Reckless

Be ready to do a lot of writing... esp if your S600 is your daily driver. My car has had over $50k in repairs in last 3 years(60k miles). Mercedes used to engineer their cars better but now with soo much electronics and gadgets the cars aren't as reliable and parts are ridiculously expensive. The engines are soo complicated that it really requires someone certified on them to work on them. In Chicago, I think there are only three.

haoz129

Very happy putting this issue to an end and share the info.

Issue description:
Engine Check light is on.
Car has minor vibrate When idle. I can feel it when car stop at traffic light.
Occasionally misfile and cylinder not total lost yet. No issue when driving. Car is still powerful.

Issue reported as a fault in Star scan:
DAS report the following codes:
- P2050 Misfiring , Damages TWC (P0300) STORED
- P2056 Misfiring of cylinder 4, damages TWC (P0304) STORED
- P205B Misfiring of cylinder 8, damages TWC (P0308) STORED

Cause:
Burnt Coil pack, right bank, on cylinder 4. Shown on 1st picture. You could see the hole in the middle of the tube which is an art of super high voltage. 2nd picture show circuit board of whole right bank coil pack which control cylinder 1-6.

Repair:
Repair the damaged Coil pack by retrofiting needed parts from a donor Coil. Re-seal the Coil pack.
Fix cracked coil tubes then re-install.
If possible, clear fault memory.

Result:
Engine Check gone.
Not a single misfire. 0 misfire for cylinder 1-12.
Car idle is much more smooth without vibration.
No error code reported after the fix.

Procedure for replace Coil pack.
There is post discussed how to replace Coil pack. I won't nagging just point out important part that provide further information base on my experience.
- When remove Coil pack, be careful but don't afraid. It's pretty solid built. Pry it out at very beginning from multiple point. Big screw driver will do. Don't just pull one side out. Pry it out little by little and make sure every coil tube come out similar length.
- Check every coil tube make sure it is not cracked open, like mine, shown in 3rd picture. Do yourself a favor fix the crack before re-install it. Otherwise it's impossible aligning 12 tubes to put it back.
- To fix the crack you could use stainless steel wire and epoxy (JB Weld or similar cold weld product will work) to tight the cracked tube close. After fix it won't open that much and is as good as a none cracked tube for going back.

Cost $350 to buy donor coil and other solder material.
Spent 10 hrs on remove coils, diagnosis, solder, testing and install as this is my first time working on MB S600 engine.
Next time 5 hrs will be a good bet.
Working on this TTV12 engine is a big effort. Nearly impossible not break something. Need to be more organized prevent re-do or left parts, .

marktan

Howard,
This is awesome. Out of curiosity, how did you get the black plastic cover off the coil pack to expose the electronics underneath without breaking it (and what did you use to re-seal it)? I've got a similar issue with my #2 cylinder misfiring, I know the cause is that mine twisted and the little copper contacts inside (the three that attach to the board, not the lead on the side of the tube) broke off. The two outside contacts are touching but the center is not. Was thinking I could open it up and re-solder them back on from the "top" if I could get into it (??).

Thanks for your detailed work!

haoz129

Marktan,

Sure, re-solder can be done.

1, The cap/case is not glued, just sealed with sealant so can be pryed open. Two screw drivers will do. One screw driver un-clip then the other pry it open gently. Start from the narrow end of the coil pack not the bigger side that has the socket/connector. Apply your effort little by little finally it will give up. But it may break here and there due to got brittle after years. So be patient.
2, To re-seal the cap I used gasket maker from Permatex. I didn't check any electical sealant but that may be better. Re-seal will keep moisture or oil out make sure it last.

One more thing: to work on the circuit, be sure to ground yourself and the solder iron to prevent static damaging the IC.

Thanks.

Howard

tusabes

WOW. I have never seen anyone REPAIR their coil rather than just replace it. Howard this car is perfectly suited to your skills and expertise! Hats off to you my friend

I congratulate you, and your sharing of info with us. You could probably make decent money fixing s600 coils, youre clearly better than that 4Mercedes con artist in florida

RedC320S

$50K in repairs is a lot. My car is also a daily driver and in four years, I have put in about $18k. Can you list the stuff that has failed?

haoz129

MB Service Booklet suggest:
Air Filter replace: Every 60kmiles (96kkms) or 4 years which comes earlier.

To make sure car has good breath I did the following:
1, Clean up Air Cleaner/Filter Housing:
- Lots of dirt, sand and even a mummy fly in the upper stream case;
2, Replace both Air Filters;
3, Clean up the TB(Throttle Body):
- Need remove Turbo Charge Air coolers and three way connecting hose between Throttle Body and 2 Charge Air Coolers;
- My TB is dirty both on the housing and the butterfly plate;
- Push the butterfly plate from the lower side to turn and clean it thoroughly. It has resistence from turning which make me feel I'm gonna to break it. And it tend to push back and retreat to it's close position;
- After clean up both the body and the plate are shiny again.
4, I tried to find the MAF, but seems on 2003 S600 there is no MAF. There are pressure sensors on each of the Air Filter housing but I don't think it need any clean up.
5, Right side Air Filter housing and Turbo are dry without oil. There is oil on the left side Air Filter housing on the down stream connection as the Crankcase Ventilation Hose enters there. Not too much oil and seems normal. I'm currently not familiar with how the Crankcase Ventilation system works in THIS TTV12 engine works, will find out.

