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I got a '11 sl63 3 months ago with 62,000. Thought it meant manufactured '11 so no head issues however of course all the 10's are '11 models and mine was manufactured about 2 months before the resolution of the issue. local dealers don't seem to think this is a problem but about a 2 months i got the low coolant light after startup and added a quart of coolant. Since then no warnings or issues, but of course I'm concerned. Had the oil changed, nothing wrong there, the only other issue I get is a burnt oil smell in the garage after use (from my car not the house). Again dealer said the car is clean, no oil leaks and fully and properly maintained by MBZ is whole life. I have been laid up so very little driving since.
So the question is, if I had no coolant loss after about 500 miles since top up, am I OK? Also has anyone else had a mystery oil smell and of so what was it? I did buy an after market warranty 5 yrs, 60,000 miles from delta, but I notice the fine print talks about pre-existing conditions, so would a headbolt issue fall into that trap?
2023 Urus Performante - 2021 Ferrari Roma - 2017 Ferrari 488 GTB - 2022 GLE 63 S Coupe
I've had 3 R230 SL 63s. Only one of them had the head bolt issue. I know it well. Most likely if you needed a quart. It's happened. I also had the oil smell/smoke issue as well. My dealer had the car overnight hooked up to a pressure tester and still could not diagnose it. There are a group of hoses at the front and one seeped a little overnight and they replaced it to the tune of $400. That didn't do jack sh*t and I knew it wouldn't. Finally after me checking for weeks on end and monitoring it. I brought it in and they tore it down and sure enough that was the issue. It starts very minor with symptoms and can be a bit elusive at first. After market warranty should cover it. Mine did. Most likely pre-existing conditions in your case means at the time you purchased the car. If it was leaking then no that wouldn't be covered. After the fact yes. Thank goodness I purchased an extended warranty and it covered it. Mine wasn't very obvious (no visible leakage) and it took a while to track down. NOTE: Coolant will hide in the Valley as you can see in the pic below. It's one of the reasons it can be difficult to find at first before it gets worse.
Only just got back to this, thank you for the response. I did have the combustion chambers pressure tested and there were no leaks i was told. Also the shop could not find the oil smell.
Glad I stumbled on this thread. Similarly, I've been living with this concern on an '11 SL63 that I've had for ~ 18 months. Unfortunately, I did not do the research and my engine build falls in the same afflicted headbolt series even though the dealer told me it does not. No indications of coolant loss yet, so my question for benzbell would be having had 1 of 3 SL63s with a headbolt failure, would you still recommend replacing the headbolts as a preventative measure as so many other posters recommend, or soldier on and hope for the best?
Also, I've been contemplating selling the SL63 and my 430 Spider and moving to an AMG GTR for some time (or Ferrari 458 Italia) - just curious why benzbell decided to part with the GTR already?
Think the 2011's all had the updated headbolts so you should be good. There are still other issues but they do not seem to be as pronounced or expensive.
I'm guessing it took sometime before this issue started surfacing, but does not forgive MB for not issuing a recall considering how expensive these cars were. Somewhere else in the numerous posts on this subject a link was posted to a technical service bulletin listing the affected M156 engine builds i.e. up to #569xx 60 060658. Unfortunately, if you believe that information to be accurate, it includes my 2011 which according to the build sheet from carinfo is engine build #60 056426. Then again, carinfo shows my SL63 US delivery date was 01-29-2010, which seems a bit early for a 2011 titled vehicle, so whom to believe. I do find it surprising that the dealer would contradict the TSB, but it took 4 visits and 2 different dealers to finally figure out why my Distronic would always disengage within 10 - 15 minutes, so my confidence in MB dealer technical ability isn't all that great at the moment.
Rereading the TSB, it pretty accurately describes what DavidJAC is experiencing - my sympathies.
Update, apparently its the radiator, not the heads. All the shops say the motor is in great shape, well maintained (and looks spotless). New radiator $1164.
Breathe again I guess...
Update, apparently its the radiator, not the heads. All the shops say the motor is in great shape, well maintained (and looks spotless). New radiator $1164.
Breathe again I guess...
500 mils since radiator replaced and twice had to top up the expansion tank due to low coolant warnings. Took back to shop and they pressure tested everything again, no leaks and then removed the intake tubes, no coolant in the valley. Pressure tested the cylinders all at around 210, no leaks or bad one's. No oil in the sump so far as we can tell. So, since there is no coolant escaping from outside it has to be inside the heads.- they are coming off for the headbolt checkup...…….
66,500 miles. First rate service record.
Check the head bolts to see if they are the old or new style. The old ones have a female head while the new ones have a male head. If you have the old ones, well, things just got much more expensive.
From my Indie, after the heads were opened up and the nasty goopy mess was found on the whole of the camshafts and buckets. We also proved one or more of the headbolts had stretched, the coolant was escaping into the exhaust and also into the oil after pressure testing.
"I believe what we're seeing is the result of the servicing dealerships using the 5w-40 motor oil, there was a technical bulletin from AMG that advised dealerships not to use the Mobil 1 Formula M 5w-40 oil in the M156 motor because it provides insufficient protection for the camshafts, the majority of US dealerships that I've seen service records from were making this mistake and my personal opinion is this is why we do see so many cases of cam adjuster rattle or cam lobe wear on this engine in the US.When the car was new, AMG specified Mobil 1 0w-40 for the 156 motor but it fell under the same 229.5 Mercedes-Benz oil specification as Mobil 1 Formula M 5w-40 with a tiny footnote at the bottom of the page mentioning the 156 engine. Formula M is a Mercedes-specific formula so all dealerships buy that by the drum and when the 0w-40 became more expensive and difficult to find in drum form, the dealerships switched to using 5w-40 in the 156 motors because their computer tells them that this engine should be serviced with a 229.5 spec oil and it appears that 5w-40 meets that spec.
The difference in oil viscosity is unimportant, the key difference in the oils is 0w-40 Mobil 1 is built to meet Porsche's spec and contains a lot more zinc, phosphorous, etc. that are aimed at wear protection in high heat, high pressure areas in the engine. The Formula-M 5w-40 is aimed more at reduced emissions and improved fuel economy than long term wear protection."
Just shy of $11,000, those cams are $750 each(x4) , the tensioners $1500 each (x2)....
Every M156 with the old style head bolts needs to update to the new bolts. As stated in other threads, the engine is a ticking time bomb with the old head bolts. If it hasn't happened to your M156, count your lucky blessings because it is coming.
Looks like camshafts, lifters, and head bolts. Not really buying the oil causing the failures since they updated the parts to fix. The engines are known for having defective parts and these are all in that grouping. Cams are probably just part of the collateral damage from faulty lifters. Will probably be cheaper to swap a used engine, update head bolts, and update the lifters rather than paying the labor to fix all the existing issues. I would ask the questions and look at the math.
I'm halfway there in labor its really just parts now, so new headbolts, lifters, gaskets etc. Cams should be good if they look worn after cleanup that's potentially a stge 2 expense.
12-28-2019, 07:38 PM
