org/forums/members/336417-msgadget.html)

:y

I would contact zack at weistec to get the lifters , they might also be able to do the head studs for you if they have the time . They have the head studs and the lifters

You'll pay more for the same parts through Weistec. Don't.