Cost: OEM Air Filter set from Mann which include 2 Air Filters (A 275 094 02 04), $50.
30 mins to replace Air Filter;
1 additional hour to clean up TB.

S600Keith

I'm not trying to be rude but you two may want to start another thread to discuss your repair budget. This thread is Howard's anthology of repairs on his recent purchase of a S600 that is desparately in need of some extra luvin'.

Seems like you are keeping yourself quite busy lately, Howard. The coils took quite a bit of your time. I don't know a lot of folks that would spend that kind of time cleaning up while changing the air filter. Keep up the good work and keep us posted...
Keith

haoz129

, Thanks everybody for viewing and replying.


RedC320s and Reckless,

I definitely will join if you start a topic to discuss the cost on maintaining a S600.
I've also tried to include cost and DIY labor time in each task as George requested before. So you could track my expense as well.


Thanks Keith as usual,

Didn't spend much time on her as you could see lots of tasks are still pending. I'll take my time since this S600 is our second car.
Other than my work I need take care the kids to give my wife more time to study. Then she could finish her school this year.

Anyway, enjoy the car and the maintenance.
Sure will post more.

Best regards.

Howard

haoz129

MB Service Booklet suggest:
Spark Plug replace: Every 60kmiles (96kkms) or 5 years which comes earlier.

You need remove:
- Air Cleaner/Filter Housing;
- Hang Charge Air Cooler;
- Ignition Coil Packs;
- Spark Plugs;

Suggest blow out dirt or sand before remove Spark Plug to avoid dirt goes into engine.
Suck out any rust, dirt or sand after remove Spark Plug to avoid dirt goes into engine.

Before install:
- Apply anti seize to each Spark Plug. Not to much, just cover the first few threads will be enough.
- Apply dielectric grease to end cap/screw of each Spark Plug to make sure it keep good contact with Coil.

Torque Spark Plug to: 28 nm.

One more thing I want to mention if you change all the 24 Spark Plugs everything need to be done 24 times.
I spend 1 hour only on unpack, double check part number, apply anti seize, apply dielectric grease.
Let alone remove old and put new in then torque them.
Lots of works indeed.

Cost: all parts see picture 1.
- Spark plug (A 004 159 14 03), $268: I'm using OEM from Bosch, FR7KPP33U x24, factory gapped;
- Spark plug gasket (A 000 159 00 80), $5 each from dealer;
- Anti seize;
- Dielectric grease;

I believe it's a 5 hours work to replace all Spark Plugs:
- 2 hours for works on 24 Spark Plugs only.
- Plus another 2-3 hours on remove and install Coil Packs, Charge Air Cooler and Air Filter Housing.

Take your time and clean up your engine as lots of stuff come out.

BTW, as Valentine is coming I made a flower for all of you, see picture 2.

haoz129

Transmission: 5 Speed, 722.649

Issue description:
Transmission shift rough when car is cold.
Feeling jerk when acceleration hard or release gas.

No code.

Cause:
Transmission fluid low.

Parts and Tools:
Transmission fluid (A 001 989 68 03 13): MB ATF 134, sheet 236.14;
Transmission oil dipstick.

Repair:
Add around 700ml Transmission Fluid.

Result:
Transmission shift smooth dispite of working temporature.

Procedure:
- Check Transmission oil level by using transmission oil dipstick. When check at working temperature mine is little bit above 25c which should be
around 80c range;
- Add around 700ml to reach 80c range;
- Check when car works in both 25c and 80c. Both level are fine.

Cost:

Transmission fluid: $10;
Oil dipstick: $25.

Spent 20 mins top off fluid and checking oil level.

Becks Imports

This guy needs an award for level of contribution to the forum based on 90 total posts.

Thanks for the valentine's day flower....too funny!

Bruce

haoz129

I decide to check the TCM(Transmission Control Module) after the following tasks observed:
-R010 Transmission oil level low;
-M003 Transmission fluid, pan gasket & Electric plug replace due to under pan leaking;

As many memebers mentioned there is chance the oil can trace up to the TCM which is located in the right side SAM box.
When I opened the right side SAM I didn't see oil there.
But when I took the TCM out I see the two wire harness are wet, see picture 1.
It surprised me when I opened the TCM case and got nearly 40ml transmission oil out, see picture 2.
THE TCM IS TOTOALLY SOAKED WITH OIL FOR A LONG TIME, see picture 3.

Fortunately, oil is not as bad as water for electrical parts and board.
Water will make electrical parts rust and short the circuit. Oil only does much less impact.

