sprins

I'm having tons of luck with my car. After bringing the car in to the workshop for service-B I got a call that the last remaining original ABC strut (front right) was leaking and had to be replaced. Of course the front left had been replaced last August. And instead of humbly apologising Daimler Chrysler is trying to screw me over by only paying for half of the cost. As if 4 ABC struts in 33.000 miles is a coincidence.

I also complained that the engine didn't run nice after a nights standstill until complete warm-up (jerky acceleration, misfires) since a week or two, so they changed the spark plugs as well eventhough not yet needed.

However, the problem persisted and got worse quickly. Now when they start the car it resembles a mother****ing Mississippy steamboat from all the oil it burns on startup. After removing the headers they found oil in at least one cylinder

So there it is: The last remaining item of the car that I thought could not break down did just that.

I'm starting to hate this ****ing miserable SL55.

bltserv

Sprins

That totally sucks. Anything left on your original warranty ?
What was the original Sell Date on your car ?
I just cant believe Benz would not give you some help on this.
Where did you get this car ? Dealer ?

Hopefully its just a valve seal that has failed. Thats what it sounds like
if its not a compression issue. But its the labor thats going to crush you
on the cost.

Good luck man

Mrdredd

I've been to my dealer 6 times, no joke, 6 times for my ABC problems.
To this day its still not fixed, even after theyve supposedly replaced the entire ABC system.

sprins

Nope. I bought it second hand, and the Mercedes warranty ran out after a year. There is no factory warranty left either

It was titled in October 2002 (yes, it's an infamous 2002/2003 model)

Well, the jury is still out on this issue. Before they can accept or deny factory warranty work they have to exactly diagnose the problem. Which may or may not take a while. And what choice do I have other than have it fixed? The damn thing is just too expensive as a paper weight...

I bought the car from an official Daimler Chrysler dealership in Germany.

The thing is that in the Netherlands where I live the local Daimler Chrysler representative (local MBUSA if you want) is not known for its cooperation w.r.t. imported cars.

Exactly. Most likely it's a valve seal, but they should last longer than 33K miles right? There is 24 of them so that doesn't give me a lot of confidence in the engine.

I'm seriously considering sending the car to AMG in Affalterbach for them to sort this mess out. They built the bloody engine, they fix it. And I cannot imagine that I have to pay for anything (except transport ofcourse), especially considering the service record of my car (a genuine train wreck).

Damn this car It's the best car in the world for me. If it works. And that pre-condition is all but certain since I have it...

Thanks. I'll need it

sprins

Interim update on the oil in cylinders: The consensus at this point is that the workplace followed an erratic procedure with the oil change causing oil spilling in places where it shouldn't be spilled. They are cleaning the engine and replaced some parts concerning the carterpan. No idea since I'm an engine n00b. Since the car needs a complete cooldown they are testing each morning after a nights standstill. Tomorrow we'll know if the smoking is cured.

The jerky acceleration when the engine is cold seems to be a separate problem (which makes sense as I experienced this before service, without smoke). Since there is no readout in Star Diagnose they'll have to do someserious bug-hunting after the smoke has literally cleared up.

So, the good news is that the engine is probably not leaking oil by itself, and I won't have to kill the person that is listed on that cute little plaque on the engine. The bad news is that it may take a while to fix all problems for the sole reason that diagnosing will not be trivial.

david_101

my 65 puffs a wafting whitish cloud at startup and drinks oil like a drunken sailor.
sounds like the same sort of problem you're having.

sprins

I don't think so. My SL55 would always start very cleanly and hardly consumed any oil. And I can tell because I mostly start from my garage, so any white smoke should be visible. After the service (with oil change) the white smoke appeared at start. And not just a cloud, but it was an actual eclipse with a smoke signal that could be seen on the other end of the city.

First we thought this was also causing the jerky acceleration until complete engine warm-up I reported when I brought the car in. But now it seems those are two different problems. The smoking caused by a faulty oil change.

The story can change though, since it is all guessing. And the workshop is avoiding by any means to open the engine up (as per strong recommendation from Dutch MB-HQ). Untill now they only took off th eintake manifold I believe.

Best car in the world if you ask me. If it runs properly.

david_101

affalterbach will fix. there's got be a way to get an estimate before the work begins.

topless in SB

Have you guys with the AMG's ever went to the AMG Private Lounge and posted your complaints? The AMG Management team (US and Germany) are always on there checking things out.

Just a thought...I wish you well with your car.

sprins

Well, for starters, and this may be presumptuous on my behalf, I'm assuming no cost for the oil change 'mistake' on their side.

We'll see. One things sure though, this aint no Toyota/Lexus...

sprins

Thanks. Is the private lounge open for non-US visitors yet? Last time I checked I was booted out for not being US customer

bltserv

I would be taking that dealer to the woodshed on this.
You take it in for service and they blow a simple oil change ?
Unacceptable. Totally all cost should be covered by them.

My SL55 does not smoke and uses almost no oil.

Not so sure about the Lounge and Europe. I think that it is for US only too.
As far as them helping with a dealer screwup. Thats not going to happen
in this lifetime. Suggest never taking your car to that dealer again.

david_101

i believe is not US-only because the super-enthusiastic webmaster, teresa, talked with me in person about worldwide registered guests. "worldwide" suggested more than just US registrants, and her english was excellent.

MB techs and engineers already know about my 65's issues and are ready to assign a liaison to work with an SA i choose to diagnose and resolve. i just haven't been able to get the car to my preferred dealer for service. the only worthwhile dealer service around here would prefer to change the engine entirely rather than go on a search-n-rescue mission in the engine bay. just a wild guess: the dealership would do far better in the pockets by changing the engine than by finding and fixing a component problem. ya think?

sprins

Well, that's clear:

sprins

Latest and hopefully final update on oil in cylinders.

They cleaned the engine, redid the oil change, cleaned the sparkplugs, etc, etc, and they handed over the car that would only smoke just a little on startup for a longer ride than the workplace people wanted to make.

So I went to lunch in Dusseldorf (from Amsterdam = 300 miles up&down) and drove as fast as my winter tyres would allow on the Autobahn (149MPH / 240Km/h ) to find the engine running better than ever before. In the process all remaining oil drips must have burned because this morning after a nights standstill the engine started without any smoke, and ran very well when completely cold.

What caused the problem is still a mistery as the oil change procedure they initially followed is not the recomended one, yet doesn't explain the oil in the intake manifold they found and cleaned. However my trip and the cold start from this morning indicates no problem.

Although it took 14 days for what initially was a Service B plus some other small stuff I'm glad the problem wasn't as bad as it seemed. Furthermore I consider the workplace mechanics that are allowed to work on my car as knowledgable and, that if they made an honest mistake they eventually solved it since the engine now runs better than ever before.

I therefore oficially no longer hate this SL55 and I've decided to not set fire to it.

DFW01E55

Glad it worked out Sprins.