What You Need to Know When you Buy a used CLK

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First off, I have been driving a 99 CLK for four years now, and going to tell you what I've learned.

It has been a reliable car for the most part and was only stranded once soon after i got it. If you read this post you will probably avoid getting stranded. I have a lot af love for this car, but with an Automatic Transmission this car is a lot more boring than it should be. I mean I could take some long sweepers in my in my manual 99 Ford F-250(R.I.P.) with full size tires much faster than in this car. 80+ vs. 70-72. It has a chronic case of being in the wrong gear in fun moments or when trying to jump after a turn. This is why I haven't bothered with putting suspension on it or sinking anything into extra performance. Unless I could put a manual in it. $10,000++, I don't think so.

It's a lot Pushy too. Way too Pushy.

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If you buy one of these(or if you haven't done it yet), the first thing to do is flush and replace your tranny fluid.
About a year after I got it the tranny blew. Broke. New Tranny needed. 3800
The manual and the dealer say NO maintenance is needed. Wrong.
If gone unchecked the fluid dries out over the years and miles, and most previous owners haven't a clue. Add to the fact that YOU can't check the fluid level in your driveway unless you buy an $80 dipstick "tool".
Who does that? (I did later, so I could keep on top of it.)
---I did try to convert the AT to Manny at replacement time, but no luck in finding what I needed---


Next. Replace the interior air filter. I drove around two summers wondering why the A/C sucked. After the filter change, the air was blowin' and goin'.
It is Very Easy to do. There is a post in the W208 DIY.


Tires.
I bought some after market Benz McClaren style wheels, 8.5in. Front, 9.5in. Rear. From velocity motoring. Not sure why I have not run across this company in this forum. Maybe you thought they were no good cause they weren't carllsen or whatever. Great wheels for almost real cheap. Brand new with tires mounted, balanced, and shipped for 1300. I'll post a photo. They have been more resilient than any other nice rims I've ever had. Still Straight and no wobbles or vibrations after 3 years. Oh, and they are 18's.(It's Not a Race Car)









Biggest Size tires to fit this car(not lowered, why bother, get a different car, cause you still got an Atoumatic):

FILLS UP the Wheel Well the most and I don't have any rubbing:

FRONT--255/35/18 8.5in. wheel

REAR--275/35/18 9.5in. wheel

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I've got more, but it's late.

Late.

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Last edited by SaintMiles : Yesterday at 02:40 AM.

 

I agree with the tranny flush.... As soon as the car hit 100K i got an appointment with the stealer for a change.

I really did not notice that big of a diff after the flush, but it was a nice peace of mind.

The C43 guys are always telling about horror stories and i don't want to be one of them.

 

I replaced the original atf and filter from the pan and drianed the TC after a few hundred miles of owning it since 145,000 miles.

I plan on draining the pan every engine oil change to get the 4qts or so.

 

replaced my fluid at the dealer @ 85,000km, they said the fluid looked new still, oh well, runs alittle better now

 

Just going to run through some things here:

--Find your radio code and know where it is(probably somewhere in your owner's manual zipper case). 5 digit code is very easy to use. For whatever reason, it seems like I've needed this a couple of times while I was on the road.


--Once, I failed a smog test, and the guy told me to disconnect the battery to reset the computer. Then, drive for 50 miles and not much more, then have it re-tested. It should pass unless you've got a real, serious problem. I passed.


--The engine belt tensioner pulley froze up and needed to be replaced. I took off the one nut that held the pulley on, removed it and went to the MB dealer. "Oh, we don't sell just that pulley, we only sell the 'belt tensioner assembly' for $180+". Needless to say I was taken aback. I said, "I might be back , but first, I'm going to the local auto parts store."
Well, at the strip center auto parts store, they sell the pulleys alone. Apparently, they don't make our size of pulley, but I got the closest one. It was 1/2 in. bigger diameter than the oem part. I got a new belt(was nessecary anyway 'cause the other one was shredded) with an allowance for the bigger pulley. I think we took the difference in pulley size, doubled it and added that amount to the belt size.

At the dealer:
$180+ tensioner
$35+ belt

At the auto parts store:
$14 Pulley
$12 Belt.

The Pulley fit right on with no problem whatsoever. You wouldn't even know if YOU looked at it. This happened about a year and a half ago. Still going strong.

This is not a joke. Save your money.

--Another BIG $$ saver:
My drivers window stopped working. I could push the window down and pull it up by hand. But I could still hear the motor working(whrrrrr up, whrrrr down).

I took the door panel off(find the steps here in the w208 diy section) in order to check it out. I could see the mechanism moving with the window, but couldn't figure it out, so I removed the whole regulator assembly(I think I had to search this entire site and ended up with instructions from an E-class sedan, it was close enough).
It turned out that the cheapy spot welds that hold the main arm of the reg. and the body of the reg. together had failed.
FIX- I drilled a few holes with a small drill bit and mixed up some JB Weld. I put a couple of tiny self tapping screws in it with JB weld in the threads and also some weld in a couple of other drilled holes. Note:make sure the screws don't protrude too far and interfere with the body of the regulator.
Also: go to the dealer and buy the oem rivets in order to reinstall the regulator. 67cents each.
Works like new.

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'Til next time.

 

hello

 

here

 

A friend of mine is a pretty good mechanic and he stressed changing the fluid every 30-40k, he uses a flexible wire to mark the full point on these. I haven't try this so I'll see how well it works...

 

Nice information. I appreciate that.

Would you happen to still have your manual or a PDF of it you can send or know someone that has it via PDF. I cant find it anywhere and I just bought a 99 clk.

Thank You...

 

Pleaeeeese someone help me, if you know someone or you are someone that has the manual for a clk 1999 320, you can copy , send in a link or pdf. I would love you forever.

 

You might find the manual for the 2000 model year useful.

Free owner's manual downloads (.pdf format), for model years 2000 - 2010, here.

http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/servic...owners_manuals

Note: Our CLK series will appear when you select a model year.

 

If you want your 320 throttle to be more responsive and the trans to shift quicker get a Sprintbooster. There is a long thread on the subject which most everyone raves about the product. the 320 is not fast however, i've has the ECU remapped, added short tube headers, a cold air intake and the sprintbooster and the car runs night and day different that when I got it with 3623 miles on it. You are right, you can't make up for the auto transmission but you can shift it manually. low being 1st and 2nd only etc. Get a Springbooster. You won't regret it.

 

very thoughtful of you to do that!!