2007 C55 Estate, laundry list

[Dammit]

I shall make some inquiries, thanks for finding that.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Would "base" mean saloon? Unsure if the saloon and the estate had different sub-frames.

A2093500008 Mercedes-Benz - Cross-Member

www.fixparts-online.com

Be careful, the C55 estate was never sold in the USA. The subframe could be the same as a saloon , no real need for it to be different but you never know with MB ! AFAIK the C55 subframes get a bit rusty but are not know for cracking, so a 'simple' strip and powdercoat/paint would do the job.

 

[Dammit]

I spoke to the Indy, apparently these parts are no longer available at all - not even from the factory. Does anyone know of a refurbishment service for sub-frames?

 

[Petrol Pete]

Take it off and any sand blast/powder coat company will deal with it, you will have to strip it down first obviously. I have seen a German company that supplies them fully built up, but from (hazy) memory they only had frames for much older MB's.

 

[Will]

The obvious place would be some kind of classic car restoration type business, they should have contacts for somewhere who can strip and refurbish etc. It’s just crazy to have to do that on a 2007 car, it’s the sort of thing you would expect on a 30 year old modern classic.

If you could get a good used one to prepare ready I would be tempted as then you can take to the garage for a simple swap, otherwise your car will be tied up on a vehicle ramp for several days whilst the refurb work is carried out.

Depends on your long term plans for the car I guess as to how far you go with this?

 

[Petrol Pete]

Will, it does not have to be done on a 2007 car, I have the same car as the OP with 148K miles on it, the sub frame is ugly but a very long,long way from being dangerously corroded, the OP just want's it done.

What is crazy for a 2006/7 German built car that cost £50K new is the surface rust that appears on all 4 wheel arches . Pi$$ poor paint. Everyone goes on how MB galvanised their bodies after year X , but they must have missed the 2005/6/7 C class !

Not my car , but this is what happens if it is not caught early enough. It is a well known problem, panel suppliers sell pressed sheet parts to weld in here after cutting this carp out. terrible quality.

 

[Will]

I get that Pete, just that as per all the usual corrosion sorts of issues, most of the older MB cars from the 80s onwards with similar subframe/suspension arrangements didn’t need subframe work at that sort of age. I was first into early/mid eighties W201s when they were older than that in the early/mid 00s and they were never rusty enough to warrant removing the subframe etc.

As you say, they were supposed to be on top of rust by then but don’t they have the same problems with W204 subframes now anyway?

 

[Dammit]

My view is that rust won't get better on it's own - therefore a rusty subframe is going to have to be tackled at some point, and I'd always rather tackle it sooner than later. I had all four wheel arches attended to on my car shortly after I bought it, and had them paint the bonnet and leading edge of the roof at the same time.

 

[Petrol Pete]

I hear the 204 subframes are just as bad , if not worse.

Dammit the only P/N I can find for the subframe is A20303506900 . There seem to be a fair few available on Russian based sites, none as cheap as the USA one...shipping ,tax ??

It would be interesting to cross reference that number with run of the mill Class S203 models. probably a few of those in breakers yards.

 

[Will]

Is the subframe different on the ‘55s to the cooking 203s for the beefier diff etc?

 

[Petrol Pete]

No idea Will, The list of things different on an C55 compared to the cooking 203's is a long and well documented one , but I (for one ) have never seen the rear sub frame itself mentioned...but it can not be discounted without proper investigation before buying a used one on line. The USA one on this thread has a very different P/N to the one I have seen on Catalog Mercedes. Could be superseded , who knows ?

 

[Dammit]

The part number for a C55 rear sub-frame is A2093500008, and Dronsfield (with whom I spoke this morning) said that it's unique to the C-Class AMG platform.

They had one in for breaking, but the rear subframe had already gone.

 

[AMGeed]

Checking the Part# you gave above, it appears the saloon and estate have the same sub frame. What is better is that it is also found on the W209 CLK55 which will widen your search for a used part.

The 203.076 is a C55 saloon and 203.276 is the C55 estate.
The 209.376 is the CLK55 coupe, the 209.476 is the CLK55 convertable

Part number	Designation	Market	Assortment class	Catalog type	Model	Mod. des. => Sales des.	Catalog
A 2093500008	AXLE CARRIER	Europe North America Japan	1: Car	FG - Chassis	203	203.076 => C 55 AMG	69N
A 2093500008	AXLE CARRIER	Europe North America Japan	1: Car	FG - Chassis	203	203.276 => C 55 AMG	69P
A 2093500008	AXLE CARRIER	Europe North America Japan	1: Car	FG - Chassis	209	209.376 => CLK 55 AMG	69M
A 2093500008	AXLE CARRIER	Europe North America Japan	1: Car	FG - Chassis	209	209.476 => CLK 55 AMG

 

[Petrol Pete]

Dammit, you do not need a new sub-frame, just get the one you have re furbished.

 

[Dammit]

Email from PCS this morning - they will (pending confirmation of the condition) refurbish the existing subframe.

 

[Dammit]

I just went back through my history of the car (which I've tried to keep as complete as possible), my expenditure on the car to date has been £11,800 purchase price, then £11,900 on maintenance and so forth. I bought the car in March 2018.

 

[AltonAnt]

I just went back through my history of the car (which I've tried to keep as complete as possible), my expenditure on the car to date has been £11,800 purchase price, then £11,900 on maintenance and so forth. I bought the car in March 2018.

Not great VFM but at least you know you have a great car and know the condition. I suppose if you consider what you could buy new for that then it is an easy choice

These are someone's top buys

• Volkswagen Golf 1.5 TSI EVO GT DSG auto
• Audi A1 Sportback 30 TFSI S Line
• Mercedes A180 Sport
• Skoda Karoq 1.5 TSI 150 SE L
• Mazda MX-5 184PS Sport Nav+
• Nissan Qashqai DIG-T 160 N-Connecta

 

[Petrol Pete]

Phew ! that's a big spend. I do not think that is typical on a C55, certainly not on mine ...yet. I could easily see my spend going up dramatically when I decide to get the beginning of the rust issues sorted, the car has 148K miles of 'wear' on the paint so it might be a complete re-spray, who knows ? I will leave that decision to the experts.

All of the niggly little things that have 'gone wrong' on the car I have fixed myself as well as replacing items like brakes/pads etc , all easy jobs and no need to bother my indi with them. which keeps cost's down.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Not great VFM but at least you know you have a great car and know the condition. I suppose if you consider what you could buy new for that then it is an easy choice

These are someone's top buys

• Volkswagen Golf 1.5 TSI EVO GT DSG auto
• Audi A1 Sportback 30 TFSI S Line
• Mercedes A180 Sport
• Skoda Karoq 1.5 TSI 150 SE L
• Mazda MX-5 184PS Sport Nav+
• Nissan Qashqai DIG-T 160 N-Connecta

Great post. A lot of drivers of these will (might if they are lucky) see a C55 estate go by and think 'I wonder what that is like to drive..' No one driving a C55 estate would ever say the same if they spotted one (of the tens of thousands out there) of the cars on your list

 

[GP801]

PCS refurbished the rear subframe on our 25 year old S124. It needed to come off for a rear end refresh of all bushes etc and brake pipes. It had never been touched before as far as I know.They did a great job on it and I am sure they will sort yours for you. Good luck.