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CL500 W215 ‘Paid In Full’ Style
- Thread starter Cxly
- Start date
Sam87
Active Member
The amount of work and effort you've put into this car is next level!
The car is looking great.
I like what you done with the ABC pipe. I'm sure quite a few people have had the same problem and will have in the future
Keep up the great work
The car is looking great.
I like what you done with the ABC pipe. I'm sure quite a few people have had the same problem and will have in the future
Keep up the great work
Montreal300
Member
Really impressed with your dedication to the car. Just stumbled across this thread and read it all. The car is stunning!!
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Cxly
Active Member
Means a lot coming from you, I think your level of car care takes the lead
Yeah, it’s a super simple fix and it’s guaranteed to hold the pressure from the supplier - I still need to add pictures.
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Cxly
Active Member
Borys
MB Enthusiast
Amazing,
I kinda gave up on my s55….just cannot get it to live but you - wow, well done!!!
I kinda gave up on my s55….just cannot get it to live but you - wow, well done!!!
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Cxly
Active Member
Thanks Borys!
Don’t stop, honestly keep doing the odd bits every now and then. I think the next 10/15years, cars like these will be pretty hard to find in nice condition and with everything turn “green”, they’ll be great breaks from reality.
pioneercollector
MB Enthusiast
Hi there! Well i may just have to 'happen' by your house one day!!Thank you very much! I appreciate your comments, it definitely makes it all worthwhile!
Sure, can always drop me a message and work something out!
You’re going for the full marathon on the car, honestly, when you look back at it afterwards you’ll be happy you did. The car is looking is immaculate! Keep us updated, I’m really intrigued on the leather restoration process.
Ooo, the road trips sound really interesting! I want to do this myself over summer, go through Germany, Switzerland and France - in these cars, you won’t even feel pain
Again, thank you for your comments! It’s going to be a car I’ll keep and eventually pass on in the family. I think later this year I should have it to a point where it’s 99% (can never ever be 100% with these cars
SEC - Now that is one car that i would love to own, i shall see how far my SL project / passion goes ( quite far i think, and looking at your car, i now have more peace of mind - These cars are amazing and need bringing back to 100%)
As for road trips a few years ago myself and Mrs PC took a trip from the UK to Transylvania, passing through 7 countries and spending a few days in each..... Really enjoyed the trip and the countries - Transylvania is amazing! as is Romania. The car i was going to take was the MX-5 Roadster, but after googling the roads i decided that my spine may not survive certain roads in certain countries, so i took my venerable and trusty 4x4 truck. The right choice!
Keep me posted on your journey and i will post some pictures of the before and after leather treatment on my 20 year old SL seats ( Just waiting for the snow to stop ! )
Borys
MB Enthusiast
Probably you right, there is only 17 pre facelift s55 registered in a UK and I owe one. So yes one day it may be specialThanks Borys!
Don’t stop, honestly keep doing the odd bits every now and then. I think the next 10/15years, cars like these will be pretty hard to find in nice condition and with everything turn “green”, they’ll be great breaks from reality.
c16rkc
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2014
- Messages
- 171
- Car
- 2003 W215 CL500
How has it been going - any updates on your CL?
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Cxly
Active Member
Hello Everyone!
Well, it has been sometime since I’ve updated this thread!
Lots of stuff has happened in life which has sadly placed this car on the back burner but, I’ve finally found some time and structure back in life to get things going again.
Since the last update, I haven’t been able to sort the gearbox problems even with trying out 2 new conductor plates, valve body and solenoids. Today, I resorted to dropping the box which was surprisingly easy (granted, there is a lift in my possession to use now).. I’ve bought another secondhand gearbox aswell as a spare torque converter incase the issue is very bad with the current one. I also decided on buying a new main seal as a few people have mentioned this could be an issue.
On first inspection of the gearbox out, I noticed some major heat spots on the torque converter which is a bad sign. Popping off the torque converter I noticed some clunking sounds come from the inside of it too which is really narrowing down the point of trouble here.
With the T/C off, I see the main seal is in really good condition still but, I’ll replace this for good measure anyway. I can see some splatters of dried oil in the bell housing which could have come from the T/C. But, on first inspection everything looks to be in good order - The oil was pristine also.
With all of the above taken into account, I’ve done some research online and all the symptoms I’m having is aligning with a T/C problem. When comparing to the spare one I have, I can see that this one is even in colour all round (no heat spots) and no clunking or any sounds coming from it at all.
For a fresh piece of mind, I’m going to grab a Refurbished T/C with a 2 year warranty over in Nottingham this week and pop that in to avoid any headaches with a second hand one. As well as having this come, I have new bolts for the bell housing and T/C come from Mercedes, gear shifter bushings and new starter motor.
Whilst the car is up in the air for the next couple days, I’m going to tackle the surface rust which this car has collected underneath on the LSD, control arms and a few other places. I’ll also be fixing a couple leaks; one coming from the top of the engines inspection cover and the other from a ABC joint so, I’ll use another compression fitting to sort this out.
Tasks which I’ll do after the underside is complete is:
•New Crankshaft Pulley
•New Alternator
•New Belt
•Sort drains and hose to free up some stuck debris
•Rear driveshaft donut
•Powder coat brake calipers
•Powder coat wheels (Which was done already but, a shop thought it was smart to use paint thinner to remove the old rubber adhesive from past wheel weights for me).
•Repaint the car as, the job that was done originally is bad.. Clear coat peeling all over the place whereas, original paint is in perfect condition. Spoke to the painter about this and he’ll have this sorted and also at the same time, fix some oxidisation that’s going on around the sunroof and rear sections of the roof.
