SwissKiss

Hi everybody, how's life? Just wanted to share some things about these amazing w209 machines. Some time ago (in 2013 wow!) I posted a thread about spacers, large wheels and wifey's then newly aquired CLK 320. It was my first and unique post here. I'm a Wrangler guy. These sleek autobahn racers aren't my fancy. Besides, the space under those aerodynamic hoods is as tight as a virgin's panties. Anyhow since then life went on. Shortly after that 2013 post, wifey and I parted. Aaaand surprise surprise, this month of December 2018, 5 years later, the CLK is back in my garage lol Well, I won't digress on her good for nothing boytoy. I was surprised to see the CLK still running fine. And even more surprised that it did run fine despite 100'000km added and nearly zero maintenance. The greedy bi*** only added gas and once in a while had the oil changed at some low cost lube joint. The reason it came back is that the car didn't pass the mandatory technical check all vehicles are subject to in Switzerland. Every 2 years for cars 10 years and older.

So this is a 2004 w209 CLK 320 cabrio Elegance trim. When we bought it in 2013 at 68'000km, the old lady owner had it maintained by the book. Today is shows 175'000km. Rejection report reads that one rear shock damper is down to 25% (% of what?) and about to retire (while all other 3 are 75-80%), all four brake rotors are down to the minimum and must be replaced, and the driveshaft silent-bloc (what's that?) is damaged and needs replacement. Other than that no comment. Not bad for a stock w209 that went 5 years and 100'000km with minimalist maintenance. I know they do a very thorough check of everything that concerns safety and pollution. They especially scrutinize the steering, handling and damping. No damaged body part is accepted. And of course no significant rust.

Besides the issues mentioned above, after driving it myself, I can mention : rear left window actuator (cable) broken. Other than that, it's in admirable shape. Canvas top is pristine and operates flawlessly. A small leak (front left by the "gutter"). All powered things work. The grey leather looks quite good. Under the hood all looks ...perfectly dusty, dull and scarily compact. No leaks, no "odd" noises. We Wrangler guys love those odd noises. They tell us that the element is still there She rides admirably, still braking very strong despite worn rotors. Handling and cornering is perfect. No hesitation, no rumble, no knocking, no shimmy lol I did a 90° sharp turn at 60km/h like she's on rails. All suspension elements are still from 2004 (I looked).

I confess I'm very impressed. Guys you are riding amazing machines. And beautiful, I must admit

Enjoy your cars and as Harley riders say, keep the rubber down

Rudeney

So did she give you the car because it won't pass inspection, or are you helping her out with it?

SwissKiss

I get the car

As for the inspection, brake rotors are easy to replace. Rear shock absorbers, need to see a diagram. Shouldn't be a big deal unless they are inside the coil strings. That rubber thing on the shaft, not sure what it is but being a rubber, I assume it's an easy one too. Will research the wealth of information in this forum.

Any advice on what else to replace while the driveshaft is disassembled?

Rudeney

Congrats on getting the car back! I suspect the rubber thing on the drive shaft is the "flex disc". There are two - one at the transmission and one at the differential.