DIY Service

[Lecky]

Hi,
I'm looking to undertake my 1st servicing on my 2002 CLK320 (w209), mainly due to financial reasons. The car has just gone over 50,000m therefore I will carry out the following:

Engine Oil change - Castrol Edge 0w 30 (on sale at halford at the mo circa £38 / 4 ltr

(I know the concensus is mobil 1, however i've listed the spec here

Castrol EDGE 0W-30 advanced fully synthetic engine oil

Engine Oil Filter - MB
Fuel filter - MB
Air Filters - MB
Cabin filter? - MB
Spark plugs - Denso Iridium VK16 (I like a good challenge)

Will probably get a specialist to do the ATF+filter for me.

Anything I've missed (I will of course have a good look over the car) from a 'service replacement item' perspective?

Many thanks.

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
It might be worthwhile doing a brake fluid change as well, other than that and possibly coolant change and flush, i think you have pretty much covered it.

 

[Lecky]

Thanks Andy,

Forgot the brake fluid. I've got a pressure bleeder so shouldn't be a problem. Anyone know the bleed order for this model and how to activate the abs to get the fluid through that component as well?

P.S Castrol oil mentioned in 1st post is actually on offer at halfords at the mo for £37.59 / 4 ltrs.

Thats for 0w-30, 0w-40 is £32.79 however its spec is 229.51 as opposed to 229.5 - confusing or what!!!

Halfords

 

[rf065]

Do you know anyone who is a member of Costco? Mobil 1 is only £28 for 5 litres.

Russ

 

[Lecky]

Chees Russ,
£28 for 5 ltrs mobil 1 is damn good value. May have to research that one further. Mobil at halfords is nearly £50 5 ltrs!!

P.S By the way, I don't work for halfords or have any connection (bar my trade card)!!!

 

[Ian B Walker]

If you are going to do all that you have said and suggested, it might be an idea to drain and refill the rear dif. Also check the car springs, prop shaft centre bearing and examine the exhaust system for leak's.

 

[Mercsys]

Just done all the oils and other work at Pit Start, using the ramps, great, beats roiling around under a car any day.

 

[goldenii68]

How do the Denso spark plugs compare with Bosch and Beru ones?

 

[markjay]

How do the Denso spark plugs compare with Bosch and Beru ones?

AFAIK MB use either Bosch (Platin) or NGK (Iridium).

Don't know which is better, but I used NGK (the MB-branded ones - not that it matters, the non-MB branded NGK are just the same, but I got them for a very good price from forum member BRABUSK8, so MB-branded they are).

 

[malluboy77]

I had Bosch on mine when I got the car. Replaced with NGK and made no real difference as expected. Got the plugs from a UK supplier online.

Best MPG figure with my old set of Bosch 44.6 and with NGK 45.1. Probably multifactorial rather than the plug alone!

 

[goldenii68]

Denso iridium spark plugs are £11.16 each at ECP, the Bosch and NGK are less than half price, is there something about the Denso plug we don't know?

 

[Lecky]

Denso iridium spark plugs are £11.16 each at ECP, the Bosch and NGK are less than half price, is there something about the Denso plug we don't know?

The Denso ones should hopefully last 40,000mls. Not sure about the NGK.

Iridium spark plugs by NGK and Denso

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
If you are going to do the diff oil first make sure you can undue the filler plug, before draining the diff.
Regarding brake bleeding, i just bled each caliper into a jam jar half full of fluid through till the fluid was clean making sure the reservoir was always topped up.
Champion is also OEM for MB though i used Bosch plugs in my C43/55.

 

[219]

Anything I've missed (I will of course have a good look over the car) from a 'service replacement item' perspective?

Many thanks.

I'd look at brake pads , and possibly discs , depending on what you find .

Oh , and if your engine has a 'poly' drive belt at the front , check it for cracking and perishing , much easier to replace at home than at the roadside if it breaks .

 

[Lecky]

Hi,
Just to update. Replaced the air filters this afternoon and the spark plugs. This turned out to be a relatively easy job in the end which only took a leasurely 2 hours. Despite there being 12 plugs and limited access, once you have the coil packs removed its straight forward. No special tools required (apart from the 17mm spanner modified to slip over the spark plug cap), just a good selection of short extension bars to connect onto your spark plug socket. Reckon I could do it in under an hour if I had to. Now, I've never done this job before and consider myself to be a competent diy motor mechanic. I really didn't rush this and still completed within 2 hours.
So where do the main dealers get their figures from when quoting for this? - £224.64 quoted for plugs + labour at main dealer (Tony P platinum scheme), I did it for circa £65 - NGK BKR5EIX-11 platinum plugs sourced from ebay.

Gearbox oil needs replacing. Now the consensus seems to be run up to temp then use a special dipstick to get the level right. Whats the problem with doing it stone cold on a flat surface and 'dipping' the gearbox prior to emptying with a length of curtain wire. Then refill to same level. I don't reckon you'd be far out doing it this way and would welcome anyone who could enlighten me as to why it should be done by the book.