Craig Gaines

Hello. I have a 2013 GL550 that needs a new motor. Mechanic said that the no. 3, 5, & 7 cylinders all have excessive scoring. I called a salvage yard looking for a low mileage used engine and was told his system says 2013 GL550 ONLY for replacement engine. Has anybody has success installing an engine from another model? CLS550 or S550? If so, what all needed to be changed and did it matter if the engine came from RWD or AWD?
thanks.

chassis

There a lot of posts on this site related to M278 scoring. The posts suggest that any M278 can be used but parts from the host vehicle (yours) will need to be swapped onto the donor engine.

E55Greasemonkey

This repair, even with a used engine, often exceeds the value of the vehicle. No telling how long until the used engine also suffers the same fate as this is a known problem. Perhaps it's time to move on to a different vehicle?

Ricardoa1

All the m278 short blocks should be the same. What mileage and history is the failed engine?

Craig Gaines

it has 135k on it. I don’t have much history on it as I only bought it a couple of years ago with around 120k on it.

Craig Gaines

thanks for the info. I’ve been looking around and this does seem to be the case. Just trying to find out if anybody has actually done it

Craig Gaines

I can buy a used engine out of cls550 with 60k on it for $6700. Motor is still in the car and runs so I can inspect first. It’s going to be another $2500 to have mine swapped. Not too bad and far below value of the car. As to if it happens again, I figure if does it probably won’t be for another 40k miles and I’ll most have moved onto something newer by then.

w220430

Sorry you are going through this.

What symptoms or problems did you experience prior to finding out about the cylinder scoring? How did they discover it?

Craig Gaines

water pump developed a leak. Normally it’s a job I would do but I was traveling for work and my wife needed it fixed. Sent it to a reputable Indy shop and had him check everything out since the car was there. He scoped the cylinders and found the scoring.
For my own piece of mind I scoped the cylinders after I picked the car back up. 3, 5, & 7 are pretty bad. Car still runs smooth and no CEL.

E55Greasemonkey

This is a really good price on labor. I agree it's worth fixing at this price with the low mile used engine. From what I've seen on average, 90-120k miles is about the lifespan of this engine. Many dealers or euro shops want around $6k-$8k labor, plus the engine around $8-12k for a low miles unit, with the average value of an older higher mileage GL around $15-18k.

Panzerknacker

90-120k mile lifespan is not very good. As tempting as some of the vehicles are and the power is nice seems like the M278 might be a motor to avoid. The bore scoring seem to be pretty consistent, just a matter of when it is bad enough to cause engine trouble.

When assessing a risk one must take into account both the likelihood of an event occurring and also the outcome if it does. If an event is both highly likely and severe outcome then the overall risk is extreme.

There are other factors as some people in the thread have noted. Driving conditions and individual maintenance. I wonder if over the next few years anybody would be able to watch for trends.

Ricardoa1

Leaving this one here. Seems like a similar story line.

Ricardoa1

In your estimate don’t forget all the turbo lines and cooling lines you will probably need to replace and do motor mounts. Or just keep driving it if it does not consume oil and doesn’t foul plugs. If you get another 20k you are doing better than now. Eventually the aftermarket will pick up on the frequency and offer solutions for rebuilding the motor, not relying on used or highly cost new.

E55Greasemonkey

Don't count on it. As the value of the 166 decreases, even an aftermarket solution for such a small number of cars will be cost prohibitive due to the special coated cylinders.

WillieMack

Trade-in/Private Party sale value for that vehicle with the mileage is between $15,000 and $18,000.

Dumping almost $10,000 into it with such high mileage only to drive it 40,000 miles and move on is not smart money. What if other high price items which are likely to fail during that time (Airmatic suspension, turbos, oil leaks etc.)? Also probably have to put an additional $5000 towards tires and brakes.

I’d save keep my 10k, seeing as it has no CEL and still drives fine, take it to Carmax or a dealer and sell it to them outright (probably get at least 12-15k).

