CruznLA

Anyone tried changing their own plugs on a '03 CLK 500? Or is this a road to ruin? Dealer wants $700 bucks.

MarcusF

Scores of people have changed their own plugs. The level of success is dependant on the ability of the DIY'r. Good tools are always a plus.

Now the big question - how good of a wrench are you? That M113 is a square peg in a square hole. IE it’s tight. If the rear plugs on a W209 are as tough to reach as they are on a W208, you'll be installing one using the Braille method. Got a spark plug cable puller? Extensions? Swivel head socket?

the weiner

its very do-able, like he said above the rears are a whole lot of fun, wear gloves.

Good luck

CruznLA

MarcusF, thanks for the vote of confidence. I've changed a lot of plugs in some pretty tight spots but I've never had to use a spark plug cable puller. Plugs are all in plain sight and seem fairly reachable from what I can tell but also very tight when I tested. Maybe I'll get up the nerve this weekend.

max55amg

Took me about 4 hours to change all 16 plugs on my 55. Dont doo it unless you are a skilled DIY. There are NOT much space in the v8 engine compartment. U will need a small torqe wrench to tight the plugs properly. (25nm if i remember correct)= 2,5kg og torqe.

Do NOT thight them too hard because the cylinder head is made of aluminium and can break. Good luck with it.

Fabio D

Hey fellas! all can use a normal 17mm curved & opened wrenck to remove properly the spark plug wires without ruin any wire Is very helpfully

Here are some pic to help all, really made the job very very easily



Fabio Daniel

MarcusF

Craftsman spark plug pliers cost $10.

If this goes bad, the V8 W208 spark plug wires are made up of four different parts: Nine 1121500118's, four 1121500218's, two 1121500318's, and one 1121500418. The dealer list price for the 1121500118 is $41, the 1121500218 is $33, 1121500318 is $38, and the 1121500418 is $52. That's per wire. Plus the cost of aggravation.

[now for the thread jack] Alternatively, Bosch sells them as a set. The Bosch part number is 09850. I've found them as low as $185. Can anyone beat that number? If so, share the wealth, cause like I told the Kawasaki dealer on Saturday - low price wins.

Addendum: You may want to leave the coil side of the wires plugged in, as well as leaving the coils plugged into the wiring harness. I just unbolted the coils, took the plug wires off the plugs, and slid the coils out of the way. I think your ABS box is where the W208’s heated washer tank is located. On a W208, removing that tank makes a lot of room. The ABS box is much smaller so it may make a lot of room on the driver's side.

AMS Performance

make sure the engine is COLD... if you try when hot you will mess up the aluminum threads... then you are in real trouble...

Klinh

Yup.......that's all you need. Don't waste your money on tools. I've done it on mine Clk 430 and CL 55.

tym4rnr

A there everybody. 01 CLK55 here. I'm keeping my stock wires & have tried to locate non-resistors to no avail. So, which plugs should I use? Bosch 7422, NGK 5464 or 7090? Thanks, in advance.

IngenereAMG

Changing plugs in these cars is fairly straight forward. There are just allot of them, and a couple of them are a little awkward to reach. Other than that it's a piece of cake!

cliweea

I accept with information:If this goes bad, the V8 W208 spark plug wires are made up of four different parts: Nine 1121500118's, four 1121500218's, two 1121500318's, and one 1121500418. The dealer list price for the 1121500118 is $41, the 1121500218 is $33, 1121500318 is $38, and the 1121500418 is $52.