But anyway I think it's a bad idea to leave the TCM with oil on it.
So I decided to clean it up before put it back.
From picture 3 you can see a shiny plate is used to cover some improtant ICs. ICs and circuit need to be cleaned under the plate as well.
I took the plate off and 2 LSI(Large Scale Itergration) exposed, see picture 4.
Then I spray the whole board with CRC Sensor safe cleaner which is mainly used to clean MAF. I believe it is safe for any electric circuit too.
You could see there is no oil on the board anymore, picture 5.
I also clean the box as well.

Soldered the plate back and put the circuit into the TCM case.
Put the TCM back into the SAM box.
Done.

As action taken in task M003, the Transmission Electric Plug was replaced to solve the oil leaking. There won't be any more oil feeded.
This Clean up gives me a peace of mind, as the transmission now is controled by a much healthier brain.

Overall the TCM is very well built. But the box better be sealed as there is chance oil will trace in. Also the bad design of of Electric Plug is
another well knowned confederate to this issue.

Especially thank to Bruce emphasized the Plug leaking issue.

haoz129

Thanks Bruce too.

Your experience helped others and me as well.

Best regards.

Howard

Becks Imports

No prob.

You may want to check the conductor plate. Most often, that is the cause of rough/strange shifting. Some of my cars would just go into neutral while driving at highway speeds for this reason.

9 times out of 10, if oil has gotten into the TCU, it's also gotten on to the conductor plate.

It's funny how we all tried to warn you against buying that car, yet it turns out you are probably the ONLY person, short of an MB tech with free parts access, that should have bought it. Go Howard!

Bruce

haoz129

Interesting, I was thinking the conduct plate should be in oil as it's inside of the transmission housing, please explain it to me if I'm wrong.

By the way, is the conduct plate kind of valve body ? In my Volvo the valve body is in the oil.

Thanks.

Howard

S600Keith

+1 Bruce. Howard may be the best thing that ever happened or will happen to that car.

UDAMAN, Howard. Keep up the good work.

Keith

haoz129

At the very first day I found it's hard to backup. I need push gas hard to move even there is only a small slope.

I thought it's a transmission issue.

But as George(Tusabes) and Paul(Sgt Schultz) mentioned there is no 'idel creep' in these cars and this is normal.

AsianML

Howard saved this car from a life of nothingness!

xlr8tin

OP, this is an awesome thread. I just subscribed to this

The only thing that might make it a little better at least for me would be if you could include more pictures when you replace these parts. Maybe like a step by step thing. Specially for those who haven't worked on the ttv12 engine yet.

Otherwise keep up the fantastic work....thanks

haoz129

Thanks, Xlr8tin.

Will post more pictures in the future.

Best regards.

Howard

gumshoe100

Howard any update on how the rust issue is going. I am curious if you got any help from MB. Maybe with all the other work you are doing it is on a back burner.
Tom

haoz129

Thanks Tom for following up.

Actually the rust is my top priority:
- It will be the most costly repair for this car and which I can't do it up to MB standard by myself;
- The car is keep suffering caused by all the winter salt slush on the road;

So I did send it to the authorized MB body shop just after I bought it. The service manager took few pictures and filed a claim according to the rust campaign.
After waited for 2 weeks I got a call saying the request was rejected.
Then I called the MB Canada HQ and they said they can't cover the re-paint due to:
- It's not sold by MB Dealer as a pre-owned;
- It was not serviced by MB Dealer;

That's the story and I would be spending $7-8k to have MB body shop to do the following job:
- Replace one front fender;
- Re-paint 2 rear/quater panel;

Now I decide to clean the rust and paint by myself. I don't need to paint the whole panel so I think it will be fine. But I need to wait for weather getting warmer as I don't have my own garage. The ideal weather should be dry and around 20c outside.
I really don't have confidence to paint the whole panel as I won't be able to come up any paint work even close to Mercedes painting.
If the result won't be acceptable I will send it to a paint shop.

Best regards.

Howard

S600Keith

Am I correctly picking up what you are putting down here, Howard? Are you actually contemplating fixing the rust and paint by yourself? OMG...I wish I could see this first hand. This thread could be epic...

UDAMAN, Howard.

DRTYLNDY

Hey Howard,
Well I wish we lived closer and I would let you come over and use my garage. I have repaired rust before severe and surface so I do have some experience in it. Actually I use to work at a MB restoration shop where we did minor repairs as well as full on restorations. I learned a lot and I still remember a fair amount.
I think if you can clean up the rust properly and encapsulate it you will be able to paint it with good results. Believe it or not but I repaired my Dad's S430 front sport spoiler after numerous bumps and cracks. The cracks were big enough to stick in a pinky finger. Repaired it all and painted it black and clear coated and you can't even tell. The body shop wanted $1200 I spent about $25!
I think the most important thing is to locate the source of the rust. For example is the rust starting were the fender meets the rear bumper? If so you would need to solve the rubbing between the two panels that caused the rust in the first place or it will return! If you need any help or advice give me a shout and I will see if I can help.
Johan