Joe, just read through your build thread.

I cant tell you how happy I am that you chimed in on my thread brother. You likely SAVED THE DAY! I too have been hearing the "ding" over sharp bumps. Figured it was just the suspension feeling unsettled.

Looks like my CL is now parked until I can free up my lift and get those accumulators swapped out. I was going to wait and do the valve block rebuild and swap out all 4 ABC assemblies at the same time to save the hassle and cost of flushing the ABC fluid multiple times but from what I read, if fresh ABC fluid has cleaning agents in there. The more flushes, the happier my system will be.

Just need to get the lift free now.

Valve Cover Gaskets are easy by the way. Just be mindful of a certain vacuum line in the back of the blower that can be yanked out causing a really high idle if you dont catch it. Found that out the hard way when I did it on my G55 lol

Looking forward to your progress! We'll have to grab a cheesesteak this summer for sure!

 

very glad this thread could be useful to someone.

We'll have to meet up sometime when the weather breaks.

I'll look into that Pittsburg Grad Prix you were talking about in your thread, may be cool to check that out and I always enjoy a little road trip.

Maybe I can even get CICBarkeep to come out as well!

- Joe

 

I'm as good as there but I'll have to pick a weekend. Mrs. Barkeep isn't really into racing so the Historics Weekend might be a tough sell. On the other hand, she appreciates beautiful cars, is pretty proud of our S55, and digs road trips so I'm guessing the Vintage weekend at Schenley Park in August is my best bet. Keep me posted!
Dave

 

Well I was FINALLY able to make some solid progress on the S55 this week. I put quite a large order in with both MBdealerparts and FCP Euro and got right to work. Here is everything that was done, and whats still left to do:

- All (4) ABC Accumulators, Pulsation Dampener and Air Cell/reservoir have been replaced with New, Factory MB Parts. - MBDealerparts
(2) 2203270115 (1) 2203270215 (1) 2203200415

- Valve Cover Gaskets - MBDealerparts
(1) 1130160221 (1) 1130160321 (L+R)

- MB Sealant - MBDealerpars - They sent me a case of these instead of a tube! If anyone plans on doing VCG's, Message me your Address and I'll send you a tube for free.
3989982010

- Breather Hoses - MBDealerparts
(1) 1120181882 (1) 1130100382

- NGK IR Spark Plugs - Amazon

- Ignition Wire Set - FCP Euro

- Crankshaft Sensor - FCP Euro

- Fuel Filter - FCP Euro
0024772701

- 5W-40 Molygen oil change kit - FCP Euro

I started with the Accumulators as the Pulsation Dampener and the smaller "air cell" came in first. I will say its honestly not that difficult of a job. On a scale of 1 - 5 where 1 is putting air in your tires and 5 is pulling your engine, its about a 2. I spent more time pulling off undercarriage trays, wheel liners and plastics then anything! The actual removal of the Accumulators themselves was a piece of cake. The rear Larger accumulator under the passenger side exhaust is a little tricky, but a little patience is very do-able. That one took me a good 20-30 minutes to have it removed and reinstalled just because you're upside down and fighting the hanging exhaust in your face. However its not TERRIBLE. Just pack your patience.

I won't go too far in depth as i did try my hand at making a Youtube video which i'll link below. I am by no means a youtuber so go easy gents

Next up was valve cover gaskets and the ignition system refresh. The plugs on the pass. side for whatever reason were really stuck in there, i guess due to age and bit of corrosion. I was concerned i was going to snap one off, but they all eventually came out without any issues. All the new NGK's went in great, along with the new coil packs and wires. The wires came already dielectric greased up which was nice. I believe the brand of wires i bought through FCP Euro was "Bremi" or "BBT", one of the two. Whichever is available on their site is what i went with.

I took some time to clean the Valve covers by hand but my God was that a time consuming process. Never again. Get yourself a parts cleaner or a bin and let them sit in solvent for a few hours. I bought a parts cleaner specifically for this reason but i never bought the solvent. SMH.

