CL500 W215 ‘Paid In Full’ Style

[Benz2fast4u]

I have to agree, perfect from every angle. The pictures below is mine from the day I bought it, sadly PX for my W213, do I prefer the W213 to the W211, although W213 is a pretty good looking car, but hand on heart the W211 looked better from the outside, and the W213 just shades it from the inside. As for the driving dynamics, can’t make my mind up, probably equal.

As the W213 was my fist Mercedes, and had it for 8 years, i have a soft spot for it. Learned a couple of days ago, that after PX, a month or so later was involve in an accident, became Cat B and has since been scrapped.

That's a fantastic looking W211 you had, looks in mint condition. . which engine did it have?

 

[Benz17]

That's a fantastic looking W211 you had, looks in mint condition. . which engine did it have?

E280, 3.0 V6

 

[renault12ts]

Agreed, the 211 is the best looking E class...but the 215 is possibly one of the best looking MBs of any class.

 

[Cxly]

Just came across pictures of your car.. look absolute stunning , and them alloys is the icing on top

Thanks man! Much appreciated!

 

[glenn500]

The list of the following jobs I plan to do on the CL:

- Powder Coat the Calipers.
- Sort the suspension level (Drivers side is sitting higher than the passenger)
- Respray both doors and roof.
- New Drivers Seat
- New Drivers door card
- Wires in drivers door need soldering as the speakers are intermittent
- Paint Correction & Ceramic coating
- Full Detail
- service
- Install sun roof motor.
- Sort passenger rear light bulb (Corroded)

And I think that’s it really.

Done a few other bits but aren’t really worth mentioning.

I do believe I’m running quite a unique tyre setup on the rear being 20 x 30 x 295 with the slightest bit of rub - and when I say rub, this is motorway bumps on the lowest setting. On level 1, there is no rub at all meaning, I may of found an aggressive sweet spot for the W215 chassis?? Also, ride quality is as smooth as hell for those wondering!

Hello
I've just purchased a 2001 cl500 so am reading this with interest.
Love the wheels too. I have 295/30r20 tyres on the rear too.
Alloys need redoing at some point in the spring.

 

[SL03WLY]

Fresh Windscreen! No more chips, pits or light scratches now.

I think I will put on a chameleon tint next week or the week after. View attachment 114436

Wanted to ask, which company done your windscreen replacement?

 

[Cxly]

Wanted to ask, which company done your windscreen replacement?

Hey mate,

Sorry for the late reply - been away for the holidays and got stuck straight back into work.

It was AutoWindscreens, it was through the insurance company and the guy was pretty knowledgable with this generations Mercedes which was a bonus.

 

[Cxly]

Quick Update:

Haven’t been able to do as much as I’ve wanted due to falling ill and being in the hospital for a while but, since being back I’ve started cracking on with a few bits.

Started off with the exhaust, being as obsessive as I am with detailing, I’m embarrassed to have not done the exhaust properly like this because….. wow. The before and after is crazy. It really brings more to the back end of this car.

 

[Cxly]

Followed this up with a maintenance wash and super light coating of spray on wax.

The results are impressive if I say so myself ahaha.

 

[Cxly]

Also, had a weekend trip to Manchester with the girlfriend for Valentines weekend - on the drive back I started to hear a slight noise whilst braking so pulled over but couldn’t notice or feel anything on the disk (was in the dark with heavy rain too) so, carried on but kept it slow. Next day I had another look and took the pads out to see them almost as flat as a pancake The sensors didn’t even alert me to it.

Anyway, I got a new set of some Brembos but, I did try looking for some better pads such as EBC but everything was “Not Available”.

But take a look at the before and after.


Also, I WILL be getting the brakes powder coated in the warmer months, please don’t judge me ahaha.

 

[Cxly]

Also, had a weekend trip to Manchester with the girlfriend for Valentines weekend - on the drive back I started to hear a slight noise whilst braking so pulled over but couldn’t notice or feel anything on the disk (was in the dark with heavy rain too) so, carried on but kept it slow. Next day I had another look and took the pads out to see them almost as flat as a pancake The sensors didn’t even alert me to it.

Anyway, I got a new set of some Brembos but, I did try looking for some better pads such as EBC but everything was “Not Available”.

But take a look at the before and after.


Also, I WILL be getting the brakes powder coated in the warmer months, please don’t judge me ahaha.

Oh, for those wanting to know how to change the pads on a CL500 W215, it’s super easy and took me about 15 minutes per side (with the wheels off). Simply grab a punch small enough to fit through the whole and touch the pins, give it a slight tap with a hammer and they’ll slide right out. If they are a bit stiff spray a bit of WD40 (cover the discs and use brake cleaner afterwards to clean up the area) and it should wiggle out fine. Take the metal holder away and simply pull the pads out and to install do everything in reverse. I did give the pins a clean and scrub with a wire brush to make it just as easy for the future. The last time these were done (11 months ago) I did the same and I am thankful for doing it.

 

[Cxly]

The next task I’ll be looking to tackle this weekend (weather dependant) will be the drivers side wiring in the door hinge. My speakers on this side aren’t working when closed but when the door is open at a certain angle it will and on occasions the window switch plays up but with a jiggle of the hinge wires, it works again.

