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I wanted to start off by saying thanks to everyone that's provided input into my past posts - they've been extremely useful on my mission to getting my new 08 E63 to a point where I don't have to worry about it when I'm driving.
I took the car in to get valve cover gaskets done today and it turns out there was another oil leak as well, coming from a gasket at the front of the engine by the variable valve timing bits? Advisor said it was near some solenoids. You'll have to forgive my lack of knowledge on these engines, I'm still learning. Is this a common issue? I had them proceed to replace the gasket anyhow, given that they said the valve cover needed to come off for the job anyway.
On a side note, I've also been chasing a suspension creak. It's especially noticeable when adjusting the ride height - it'll sound like a brief clunk as the suspension adjusts. When moving, it's when I'm at low speeds and pass over bumps at the lower ride height - only happens on the driver side front. When I first brought the car to PPI, the shop said it was due to torn control arm bushings and the symptom was clunk under braking. Fast forward three weeks and to a different shop, they don't see any visible signs of bushing failure and have no reason to recommend replacement. I know this is a difficult one to diagnose over the web, but figured I'd give it a shot.
I'm having rotors done all around in the next few weeks so figured I'd get the control arms done so I can finally have my peace with my new car. Again, thanks again and cheers!
If you are replacing control and thrust arms replace the ball joints (all of them) at the same time. You're already in there; you don't want to have to go back in after 6-8 months...
you're probably leaking from the same place my engine was leaking from. as these engines age, their rubber o-rings begin to harden. mine started around 99k and was its worst at 117k when I fixed it. if it was leaking from the actual VVT solenoid seal that would be a new one for me. as far as suspension clunk any shop can easily diagnose what bushing or ball joint is faulty simply by using a pry bar.
Per the oil leaks, I'll have to pull the part number from the invoice later to figure out if that's the same seal. They also discovered the coolant reservoir was on the verge of crumbling into plastic dust so I had that swapped while I was there.
As far as the suspension goes, I had them check for balljoint tightness and pry just about every part possible. Everything seemed to be fine from that perspective so I'm just going to drive it until it gets worse before I bring it back. I was about ready to order the control arms - it seems like usually they come with the ball joints? If it's any indicator at all, I can reproduce the creak only when the car is at the lowered ride height. Sometimes it'll make the sound during the transition between ride heights.
I found another annoyance - a feint whirring noise when playing music via the aux cable. If you guys have any idea what direction to go in, I'd love to hear it. I've searched around and people report crackling and pops but mine is more like the sound from blowing across a glass bottle opening.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
