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I paid for the Mercedes extended warranty on my '13 after all the issues I had with my 220 and 221, it worked out about even in the end and expired this last April, I always seemed to do much better with my Indy than the Benz dealer for maintenance, But I've been using the same two for decades, I go to the one for hard stuff and the other for oil, tires, belts, etc. My '12 ran out of time on the warranty at 11k miles, so glad I didn't pay for that extension.
You get the brake flush with Service B. Typically Service A is more like $300 and B is more like $500-$600 but the B includes the brake flush. You're just pricing the oil change not the Service A&B price.
Okay I did price out just the oil changes because the rest of it is them kicking tires and glancing at it. I'm not paying (or prepaying) hundreds of dollars for that. My dealer does not include the brake flush with the B service, either. The brake flush is $139.95 as a standalone option.
I'll stick with my independent mechanics. The PPM is advertised as some 30% savings "potentially" and it is really more of a case of "all triple priced items half off"
Okay I did price out just the oil changes because the rest of it is them kicking tires and glancing at it. I'm not paying (or prepaying) hundreds of dollars for that. My dealer does not include the brake flush with the B service, either. The brake flush is $139.95 as a standalone option.
I'll stick with my independent mechanics. The PPM is advertised as some 30% savings "potentially" and it is really more of a case of "all triple priced items half off"
Okay I did price out just the oil changes because the rest of it is them kicking tires and glancing at it. I'm not paying (or prepaying) hundreds of dollars for that. My dealer does not include the brake flush with the B service, either. The brake flush is $139.95 as a standalone option.
I'll stick with my independent mechanics. The PPM is advertised as some 30% savings "potentially" and it is really more of a case of "all triple priced items half off"
It's only a good option if you like going to the dealer. Otherwise the indys are always cheaper. My local indy just charges $20 to change the oil and rotate the tires if you bring them the oil/filter. They even fill up your windshield washer fluid for that price. Oil I can get at Walmart for about $22.88 when it's on sale for a 5 quart jug and Mobil runs their $10 off a 5 quart jug so 7.5 quarts of oil is under $20 and you can get the filter for about $7-$8 at rockauto. So for under $50 you can get an oil change instead of $200 at the dealer or even $100 at an indy. They're also about half price or less for things like spark plugs/transmission fluid. I get the transmission fluid at a Shell distributor so that's more like $5 a quart instead of the $20+ at the dealer. Some like to go the dealer though for the free car washes, and snacks so I think the pre-paid maintenance is worth it in their case.
I'm not familiar with the term "multi-spark" but I'm guessing it means the spark fires at every rotation for the piston at top position, i.e. even during exhaust cycle. I never really understood this concept but I guess it makes software simpler as it only needs to time 4 sparks instead of 8.
If "multi-spark" means what I think 30 000 miles is not equivalent to 60 000 miles. It is for the amount of sparks but half of the sparks happen during "cool" cycle compared to work cycle that is the hot one. It is the spark and heat together that wears the plugs. Heat from the spark is so minimal it really does not do anything by itself.
no, these fire 2 or 3 times during the power cycle, along with 2-4 direct injection squirts. direct injection is a whole new ball game.
re: thinking 60K miles is too much, I remember changing the plugs every 12-15K miles on most all cars back in the 70s, along with distributor cap, rotor, and points, then having to set the dwell and timing.
The three on the left have definite carbon fouling at the electrode, the three on the right still look silvery, Gap may be worn. Wonder if they came out of the car in this order and which bank was doing the fouling, at least more than the other three.
Right bank front cylinder Right bank middle cylinder Right bank rear cylinder Left bank front cylinder Left bank middle cylinder Left bank rear cylinder
Right bank front cylinder Right bank middle cylinder Right bank rear cylinder Left bank front cylinder Left bank middle cylinder Left bank rear cylinder
So, is this sowing used plugs next to new ones?
Seems there is nothing wrong at all with the used ones. Very little if any wear on them.
I got a price quote from Cassandra Castro on a 2pk PPM for $1400 that would cover the 50k and 60k on my car. Since the plugs and ATF change are $1200 on their own, this is not a terrible deal. I am going to get one from Jeff Jackson and see if its lower.