Thankfully LegitStreetsCars on YouTube did an update on his CL65 AMG yesterday and showed a segment in the video of him pulling the wires out and fixing them. I didn’t realise how easy it was so I’ll be doing this myself for sure…

 

[Cxly]

The next task I’ll be looking to tackle this weekend (weather dependant) will be the drivers side wiring in the door hinge. My speakers on this side aren’t working when closed but when the door is open at a certain angle it will and on occasions the window switch plays up but with a jiggle of the hinge wires, it works again.

Thankfully LegitStreetsCars on YouTube did an update on his CL65 AMG yesterday and showed a segment in the video of him pulling the wires out and fixing them. I didn’t realise how easy it was so I’ll be doing this myself for sure…

Fast forward a lil, I’m now doing this today as the weather rod actually dry…

Wish me luck.

Update to follow.

 

[Cxly]

So. I will not be doing wiring for some time as this was horrible to do Having big hands in such a small place doing such a tedious job was not the one at all…

However, I took the protective covering on the first loom and was greeted with the red and black wire completely sheered off.

The second loom (speakers) looked like this. It’s explains a lot now…

 

[Cxly]

First repair (and only repair I took a photo of as this was a job I wanted to finish quickly due to my hands cramping up.

Cut and stripped some of the old wire to clear as old exposed wire and soldered some new wire to extend the speaker wires to hopefully avoid this issue for the future. Oh and I’ve also applied shrink tubing over the top to prevent shortages - I did follow with electrical tape over the top too to make sure completely.



After about 2 hours (quick Halfords run for some solder and wire) it was complete and can now happily say, the speakers now work for the drivers door meaning for the first time since ownership, my speaker system is now 100%. It’s been one expensive journey sorting this system out following the issues with the amps etc.. but I’m soo happy as the sound system sounds incredible!

Also, the soft close and buttons work perfectly now with no intermittent issues.

 

[pillow]

Followed this up with a maintenance wash and super light coating of spray on wax.

The results are impressive if I say so myself ahaha.

This is such a nice looking 215. Slight tint on the rear lights? Love that the chrome is still surrounding the side glass.

Not too big a fan of the wheels but alas

Great job!

 

[Cxly]

This is such a nice looking 215. Slight tint on the rear lights? Love that the chrome is still surrounding the side glass.

Not too big a fan of the wheels but alas

Great job!

Thanks, much appreciated!

Yeah, the lightest tint possible on the rear lights to try and match the rear brake light colour from factory.

 

[c16rkc]

What a great thread, and an amazing car!

I hope I can get my own W215 to this standard this year, all be it I'll be keeping everything original.

Kudos to you, particularly with that £2,400 bill for the ABC (what on earth did they replace?), your dedication and enthusiasm has certainly paid off!!

 

[Cxly]

What a great thread, and an amazing car!

I hope I can get my own W215 to this standard this year, all be it I'll be keeping everything original.

Kudos to you, particularly with that £2,400 bill for the ABC (what on earth did they replace?), your dedication and enthusiasm has certainly paid off!!

Thank you, hearing the compliments make it all work feel like nothing!

I look forward to seeing your journey with your W215.

They actually replaced the pump with a brand new one - did an exchange with Mercedes for the old one which knocked off around £500 on the bill. Aswell as this, they replaced many washers, O rings and the labour to installs it. Year on, working fantastic. Still under warranty too!

I appreciate it greatly!

 

[Cxly]

UPDATE.

Over the weekend, I had a nasty surprise with some bad fuel which caused the car to misfire and shake awfully - during this, I managed to park up and at this point it sounded as if it was on less than 4 cylinders (firing). After turning it off, I tried to turn it on however, the car stayed turning over with no sign of wanting to start. Engine bay had a very strong of fuel (no leaks however) which lead me to believe the engine is just flooding with fuel. I decided to let it sit for a while then took a spark plug out and wow. The spark plugs were awful and despite having a service last year these were never changed! So I believe this was apart of the issue but anyway, fast forward, I took a couple more out to let the fuel evaporate and placed them back in. Had a friend come and help with a booster pack on the battery and after a couple cranks, it gave a sign of wanting to start.. fourth crank it started on about 4 cyclinders. I decided to drive it about 5 minutes down the road home in 2nd gear keeping the revs high to clear out the rubbish in the lines. Turned it off and on again, started on about 6/7 cylinders so continued revving it in N holding it at around 3k RPMs. Let it settle for a bit before turning off. Turning it on again for the final time, it’s on all 8 again! So morning after, I grab a bottle of injector cleaner and got a fuel tank of V power and aswell as this, I had bought a a whole set of spark plugs. I also forgot to mention that an engine light came on due to the misfiring so the day after we plugged it into my friends diagnostic to show misfire in 7 cylinders!!! As we began changing the spark plugs, we found that 3 of them on the rear were loose - madness! Anyway, after installing all 16, the car fired up perfectly with no engine light and the smoothest idle it’s ever given… I must say, it pulls a lot harder than before.