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Taking a flight to Boston tomorrow to pick up a 2005 G55 from its second owner.
Truck has 78k miles on it and looks to have been well maintained. Current owner has had it for 7 years and has driven it about 7k miles in that time. Truck was originally a Florida truck and dealer maintained by its original owner.
PPI showed a couple small leaks (head gasket, oil filter housing, etc) and just regular wear. Some surface rust underneath that’ll give me a chance to have a go at undercoating and rust prevention :-)
Its gonna be an 8 hour drive home so im excited to see how it does and get some real world MPG and operating temperature baselines.
Im a self proclaimed “Youtube Certified” mechanic so it’ll be fun to wrench on this truck. Not much on youtube as far as DIY Guides so I may make my Youtube debut sooner or later but we’ll see how frisky Im feeling.
Congratulations. Looks like a clean example. I'm interested in getting your feedback after ride back from Boston.If you haven't had an opportunity to drive one of these on an extended trip it may take some getting use to. Try not to get discouraged with the gas mileage. At least it has a larger tank to make up for the low MPG. Good luck and happy motoring.
Stopped twice for gas (picked it up with a quarter tank so we topped off before entering NY then again on 95 in MD) and averaged about 14mpg on the trip. Granted we did detour into Astoria NY for lunch and spent the better part of an hour in heavy traffic. Also found plenty of traffic on the highway going into and out of NY.
Come to find out the truck has the Designo interior! No wonder the seats were super soft lol.
Overall impressions: Absolutely no remorse in the purchase. It rides great, has excellent power and plenty of space. No issues what-so-ever on the drive home except for old windshield wipers. Somehow the front windshield washers and the rear washer buttons have been reversed but the seller disclosed that to me. Front washer nozzles put out ALOT of fluid lol
I found the jack under the passenger side rear seat before setting off but where is the tool kit? I thought G-Class came with a tool roll?
Now its time to get the truck to Maryland State Inspection and catch up on some deferred maintenance.
To Do:
Oil Change
Coolant Flush
Brake Flush
Tranny Service
Transfer Case/Differential flushes
Supercharger oil change
Air Filters
Cabin Air Filter
Fuel Filter?
Spark Plugs (Maybe coils?)
Replace all 5 Idler Pullies
Need a new metal key cut for one of the key fobs
Head liner is sagging in some areas
Glove Box door latch loose
Undercarriage Rust needs to be addressed and treated/undercoated
Add Blue tooth (suggestions?)
Add Remote Start (Mid City?)
Install 463 Industries Cup Holders (had them with me for the trip but didnt realize they needed to be screwed together and I didnt bring my leatherman due to air flight lol)
Truck needs some body work as well as the clear coat has chipped off the passenger side rear fender, front bumper and rear bumper in small parts. The rear fender guards (factory clear protection) is cracked also.
Suggestions from VRP Speed:
85mm Throttle Body
Upgraded Intercooler Pump (Check condition of cooling circuit in general)
The performance upgrades may or may not happen but it all depends on how frisky im feeling and how my real daily fuel economy goes. I'm more interested in long term durability than getting more power out of a 5500+ lb truck lol.
Going to get my temp tags on Tuesday and taking it to my local specialist on Thursday. I'll get it on my lift later today to get some undercarriage pics but for now, heres some pictures from yesterday:
Love at first sight! (guy in pic is previous owner) Miles at pickup Ready to hit the road Breakfast stop When in Boston, have to pick something up for the wife :-) Astoria NY lunch break Cheers!
Glad you had an uneventful trip. Looks like you have a pretty good "to do" list. Sounds like the truck has good
"bones" so it should be fun to do. Best of luck. I would stay away from the engine performance upgrades. These trucks weren't really designed for sports car like maneuvering. I have always felt they have plenty of power for what they were designed for. Keep us updated with your progress.
Great thread. Congratulations and good luck with the truck. Looks like you have a pretty good grip on what you're doing and is needed. You will love the G, there really is nothing else like it. I agree with pdeacon on the upgrades. Should be plenty there. Keep us posted, it's all very interesting.
Nice ...congrats on the new truck. Life is short. I try to make an experience out of everything as i get older. A road trip is definitely nice.
Enjoy in good health.
I just looked and my truck doesnt have the factory cell phone mount in the center console.
