Gene Fiorot

So as a new owner of a 2004 Sl500 my mission was the replace so as to start at Zero since the car has 60,000 miles. One area of my refurbishments was the brakes. So with PMercury Peter's help I sourced rotors and pads and all new hardware and sensors including the Emergency Brake and all the hardware associated with that. When I got the car back from my Indy I noticed a clunking sound when going on and off the gas. Sometimes it was one clunk other times it was multiple clunkings. To describe the sound is like riding over those lane reflectors but the sound is about 10 percent. On and off the gas pedal making the noise happen at any speed. Keeping the pedal steady any slight difference in acceleration or slowing can cause the noise to appear. Hitting Bumps or road harshness has no effect. Going around turns has no effect. So after the test drive with the Indy we put the car on the lift. I voiced my opinion to the Indy multiple times can it be the emergency brake shoes that are new? NAW...no way. Well then then I don't know but it sounds like the Wheel is loose. NO WAY! he says. Hmmmm ok so now what? Well he says we need to get it back on the lift. Yeah sure I say. But the night before I contact the customer service of the MRR wheels. I hate them but they are new and chrome with rivets Uck and I truly want nice stock wheels but this is the hand I have been given. So these wheels have big holes and inside buried are the Lug Bolts. Rusty ugly ones but n0 one can see them. So I send this message to them asking I can use stock Mercedes Wheel Bolts with their wheels. They respond by morning telling me sure as long as the bolts are cone shaped not ball shaped. OK I need Youtube to tell me the difference. Mind you I have no idea if my what my bolts are but now I know there is a difference. So we get the car on the lift and it seems that the deferential seems to have a good amount of play in either direction and it has a clicking sound. So not to jump to conclusions the Indy wants me to come back so he can take the exhaust system and surrounding covering to inspect the entire drive shaft. But he thinks it is the differential. So now I am having a mild heart attack because the clunking only started when he replaced the rotors and pads. So to easy my mind they get on the phone and locate a junkyard Differential for 400 bucks. So I breath a sigh of relief. Except one thing do I have Rusty Ball Lug Bolts in wheels that require Cone tapered Bolts? So I say to the Indy, Entertain me. Sure Gene what. Would you remove one bolt and lets see if they are cone or ball. Sure he does and they were cone. Oh well forget that except with Battery Powered Impact Wrench he proceeds to tighten the bolt he removed and well continued to tighten all the others on both sides of the rear. He mentions that he did not "wail on them because he was concerned that with these wheels these bolts were not long enough to go deep in the new rotor. So I have to come back in a few days. So I drive off and in 2 minutes I realize the Clunking is gone! The Wheel was Loose ! Now I need to find longer than stock cone shaped lug bolts with a longer thread length so they can be torqued properly. Help if you know the standard length and a longer thread length with a cone shape. WOO HOO no Differential Gene

brucewane

Tapered seat lug bolts are easy to get in just about any length you want. The thing is, you do NOT want to get some that are too long - if your rear lug bolts are too long, they'll hit your emergency brakes. You really need to measure the depth of the holes in your wheels and the depth of the hole in the rear rotor and get the right length, not too long and not too short. You want them to be as long as possible without protruding through the back of your rear rotors.

tonylinc

With wheels, there are a couple different types of shapes where the lug bolt contacts the wheel, and you must have the correct ones for the wheels you have, it is a huge safety issue, also the length has gotta be exactly right. Me personally, I would take the car and wheels to a good tire shop where they have professionals who can look at what you have and order the right lug bolts and the right length, it may take a day or two for them to arrive or they may have a small chance they'd have them in stock. Probably have to order them and wait a day or three though. But I would not be driving the car without the right lug bolts though! Crazy not to have the exact right lug bolts for the wheels that you have, and insane to drive with the wrong ones holding the wheels on the car... and they have to be torqued on right as well. Is there a Les Schwab tire center or a Discount Tire near you? Someone, at least the manager there, will know exactly what you need. They are knowledgeable and will know what you need, they can measure etc., I've been down that road before. Most tire shops will let you leave the wheels there till the lug bolts arrive, if you had another set of wheels to drive on until then. If you do have to wait a day or two I would not be driving the car around much at all!!!!!! Until the wheels are officially held onto the car with the correct bolts of the correct length!

Gene Fiorot

Well a follow up to the story. It by me asking MRR wheels about Lug Bolts after watching a YouTube Video about Lug Bolts LOL They responded. it seems there are not just cone single shaped lug bolts but the cones come in different angles. Mercedes Stock Cone Degree of angle is 60 degrees. So the call to MRR they tell me theirs is a 45 degree cone angle and add most aftermarket wheels are 45 degrees. OK so I have a car with a 45 degree cone and 60 degree lug bolts that happen to be too short because the MRR wheel is thicker than a stock wheel. So what about all of these guys here. Are they aware of this crap. I took off one front wheel and it took 3 turns on the lug wrench before it stopped spinning. I have a lot to about this that pisses me off. If I go and buy MRR wheels from a dealer do they say OH you need 45 degree angle cones? WHo ever purchased mine didn't tell him. Instead they sold a set of wheels with not only too short lug bolts but cone that did not match the existing lug bolts which they used. And guess what? MRR doesn't sell lug bolts for their wheels. This is outrageous. I have no idea if this affects others here but to me this is a very serious issue that all that sparkling chrome may blind our fellow users here. What's in your wheel hole? On a good note, after a 2 day internet search, LA Wheels was the only dealer that I could find on the internet that could sell me elongated bolts with a 45 degree Angle Cone. Chrome or Black Hats off to them. Good People.