I got a price quote from Cassandra Castro on a 2pk PPM for $1400 that would cover the 50k and 60k on my car. Since the plugs and ATF change are $1200 on their own, this is not a terrible deal. I am going to get one from Jeff Jackson and see if its lower.
Yes I had the extended warranty until this last March on my '13 the dealer seemed more than fine making it more than worthwhile to have, now I'm flying solo.
Motor and tranny mounts, all four cam magnets, etc.
Last edited by pierrejoliat; 01-12-2021 at 08:53 AM.
Strictly speaking, the intake manifold does not need to be removed. It’s probably faster and easier to remove the intake manifold, but there would be new seals required and potentially other small parts inadvertently damaged when doing it that way. WIS specifies intake manifold removal.
IM removal isn't bad, but a cake walk after you've done it once. Be sure and replace seals. And don't forget to index your plugs correctly.
Not sure I understand how you can index the plugs when they only have one thread, and a captive crush washer, and are supposed to be torqued down a fixed amount
Not sure I understand how you can index the plugs when they only have one thread, and a captive crush washer, and are supposed to be torqued down a fixed amount
Indexing is done by using MB sourced plugs, installed at the MB specified torque. Marking and "indexing" is not required. The electrode ends up within the specified tolerance position range when following WIS.
MB plug thread + cylinder head thread + crush washer + MB torque spec = correct indexing position within acceptable tolerance.
I was under the impression that the Euro cars used a different ignition sequence and needed indexing and the US version did not, I could be wrong and can't remember where I read that at the moment, just thought I'd put that out there...
The machined thread so dark, I wonder if that is because my country fuel is crap. Only late 2018 we have Euro 4 grade, 98 RON ... LOL
Previous to Euro IV, only Euro II grade so I heard.
So since 2014 - late 2018 this engine I guess been drinking bad booze, albeit supposedly 95 RON ...
However my car is tuned for 95 RON as per fuel tank cover label.
10,700 KM spark plugs. I wonder what are those whitish crystal like deposit on plug no 4 ?
I was under the impression that the Euro cars used a different ignition sequence and needed indexing and the US version did not, I could be wrong and can't remember where I read that at the moment, just thought I'd put that out there...
The plugs need to be indexed. The plugs do not need to be marked in order to accomplish proper indexing.
Indexing is accomplished by purchased MB spark plugs with an MB crush washer, and installing them using the MB specified torque spec. This indexes the plug within the acceptable tolerance range.
The plugs need to be indexed. The plugs do not need to be marked in order to accomplish proper indexing.
Indexing is accomplished by purchased MB spark plugs with an MB crush washer, and installing them using the MB specified torque spec. This indexes the plug within the acceptable tolerance range.
[QUOTE=S-Prihadi;8312542]The machined thread so dark, I wonder if that is because my country fuel is crap. Only late 2018 we have Euro 4 grade, 98 RON ... LOL
Previous to Euro IV, only Euro II grade so I heard.
So since 2014 - late 2018 this engine I guess been drinking bad booze, albeit supposedly 95 RON ...
However my car is tuned for 95 RON as per fuel tank cover label.
10,700 KM spark plugs. I wonder what are those whitish crystal like deposit on plug no 4 ?
I have always wondered what would happen if I actually used E-85, do others have these designations?
I have always wondered what would happen if I actually used E-85, do others have these designations?
E85 models seem somewhat rare. You'd have to do the math, E85 has less BTUs per gallon than E10 so the price per gallon will be cheaper but you will get less miles per gallon. I believe E85 is about 81,000 btus per gallon and E10 is 111,000 btus per gallon. In the winter though the mix of gas to ethanol might be higher as some people claim they get better mileage than what they should on E85 and I guess that's probably due to a higher gas mixture as it can be lower than 85% ethanol.
My 2011 C300 - M272 V6 - was a flex-fuel car and I ran E85 in it many times. Back then it was the price of regular fuel instead of the premium the car required.. but not worth it. The MPG was terrible. The car would average 23 or so on premium but like 15-16 on E85.
01-10-2021, 06:01 PM
, so glad I didn't pay for that extension.
I was under the impression that the Euro cars used a different ignition sequence and needed indexing and the US version did not, I could be wrong and can't remember where I read that at the moment, just thought I'd put that out there...
