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Here I'm planning to document what goes on with my recently purchased 2003 S55. Wedgewood Blue Metallic, 49,736 miles when I picked it up on November 2, 2024.
The car was originally sold in Washington before spending some time in California and finally landing with me in Tennessee. Between the previous owner and myself it bounced around a number of dealers around the southeast. Carfax notes accident damage that resulted in damage to the right rear and airbag deployment in December 2021. There are telltale signs of this collision still- it was not repaired by a detail oriented person. But the price reflected that and the car still drives and looks nice if you don't look too close at the paint in the previously damaged area.
The day I picked it up! About 800 miles from home in Stafford, TX.
Obligatory tow rig picture. If the S55 has problems I can at least rely on this sub 150k mile 7.3.
I was surprised to find the Tennessee welcome center was located right in downtown Memphis.
Issues noted once I took delivery of the car:
Right rear tire did not match other 3
Paint peeling on right front wheel
Serpentine and supercharger belts beginning to fray
Oil leaking from valve covers
Door handle button covers missing from handles but 3 were in the driver's door pocket
Right rear door would not open (10 seconds of investigation revealed that the door was simply locked and will not respond to the power locking system- it opens fine when manually unlocked)
Gas cap tether broken
Some rear interior trim covering the right side curtain airbag not fitting correctly
The car came with floor mats stored in the trunk but had two right side rear mats and no left side rear mat
The Parktronic system doesn't seem to be functional
No Keyless Go cards to be found
The first things addressed were the wheels and tires. Between getting the wheels refinished and a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4s, I snapped this picture. Wedgewood Blue was looking much more teal than normal under the Costco gas station lighting.
After that it was off to a local shop for new belts, tensioners, and pulleys. A new battery and oil changed jumped on the bill as well. After 2 weeks I finally got to actually bring the car home and clean it up.
The interior is pretty good. The driver's side door pocket cover is dirty, the accessory cupholder cover is missing, a couple of cracks in the wood, and it's got the aforementioned trim issue in the right rear. But otherwise it's a very clean interior for its age. All of the interior electronics that I have tried seem to be working well, but I haven't been able to figure out how to raise the rear door sunshades.
Things to do next:
Replace door handle button covers, which I couldn't figure out how to do. They seem to be too tall to fit where they belong. I'll need to do a little research.
See about sourcing floor mats, Keyless Go cards, and a gas cap tether.
Clean up the couple of interior trim pieces that need it.
Valve cover gaskets, coil packs, and spark plugs in the coming months
Absolutely beautiful car. Good luck with the build.
A fresh battery will clear up a lot of electrical gremlins and headaches. From experience, these cars need to be on a battery tender when not in use for a few days. They have a mind of their own. Some things work one day, then nothing the next. Have your mechanic throw it on a scanner and clear all of the codes. Once cleared, start pushing buttons and figure out what works and what doesn't. For whatever reason, I have noticed that when i clear all the codes, things like the soft close doors will start to work once again. I haven't had the time to take the deep dive into some features that don't work 100% of the time as it doesn't bother me at this point.
Rear sun shades are manual. Pull the little tab that sticks out of the window trim straight up, and hook it onto the hooks at the top of the window trim.
Engine/Transmission mounts, VCG's, Plugs, Coil Packs and wires are all good maintenance items to get out of the way first. Also, i would strongly recommend replacing all of your accumulators in the ABC suspension. With that low of mileage i highly doubt they've been done, and they are more of a Time/Mileage maintenance item.
Good luck with the build and be sure to post back progress.
- Joe
Last edited by PHILLYCLSJOE; Nov 19, 2024 at 08:45 AM.
Absolutely beautiful car. Good luck with the build.
A fresh battery will clear up a lot of electrical gremlins and headaches. From experience, these cars need to be on a battery tender when not in use for a few days. They have a mind of their own. Some things work one day, then nothing the next. Have your mechanic throw it on a scanner and clear all of the codes. Once cleared, start pushing buttons and figure out what works and what doesn't. For whatever reason, I have noticed that when i clear all the codes, things like the soft close doors will start to work once again. I haven't had the time to take the deep dive into some features that don't work 100% of the time as it doesn't bother me at this point.
