dmauch

I have a chance to buy this vehicle for good price. The owner is the son of the original owner and has all the records. He states in his ad that the car is in perfect condition. The pictures show the interior and exterior look great. It was garage stored. Any suggestion of what i should look out for?
TIA
Dan Mauch

nkx1

Yes. First and foremost, I would get a pre-purchase inspection done by a mechanic specializing in Mercedes. They can scan for error codes using star diagnostics, and also put the car on a lift to identify stuff you may not otherwise see.

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Best of luck and I hope this helps you make an informed decision.

dmauch

Any idea of how much it's going to cost to fix your transmission? Or do you plan to live with it in the comfort mode?
Thanks for your other advice.
Dan

dzmitry

Most 722.6 transmissions (since you're talking about clk320) tend to jerk between 1st and 2nd. My was doing it too (2004 clk320 with ~80k miles). Hell even my Grand Cherokee with 9k miles does it when it's cold (California cold :-D ). I'd not worry about it unless it jerks really hard.

insame1

The jerk or flair in the 722.6 trans is the lock up solenoid. It can be replaced for under 100 bucks and the cost or time of installation and trans fluid/filter.

nkx1

I'm planning on living with it until it bugs me too much. The issue is present in both sport and comfort mode (1-2 and 2-3 shifts in sport, and 2-3 shifts in comfort). After that, I'm going to try the fixes referenced below. I don't want to go too far down the rabbit hole spending money ripping apart the transmission beyond the conductor plate. Instead of chasing down issues that may or may not fix the problem, I'd rather just buy a complete refurbished transmission and be done with it (albeit at a substantial cost). In case you couldn't tell, this is probably my first and last used Mercedes lol.

The 550 has a 722.9 transmission. Similar issue, though!

Thanks- I've researched this quite a bit and am going to try replacing the TCC solenoid (as you suggested) and also repair two of the speed sensors (which apparently commonly fail). If the foregoing doesn't fix it, then I'm just going to live with it until the transmission fails and I will buy a new (rebuilt) transmission. Interesting that a car with 64K miles has this issue, but whatever.

OK, that's enough thread jacking my me! Anyone else have any advice on issues to look out for on the CLK320?

dzmitry

In general clk320 very bulletproof card, but here are couple of things i'd check.

Common problems:
1. Leaking transmission connector
2. Leaking valve cover gaskets (low priority)

Less common problems:
1. Leaking one of oil pans
2. Leaking rear main seal

General checks:
1. Check for coolant in engine oil
2. Check for engine oil in coolant :-D
3. Check transmission fuild (burnt or not)
3. Check suspension

Less likely but still....
If ti's a convertible check for hydraulic leaks and soft top condition in general.
Check rear window regulators (labor consuming work)