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So my harmonic original balancer had the drive pulley for the supercharged come apart from it. I purchased a new balancer from FCP Euro and had a local shop install it (I also supplied a new crank pulley bolt). After getting my car back from the shop I made it about 5 miles before this happened (see photo below). It looks like the snout of the crankshaft has been damaged. Anyone had/seen a similar situation? I am assuming the worst with this one.
Last edited by Scottjuly79; 04-18-2020 at 07:31 PM.
Another case of improper torque of the bolt. Ask them how they did it and what specs they used BEFORE you tell them it fell off.
Seeing this really pisses me off because there is no reason for it ....AT ALL !!!!
Is the key still on the crank snout ? That's what's important.
Stormed into the repair shop and buddy Immediately says “that’s impossible, I torqued it on there with the impact gun until it wouldn’t spin anymore”.....
Wrong and they are responsible for it. All you have to do is look in ALLDATA like any good mechanic that never did a certain job before and you would know. That bolt requires a special holding fixture and around 250lbs of torque on a "Torque to yield" bolt. They owe you a new crank, pulley and labor on this job now since it was there failure to do it correctly.
The engine has to come out to do it and that opens a whole new can of worms if they are that stupid to begin with.
Just hoping to god that the keyway is still intact on the crank snout. I’m assuming the gouging towards the front end of the crank likely occurred as the pulley (and possibly key) walked their way off of the crank.
I’ll grab a picture of it once the radiator fan is out and I can get in there for a better look. I’m assuming the only way to repair a damaged keyway is to remove the crank and have it welded/machined. At that point I think it’s fair to say that the repair shop just bought themselves an E55 parts car because the repair is likely more costly than the value of the car.
There are cases where after careful prep, a file here a dremel there and pinning it you can fix it , , I did it where I carefully installed another key,pinned it and ARP bolt never a problem and it ran true , others have done it if you search on here , however , I don’t know if you want that guy doing it after what just happened
Bolt was not torqued down.
Key way and new pulley will be damaged.
Crank shaft will have to come out to fix it the right way.
You can try using the pin kit we sell to fix it without removing the crank but I don't think so it will work.
Stormed into the repair shop and buddy Immediately says “that’s impossible, I torqued it on there with the impact gun until it wouldn’t spin anymore”.....
I did not see this post. Jesus Christ. Does ANYONE in this industry RTFM?
Update: the installer is trying to blame the failure
on the crank pulley bolt which I had purchased through Amazon from a company called “Stuttgart Auto parts”. I was in there today and had my phone recording the conversation in which he clearly states that he used an impact breaker bar to install the bolt and that it produces “about enough torque, if not more” to install the crank pulley bolt. When asked why he did not follow Mercedes procedure for
torquing the bolt he says “I didn’t have any way of keeping the engine from turning” and also pulls out his standard torque wrench showing me that it only goes up to 60 ft/lbs... Attached is a photo of the bolt I purchased. Is anyone familiar with this particular vendor and/or the authenticity of their products? They seem to have quite an extensive offering of “genuine Mercedes” parts through both Amazon as well as EBay.
Stormed into the repair shop and buddy Immediately says “that’s impossible, I torqued it on there with the impact gun until it wouldn’t spin anymore”.....
That statement alone says that the bolt is no where near torqued down properly. Plus with a 60ft/lbs torque wrench and "about enough torque" is further indication that it wasn't done correctly. A genuine bolt is a genuine bolt. I haven't done one personally but I do know it's a bear of a job to torque that bolt down properly
I also noticed you're from BC? Let me know what shop this is...
Most shops don't have the proper tools for this job. It simply was not installed tight enough. You need about a 5 foot long 1" drive ratchet for this job. When tightening with the proper tool you really feel like the bolt is about to snap. That's how tight it feels when removing/installing. It's a stretch to yield bolt. The bolt you showed on Amazon looks like the OEM bolt and they said it's OEM. I replaced my crank pulley a few years ago with an ASP 175mm pulley....and yes I used that 5 foot long ratchet after my torque wrench to tighten to spec. Several years now, and no problems. I changed hundreds of similar pulley's in the early 2000's as MB had a problem with the pulley's separating and grinding into the oil pan and front timing cover on the 210 E-class, 163 M-class and others. I never had a failure. The problem you now face is that the shop you had install it doesn't seem competent to repair the new problem. I hope there isn't an MB dealership near you and you cheaped out on a back alley shop to save a few bucks. The skill level of dealership tech's does vary, but they have the financial resources to fix their screw-ups too.