I sprayed them silver with some High temp Silver just to clean them up and they look presentable. Not show car quality but much better then the corroded 20 year old look of factory. I will have them properly powder coated in the future.

Lastly was the Crank positioning sensor which was at first a little difficult to find and remove but very do-able. Not too bad of a job.

I will say to make sure all of your connections regarding the breather hoses are nice and tight. There is a bolt on the driver side top right part of the valve cover that bolts a bracket down that holds a breather tup section. Make sure that metal tube is pushed back into the snout. I had to remove the driver side surge tank to see it (also very easy if you've never done it before) just a couple bolts and a hose clamp, super simple. However i buttoned everything back up and had a crazy loud "Syucking sound coming from the TB, Surge tank, top of the SC area and couldn't find it for the life of me. Took it to my mechanic and sprayed carb cleaner in that area, hit the surge tank on the driver side and sure enough it choked the car and it died. (good way of finding Vac leaks). Pulled the Driver side surge tank off and that metal tube was sticking out causing the vac leak. Button everything back up and it was quite as a church mouse and smooth as butter! Incredible how much better throttle response with an ignition tune up. Night and Day.

I still need to do an oil change, and tinker around with a few more things to get it dialed in just right, and running perfectly before i start messing around with HP parts.

But for now she's running and driving better then ever and I'm one happy camper











Almost every clip broke due to age and constant heat/cold smh. They all fit very snug and shouldn't be an issue but really drives me nuts.
















In desperate need of a proper engine bay detail now as well.

Lastly here is the ABC Video I made. Enjoy

 

Ok Gents, Having an issue. Ever since the "Ignition Refresh" With New Plugs, wires and coil packs I'm getting a "Check Engine" Light after the kick down switch. Kills power, starts braking up really bad and running like crap, and throws about 6 codes. "Random misfire on cylinder 1, 3, 6" all over the place.

I threw the scanner on it last week, checked all of the wires on all of the coil packs and plugs to make sure they all had a good secure connection. Cleared/Erased all of the codes and the Check Engine light went away. drove it around for a few days withe Zero Issues, but didn't push it past the kick down switch.

Another wash and I took it out for a quick spirited drive this evening. Plenty of power and ran like a top. As soon as I floored it past the kick down, immediate pull of power, flashing check engine light to a solid check engine light, and misfiring like crazy.

Any Ideas before i replace everything with what i just took off, as far as the coil packs/wires go? The coil packs I installed Admittedly so were cheap, and not a factory or FCP recommended replacement. But i feel i would get the same issue regardless of throttle input if they weren't any good?

Any advice or ideas is greatly appreciated. Up until i replaced everything i had no issues putting my foot to the floor.

- Joe

 

Joe, as a closet audiophile and longtime owner of this car, I'll say the wires are clearly suspect. Because wires and electricity.

But I also suspect she's leaning out under load, especially if you have a tune and more boost. Here's how you check (and this should be S. O. P. for anyone running boost) -- run one step closer plugs, so she doesn't lean out.

If you have the same issue with colder plugs, wires are clearly suspect. Because wires and electricity. But I'm hopeful that one step colder plugs will do the trick.

These were recommended to me by a trusted source. I boosted mine after my last set of plugs (within the last 5 years or 50k miles), so these are going in next (which is basically now). I sometimes lean out under the heaviest of loads (3rd gear, kickdown but never past, 110mph-ish). I never go past kickdown on this car anymore because (1) I know what she does, (2) it's not necessary, and (3) I like to control shifts -- I downshift before I hit it. Basic driving style differences but same symptoms and hopefully the same solutions. We don't want to get into fuel supply.

GL, keep us posted.

maw

 

Interesting you should say that Maw.

I do not have any tune as of yet. The only mod's i've done are Drop-in K&N Air filters and a Belt wrap kit.

