considering purchase of high mileage 08 E63...
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Joined: Dec 2015
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2007 SL550
considering purchase of high mileage 08 E63...
Always been a BMW/Corvette guy as far as toys are concerned. I've had a couple of "normal" SLs in the past and am considering an 08 E63 with 183K miles on it. It'll be a weekend toy...ask is 7K. The car has an extensive maint. history with exclusively dealer visits up to 135k miles. My question is, all things being equal, should I be worried about the headbolt issue at this mileage? One would think this would have either been addressed or was not an issue. Done a lot of reading and it seems the headbolts seem to be the major concern. What are some major things to look for when I go check it out. Air suspension concerns me so that's already on the list. thanks for any input.
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Joined: Dec 2009
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From: Dhahran, KSA
2020 E 300 Coupe and 2019 GLS 400
Unless you update the bolts, it will always be a time-bomb as long as you own the car. I do not believe there is a "safe zone" for the bolts, if they did not break the first 200k miles, they might do the next 1 or 100k miles. It is just luck. Anyways, the M156 is a mighty engine. It is simple and easy to work on. Labour cost is fair, parts might be on the high side (cams, adjusters....).
This vid has all the info:
Good luck
This vid has all the info:
Good luck
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2007 Mercedes E63 AMG
request the owner provide a full service history from the dealer. head bolts may have been done. i know lifters for sure have to have been done to see mileage this high. if the car is really clean i wouldn't see any reason why you shouldn't buy the car....granted...its european and you understand how much it costs to maintain these cars. for your protection a compression test and leak down would be ideal as well just to ensure the health of the piston rings.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Dec 2015
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2007 SL550
So much for this thread...story of my recent toy search...sold in less than a day. I'm in the Chattanooga TN area and the car was in Atlanta. It seems the best cars are never close. Thanks for the responses, back to the drawing board
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2007 Mercedes E63 AMG
i concur
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Joined: Oct 2017
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From: Boerne TX
E63 and GL450, ML350 bluetec
I replaced my headbolts, which turned out to be different than the ones that have issues, they were stock 2008 headbolts, and not the "updated" version bolts. You really wouldnt be able to pull a valve cover and see if they were the ones with issues because the only difference is the size of the torques needed to remove the bolt. I think mine was a T55, the others are T60 and probably a reason they didn't have to replace them all and the reason so many E63s haven't blown up. They all are in a bath of antifreeze and if someone used tap water in the cooling system it could also have something to do with the heads popping off.
If you wanted to do the job yourself and had a garage and tools, it took me a weekend of taking my time. If I did it again it would be less than 8 hours, and that would include replacing the intake gasket which can leak. Parts were around $300 and tools needed were around $300 iirc.
I also added headers and a tune, which didn't gain me enough to tell people its worth it. I would keep it stock, or SC it if I was going to spend $$ on HP upgrades. Good luck.
If you wanted to do the job yourself and had a garage and tools, it took me a weekend of taking my time. If I did it again it would be less than 8 hours, and that would include replacing the intake gasket which can leak. Parts were around $300 and tools needed were around $300 iirc.
I also added headers and a tune, which didn't gain me enough to tell people its worth it. I would keep it stock, or SC it if I was going to spend $$ on HP upgrades. Good luck.
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I replaced my headbolts, which turned out to be different than the ones that have issues, they were stock 2008 headbolts, and not the "updated" version bolts. You really wouldnt be able to pull a valve cover and see if they were the ones with issues because the only difference is the size of the torques needed to remove the bolt. I think mine was a T55, the others are T60 and probably a reason they didn't have to replace them all and the reason so many E63s haven't blown up. They all are in a bath of antifreeze and if someone used tap water in the cooling system it could also have something to do with the heads popping off.
If you wanted to do the job yourself and had a garage and tools, it took me a weekend of taking my time. If I did it again it would be less than 8 hours, and that would include replacing the intake gasket which can leak. Parts were around $300 and tools needed were around $300 iirc.
I also added headers and a tune, which didn't gain me enough to tell people its worth it. I would keep it stock, or SC it if I was going to spend $$ on HP upgrades. Good luck.
If you wanted to do the job yourself and had a garage and tools, it took me a weekend of taking my time. If I did it again it would be less than 8 hours, and that would include replacing the intake gasket which can leak. Parts were around $300 and tools needed were around $300 iirc.
I also added headers and a tune, which didn't gain me enough to tell people its worth it. I would keep it stock, or SC it if I was going to spend $$ on HP upgrades. Good luck.
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2007 Mercedes E63 AMG
@Meeyatch1 i see you have noted you previously had a CLK63 BLK. Any comparisons you could share between a W211 E63 and the awesome CLK63 Black Series?
