You ask "P31 or not?"----Definitive answer finally???
 

Well leave it to Ol' Tasos to throw a little more m156 guru magic at us with his latest video....at the 30:20 mark he states that he KNOWS that the one engine is a P31 as the block number contains "985" then he points it out, moves over to the other non-P31 engine and says and points out that it has the number "984".....Being as I have a P30 of course I step outside my office, flashlight in hand, to look down below the oil dipstick to find the numbers stippled into the block flange and lo and behold there it is...."985"!!!!!!!
You can change steering wheels, you can change brakes, you can have issue with decoding....but the numbers on the block don't lie.

Directly below the dipstick handle and towards the center just a little bit....you will see a yellow inspection window port on the top of the tranny bellhousing...the number is between the dipstick and the inspection window port(you may have to move your wiring loom just a little to see it but once you do it stares you in the face nice and clearly.....

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...c8a5ce28d1.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...b0751573a4.jpg

I have a non P31 car and my engine number is 156985 60 070161. I didn't watch Tasos video but it doesn't look like the 985 can be used to determine if you have a P31 with the lighter forged internals.

Also, I believe you have a 2009 and it has the P30 Package, then it is my understanding it has the top speed limiter raised to 174 mph but no HP increase and no difference in engine internals.

Thats what i was thinking exactly Mort.....I have asked him to clarify about the casting number as he does NOT say anything about the p30 variants, only the p31 engines(trying to tie the p30 in was my own interjection)....it may actually be that all pre-p31 available blocks were 985 and then when the p31 replaced the p30 engines the 985 was only for the 985s......

My car is a non P31 2012 and later than the P31 package originated and still a 985 so I don't think it only applies to the P31 (P30) engines only.

I didn't even see where yours was a FL Mort.....that kinda shoots that whole thing in the ass

To provide more data and I think Tasos is the man, but he is incorrect on this point.

My 2013 base C63 non P30/31 car, 985 on block 156985 60 080832
My 2014 507 C63 P61 (which is P31 with more power) 985 on block 156985 60 087325

The one in the video is the older gray valve cover motor so maybe it was true for PFL cars and then all the FL cars got the 985 block, maybe it means nothing, maybe just a random update at some point but certainly having a 985 block in no ways means a p31 engine.

You could just ask the dealer to run the vmi and it will say whether it is p30 p31 or p98 :bow:
it'll also have your engine serial number on it. So then you could compare it and see if you got your motor swapped and someone stole all your p31's for themselves.

After seeing how bad these parts are getting I'm wondering if we need to start using thicker oil like he says in some of his videos.

Remember he is in the middle east, so he recommends heavy oil but also says at the same time that it is 80-110F all the time - might be a thought in the dead of summer, but would be worried about that in the cold.

There is mobile 1 5w50 and mutol 5w50 sport oils.im convinced after seeing all those blocks and hearing my own car react to different brands.

​​​​​​Just look at the cams,they are all wearing out and my car is starting to be noisy again after having the whole top end done over under warranty

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Actually it´s not enough to ask the dealer... vin decode will always tell P30, even if it´s P31.