The plugs i purchased are labeled on a few sites as "Upgrades" or "Colder Plugs" Which are the NGK Iridium's. The plugs i pulled out of the engine happen to be identical NGK IR Plugs, which i found interesting. Are the NGK IR's in-fact factory plugs and not an upgrade? For some reason i was under the impression they were. To your point, when i add a pulley and tune, i wanted to have 1 step colder plugs already in and ready to go. So maybe i need to take your advice and buy the ones you've suggested. Clearly more research on my end is needed.

Heres another more technical question i have. When i replaced the wires, I had everything laid out, and i put one coil pack in at a time, with the different length wires required for each plug. By the time i got to the last few, i was only left with the smaller length wires for the last coil pack or two, which still fit seemingly fine. Is it possible that the Longer/shorter duo of wires are only for certain coil packs, ie the front of the engine, and possibly i'm getting a bad electrical current flow through the wires to cause it to misfire? Seems unlikely but when i installed everything, i began to curse myself as to why I would have only 1 length of wires left for the last few coil packs.

i appreciate your input

- Joe

 

So you ran a BWK on factory pulleys and tune? Why? It's the first I've encountered it, but that "might" give you more boost even without a tune -- the same turn of the crank pulley = more belt movement and more supercharger pulley spin. In that case she's sure to lean out.

Short answer is you need a tune to compensate for what you've done, let alone what you plan to do. But you see how the car is only mildly bothered by it. Only at or near full load would you even sense a problem.

Leave the plugs and the wires, get a proper tune, with or without pulley, then see what you get. Be sure to discuss the BWK with your tuner. They'll know what that means.

GL

maw

 

I guess in my mind i looked at the Belt wrap kit as more of a maintenance item to optimize factory power then an actual performance upgrade, however that does make sense.

I can count on 1 hand how many times I've pushed it past the kick down, however I just find it odd i drove the car 2500 miles last summer to Florida and back without issue. Something is telling me it has to do with the ignition system refresh.

I'll retrace my steps and take your advice with the tune. I'll make sure to report back as well.

I appreciate the advice.

- Joe

 

hopefully i am not too late, your Random misfire on cylinder 1, 3, 6" is because of your spark plugs.
as per your picture of the new spark plugs, you are using the wrong one .. the one you have in the picture is for the S500 which is the shorter spark plug ... the S55 ( M113k) engine require a much longer spark , similar to the one you remover from the car.. and as advised by others , if the car has higher boost then 15psi , a one step colder is the way to go ,

 

I think you guys are spot on regarding the plugs, after further examination i believe i bought the wrong NGK's.

I'll order a new set through VRP and throw them in sometime this week/weekend. The car has just been sitting in storage as work has been crazy, but looking forward to a few more maintenance and performance upgrades here soon.

Thank you for the input

- Joe

 

Joe,

Most times people specify to run one step colder plugs with tunes. I think this is more necessary when running more boost. I used these, from a friend / shop owner / who owns multiple 55Ks and is a bit of a MB AMG legend.

GL,

maw

 

Well what do you know... Transmission mount was gone already. And with the new mount, the vibration is gone.

maw

 

Plugs ordered. Glad to hear the new mount fixed the vibration issue. Did you go with OEM?

Looking forward to getting these installed so i can drive the car on the weekends again.

I did have a coolant leak coming from the upper radiator hose, probably the O-Ring where it connects to the rad. I'll order a new one through FCP Euro and install that as well.

I just purchased a Ballast off of eBay as my pass. side headlight began to flicker and eventually die. Hopefully that fixes that issue.

I'll report back after this weekend with some more updates on some other work Ive been doing to the car.

- Joe

 

Yes, OEM only with all mounts for this car for me. They just last longer.

maw

 

More maintenance...same suspension squeak A long rant and explanation of progress...or lack there of...

To follow up on my previous post, I want to thank LS1 and Maw for pointing out the plugs. 100% was the issue as i ordered the 1 step colder plugs through VRP, Installed them and the car is running like a bat out of hell. Thank you gents.

