alextaylor29

Question for you all. Started the car this morning in the garage and it started making a very loud, "Clacking" sound. Turned it off, started it up again and same sound.

Thinking something could be wrong I turned the car off, popped the hood and removed the engine shrowd. It looks like the bearings to the supercharger have gone bad as I can see right into them and the little ring that I'm assumed held them in has fallen off.

Everything still turns works, but I'm guessing the bearings will need to be replaced. As it's going to be towed the dealer here in a few and I do have an extended warranty, what am I looking at as far as repairs?

I searched the forum and some people here said they just repack the bearings and its no big deal and others said you'll need a whole new supercharger.

Any idea which it is?

Thanks as always.

Alex

shardul

iTrader: (1)

You can go either way, replace the bearing or you can replace the whole s/c clutch assembly. Since it is under warranty they may choose the latter

alextaylor29

Thanks Shardul. Just curious what's the price/price difference parts/labor? Assuming the latter approach is much more expensive of course

Also for a car with 60K miles is this fairly normal, "Wear and tear?" or rather unusal?

Thanks again.

Alex

pearlpower

There is more labor involved in replacing a bearing as the clutch must still come off. Easier to pop on a new clutch, more expensive also.

shardul

iTrader: (1)

Clutch assembly 900 to 1200
Bearing 80 to 120
Labor to replace clutch assembly about 1 hrs
Labor to replace bearing about 1.5 hrs

pearlpower

You can buy the bearings direct from China, the last time I bought 5 for around $10.00 each. Shipping was expensive. Those were original Nachi double seal bearings also, a lot of old discussion on this topic already. Please no PMs from anyone on whom I bought them from. Available on Ebay nowadays.

alextaylor29

Perfect, thanks everyone this has been tremendously helpful.

Alex

alextaylor29

Just heard back from the dealer and they're going to replace the bearings and the entire S/C clutch assembly. (Thanks for recommedning this by the way) Also I had them check out the fuel sending units under the back seats and their going to replace the drivers side rear one along with the entire gas tank!

As I have the extended warranty all of this *should* (knock on wood) be covered under the extended warranty (minus a $50 co-pay), but with parts labor from a dealer all in, I imagine this will run $4K-$5k?

I was happy to hear they'll replace the entire gas tank as I hear that's really the full fix here, but I thank my lucky stars that I have an extended warranty!

For the 2.5 years I've had it (bought it with only 23K miles on it from one owner), this will bring the total repair bills (including this one) to about $15K, with parts and labor all in. So it's averaging around $7K per year in maintenance (not counting mods), which I hear is about average/par for the course. Given I drive the beast daily 100 miles a day to and from work, does this sound about right?

As this is the first MB I've ever owned, I still catch my breath sometimes with the repair/maintence items and E55 requires. If I had to pay for all of these out of my pocket (and I make good money), the wifey would have told me to sell it months ago.

So note to all future MB owners, always buy and extended warranty! If you can't afford it, by another brand!

OK I'm going to go drink some water now.

Alex

dgkalis

thats crzy...

WHat all has gone wrong with your car?

7k a year in maintenance ??

vntgspd

Glad it's all working out for you, but this is the kind of thing that mis-leads many into thinking that the cost of ownership for these cars is prohibitive. I don't mind as it destroys resale and I would not own one if I couldn't buy one for under $30K.

Speaking of the S/C repair, this could easily have been fixed for a $40 bearing and 1.5 hours of labor. Or, at an Indy figure $80 bearing plus $150 labor equals $230. Nothing wrong with a new clutch, but I highly doubt you needed one at your stated mileage.

Can't speak to the fuel tank issue as there are no specifics stated.

I suspect the maintenance "costs" for those with warranties are much higher than those without because many questionable repairs are done and the dealers are happy to oblige and fill their pockets. I think that the non-warranty cars with enthusiast owners are arguably still maintained to a high standard, just at a lower cost.

Don't take this the wrong way cuz I would have done the same as you if I had the warranty, but I'm just trying to provide some balance here for the benefit of the forums. Congrats on getting it sorted, I'm sure it will be great to get back in the seat!!

alextaylor29

Vntgspd,

Great points all around and I do agree that taking mine into the dealer, vs. and indy shop is kind of, "Asking for it," so you're right and I agree.

Still if I do have the warranty and the dealer does the work it's paid for, why not right? It's not as if I'm doing something wrong per se, or that my car is a, "Lemon" of sorts. I'm basically choosing to go through the most expensive route and after 100K miles (if I still have the car) and my warranty expires I will find a local indy shop that can do work for much cheaper.

The gas tank think apparently is a well documented issue with E55's (Tons of threads on this), whose symptom is heavy gas smell inside the car. It apparently is the "Final fix" for this issue but it's hard to get MB or an extended warranty company to pay for it apparently.

The other dynamic here is by taking it to a dealer, my sense is the warranty company is more likely to approve the repairs as they know them/trust them vs. an indy shop who they might not trust.

Talking to the Service Manager here is he talks to the adjusters daily from all different warranty companies and they have a level of rapport that get's things approved more quickly/completely.

So I guess that's the other dynamic in play here as well.

Thanks again for the feedback!

Alex

vntgspd

Agreed. I think we are on the same page.

Happy motoring!!

alextaylor29

Thanks! Can't wait to get the beast back, my V6 FWD impala loaner/rental, just isn't the same. Not sure why, but it's not.

Alex

alextaylor29

Update, my extended warranty company (CNA) will cover everything parts labor for a brand new gas tank, left side sending unit, new bearings and SC clutch assembly. All parts are from MB and all labor done by MB.

All in they're covering $4.2K.

I should have the beast back tomorrow.

Whoohooo!

Alex

alextaylor29

My E55 is ready to be picked up, yay! Putting in the new gas tank took 7 hours of labor by itself...wow.

Anyway, all ended up well and thanks for the advice/guidance/counsel as always.

The beast is back!

Alex