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I ordered the pump, thermostat housing, all hoses, idlers/tensioner, belt and even a radiator. I will just have to get the A/C refilled. It looks like the job will be much easier without the radiator in place. Might even pull the headlights for maxiumum room. My buddy who runs a shop says it's alwats best to remove more stuff, creating more work than it is to spend more time being frustrated.
Got the turbo coolant lines free from both turbos but getting the old ones out and new ones in on the driver side should be fun. Sure enough, the thermostat broke off from the housing. Glad I am doing everything at once.
I did see those and they look fantastic but the plastic on these isn't what failed on my car, It was the rubbber coupler on the passenger lower line. And it only failed at 100k miles. I am just too deep into this repair to spend another $300 in parts. If you want to do a discount for me to post on IG etc, I might be interested. I have a decent following on there. RVAE38
Seems I likely received an M278 water pump so I am going to MB to see if I can get the correct one along with the oil filter housing gaskets and thermostat seal.
This is not my product. I ran across it on Facebook on the m157 forum. A decent forum if you’ve not been there. I’m glad to see somebody made the product though since the parts are not much more than OEM lines. I’m sure many of us have been thinking about a solution cause I’ve even seen random mechanics on YouTube say how they wanted to manufacture something better.
it’s generally not that the plastic fails in operation it’s that it fails during any sort of mechanical work that requires a remove and replace after they are about 50,000 miles old, sometimes less. The coolant “valves”at the back of the engine absolutely can fail at anytime so maybe they will make them next.
and op, i get it, it’s a lot of items you’re working on and i keep things stock. You’ve got a fantastically rare spec that I’m hoping you plan on keeping a super long time like me.
Last edited by Baltistyle; Dec 3, 2025 at 10:50 PM.
I think you put out the silicone option I used on my 550.....yes? Brilliant
no, not mine, this is billet connections for the front turbo coolant lines. Nicely done and not much more than stock. Personally, I’ve already replaced all of my lines, but it would be something I would consider if I have to go in again.
some people do pre-tap but Op, double check to make sure that you’re not supposed to put new thread forming bolts through those holes…as that’s likely how it’s designed.
I do see how these would be a possible replacement for a failing line without removing them from the turbo. In hind sight, I may have gone that route but I already had mine out when I saw them. Very cool to have the support either way!
Those holes do not need to be tapped. It will makeose sense once it goes back together. I saw the same thing, thought the same thing. I was wrong (as are you). That pump is 100% what it should be, how it should be.
Thanks to @BDC90 these images were in the thread from when I did mine.
Last edited by OldManAndHisCar; Dec 4, 2025 at 07:48 AM.
And, this is what I put on the car after cutting up the brand new MB hoses. I promise, it will last far longer and not be brittle - ever. Cost? Pennies.
I ended up getting the oil filter housing gasket, seal, the thermostat insert and the plugs for the water pump. So the idler pulley on the water pump self taps?
The water pump is in along with all of the coolant lines. I just have to get the bolt in on the driver side. I mixed up the bolts. Does anyone know if the turbo water line bolt on each side is shorter or longer? MOST of the bolts are two sizes. Short, medium and then a few much longer ones. I am not sure if the turbo coolant hose flanges use the short or medium. I believe it's medium.
@RVAE34 One part I didn’t see in your very thorough list is the expansion tank. It looks like you already have it out, and in my experience it’s one of those “not if but when” items. Since you’re already deep into the cooling system, it might be worth doing now. FCP has them for around $70–$125 depending on the version.To that end… and I don’t mean to hijack your thread… I’m probably about to follow the same path because I’ve had a string of cooling-system issues pop up recently. I’m at about 57k miles, and back in mid-October, after about an hour of driving (with some of that being a bit spirited ), I noticed my oil temp suddenly drop into the blue for several minutes. A week or two later, I got a P0128 code. I cleared it and it hasn’t come back yet, but I’m assuming the thermostat is on its way out.
Then last week I got a “Check Coolant Level” message. When I went to investigate, I found some crusty dried coolant along the side of the expansion tank. I rushed to order one during the Cyber Monday sale and it just arrived from FCP, so I’ll probably be replacing mine this weekend.
I also found that my intercooler reservoir needs to be replaced, but FCP doesn’t seem to definitively list an intercooler-loop expansion tank for the W212 E63S. I think it’s the one below… it shows compatibility for other 5.5 TT M157 motors (S63, G63, and CL63) but not the E for whatever reason. I may just buy it and return it if it’s not the correct one, but I suspect it is.
So again, in the near future I’ll likely be doing exactly what you’re doing. If you can supplement the info already floating around with any lessons learned or tips from your teardown, it would definitely be appreciated.
I did the expansion tank a few months ago as it was leaking. Replaced with an OEM unit.
I just cannot figure out if the driver side turbo bolt is the short or medium length. I can get the medium length started by hand but then can't get my 1/4" E10 on it. I can thumb it in a bit but not enough to get the socket on and the wrench hits the turbo lines. When I try the short one, I cannot get it started with my finger at all. I can get it guided in place but when I try to get the socket on it, it just falls down so I am assuming it's the longer of the two bolts. I may just cut one of my 1/4" e10's down enough to get it started and then use one of the others to finish it. That and getting the bottom bolt on the clamp that holds the two driver side lines together seem like the hardest bits to finish now.
I am used to working on older cars with much more room and less stuff. I do enjoy working on this car overall and take great satisfaction in knowing I have done nearly all the work on this car over the last 6 years myself. I do appreciate Mercedes engineering overall.
All the hard stuff is done except for the driver side frame rail heat shield! Getting those two front bolts in is kicking my ***. So close now and cannot wait to drive it again! It's been sitting on the lift for months from dreading the work.
Great job. Slow and steady wins the race with these vehicles. It seems like a big battle when doing the jobs but ultimately it's not too hard.
Its hard to chime in in real time, but if you have problems holding the bolts in sockets like that turbo bolt, you can always use a dap of silicone to "glue"the bolt in the socket so it doesn't fall out. I remember thinking the same thing on that same bolt...hopefully you used a long thin ratchet like I showed.
Onwards to the next thing though it looks like you got a ton done. If you have not done them, expect the heater "valves" at the back of the engine to be next.
Thank you! I found that car when I was 13-14. Took over 10 years for me to convince the guy to sell to my dad who got his first 240z back in 1971. My dad has 5 of them but recently bought a 993 and didn't have space. He didn't want to sell one either so he gifted this one to me. Which is the car that inspired my most significant build that won best in show from meguires at SEMA 2021.
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