mikebutterfield

Just experienced an unexpected engine failure on my 2007, 35,000km ML63 AMG. It's generally driven by my wife so doesn't ever break a sweat. A usual trip out with the kids, parked up with the engine running, kids inside. 30 seconds later, the truck engulfed in white & blue smoke. Panic!!! Kids out & engine switched off. I roll up 15 mins later after a panic phone call and check out the truck. Engine won't crank over...nothing. Flatbed to MB and 2 days of diagnostic.....Valve failure!! MB are now dismantling the engine to determine extent of internal damage and thus re-build or full replacement. Fortunately I have 1 month remaining of local MB dealer used warranty. Question.... is this a common/unusual case? Can it be prevented in the future by regular checking? Should I accept a re-build or better to insist on new mill? Not wanting to freak out ML 63 AMg owners BUT, this is big bucks repair, MB quoting upwards of 80K USD...a tough call if no warranty!!!

MiamiAMG

Wow, that could have ended badly. Glad your family is ok. I don't have an ML63, but i've never heard of this happening. Hopefully someone with more knowledge on the subject can chime in. At that price shouldn't that be considered a total loss? Good luck!

mikebutterfield

Thanks for your wishes. The truck is still with the dealer after 1 week. Yeah, technically the truck should be written off; I'm guessing current equivalent value here is approx.$45,000 (pre-engine meltdown!) It would be much cheaper for MB to offer me a newer truck, but I don't think it works like that!!

schmick325

Can you please keep us informed of what they find?

I think of it everytime I start my car at the moment! haha

mikebutterfield

Sure, will post the info from MB as I get it. I have a mate who has the same truck, same year & has just sold it as a result of what just happened to me. That being said, I guess this was a rare case; there's not much material on the web on blown AMG units.

TheVoid

I'm going through a similar thing on a 09 E63...

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...-new-post.html

Unfortunately you are likely looking at a rebuild as you purchased it used. If it were purchased new you would have a better chance at getting the dealership to replace the engine. Check your local lemon laws and see if you have any options. I didnt due to Texas restrictions.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

GNGBNG

We had a 2007 ML63 also drop a valve here in Australia. Made a nice mess of the piston and bore. It was a warranty job and a complete new engine was sent from MB ($100,000AUD) Old engine was sent back to AMG.

schmick325

Ahh, if it happens I'll just get a 2nd hand one from the US.

Have found a couple of instances on the net where the valve stems have broken.

Still looks like a very low risk.

Do a search on e39 M5 engines. They have all been rebuilt by now!

mikebutterfield

@The Void; thanks for your sharing your experience, I'm guessing a rebuild will be done (depending on extent of internal damage and from 3rd party feedback) MB has said either way a warranty will be given on any work. That being said, once I get it back from the dealer I will probably sell the truck as my confidence in it has gone!
@GNGBNG; the incident took place a idling so guess damage may not be as severe as it would at 250kph!! Anyway, pushed my way into the MB workshop yesterday and rocker covers (amongst other things) are off. Oil was everywhere. 6 cylinders were full of oil/water (pressure of which caused the mill to stop cranking). Still being stripped to determine level of damage; I'm non the wiser for the cause of breakdown.
MB has accepted warranty issue and offered me a ML350 2011 - nice but too soft and lacking grunt!
Will keep thread updated
Cheers

mikebutterfield

The latest.....The truck is back with me, engine re-built by MB under warranty. The cause...a broken cylinder head bolt which clearly impacted on the integrity of the gasket & cylinder head thus causing oil and water ingress to 6 of the 8 cylinders. Liquid pressure caused the 'shut down' Fortunately this occurred at idle and so no apparent damage to piston rods, crank etc etc.

Engine cleaned, new piston rings, head gaskets, fluids etc etc and a repair bill of US$ 2,500 parts, US$ 4,500 labor charge, fortunately on warranty!

Insisting on compression testing from MB, but they are not cooperative (yet). Any of you guys have a compression ratio for the ML 63 AMG plus formula for calculating cylinder PSI? - this on a 38,000km unit.

Standard 12 month warranty has been offer on all repaired work. Thanks MB.

schmick325

Good to hear you have the truck back and that it wasn't as catastrophic as we feared.

Any mechanic should be able to get a compression reading, just need to take spark plugs out and use the tester.

Does it start, idle smoothly and drive as it should?

Maverick1975

How is it with all the care and attention to detail and materials technology and AMG expertise etc etc etc, stuff like this happens to these engines. Or am i just expecting too much?

schmick325

I think it's just luck of the draw and that anything mechanical can go wrong.

mikebutterfield

Yeah, in the scale of things it worked out OK, not as terminal as expected initially! The truck runs smooth & idles well. MB loaned an ML350 2011 for the duration of the repairs so I was expecting the AMG to feel rough....but it feels great;now got the 'grunt' back :-) Told to take it easy for a while until the piston rings bed in.

I did some homework on the compression test so I don't look like a complete dick when MB gives me the testing data. This is how it works..

ML63AMG compression ratio = 11.3:1
Multiply this to the power of 1.3 (some critical data formula) =23.3884788
Multiply this by 14.7 (density of air in cylinder at BDC) =343.807
Multiply this by 0.6667 (factor for gas expansion and temperature) =229.21
For a standard road cam engine, this means the cylinder psi at full compression (TDC) is 229.21psi
A further factor comes into play and you need to multiply this 'standard' pressure by
0.95 for a fast road cam
0.90 for a rally cam and
0.85 for a fully race cam.

So assuming the AMG is a 'fast road' cam, this means 229.21 x 0.95 =217.75psi. This is the expected cylinder pressure/compression for a 'helathy' AMG cylinder (warm engine) @ cranking pressure. I guess if the data comes back with 175psi, then I'm going to have issues with MB!

mikebutterfield

true, just got unlucky, although with the technology and standards in an AMG unit, we shouldn't expect component failure like this. I've had years of running Fords, GMC's VW's, Audi's without any mechanical failures.
Although the truck now runs well, I now feel in the back of my mind that I have to be gentle with it in case it 'breaks' again. This kind of compromises the enjoyment of the truck....Time will tell.

schmick325

Interesting numbers. I guess you should monitor it's oil usage as well. Although on a fresh engine it could be slightly higher than normal.

I flog mine whenever I drive it. As you say, there's no point in babying it cause of fear. You might as well buy an ML350.

There's 2 M156 engines for sale on eBay.com and they are $15k. So it's not the end of the world if there is a major failure.

_AMG_

Sorry to hear about the engine.

Did you buy the car new or used by any chance? Was all the maintenance done on time?

jpohl402

My friends 07 with 60k randomly, for no reason - had one of the pistons start knocking on the spark plug, shattering it.
Needless to say it caused some damage....

joshark

I never had a problem with my 2007 ML 63 and i beat the hell out of the motor, brakes and tires. It did burn oil but all the AMGs burn oil. Good luck with the truck I am still waiting to place an order for the 2012 dealer says maybe in July I can order. My 2011 ML 63 is a gas pig.