Not my car
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,418
Likes: 194
From: America
1999 C43 AMG, 2005 E55 Wagon
M113k owners are just sour there was a new baby brother that was born. The M156 with all of its part revisions is a solid motor. The only part that didn't see revision is the cam adjusters, but these also are also an issue on other engines that have camshaft phasers with different design. Toyota seems to be the most reliable but also see failures.
I also still have my 55 swapped C43 mainly because the 204 C63 is an expensive time bomb by comparison. I would LOVE to pick up one of those too. But you can't escape the fact that you can buy a neglected, abused, high miles C43/C55 and the engine will be fine 99% if the time. But a similar condition C63 will be a very risky bet. One popped up for sale earlier in the year for 7k with 200k miles and I was so tempted to snag it but I just couldn't muster the guts. I've personally bought 2 C43's in similar condition and both had their issues but the motors have zero issues outside leaky valve covers.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,159
Likes: 160
2006 E55
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 6,020
Likes: 532
From: Alexandria, VA
07 E63 AMG, 10 C63 AMG, 07 E63 Designo, 07 E350, 09 C300, 07 C230
Lord knows I have put a ton of money into the E63 over the years, to include engine work. So, you're absolutely right any engine can be made more reliable, it just depends how much money you are willing to throw at the issue.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,057
Likes: 341
From: NJ
2009 SL63 AMG
The two main failure points tracing back to early M156s (head bolts and lifters) are components that AMG improved upon for the M159 and then applied to M156s from that point forward.
Apply those improved components to early M156s like many do and voila, those failure points are eliminated.
Later-year M156s, like all M156s, are also still affected by fuel injectors, corroding intake manifolds and cam adjusters.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,159
Likes: 160
2006 E55
Except I wouldn't say that. The only "flawed logic" here is yours for attempting to twist a specific comment about a specific platform into a broad generalization that has zero relevance to this discussion.
The two main failure points tracing back to early M156s (head bolts and lifters) are components that AMG improved upon for the M159 and then applied to M156s from that point forward.
Apply those improved components to early M156s like many do and voila, those failure points are eliminated.
Later-year M156s, like all M156s, are also still affected by fuel injectors, corroding intake manifolds and cam adjusters.
The two main failure points tracing back to early M156s (head bolts and lifters) are components that AMG improved upon for the M159 and then applied to M156s from that point forward.
Apply those improved components to early M156s like many do and voila, those failure points are eliminated.
Later-year M156s, like all M156s, are also still affected by fuel injectors, corroding intake manifolds and cam adjusters.
Member
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 98
Likes: 18
From: Ontario, Canada
CLS63 AMG, E92 M3
Haha, yea, OK, sure. Tell that to all the early production M156 car owners that went through all that headache to improve their motors (we aren't talking about a minor update, we are talking heavy motor work here) and I'm willing to bet all my vehicles they'd disagree with you about any M156 being reliable after all those changes. Give me a break with those BS comments...
I mean I did all that work on my 2007 m156 which already had 139k miles, and definitely feel the car is still very reliable and can go many more miles still.
Don't really understand all the hate for this engine, I had to do rod bearings and many other expensive preventative fixes on my BMW M3's which are much more involved and costly than the work on the m156. Even still, I love both the S65 and the M156.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,057
Likes: 341
From: NJ
2009 SL63 AMG
Haha, yea, OK, sure. Tell that to all the early production M156 car owners that went through all that headache to improve their motors (we aren't talking about a minor update, we are talking heavy motor work here) and I'm willing to bet all my vehicles they'd disagree with you about any M156 being reliable after all those changes. Give me a break with those BS comments...
Which owners are you referring to? If you had any current experience with the platform, you'd be aware of the numerous early examples out there today with 150-200K+ miles on them...some even with the original head bolts.
My M156 car is an '09, so Year 3 of production. No failure, thankfully, nor any symptoms, but I replaced those components as a preventive measure. No headaches either, just knowing what I was getting into and taking some steps to keep my experience enjoyable.
You're also missing the point. No one is claiming that the early M156 engines came from the factory as reliable as the later ones. However, the fact of the matter is that one can clearly make an early M156 engine as reliable as one later in the production run. Head bolts and lifters are indeed nothing small, but nothing that crazy either.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,159
Likes: 160
2006 E55
Which owners are you referring to? If you had any current experience with the platform, you'd be aware of the numerous early examples out there today with 150-200K+ miles on them...some even with the original head bolts.
My M156 car is an '09, so Year 3 of production. No failure, thankfully, nor any symptoms, but I replaced those components as a preventive measure. No headaches either, just knowing what I was getting into and taking some steps to keep my experience enjoyable.
You're also missing the point. No one is claiming that the early M156 engines came from the factory as reliable as the later ones. However, the fact of the matter is that one can clearly make an early M156 engine as reliable as one later in the production run. Head bolts and lifters are indeed nothing small, but nothing that crazy either.
cheers!
MB World Stories
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Verdad Gallardo
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine
Verdad Gallardo
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction
Verdad Gallardo
Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping
Verdad Gallardo
10 Most Reliable Mercedes-Benz Models You Can Buy Used
Verdad Gallardo
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,793
Likes: 44
From: San Diego
2004 E55
FWIW, I think the M113K has it's own issues, but I think it gets underreported because a lot of owners simply don't do the maintenance, or sell the cars before they become too problematic. That being said, the issues are mostly non-destructive so I'd guess a lot of M113K car owners simply keep driving and are none the wiser.
The harmonic balancer is a big one that's starting to show up a lot these days as the cars continue to age. The supercharger pully portion of the balancer is becoming delaminated and best case just falls off and takes the belt with it, worse case blows through the radiator and other things in that direction.
The harmonic balancer is a big one that's starting to show up a lot these days as the cars continue to age. The supercharger pully portion of the balancer is becoming delaminated and best case just falls off and takes the belt with it, worse case blows through the radiator and other things in that direction.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2022
Posts: 1,917
Likes: 499
From: The Netherlands
2005 CLS55 AMG W219 C219
@bobgodd Amen! I just had the balancer replaced after I detected a wobble which I didnt feel comfortable about. In the end the wobble was normal (when stationary with low revs), as the new pulley also showed that behaviour.
More info (and pics) in my picture heavy build thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/c219/8443...ml#post8641143
More info (and pics) in my picture heavy build thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/c219/8443...ml#post8641143
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 6,020
Likes: 532
From: Alexandria, VA
07 E63 AMG, 10 C63 AMG, 07 E63 Designo, 07 E350, 09 C300, 07 C230
I know for a fact that this C63 owner harmonic balancer came apart, eating into the engine cover. But he had other issues as well, and that is why Eddie had the heads off, and the upper and lower oil pan off as well.
