Question brought up from the recent thread "New E55 owner" by HBR.....

How would I go about convincing my dealer to replace my supercharger clutch pack at 42K miles.
I heard about the claims "nothing is wrong since no engine codes" regarding failing intercooler pump.....
My car is a little sluggish, and I'm sure this would help it..... thanks!

PM Marcus Frost...he had it done on his 2005 E55. He might have some insight on the right tact in getting this done.

Only thing that my tech told me is that you have to keep harrassing them that the squeak is really bothering you. Also say it's VERY harsh upon engagement. May have to bug them a few times.

New clutch supposed to improve squeak and engagement problems.

I've complained about harsh engagement to my SA the last 2 times I took my car in. They test drove it both times and said it was fine.

My car is now making a noise after startup that goes away once I start driving. It sounds like it is coming from the front part of the Supercharger. Its a whirring/low volume siren sound. I wonder if this might be the SC clutch bearings? I hate to bring too much attention to this area of the motor since I have a Renntech pulley.

You tell him there is an intermittent ringing from the s/c pulley at idle, and that you noticed some "schmutz" on the underside of your engine cover. Tell him you have a feeling that the s/c bearing is going out and tell him that you read a technical bulletin on the subject, and if memory serves it was P-B-09.50/25. Ask him to go look that up with you and have him print it out.

You need to work on the relationship with your SA. Once that is established, they will pretty much do anything you ask within reason since they get paid by MB to do it anyways. I just told my SA about the issues and even printed out the forum posts here of others with similar problems. Told him it was 'chirping' which seems to be the magic word with them. Took it in later to get the new IC pump replaced and just gave them the MB part # for the pump and said it was losing power after a few hard accelleration attempts.

jpohl,

I was able to get mine replaced because most importantly, I had a great relationship with my service advisor (like, been to the drag strip with him and his GSX-R) and secondly, I actually did have a pretty rough engagement with my supercharger clutch. I think I would have been able to get it replaced regardless of who my SA was, but I got the updated '06 mechanism because of my SA.

-m

You had better get that pulley off before they look at the blower!!!

I had mine replaced t the 07 one from the SL. The car is much smoother. Just bring your S.A. a bottle of some Dom and tell him you want the one from the 07 SL put on Stat

Did you have the chirp too or just the rough engagement? I have very rough engagement but no chirp (probably b/c I have '06). I had no luck with the previous SA, but then he got fired and I have a new one ... trying to get on his good side now ...

josh,

Rough engagement and a chirp, but it was the rough engagement that was the problem that I think he wrote up in his paperwork.

-m

Thanks ... clearly I need to invest in some good champagne or cigars or something for my new SA. I took my car to two dealers in the DC area and they both gave me the 'they all do that' with respect to rough S/C engagement

josh,

I actually found my SA through another forum and got to know him that way. Not all SAs are created equal and you might want to spend some time talking with other DC MB guys and finding out if any of them have an SA they know or could recommend. Trying to charm just any old SA might not work as well as you would hope it would.

Good luck.

Marcus

That part number is for the clutch pack - Or the bearing? Are they the same thing? I'm going tomorrow AM..... thanks!

Rough engagement and chirp it is.....
Taking it over in the AM, thank you!

That is the technical bulletin number... it replaces the whole assembly, bearing, pulley and clutch

Thank you!
Got an appt for Wed, no prob........

What is the part no. for the IC-pump.

Jpohl402... see post #8

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ighlight=chirp

You're probably right but I doubt I take the pulley off. Hopefully my dealership won't kill my warranty.
Its too much work to remove it and then reinstall it after I get it back. I can't pinpoint where the noise is coming from but after the car has been started for a few minutes the noise quits. If it is the SC clutch bearings then I'm sure they could claim that the larger pulley caused more tension on the belt and wore the bearing prematurely.

I actually think that is a valid result. Is your car ECU tuned as well. Be careful taking it to just any service rep (SA). It can get ugly for very little reason if you come accross the wrong person and as much as our cars need attention, you may be rolling the dice.

I'm not saying to do anything illegal or immoral, but it is nice to have an SA, or even better a Tech, that you can communicate with. Then, the discussions about mods and what is covered and not is a rational one. If you get an SA with an agenda, it can be bad. I dunno how much warranty you have left (mine has 100,000), but just thought I'd drop 60 cents on you.

If it gets to the level of Service Manager...forget about it...they are already getting the spikes to crucify you (all the while smiling and foregoing lubrication)...good luck!

I appreciate it!