Next, I noticed i was getting a "check coolant level" message on the dash and what seemed to be a small drip coming from the upper radiator hose. I ordered a new hose through FCP and installed it. The "T" that comes into the URH is plastic, and when i went to install my old "T" into the new hose, it was brittle and broken. I had to order a whole new line through MBDealerparts (cheaper) as they don't sell just the plastic 90. Another $80 bucks but so be it. In. New. Done.

The car has been sitting for a few weeks and the last few days i was able to tackle some more upgrades/maintenance. I still have a horrible squeak coming from what appears to be the front pass. side suspension. I have already replaced the Upper control arms, Lower front control arms, and today new inner/outer tie rods on each side thinking for sure that would take away the noise. Nope. Still squeaking like crazy. I have brand new lower rear control arms in the box waiting to be installed as they are a little more in-depth. And if that doest fix it, the only thing thats left is to replace the F-ing Shock. The noise is driving me nuts.

I ordered a split cooling kit from VRP back in the beginning of the summer when the were running a special, so i took some time to install that as well. It seemed as if my factory pump wasn't flowing like it should, as i didn't see any of the coolant in the reservoir circulating. I would have to imagine you would be able to see it circulating at least slightly, no? I checked all the fuses and everything came back good. I figured what the hell, at the least i'll order a Bosch 010 and even if its not the pump, it'll still be a nice factory upgrade. I installed the pump and it still doesn't seem to be flowing/circulating like i thought it would. Tried hooking it up to my mechanics "Autel" scanner to run the pump manually, but unfortunately he didn't have the program capable to run it. After messing around with the split cooling system and driving the car a bit, i noticed i was again getting coolant dripping from underneath the car. Same area as before, upper rad hose. I now have to pull it back off and see if the hose is just not sealed properly, or if the actual radiator is cracked somewhere causing the leak. Frustrating.

I picked up a RennTech Airbox from another member on here (DGI) and installed that as well. Throttle response is more crisp and the car likes to breathe better for sure. Super simple upgrade if you can find one 2nd hand, and she's big. You have to wiggle in it but it will fit. And the best part is it looks great too!
Very happy with it.

Gave it a quick wash to blow the dust off last weekend and parked it. I'm frustrated because i would like to enjoy the car while it still summer and warm out on the weekends, but with work and routine maintenance i haven't been able to just pull it out and drive it for a few days.

Heres what we got...



New Renntech Airbox installed



New Lower front control arms and Tie rods in





New Upper control arms in








New Bosch 010 in

As much as a pain it can be at times, i sure do enjoy cleaning and looking at this thing...

















Cheers

- Joe

 

Nice Joe. IDK how we let you get this far without upgrading that intercooler pump. LCA will almost certainly cure that squeaky ball joint. Too bad about the coolant leak, chasing those are never fun. Ah the brittle T connects. There's another one in your windshield washer fluid circuit and the even better news is, the line is NLA and it leaks not to your SAI pump, which doesn't really like that very much. So more fun times ahead.

Think of it this way -- at least you didn't fall for the coil over "upgrade".

maw

 

I agree with the above that it is likely the lower control arm. It’s actually very quick and easy as long as you have the right tools. It’s easier if you pull off the upper control arm as well so you can have some good access to get around the connection to the ball joint in the steering knuckle. just remember when doing those control arms to tighten the connection point to the car with the car on the ground or a jack under the tire and have it pre-loaded to ride height. if you have not done the ball joint in the steering knuckle, this is the time to do it at the same time as the lower control arm when you’re in there.

 

If you've got the cap open to watch for coolant flow, don't do that. The tank is pressurized, and pressure in the cooling system will not build without the cap. No coolant would flow there anyway until the thermostat opens.

The way to know that the cooling system is pumping coolant is to watch the temperature gauge lock itself mid-scale. If no coolant flows, that won't happen. You could also siphon coolant out of the tank (when it's cold) and fill it to the full level with distilled water, drive around for a while. When you look into the tank after it cools down, and it's not still clear water, then you know coolant is flowing.

