I've just replaced my starter with a second hand Bosch at £30. I didn't want a new one even at £85 as they all seem to be made in China and the Chinese alternator which the last owner fitted lasted only 19K miles. I tried replacing the reg on it and the Chinese screws were chocolate.

Part number for the original Bosch was 0001107459 (460), Mercedes A0061516001.

It is probably the easiest job I have done, much easier than replacing the alternator. The hardest bits were getting the car up on my car ramps (using a jack), without having the benefit of the hydraulic suspension raising, and removing the 2 underfloor panels and their 20 bolts. After that it was just 2 bolts and 2 nuts and the starter came out easily. I understand that the USA CL500/CL550s with 4WD are more complicated to remove.

Now I am surprised how fast the new (second hand) starter is compared to the old one. I do remember saying, when I bought the car, that the battery may be going as the starter seemed slow. The seller told me it was due to the engine being a V8 (I am used to a V6) and that seemed to make some sense especially as the battery tested (and is) 100%. Anyway 7K miles after purchase, at 114K miles, the starter remained slow but worked until one day it didn't and I had to have the car recovered. The starter took amps but did nothing apart from get warm. No warnings apart from the slowness for 2 years.

Upon inspection the starter brushes were knackered having worn right down and 2 of the 4 had disintegrated completely. An easy repair except that I don't know what caused it (possibly a worn bush) and I already had a replacement with good length brushes.

I've never had a starter motor fail in any other car. I note that the exact same part number is used on the V6 M272 engines where it would have an easier life, maybe it is underpowered for the V8.S

 

I've got the same car as you. I've got a Bosch remanufactured starter sitting on my shelf. I briefly looked at replacing it while doing a different project, and thought access to the electrical connections looked tough...did you do this by feel, or am I missing something?

 

It's just two nuts, the large one with a plastic pull off cap covering it is permanent live. The smaller one is the signal for the starter to use the live feed. If you can comfortably and safely get under the car, with a good head light, you can see and very easily undo the nuts. Disconnect the battery first of course. I found it easier to undo them before undoing the two starter motor bolts, and replace them after re-fitting the starter bolts (and of course before reconnecting the battery)

Does your starter need replacing though? With hindsight my starter was failing for 2 years before it finally went - the replacement is very noticeably faster at turning the engine than my old one ever was. I will know when it is failing next time.

Great you have the same car I think there are only 536 of us in the UK! Could you do me a favour and check your ABC hydraulic fluid level when cold and again when the engine is running? The dipstick is a round rubber plug on n/s front of engine bay. There are two marks on the stick, higher one is for when cold, lower one is when engine idling and suspension at normal level. On mine the lower level is now spot on but my fluid is much higher than the top mark when cold. I take this as a sign that my acculumators need replacing but non one has confirmed this yet. See my post https://mbworld.org/forums/cl-class-...id-levels.html

 

I did check my ABC fluid levels with the car on and off. Both my readings are right where they are supposed to be, so I suspect you are correct that when on, fluid is going somewhere it is not supposed to be.

About my starter, no, still works, but occasionally takes a beat before cranking. So, doesn't really need replacing, but everything on my car at 15.5 years old is past its prime. I've slowly been replacing many components and sensors. I keep buying parts on clearance at Rock Auto as they become available, and stockpiling for later projects. A remanufactured Bosch starter was only like $50, so I picked one up a while back and have had it on the shelf. I've got two new accumulators on the shelf, and will tackle those soon.

 

Thanks very much for that. I've just noticed that you are in the USA, and that you have a CL550, sorry I didn't spot that. The CL550 '4-matic' is 4 wheel drive unlike the UK CL500. All the videos I found indicate that removing the starter on a CL550 is slightly more difficult due to the front drive shafts reducing access. I'll dig out the YouTube videos I came across. You might want to check the starter relay too.

