CLK 320 Just bought - advice

[lordlee]

Hi All,

Recently purchased a remarkably rust free facelift 99 CLK320 in red as my winter hack. I have done a few jobs so far like gliptone on the drivers bolster leather and steering wheel, repainted the calipers silver, replaced OSF shock and given it a good clay, polish and wax. Thing is there is still a slight clunk coming from trhe OSF of the car. I have taken it to Star Mercedes in Reading who diagnosed the shock but they couldnt find the other noise. They dont believe its the wishbone, outer ARB bushes or the tie rod ends so I am left with inner ARB bushes or what?? Anyone have any ideas? I would be very grateful for any guidance as its starting to annoy me that the rest of the car is let down by this one fault.

TIA

 

[lordlee]

Forgot to mention I sanded and polished the headlights and replaced the bulbs with philips extreme 100% brighter. Did the world of good for night time driving

 

[chris clk320]

Clear out the rear wheel arches and make doubly sure there is no mud/crud build up. These are the most likley place to rust

Might be worth a waxoil under the arches if your running it through winter.

 

[lordlee]

Do I need to remove the arch liners first?

 

[brucemillar]

Long shot here:

I had an almost undiagnoseable (is that a real word) clonk on my C55 front OS.

Tried all the usual suspects. Drop links, ball joints, roll bar bushes. Turned out to be a loose nut on the OS Shock mount. When I say loose I do not mean finger loose. It had been tightened at some point but not enough. Allan key and spanner, job done.

 

[moonloops]

Front suspension clunk could be any one of the hundred million bushes on the front of the CLK suspension. Does it do it just over bumps or when you sharply tap the brakes ?

Suspect would be the suspension control arm bushes?

 

[lordlee]

Its when I hit a series of bumps. I did the brake test to see if it was the wishbones and that produced nothing. The indy checked that too, they also checked the outer ARB bushes - in fact everything appears to be fine. Will check the OS shock mount bolt but you'd hope iyt wasnt loose after they replaced the shock.
Anything other good tips for things to do to the car?

 

[Londonscottish]

Anything other good tips for things to do to the car?

Change the gearbox oil as a precaution.

 

[lordlee]

That is due at 100k as it was last done at 50k. Had the level checked at my local indy and it was spot on and the oil was still red. Have now booked it in to get the rear arches sorted with some por15 for the winter months. The bodyshop guy is going to mop the headlights to finish off my sanding work.
Was also thinking of a 4 wheel laser alignment - anyone had this down? Worthwhile? Cost?

 

[steve333]

That is due at 100k as it was last done at 50k. Had the level checked at my local indy and it was spot on and the oil was still red. Have now booked it in to get the rear arches sorted with some por15 for the winter months. The bodyshop guy is going to mop the headlights to finish off my sanding work.
Was also thinking of a 4 wheel laser alignment - anyone had this down? Worthwhile? Cost?

Unless there is an obvious problem(i.e. the tyres are wearing unevenly)i would save your money & not waste it on 4 wheel alignment

 

[lordlee]

Well having had the CLK for a couple of months now I have completed the following jobs:
Sand and restore Headlights
Replace H7 bulbs with Philips Extreme 100%
Check all brakes and repaint calipers in silver
Replace tyres with Michelin Primacy – far better than awful P6000’s
Clean and Restore orion grey leather + steering wheel with gliptone products – excellent results
Fit white LED Canbus number plate lights
Silver indicator bulbs front and rear
Clean engine bay thoroughly
Replace door speaker and tweeter – both blown
Repair passenger heated mirror – loose/corroded connection
Replace all interior bulbs with white LED bulbs
Replace OSF damper
Replace Cabin filter

Jobs to do:
Fix squeaky leather trim
Remove and clean engine cover
Fit chrome vent rings
Fit SLK style beige/white heater controls
Replace/refurb genuine 16” alloys
Remove and thoroughly clean rear light clusters
Identify rattle in passenger door – check for loose bolts inside rubber gromits on door bottom
Install belkin ipod FM transmitter
Change dash bulbs from orange to red
Replace pedal rubber for brake with new OE

 

[lordlee]

Anything I am missing that is considered a good mod?