Last edited by E55Greasemonkey; 04-20-2020 at 08:12 PM.
This topic can be chased all over the place but the bottom line is......Read post 4 again, that's all you need to know.
Get a lawyer, it sucks but there is nothing you can do at this point unless you pay out of pocket. Good luck.
Wrong and they are responsible for it. All you have to do is look in ALLDATA like any good mechanic that never did a certain job before and you would know. That bolt requires a special holding fixture and around 250lbs of torque on a "Torque to yield" bolt. They owe you a new crank, pulley and labor on this job now since it was there failure to do it correctly.
The engine has to come out to do it and that opens a whole new can of worms if they are that stupid to begin with.
Have to be careful. Depending on the year, mileage, and condition their insurance company may be able to total the car out given the extensive repairs required now. They don't have to repair it.
2004 E55 AMG, 2006 CLS63, 2004 ML55, 2014 E350 sport
Holy **** ***** did the shop admit to torquing it with a rattle gun??
WTF???
I dont know the torque spec on these engines but I have done a S320 CDI before and those bolts are done up RIDICULOUSLY TIGHT.
I had pipe extensions on thick solid power bars and a home made welded crank/pulley brace and was lifting the entire front end of a S class clean off the ground and was still struggling to get it to the 180deg mark or whatever it was after torqing to some ridiculous number. A mechanics shop rattle gun isnt even going to come remotely close to this unless its one of those latest 1500nm jobbies and even then its not the way to do it.
Last edited by austingtir; 04-21-2020 at 08:53 PM.
My first visit in there he says impact gun, then when I returned the second time (with my phone recording the conversation) he says impact bar and then walks me over to his tool box and show me what looks
like some sort of 3’ long bar with about a 30’ bend halfway down it and an open ended wrench style working end. Apparently it has some sort
of an impact function to it. I don’t see any possible way the it could produce more than 50-60 ft/lbs without turning the engine.
2004 E55 AMG, 2006 CLS63, 2004 ML55, 2014 E350 sport
Originally Posted by Scottjuly79
My first visit in there he says impact gun, then when I returned the second time (with my phone recording the conversation) he says impact bar and then walks me over to his tool box and show me what looks
like some sort of 3’ long bar with about a 30’ bend halfway down it and an open ended wrench style working end. Apparently it has some sort
of an impact function to it. I don’t see any possible way the it could produce more than 50-60 ft/lbs without turning the engine.
If he doesnt have a Tool to lock the pulley in place to the ground or similar thats the dead give away and the fact he didnt show you that is telling.
And from what you've said he's clearly just rattled it on there.
Last edited by austingtir; 04-21-2020 at 08:51 PM.
The shop has admitted fault and since purchased a new pulley, oil seal, woodruff key, etc my installation into the car. My problem: the condition of the keyway (see attached photo). What are everyone’s thoughts/opinions as to whether simply reinstalling a new key and pulley into this keyway in its current condition is going to hold together or not?
First off they are full of s**t thinking they are going to fix it. The timing gear has to come off to get a new key in there and clean up the crank. How do they plan to do that ??? Front cover has to come off to do it correctly. And what austingir said.....extra key in there to help the issue. Everyone thinks the key is there to hold it in place...and it does to a certain extent. So an extra keyway does help but it is the bolt torque or tightness that really holds it in place, which you have unfortunatly have seen.
The timing gear has to come off to do it correctly.How do they plan on doing that????
I literally just did this to fix my front seal, and while I have a Snap-on torque wrench that goes up to 250 ft-lbs (which does angles) it required my 1/2" breaker bar, and the 5' long pipe handle from my jack to properly make the 90 degree turn of the bolt. I just marked it and rotated it after the initial torque.
You need to fix the keyway properly in my opinion.
04-18-2020, 07:19 PM