 

Videos I found useful on starter replacement, in no particular order and some more useful and relevant than others:


On my 2009 CL500 in 2 years of ownership I have
Relaced oil and filter many times - very easy with an oil suction pump
Replaced Gearbox and torque converter oil and filter - quite difficult without a car lift
replaced oil centrifuge at top rear left of engine. It had been weeping oil for years onto the exhaust. Very easy fix, well worth doing
replaced alternator and brushes and regulator - quite difficult you have to dismantle the radiator to get it out
fixed weeping radiator hose leak easy but difficult to get new o ring on (involves putting it in a freezer!)
bought PCMCIA to SD card adapter for the audio, can now play MP3 music
reprogrammed the clock to fix satellite rollover issue. Now GPS Release 423. From clock fault bulletin - easy
updated the UK and europe map software - NTG3.0 map software, from V7.0 (2011/12?) to V17.0 (2018/19) last version made. Easy
fitted dashcam easy
fixed right side sunroof drain (joker valve blocked with silt) - took me ages
debadged boot with dental floss- easy
fixed front window seal with A pillar - simple but fiddly
changed air filters quite easy
changed pollen filters, easy
8 new OE spark plugs - surprisingly easy to do
removed all wheels, removed corrosion, lightly greased, easy. Now they come off when you undo the bolts!
new engine top and middle pulley idlers fitted just in case - easy
new auxillary drive belt just in case - easy
replaced starter - easy
bought Foxwell NT510Elite OBD2 Scanner with Merc specific software- this is the best value one to get. Did the rodeo test with it.

Let me know if you need more info on any of those. A lot of the work is doing the research and finding the parts.

 

Mine is a RWD CL550...you do have the same setup? I'm a rare person (apparently) who is glad to have only RWD, and a non turbo engine. I just don't want or need the extra complexity, and don't plan to beat the car and go fast (wife's EQS 580 will do that way better, anyway). Thanks for your offer to help with information--I appreciate the camaraderie. I've owned for 2.5 years, and have a crazy long list of things I've replaced. I've found parts aren't that expensive, and I have taken a 'replace everything' approach when working on projects. I'm in the middle of a big project currently, replacing most everything on the front of the engine. I just ordered a new radiator, as I had everything else taken apart, anyway. Was the alternator pretty easy with the radiator out? At 21 pounds, it may be tough for me to hold it in place and reattach by myself--maybe I'll get my son-in-law to help.

 

Yes same setup then, just the USA name is different (and more accurate). I had thought that 4WD was standard on all USA CL550s. I too avoided the later turbo CL500s, even though the engine is both more powerful and more efficient, when I learnt that to fix a turbo the engine has to come out.

Alternator replacement is quite easy with the radiator out. You need access underneath to undo it then pull it out from above, after removing the radiator hoses and fan and protecting the rad fins. I did it on my own. The faulty alternator I replaced was a Chinese copy so I threw it away but if it is a Bosch you might just need to replace the regulator. I put in a second hand Bosch but fitted new brushes and a new Tiawanese regulator.

I think I used the Mercedes workshop manual for that - well worth getting if you don't have it. You will need to dedicate a laptop to it as it will be pirated software and will run a as a virtual PC. The laptop I sacrificed for it is so painfully slow I often just go to youtube instead (as I did for the starter).

 

Yup, have WIS and BenzNinja, so I'm good there. If you don't have BenzNinja, it is well worth the money.

I took a look at the alternator. I don't understand how you got the bottom bolts out. WIS frustratingly just says "remove the bottom bolts", but I can't see them from the bottom or top as the are tucked in so close to the rubber noise capsule and cross member. Did you have this problem, and how did you do it? Thanks.

 

Yes I read somewhere that the engine had to be jacked up to get the bolts out, think that was for the V12 engine. I did wonder it that was necessary - remember you don't have to remove the bolts completely from the alternator, just remove them from the engine block then remove them with alternator. I don't remember any difficulty doing that.

 

Okay good news. Thanks for your input--you gave me the confidence to tackle this job. Old alternator is out and the new one in. I haven't yet bolted it down, as it was getting late last night. The trick for me was receiving a tiny E-12 ratcheting spanner wrench in the mail yesterday. The back bottom bolt is tucked under the ABC hoses, and I could just barely squeeze the wrench on to it. So future people doing this, here is the wrench I bought that worked...

 

I took another look at the starter yesterday. Looks like I need some long extensions and a swivel head socket. Do you remember where the starter relay is located? Thanks.

 

I don't recall needing anything not in my 120 piece socket set. The 2 bolts are easy to get at. You will also need to undo 2 nuts on the solenoid for the electrics but I don't think they were hard to get at. Make sure you disconnect the battery first. Remember this is for my UK 2 wheel drive CL500. The US 4 wheel drive may well have a driveshaft in the way.

The relay (AKA solenoid) is fixed, piggy back style, to the starter motor itself. Or if you mean the small relay in the fusebox that is shown in one of the videos I listed above namely