S-Class (W221) 2007-2013: S 320 CDI, S 350, S 450, S 500, S 550, S 420 CDI, S 600

Upgrade Engine - Swap Engine

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Old Jun 18, 2020 | 01:54 AM
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2008 S550 Base
Upgrade Engine - Swap Engine

Good Morning, Evening, Afternoon ALL!

Have a 2008 S550 Base with 211k Miles

Want to replace engine .. no errors no leaks but is high mileage.

Questions:
1) How Many Miles are these engines usually good for statistically?

2) If i replace the engine what High Performance Engines could i swap with?
W221 Base engine currently RWD.. What other engine can I place this car?
Would like a Higher performance engine. What engine would you all excellent MBWorld Users Recommend.


3) Distronic Radar is damaged as the car was in a front end fender bender and was damaged. Whats the part number for that radar i can not find it anywhere for some reason..

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Old Jun 18, 2020 | 10:05 AM
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Originally Posted by tdftech-08s550
Good Morning, Evening, Afternoon ALL!

Have a 2008 S550 Base with 211k Miles

Want to replace engine .. no errors no leaks but is high mileage.

Questions:
1) How Many Miles are these engines usually good for statistically?

2) If i replace the engine what High Performance Engines could i swap with?
W221 Base engine currently RWD.. What other engine can I place this car?
Would like a Higher performance engine. What engine would you all excellent MBWorld Users Recommend.


3) Distronic Radar is damaged as the car was in a front end fender bender and was damaged. Whats the part number for that radar i can not find it anywhere for some reason..

Get a S65 or S600 V12
take the trans with it

and here for the radar:

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File Type: pdf
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Old Jun 18, 2020 | 10:40 AM
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2008 S550 Base
Is there a specific year of s65 or s600 v12 ?


will i need to replace wiring harness engine computer? Sorry if novice question..

and thank you so much for the reply and the speedy response; much appreciated!
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Old Jun 18, 2020 | 12:50 PM
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'20 X5 M50i; '17 Ram 3500; Golf Cart; Bikes; Scooters
Unless you are very skilled at swapping computers on the MB, and have a ton of tools and time, I would sell the S550, and buy a S65 or S600.
The money and time you save will pay for the better car.
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Old Jun 19, 2020 | 04:13 PM
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2008 s550
.211k miles is not that much for the m273. But if you still want to swap it I would get the m278 and rebuilt the trans with higher performance parts. The m278 has the same block as the m273.
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Old Jun 19, 2020 | 08:35 PM
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W203 W212 W211 R53MCS
Swapping a different engine onto this vehicle will need lots of customizing...... Whether you try a M275 or M278 there will be to many differences. On another note the M278 and M273 DO NOT USE the same block. I have seen M272/M278 go past 300k miles on plenty of cars with no issues.
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Old Jun 19, 2020 | 11:23 PM
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2008 s550
Originally Posted by MBENZTECH
Swapping a different engine onto this vehicle will need lots of customizing...... Whether you try a M275 or M278 there will be to many differences. On another note the M278 and M273 DO NOT USE the same block. I have seen M272/M278 go past 300k miles on plenty of cars with no issues.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_M278_engine
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Old Jun 19, 2020 | 11:35 PM
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2007 S65 AMG (W221)
Exclamation

Originally Posted by Will Hunt
.211k miles is not that much for the m273. But if you still want to swap it I would get the m278 and rebuilt the trans with higher performance parts. The m278 has the same block as the m273.
Those engines are completely different. Tranny will survive any V8 engine.
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Old Jun 21, 2020 | 01:34 AM
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'10 CL550, '12 GL550
These vehicles feature a CANBus electrical system.

put extremely simply, there can be multiple units connected by a single wire ... which unit activates is determined by a signal sent through that same wire to that unit’s address. In addition, the controller for this can vary the voltage sent.

The likelihood that what’s needed to operate a different engine exists with your current electrical system is probably zero.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN_bus

Last edited by lkchris; Jun 21, 2020 at 01:38 AM.
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Old Jun 21, 2020 | 03:12 AM
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The M278 is derived from the company's previous M273 V8 engine, sharing its bore pitch, ALUMINUM engine block, and Silitec aluminium/silicon low-friction cylinder liners.

Read it again.... It doesn't say they are the same block. Yes, they are both V8, same bore pitch and ALUMIMUM engine block. Trust me when I tell you they are not the same block. How many have you taken apart?? I have only been working strictly on Mercedes Benz since 2006. Don't believe everything that is on Wikipedia.


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Old Jun 24, 2020 | 10:04 AM
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S550
my s550 had 263K when I sold it... still ran perfect no noise no issues aside from 4 matic woes.
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Old Jun 24, 2020 | 12:53 PM
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Originally Posted by 2007sclass
my s550 had 263K when I sold it... still ran perfect no noise no issues aside from 4 matic woes.
what happened to 4 matic?
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Old Jun 25, 2020 | 05:30 AM
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4matic is garbage. lets see... front cv axles... benz wants about $1000 each. Front differential was thought to be bad... replaced it only to learn the shaft that runs through the oil pan had to be replaced along with the oil pan. Then the transfer case inside the transmission which made a ton of bearing noise. Replaced the bearings and the noise went away however there was a vibration in the car from 4matic that I was never able to track down and fix. I sold the car for 3 grand a few months ago. Spent 6 grand trying to fix 4 matic. A s550 with rwd is the way to go... That motor was very reliable and I would have kept it if not for 4 matic
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Old Jun 5, 2023 | 01:16 PM
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mercedez
I apologize for bringing up this old thread. I had a similar issue with my vehicle recently; it turns out that I had a discharged battery which is a common cause for this issue. Then you can jump to the conclusion that you had a defective voltage regulator on your alternator w\that is responsible for charging your car’s battery. I did a lot of searches on this issue and came across an in-depth article that may be worth reading. Search for "Mercedes-Benz Stop Vehicle Leave Engine Running on YOUCANIC" and you will see an article that goes over common causes and possible fixes. You can read about it yourself. I hope this information can assist someone else with a similar issue.
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