If you are stuck on a 550, take the 25k and put it towards an upgrade on a CPO 2017-2018 GLS550 for around $45,000-$55,000 with 45,000 miles and contact Jeff Jackson to extend the unlimited mileage CPO warranty an additional 2 years for around $2200 giving you a total of 3 years.

If you don’t want to spend that much, I still wouldn’t put that money into your current GL.

Craig Gaines

thanks. I just replaced all of the turbo cooling lines a couple of months ago while replacing the water pump and thermostat. I plan on having the engine mounts replaced when it’s out.

Craig Gaines

thanks for taking the time to type all of that out. Unfortunately none of it helps me as it was all based on your opinions and your assumptions and did not answer my original questions.
also, where do you live that tires and brakes cost $5000

chassis

@Craig Gaines Do you accept the notion that you are proposing to spend approximately the same amount of money for a new engine, as the entire car is worth?

WillieMack

It is neither my opinion nor assumption that your vehicle in good condition is only worth 14k trade in and 16k private party. You can go to KBB to see for yourself. I did not answer your original question because I am not someone who thinks short term. I also am not rich and value my hard earned money. I also suspect someone who buys a used 9 year old GL550 with 120k miles out of warranty isn’t rich either.

So sorry for not adding anything to your original question but I thought you would appreciate an alternative course of action that makes more sense considering the cost of repair and current value of the vehicle.

A decent set of 21” tires mounted, balanced and aligned will easily run past $1500. The GL eats them every 15k - 20k miles so you will have to replace them twice in the 40k miles you plan to keep the truck. Pads and rotors all the way around installed will easily be between $1000-$1500. So unless you buying used tires, cheapo parts ballin on a budget and paying crackhead prices for labor or installing yourself, you are not far off from $5000. And that’s Indy mechanic prices not even Mercedes dealership.

E55Greasemonkey

Last year I tried to buy a 98k mile 2014 GL450 with a seized engine. I offered $2000 to the owner after the dealer offered $500....on trade only! That particular GL was only worth $15k running, and about $12k from a Carmax we-buy-your-car offer. I was going to swap in a used engine, and flip it. Guess what, between the cost of a used engine, and my time/labor, there was no money to be made on it! These twin turbo engines have brought a new era to used MB prices, where as mentioned above, the engine is worth more than the car. Gone are the days of buying a used engine for $1500 unless it's one of the naturally aspirated versions.

BlownV8

The bi-turbos are way more fun to drive but they did not make them nearly as reliable when comparing the NA versions. I certainly love the power of my 63 as I like the fuel efficiency of the GLS450 but I don't think either one will be close to the reliability of my old 164 GL450. If it weren't for the water intrusion issue on that chassis, my 164 would be on track to hit 300k miles.

w220430

The truth is that the M278 engines are pure garbage. I'll probably never buy another Mercedes again, based on my awful experience with the GL 550 and the M278. Mercedes seriously need to dump their old slogan "The best or nothing".

arsupisemnet

So much drama. I am wiping my tears.
Everybody like to have a sport car but not to pay for it....
Engine is excellent.... It does well what it designed and build for....

arsupisemnet

What happened it this world. This forum suppose to be about enthusiastic people like me. Who can say - that is an old ****e car, but guess what? I am making 6.0 of it's v8 cause I can....
MMeanwhile got myself s500 coupe 95.

E55Greasemonkey

It's not about the world...it's about the brand. Mercedes-benz has been building utter crap since 2014 when they introduced the CLA in the U.S. market to "Put a Mercedes in every driveway." In turn, they gave away their pride, and quality, all for sales numbers and greed. Moving their HQ from NJ to Atlanta was also about greed....and dumping most of their valued and tenured employees for "cheaper labor" down south. They devalued the brand. Now they are losing out to Tesla which is what the new upcoming generation considers their dream car. The Tesla PLAID series has made all AMG's nothing more than old dogs trying to keep up. Been to an MB dealership lately? Stop by on a Saturday and see the unwashed masses aka general public....the ones who can barely afford the payments, and certainly can't afford the repairs and maintenance. It's like walking into a Hyundai dealership....with a star.