I'm also hoping to stream music from my bluetooth connection (not sure the mercedes adaptor allows for that)
Its been years but I remember Parrot bluetooth car kits were all the rage a couple years back. I'm going to see how they function VS newer products out there but I'm looking for something like this: https://www.parrot.com/global/car-kits
I just went through an upgrade to my audio system on a 2002 C 230 K "hot rod" that I have. I investigated various add on devices to allow for hands free calling and other amenities. I finally decided to change out the head unit with a Pioneer touchscreen that gave me bluetooth, Sirius radio, Apple car play, HD radio and a backup camera. Because the car is a very low mileage (20K original) example I didn't want to install anything that looked added on. They were able to install a head unit so that it looks like it came from the factory. Now granted, my car was a basic analog design with AM/FM radio only so I've made a giant leap in terms of functionality. I'm rather a purist at heart and don't like swapping out OEM parts but I am very pleased with the results. Something you may want to consider. Just a thought.
I just went through an upgrade to my audio system on a 2002 C 230 K "hot rod" that I have. I investigated various add on devices to allow for hands free calling and other amenities. I finally decided to change out the head unit with a Pioneers touchscreen that gave me bluetooth, Sirius radio, Apple car play, HD radio and a backup camera. Because the car is a very low mileage (20K original) example I didn't want to install anything that looked added on. They were able to install a head unit so that it looks like it came from the factory. Now granted, my car was a basic analog design with AM/FM radio only so I've made a giant leap in terms of functionality. I'm rather a purist at heart and don't like swapping out OEM parts but I am very pleased with the results. Something you may want to consider. Just a thought.
I dont want to mess with the functionality of the gauge cluster and would prefer to retain the factory look also.
i ordered the Parrot 9200 setup from amazon earlier. If i can mount the display above the rear view mirror, that would be ideal
Nice trucks! Love the GX, SUPER smooth / quiet ride with off-road bones and a bit of "jiggle" from the solid rear axle back end to remind you that it's still got the heart of a Prado
Took the truck through Maryland State Inspection yesterday after work.
Breezed through with flying colors!
First time I had the truck in the air in person and the undercarriage rust is all surface rust indeed but still needs to he addressed. Taking it to a body/restoration shop Saturday possibly to get a quote.
Dropped the truck off at my Specialist for its first round of maintenance! Waiting to hear from them as I type now.
PS: paint swirls galore :-(
Got my first package from FCP Euro yesterday also. :-)
Im going to have the specialist perform the tranny service and flush the coolant and brake lines ( I hear the brake fluid is used to run the diff locks as well) and i'm going to tackle the rest of it with a buddy. Ordering some fun stuff from FCP Euro again today
Congrats on the new truck!
Quotes from your specialist are outrageous, except,maybe, transmission service.
I am not even a novice mechanic, but I've been doing myself all of the service for last five years above except valve covers.
Here is the breakdown of part cost, all genuine MB parts, and my labor hours.
Transmission Service, about $130 and 2 Hours(I let it drain for about 30 to 45 minutes and it take 5 qts of new fluid)
Cabin Filter, about $35 and take me 10 minutes(I am now using OEM filter, $10 to $20)
80K Service with what they specified, about $400 and 4 to 5 hours(I don't call myself a good mechanic and I take times times)
Also, the brake and differential locks have the separate lines and reservoir, thus separate flush.
Congrats on the new truck!
Quotes from your specialist are outrageous, except,maybe, transmission service.
I am not even a novice mechanic, but I've been doing myself all of the service for last five years above except valve covers.
Here is the breakdown of part cost, all genuine MB parts, and my labor hours.
Transmission Service, about $130 and 2 Hours(I let it drain for about 30 to 45 minutes and it take 5 qts of new fluid)
Cabin Filter, about $35 and take me 10 minutes(I am now using OEM filter, $10 to $20)
80K Service with what they specified, about $400 and 4 to 5 hours(I don't call myself a good mechanic and I take times times)
Also, the brake and differential locks have the separate lines and reservoir, thus separate flush.
I completely agree.
I gave them the tranny/brake/coolant flush as a thank you for hooking me up with the shop in New Hampshire that performed my PPI.
Oil changes are $129.73 at the specialist and the "Oil Change Kit" from FCP is $84.24. I figure its not too bad to have them do the oil change every other oil change and have their professional opinion on any maintenance that needs to be done.
Im getting a shopping cart together from FCP right now
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