I am very excited to be joining you. I recently purchased a loaded 2007 SL55 AMG with 49,000 miles on it and I am beyond exited to own my dream car!
Living in the northern states, I was able to enjoy the car for a week before putting it away for storage for the winter. I plan on maintaining the car this winter, with projects that include (1) Replacing the Spark Plugs, (2) fixing the trunk struts, (3) oil change etc...
Finding resources on 'How To's' for the previously listed were not hard to do.
Now a few questions for those as I have a few issues and questions I could use some assistance with:
(1) My biggest concern:Per the pre purchase inspection the Mercedes dealership let me know that all 4 bellows on the struts are torn and quoted me $10,000 to replace all for for brand new struts. Does anyone have any experience with solely replacing the bellows? I have seen a few threads, but there has been no conclusive answer to the question for it being resolved.
(2) The car also came with a set of part number A2304013002 rims. I researched and found that these are OEM, however they are painted black. Is this common to see? I might be looking to sell as I like the other set that came with the car. What do you think I could get for them, as I would say they are in good, not great condition. Need a good cleaning.
(3) I purchased a trickle charger for over the winter, the consumer battery on startup is always showing a warning signal, as I think it might need replacement. But will find out this weekend once I put the charger on. Would you reccomend the AGM battery, and if so, upon replacement will it reset all the settings I I do not replace the battery correctly? This is a small worry, but wanted to ask
Please let me know your thoughts on (1) as this is definitely my biggest concern and looking forward to being a part of this community! Thank you for reading and I appreciate all help!
- if you're in a cold climate and that garage is not heated, you would want to know this (from the manual): "If the outside temperature falls below +5°F (-15°C), the roll bar must be raised manually using the buttons provided to avoid damaging the hydraulics."
- AGM battery is recommended. A parked R230 does drain some power, even after entering sleeping mode after a set period of time (all about that on this forum somewhere). Getting the accessories switched off sign is not all uncommon but all the same annoying (no roof function, airco, limited blower etc).
After replacing the rear battery you should only need to reset the windows (lower, then raise and hold for two seconds) and ESP (with the vehicle stationary, turn steering wheel completely to the left and then to the right).
And now for some overkill info: never disconnect the starter battery with the rear battery still connected (vice versa: connect front battery first, rear second). Avoid jump starts if you can, but if you must, then avoid spark peaks. Never jump start via the rear battery. The starter battery drives the starter motor only and nothing else, not even the starter solenoïd. There's no draw on the starter battery with the car parked so it needs virtually no care.
Welcome to the R230 club! Great car, and I'm sure you will be spending time here as a DIY person.
Regarding the strut covers...this is very common. As you saw, there are some threads that say the R231 covers are available, and fit, but you will need to search the forums to find that info. I would drive them until they have issues, then replace with Arnott lifetime warranty struts.
I am not a fan of black wheels, so the value is in the eye of the purchaser. These wheels bend easily, so they should be checked, or driven at speed to see if they have issues. By comparison: 18" give better ride; 19" are common; 20" are heavy and have worst ride. Choose wisely.
Go through the records, if they exist, and see what maintenance is due. If my car, I would ensure the following has been done: trans fluid and filter; ABC fluid and 3 micron filter; check the motor and trans mounts (due soon); check front suspension inboard bushings; check and repair all fluid leaks; use the dealer PPI for other items that may need addressed; find a trusted local independent mechanic for the things you can't repair.
The car looks lowered, which will cause rapid inside camber wear. Budget tires every 5000 miles, or less. Camber adjusters are expensive, but sometimes worth it.
Correct rear strut covers are available as 2303280092, clamps 0039941240. Fronts from a 231 are not a perfect fit, but will work: 2313270092, upper clamp 0019950635, lower 0019950735. Around $200 to do all 4. Better than $10k at least.
Frederick NL Thanks for the tips. A couple of notes from your response: I have the car stored in a climate controlled garage, so I don't anticipate the temperature to get that cold. With that being said, the roll bar is in the up position. I also recently just purchased two C-tek battery maintainers; one for the starter and one for the systems battery. However from what I have been reading you only need to put the trickle charger on the systems battery, so I might just end up returning one and put that money towards something else. Also, I appreciate that 'overkill' information ha! Any and all new information I learn is valuable.
kbob999 I am glad to hear that the strut covers are a common theme. The technichian for the PPI also told me that he would drive them until they give - he gave me a time range of 2-3 years before that need to occur, dependent on how often I drive the car. The current rims on the car are 19'', from what I can tell it has a nice ride to it and I really like the look of the black rims on it. Thanks for the tips on the maintenance, I will make sure to look into this as soon as I can with the records I both received from the previous owner and also from the MB dealership. Also good eye on the lowering, yes the car is lowered and that was a concern of mine that I mentioned to the technician. He let me know that the car has a set of coil springs to 'trick' the ABC to lower the car. You can definitely notice a difference in the handling from the lowering of the car. However I didn't think of the impact it would have on the inside camber wear. Excellent point.
MikeJ65 Thank you for these part numbers! This is definitely what I was looking for and will have a bit of research to do. Out of curiousity have you ever had to replace just the bellows or know of anyone who did? Would love to talk with someone who has experience as I want to perform as much preventative work to the car over the long winter.
GeeJayMaj Prior to selling I would want to make sure there are no issues with them, as kbob999 mentioned they are prone to bend. But would be willing to talk, let me know if you would like my contact information to discuss further. p.s the tires on the rims show all the wear bars, except for 1 tire (which is practically new).
- if you're in a cold climate and that garage is not heated, you would want to know this (from the manual): "If the outside temperature falls below +5°F (-15°C), the roll bar must be raised manually using the buttons provided to avoid damaging the hydraulics."
- AGM battery is recommended. A parked R230 does drain some power, even after entering sleeping mode after a set period of time (all about that on this forum somewhere). Getting the accessories switched off sign is not all uncommon but all the same annoying (no roof function, airco, limited blower etc).
After replacing the rear battery you should only need to reset the windows (lower, then raise and hold for two seconds) and ESP (with the vehicle stationary, turn steering wheel completely to the left and then to the right).
And now for some overkill info: never disconnect the starter battery with the rear battery still connected (vice versa: connect front battery first, rear second). Avoid jump starts if you can, but if you must, then avoid spark peaks. Never jump start via the rear battery. The starter battery drives the starter motor only and nothing else, not even the starter solenoïd. There's no draw on the starter battery with the car parked so it needs virtually no care.
I have some bad covers on one of my '03's, but I haven't replaced them. If you are going to use it strictly as a fair weather car, I don't think it is critical to have the covers intact. If you think you might encounter frequent wet roads, mud, or gravel, I would probably replace them.
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