Rear sun shades are manual. Pull the little tab that sticks out of the window trim straight up, and hook it onto the hooks at the top of the window trim.
Engine/Transmission mounts, VCG's, Plugs, Coil Packs and wires are all good maintenance items to get out of the way first. Also, i would strongly recommend replacing all of your accumulators in the ABC suspension. With that low of mileage i highly doubt they've been done, and they are more of a Time/Mileage maintenance item.
Good luck with the build and be sure to post back progress.
- Joe
Thanks for the info! The battery was actually replaced when it was in for belts and pulleys. It's got new motor/transmission mounts (it had an awful vibration 6 months ago when I first saw it for sale that is now resolved). What is a VCG?
Originally Posted by maw1124
I saw that one cross BaT I think. Nice color!
maw
It was on Cars & Bids in March where it failed to meet reserve. I tried to buy it after that as it was local at the time but couldn't work out a deal. The next time it came up for sale I did work out a deal and here it is
About 400 miles to the mountains for Thanksgiving. No (new) issues. The car drove great and it's going to be too easy to get into trouble. But I'm loving it! Got over 20mpg, but did noticed that the trip computer woefully undercalculates gas mileage. It starts under 2 when you start the car and just get moving and then never comes up at a quick enough rate.
It's going to get well under freezing so it'll be a good chance to see if that causes any problems the next couple of days.
Well, not a fun update. After replacing a few things and really enjoying the car for a few months, something in the motor let go. It still starts up and drives, but terrible noises from the engine and metal shavings in the oil. After considering options, it looks like a used engine + replacement labor is the way to go. Still cheaper than trying to buy another car (not that I'll find another in a good color if I went that route) and at this point I really want to keep driving this thing and not something else. Rebuilding the motor is out of the question- significantly more expensive, to the point that I can't afford it and it really starts to not make sense considering the value of the car and the accident in its history.
Here's a big question though- what other M113Ks could be swapped in? Online parts searches suggest any other M113K made from 2003-2011 will fit and from the research I have done it looks like there were not many changes to this motor over the years, if any at all. And there's a motor out of a 2011 G55 list online in Houston that is kinda tempting, but there's no way that would just work, right? Most of the part numbers look the same checking this site but this still feels impossible: S55 and G55.
Has anyone else had to do this? What was your experience?
Last edited by filthynwah; May 23, 2025 at 11:18 PM.
Thats a bummer to hear, any idea as to why it let loose? When did it happen, when you were getting into it a little bit or just randomly? Any overheating issue you noticed before hand?
I'm 99.9% Positive they are all identical. If you can get your hands on an M113K of any year, it will drop right in and anything you need from the S-Class is already there and can be used.
Keep your eyes open and look around on Ebay, FB Marketplace etc as they pop up from time to time and you can get yourself a good deal. You shouldn't have to spend any more then $3-3500 for a used engine with under 120K miles, but patience is key here.
While its out is a good time regardless to freshen it up with seals and gaskets, and it will almost be bullet proof for the rest of your ownership. Split the cooling, maybe consider a looped fuel rail, tackle the Crank pulley while its out of the car, and you should be good to go.
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
Bummer.
^^^ agree with all of this except skip the split cooling and looped fuel rails. SClass cars don't need split cooling unless you're drag stripping all day and looped rails get to be endless science projects. Frankenstein cars. Just do a mild pulley and tune and call it a day.
But if you're just doing it for fun because the car will be an accident car with a replaced engine and won't be "worth" much anyway, have at it -- you were warned.
Thats a bummer to hear, any idea as to why it let loose? When did it happen, when you were getting into it a little bit or just randomly? Any overheating issue you noticed before hand?
I'm 99.9% Positive they are all identical. If you can get your hands on an M113K of any year, it will drop right in and anything you need from the S-Class is already there and can be used.
Keep your eyes open and look around on Ebay, FB Marketplace etc as they pop up from time to time and you can get yourself a good deal. You shouldn't have to spend any more then $3-3500 for a used engine with under 120K miles, but patience is key here.
