MichaelSean

Hello all,
I recently purchased an 05 SL 55 in magna red with 680 miles on the odometer, from Southern California car collector. Over the years the car was very well cared for stored properly etc. I’ve put about 1000 miles on the car and recently I smelled a bit of gasoline. I took it in to have it looked at and the diagnosis is that the fuel pump is leaking and needs to be replaced. I’m told that it’s a labor-intensive process for
among other reasons that the sub frame has to be dropped in order to access the pump. The estimated cost is over $2000… Yikes! The car has been gone through very thoroughly all the belts and hoses and rubber seals are in good shape, changed all the fluids including brake coolant transmission oil etc. and thus far everything has performed flawlessly including the ABC system… Knock on wood it continues to do that. Has anyone encountered a $2000 plus estimate for replacing a fuel pump? I’ve had lots of experience with expensive Mercedes repairs but this one seems crazy. I would very much appreciate any comments or suggestions… I’m not handy so I have to use a long trusted independent Mercedes specialist but as a wise man said “trust but verify“

thank you all in advance for any words of wisdom
MS

BlownV8

There was a recall on the 211 E class tank/pump basically forced by the NHTSA. Wonder if it is affecting the SL's too?

skylolow

The pump sits on the outside of the tank. It sits right above the rear differential. I've replace mine by not dropping the rear differential. It's not easy but not difficult either. Just a pain more or less like most things with cars. After doing it once I could probably swap one out in an hour or two now. Any auto shop should be able to do this for you relatively easy and not that expensive. I believe an oem pump was like $250. Also replace the filter while your under there.

MichaelSean

Thanks for the input......I got an estimate from an Indy of $1800 and very surprisingly got the exact same number from my local dealer (Benzel-Bush in NJ) on top of which they offered a 15% discount and a loaner.....went ahead and all seems OK. I asked for an inspection etc and they came up with zero needs...needless to say very happy but with bit of a lighter wallet.

While the car was on the lift at the Indy I noticed that the dust shields on each of the struts was brittle and cracked and there were small openings staring to develop between the accordion ridges.....according to the dealer and the Indy there is no replacement part for the dust shield..you have to buy the whole, very expensive part which seems like way overkill...everything is working just fine...fingers remain crossed



My question is twofold,
does anybody know of a source for the shields?
Should I be worried about them at all in the first place?

The car now has 1630 miles and will likely only accumulate a few thousand fair weather miles per year going forward....not my DD thus it will only see sunny weekends part highway part local driving

Grateful as always for this very engaged and helpful groups of MB fans and gear heads

MS

onewhippedpuppy

Congrats on the new purchase, that's like a new car! How about some pictures?

poppyboy

I would buy some Flex Seal liquid to seal the cracks. Seriously. Use sandpaper to rough up the surface for better adhesion, clean with isopropyl alcohol, then goup away.

Jason DeWilde

Just replaced my fuel pump and filter myself on my 05. Yes it is a pain but its very doable and if anyone wants to go this route let me know as it's still fresh in my mind.

onewhippedpuppy

One suggestion regarding the shock accordion covers, you can buy universal replacements from parts companies like Summit Racing and similar that clamp over the shock body. You would just need to measure the tube diameter and overall length. Because all these do is just prevent dust and dirt from entering the shock, a universal replacement might be a good option.

desired_speeds

The dust shields can be found on ebay and aliexpress for about $50 a corner.