 

lol absolutely

Good info, thank you for that. Maybe i can tackle this job sometime this week. Do you know how the shock mounts to the LCA? Is it bolted down or does it just sit in the perch somehow? Also, when i crawled under to take a quick peek, it seemed like the pulsation dampener may be in the way of a Bolt. Did you have to unscrew the pulsation dampener as well to access that bolt or can it be worked around?

Good info as well Wfooshee. I was speaking more so to the coolant in the split cooling system, not the main engine coolant tank. I thought i would at least see some movement in that reservoir. I'm going to be completely honest, i still cant wrap my smooth brain around how the split cooling system ACTUALLY works. I understand you are separating the engine coolant from the supercharger coolant, so it's not in-theory heating up unnecessarily, however it is still tied into the cold side of the circuit, correct? so basically the coolant that would be flowing through that newly installed split cooling reservoir would only be cold coolant, and the pump is now only pushing cold coolant down through the line and into the supercharger. I hope that makes sense and i'm understanding it correctly. I'll post a better picture of how i mounted the split cooling system and possibly a video later.

One last question for any who may know. Is anyone aware of a company that makes aftermarket upgraded radiators for these cars? I know it seems like a simple google search but sometimes i have found companies that made specific parts overseas that didn't come up on a google search. Just curious if anyone has had experience with that. FCP has them cheap enough, however i wouldn't mind throwing something slightly larger in there if the aftermarket supports it and the old one is cracked regardless.

Thanks Gents

- Joe

 

Joe is there a need for more engine cooling?

I can see adding additional size to heat exchangers for charge cooling. More the merrier! More flow for charge cooling as well.

Strut mount bushings look to be in rough shape. As seen from below.

Bet the balljoint is the end of annoying squeaks.

 

For the connections to the shock, it’s going to be a 5mm Allen if stock. If it looks rusty at all, make sure to hit it with some penetrating oil before even trying and then, when you put the Allen bit inside of it, hit it with a hammer to break any rust. Use some thing with a long extension because it may take some effort. Are used a torch on one of mine. There are two per shock.

The pulsation damper is in the way, but you can actually move the mount that is connected to the car and you will get access. No need to break any pipes open.


imo no need for an upgraded radiator, it’s got plenty of cooling, and as mentioned, the pump is the main upgrade people do.

 

You guys rock! Thank you!

- Joe

 

Too Excited not to share...and a fun project for the day!

I managed to score a full Renntech Cat-back exhaust system for this car. Complete with Resonators and Mufflers. I tried to pull up some info on these but can't even find so much as a picture. Like everything in Life, theres a story...

Found an Ad on Marketplace and the guy had posted 3 pictures of a silver S-class saying he was parting out or selling whole. Indy shop that does a lot of MB, BMW, Porsch etc work. I stopped over Tuesday and he said if he didn't sell the car whole by Friday he would sell me the exhaust. The car was badged as an S60 Renntech, which i found odd. I knew they made an E60, but never heard of an S60. Can't seem to find any info on that either, but i'll link an article below. Its not so much an article but just outlines what the car is.

Unfortunately the car was in rough shape, Hit in the front and rust on the bottom of the doors. The interior was absolutely beautiful. Full Designo in a "Banana Cream" color. Even the attention to detail in the headliner where it was stitched was impressive.

I took some time today and got the exhaust off and back home, along with some other small items i needed. Front emblem, rear trunk matt, etc. Over all its in really nice shape. 1 resonator is a little hammered in from bottoming out, but nothing major. Im very excited to see how this sounds. I really didn't want to go full headers and exhaust, but finding anything aftermarket that bolts-in is near impossible. This is the perfect set-up in my opinion.

I just ordered and received (2) new lower ball joints that need to be installed, and basically the entire front suspension will be refreshed and done. I'm dealing with what i think is a leaking radiator, so i'll be ordering a new one of those shortly and hopefully sorting that out.

Enjoy for now friends and i'll be sure to post some pictures and vids when i make more progress.