A lot to do but, it’s going to be fun working on cars I enjoy again even though. I should probably change the title of this build to “Most expensive CL500”
Well, it has been sometime since I’ve updated this thread!
Lots of stuff has happened in life which has sadly placed this car on the back burner but, I’ve finally found some time and structure back in life to get things going again.
Since the last update, I haven’t been able to sort the gearbox problems even with trying out 2 new conductor plates, valve body and solenoids. Today, I resorted to dropping the box which was surprisingly easy (granted, there is a lift in my possession to use now).. I’ve bought another secondhand gearbox aswell as a spare torque converter incase the issue is very bad with the current one. I also decided on buying a new main seal as a few people have mentioned this could be an issue.
On first inspection of the gearbox out, I noticed some major heat spots on the torque converter which is a bad sign. Popping off the torque converter I noticed some clunking sounds come from the inside of it too which is really narrowing down the point of trouble here.
With the T/C off, I see the main seal is in really good condition still but, I’ll replace this for good measure anyway. I can see some splatters of dried oil in the bell housing which could have come from the T/C. But, on first inspection everything looks to be in good order - The oil was pristine also.
With all of the above taken into account, I’ve done some research online and all the symptoms I’m having is aligning with a T/C problem. When comparing to the spare one I have, I can see that this one is even in colour all round (no heat spots) and no clunking or any sounds coming from it at all.
For a fresh piece of mind, I’m going to grab a Refurbished T/C with a 2 year warranty over in Nottingham this week and pop that in to avoid any headaches with a second hand one. As well as having this come, I have new bolts for the bell housing and T/C come from Mercedes, gear shifter bushings and new starter motor.
Whilst the car is up in the air for the next couple days, I’m going to tackle the surface rust which this car has collected underneath on the LSD, control arms and a few other places. I’ll also be fixing a couple leaks; one coming from the top of the engines inspection cover and the other from a ABC joint so, I’ll use another compression fitting to sort this out.
Tasks which I’ll do after the underside is complete is:
•New Crankshaft Pulley
•New Alternator
•New Belt
•Sort drains and hose to free up some stuck debris
•Rear driveshaft donut
•Powder coat brake calipers
•Powder coat wheels (Which was done already but, a shop thought it was smart to use paint thinner to remove the old rubber adhesive from past wheel weights for me).
•Repaint the car as, the job that was done originally is bad.. Clear coat peeling all over the place whereas, original paint is in perfect condition. Spoke to the painter about this and he’ll have this sorted and also at the same time, fix some oxidisation that’s going on around the sunroof and rear sections of the roof.
A lot to do but, it’s going to be fun working on cars I enjoy again even though. I should probably change the title of this build to “Most expensive CL500”
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Cxly
Active Member
First time dropping the gear box on any car too!!
Only had 3 bolts snap on the bell housing but, all on the bottom so, should be an easy job to use a bolt extractor to get them out.
Only had 3 bolts snap on the bell housing but, all on the bottom so, should be an easy job to use a bolt extractor to get them out.
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Cxly
Active Member
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Cxly
Active Member
Seeing the surface rust underneath really started getting to me so, made a start on removing as much as possible.
The diff is far too gone to ever get back to smooth even with a wire wool attachment, chisel, dremel etc.. Same in other parts but, managed to remove a huge amount and got down 2 coats of rust primer/rust preventer - This stuff will prevent the rust getting any worse but also, stop new rust forming elsewhere. I’ll apply another two coats (ran out) and then do two coats of top coat. Once all of this has cured over a week, I’ll go over with a clear film protectant spray and give this a fair few coating to really make sure nothing else can get touched.
I’ll attach a before and after down below.
I didn’t spray the replaceable parts like arms etc.. as they’ll be getting changed with new parts.
The diff is far too gone to ever get back to smooth even with a wire wool attachment, chisel, dremel etc.. Same in other parts but, managed to remove a huge amount and got down 2 coats of rust primer/rust preventer - This stuff will prevent the rust getting any worse but also, stop new rust forming elsewhere. I’ll apply another two coats (ran out) and then do two coats of top coat. Once all of this has cured over a week, I’ll go over with a clear film protectant spray and give this a fair few coating to really make sure nothing else can get touched.
I’ll attach a before and after down below.
I didn’t spray the replaceable parts like arms etc.. as they’ll be getting changed with new parts.
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Cxly
Active Member
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Cxly
Active Member
Ignore the tiny little exhaust bracket behind the diff, planning on putting rust remover on the whole exhaust and giving it a light buff so, wasn’t fussed about over spray on there or the exhaust for that matter.
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Cxly
Active Member
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Cxly
Active Member
Here’s an update after letting the final protective coat dry!Looks much better but, I really wish I could’ve got some areas flat but, just not possible without taking the rear end out and spending a few days on it.
Managed to scrap and chip away all the loose bits with various steel wheel attachments, flats heads and hand brushes and managed to get it back to looking visually better but, most Importantly, protected again.
Bolts can still be undone etc.. tested a few to see and all is good! The rear driveshaft donut will be replaced so, the over spray on that doesn’t matter, same for the bolts.
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Cxly
Active Member
Later on in winter, I think I’ll take off the whole set of under trays and give it all a refresh and be happy that underneath is 100% protected.
Next job will be to fix some of these heat shields with larger washers and swap the rear driveshaft donut.
Next week, the new T/C should arrive!
Next job will be to fix some of these heat shields with larger washers and swap the rear driveshaft donut.
Next week, the new T/C should arrive!
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Cxly
Active Member
Also, going for a satin finish on the protective paint really tied things together - Toned down the overall shine and made it a little more OEM.