While its out is a good time regardless to freshen it up with seals and gaskets, and it will almost be bullet proof for the rest of your ownership. Split the cooling, maybe consider a looped fuel rail, tackle the Crank pulley while its out of the car, and you should be good to go.
Good luck and keep us posted
- Joe
Thanks for the tips! I actually had it on a dyno right before so that probably did it. No overheating during, I was keeping a close eye on that. Mixed opinions on whether or not that makes any sense- I wasn't driving the car like grandma before that. But I won't be doing that again.
If you're wondering, it put 402 to the wheels.
The G55 motor is tempting. 100k miles and and only 14 years old opposed to around 20. The lower oil pan cover is different as are a few part numbers- I'm assuming the lower oil pan cover fit some 4wd component on the G wagon and the S class one would bolt right up.
Last edited by filthynwah; May 27, 2025 at 08:41 PM.
I have to wonder, as it is engine out...why not sleeve and rebuild this engine? With used it is a crap shoot...never, not ever know what you are getting. If you rebuild, you know what you have. Either way, the engine comes out.
I have to wonder, as it is engine out...why not sleeve and rebuild this engine? With used it is a crap shoot...never, not ever know what you are getting. If you rebuild, you know what you have. Either way, the engine comes out.
It is prohibitivly expensive, both related to the car's value and to my budget. Parts for this motor are not cheap. Unless a lot of it is still good which seems unlikely it would be cheaper to just buy another driving car.
Well, after not having much luck, I expanded my acceptable criteria and ordered a motor that looks decent but has 150k miles on it. It should be at the shop Wednesday and assuming the seller is legit my mechanic should find that it looks as good as it can. Once he checks it out, I'll get my car up there for the work. Hopefully it still starts and the ABC system still functions well enough to pick it back up...it's been sitting for about 2 months.
I did drive out to Memphis intending to pick up a motor from a used Mercedes parts dealer a couple of weeks ago. The price was good but the engine looked absolutely terrible and after a 3 hour drive out there I walked away.
Last edited by filthynwah; Jul 19, 2025 at 10:29 AM.
Good choice on walking away, always trust your gut.
Good luck with the new motor.
150K isn't bad at all. Do everything while its out. Valve cover gaskets, rear main, plugs, wires, coil packs, all (5) front pulleys and belts and you should pretty much be bulletproof after that. Also have your mechanic take a close look at the Crank pulley and make sure theres no play or wiggle to it. I've heard stories of the factory keyway snapping and grenading the engine that way. VRP also sells a dow kit to pin it for extra support. I would recommend a cheap split cooling set-up (something like VRP) and the upgraded factory Bosch 010 pump to keep temps down as much as possible. These AMG's love to run hot so every little bit helps.
As far as the ABC you shouldn't have any problems. If it was working before, it will work again once re-connected. Also another thing to check/replace while the engine is out is the ABC pump. look for leaks and pulley wiggle. Mine looks like it has a little bit of a wobble to it but i haven't experienced any issues with it, so until it lets loose i'm not touching it. I would absolutely replace it if it was out of the car however with a refurbished unit but thats just me.
From what vehicle was the used motor M113k pulled?
the E55 motor has some differences with oil pan that made it fit better into E class. Theres a hump in it. There’s an extra oil scavenger suction tube inside/above the pan that sucks oil from the isolated section to combine with the main pan. Reports from E owners say the o-ring on that suction tube can get brittle and leak and then the oil pump sucks air in from the crank case/pan and starves the engine of oil, leading to premature failure. So, if you got an E-class engine, remove oil pan and replace that suction tube/o-ring seal for prevention.
From what vehicle was the used motor M113k pulled?
the E55 motor has some differences with oil pan that made it fit better into E class. Theres a hump in it. There’s an extra oil scavenger suction tube inside/above the pan that sucks oil from the isolated section to combine with the main pan. Reports from E owners say the o-ring on that suction tube can get brittle and leak and then the oil pump sucks air in from the crank case/pan and starves the engine of oil, leading to premature failure. So, if you got an E-class engine, remove oil pan and replace that suction tube/o-ring seal for prevention.
Appreciate the heads up. The motor is out of a CL 55 so I don't think I'll even need to swap oil pans.
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