 

[steve333]

Anything I am missing that is considered a good mod?

Roger Daltrey?,seriously,you've done a lot to your car in a short space of time-congrats.

 

[lordlee]

To be fair I can't help myself when it comes to tinkering. When I get on top of a car and it needs nothing I usually sell it and start the process again.
I can highly recommend scrap yards as a great source of annoying missing parts - the amount of gromits, plastic clips etc that I have from my recent trips there should mean nothing that gets broken, when removing panels etc, will be without a replacement.

If anyone wants to know how to do any of the above or any shortcuts, if applicable, then please just ask. Nothing here bar the shock was hard to do myself. All jobs have been completed over 4-5 Saturdays. The total bill for all work so far is under £250 which I think is very little money to keep your car in the manner to which it was (possibly) once accustomed.

 

[lordlee]

The above figure was minus tyres before anyone mentions it. The tyres were an additional £360.00

 

[steve333]

To be fair I can't help myself when it comes to tinkering. When I get on top of a car and it needs nothing I usually sell it and start the process again.
I can highly recommend scrap yards as a great source of annoying missing parts - the amount of gromits, plastic clips etc that I have from my recent trips there should mean nothing that gets broken, when removing panels etc, will be without a replacement.

If anyone wants to know how to do any of the above or any shortcuts, if applicable, then please just ask. Nothing here bar the shock was hard to do myself. All jobs have been completed over 4-5 Saturdays. The total bill for all work so far is under £250 which I think is very little money to keep your car in the manner to which it was (possibly) once accustomed.

Congrats,you did a lot of work at a small cost & sound like just the sort of person most people would like to buy a second hand car from

 

[Shude]

club pedals! search the forum for more info

 

[Howard]

I would swerve the chrome vent rings to be honest .....

 

[Ted]

Well having had the CLK for a couple of months now I have completed the following jobs:
Sand and restore Headlights
Great! I've done this - makes a great difference
Replace H7 bulbs with Philips Extreme 100%
Good man!
Check all brakes and repaint calipers in silver
Done mine in gold Hammerite. How subtle!!
Replace tyres with Michelin Primacy – far better than awful P6000’s
Excellent (in a Mr Burns voice)
Clean and Restore orion grey leather + steering wheel with gliptone products – excellent results
Check!!
Fit white LED Canbus number plate lights
Can't be bothered - does it look better??
Silver indicator bulbs front and rear
Another couldn't be bothered - you can't see the amber (much)
Clean engine bay thoroughly
YES!!! Me too
Replace door speaker and tweeter – both blown

Repair passenger heated mirror – loose/corroded connection
Easy peasy. Why DO they get so corroded??
Replace all interior bulbs with white LED bulbs
SChWEET - hoe does it look? Do they dim correctlt?
Replace OSF damper
Meh!
Replace Cabin filter
I cleaned mine with warm soapy water cos I'm a skinflint.

Jobs to do:
Fix squeaky leather trim

Remove and clean engine cover
Easy. You can also repaing the lettering simply. Looks great
Fit chrome vent rings
Photos when done please.
Fit SLK style beige/white heater controls
Meh..........
Replace/refurb genuine 16” alloys
AMGs are the way forward
Remove and thoroughly clean rear light clusters
Howto please My boot mounted ones are going green at the edges.
Identify rattle in passenger door – check for loose bolts inside rubber gromits on door bottom
Lubricate the window runners while you have the door card off.
Install belkin ipod FM transmitter
Done! I used a griffin Itrip with RDS
Change dash bulbs from orange to red
Nah - I like them as they are, but photos and a howto when done would be nice.
Replace pedal rubber for brake with new OE

Or the super duper alloy ones (possibly still available from the forum)

You forgot LED sidelights from Killerhertz (forum member) MUCH better and brighter that the standars incandescents.

Sounds like some nice mods and fixes - enjoy!

 

[lordlee]

I would swerve the chrome vent rings to be honest .....

I think they match quite well with other pieces of chrome in the cabin. Its an elegance trim so it will fit well with the SLK beige dials. The car is bright red so the beige lifts the sea of grey and black a bit and the chrome should brighten things up a little without looking aftermarket.