In the market for a 2008/9 CLS 320CDI OM642, what to look out for?

[Bert_W164]

Greetings,

My wife's range rover has moved on and running a ML63 daily while fun, is unnecessary and we both love the CLS and want one!

I've been doing my research and my list of things to watch out for are as follows:
- Oil seal, if there's an oil leak, expect a £700 bill for a gasket replacement
- Injectors, watch out for misfires, lumpy running, though as I understand these aren't the most difficult to deal with, special tool for removal, use STAR to code them, need to be original mercs injectors.
- 7G gearbox (same as my ML) but unless it's had an oil service I know that needs doing ASAP.

I have access to STAR, and can have it with me when checking out a car, so naturally id check the injectors and for any other codes.

Is there anything else to look out for? We could go for an E or C class, but we like the form factor of a 4 seater cruiser.

Is there anything else to watch out for? What I'm trying to do is work out the potential known issues and budget for them to work out the full funding envelope and make sure it doesn't exceed more modern/sensible choices.

 

[DSM10000]

Turbocharger wear, issues with the Turbo actuator (not available from MB as a separate part but available from other sources), corrosion, especially the rear brake pipes, suspension wear.

Plus the usual items in cars of 14 years plus

 

[Bert_W164]

Thank you, will add those to my list of checks!

 

[W1ghty]

Oil cooler seals budget £1000+ for 8 hours Labour but £20 for the seals .
Turbo as mentioned above , expensive but you could go reconditioned instead .
Maybe some rear subframe issues ?
Engine mounts + new shocks and springs all round over 120k miles , use AUTODOC to keep the price down .
I’ve got 140k on my om642 , 2009 E320cdi engine with no issues of note .
Headlights aren’t great if you do night driving .

 

[mersum1es]

rear subframes are mainlly W212/W204 issues... not remember W211/C219 suffering those

PTC heater (inside air duct) is probably partially broken - no worries

Change air filters ASAP too, they go bad faster that engine oil

As above, check and hope oil cooler seal has been changed, it will start leak at some point... my W212 just started, C219 is still good...

Is it coil springs? Then some parts lesser needed in near future (vs airmatic)

Front door window actuator mechanism is prone to fail, my C219 already squakes... I believe it get lot more load than for example W211 window, because C219 is frameless and it lowers window always when opening door - winter time door seal is frozen --> ...

 

[Bert_W164]

Thank you, it'll definitely be a non airmatic, I have it on the ML and just had to replace a strut, so no thanks to running two airmatics

 

[Bert_W164]

Hey bud, @W1ghty

What's wrong with the headlights?

 

[pcthrillrider2]

Oil cooler seals budget £1000+ for 8 hours Labour but £20 for the seals .
Turbo as mentioned above , expensive but you could go reconditioned instead .
Maybe some rear subframe issues ?
Engine mounts + new shocks and springs all round over 120k miles , use AUTODOC to keep the price down .
I’ve got 140k on my om642 , 2009 E320cdi engine with no issues of note .
Headlights aren’t great if you do night driving .

why is it 8 hours to do a oil cooler seal on this engine?

 

[W1ghty]

Hey bud, @W1ghty

What's wrong with the headlights?

They just aren’t that powerful , don’t get me wrong they are ok , I changed the D1s bulbs on mine a year or so ago which made a difference , but they are NOTHING like newer cars with LED lights .
If you are driving a lot at night on unlit roads and you are late 50s + they aren’t the best .

 

[DSM10000]

why is it 8 hours to do a oil cooler seal on this engine?

Because it involves a great deal of dismantling and then reassembling to reach the oil cooler which sits in the V of the engine

 

[Bert_W164]

Because it involves a great deal of dismantling and then reassembling to reach the oil cooler which sits in the V of the engine

I can vouch for this too, I had neighbour who had 2-3 of his mates with him, they started around 5pm and finished at 3 in the morning...

I cleared the stored codes he had the next morning, then made a mental note to always remember this if I ever want a diesel Merc...

 

[WilliamMaldivess211]

They just aren’t that powerful , don’t get me wrong they are ok , I changed the D1s bulbs on mine a year or so ago which made a difference , but they are NOTHING like newer cars with LED lights .
If you are driving a lot at night on unlit roads and you are late 50s + they aren’t the best .

If you get a car with Xenon headlights - not sure if that is an option with the c219, but with the s211 the xenon’s are excellent. By far the brightest headlight compared to our 2023 Vw polo and 2019 Audi q5.

 

[DSM10000]

If you get a car with Xenon headlights - not sure if that is an option with the c219, but with the s211 the xenon’s are excellent. By far the brightest headlight compared to our 2023 Vw polo and 2019 Audi q5.

It certainly was an option. Like you you I found the brightness and spread of the Xenon ILS headlights fitted to my W211 to be the best I have used although new bulbs did improve things

 

[mersum1es]

I have bi-xenons in my C219
edit: factory fitted

 

[Bert_W164]

Ahh okay thanks, so its the usual things I'd expect on a high miler diesel.

Am I going to open myself to any significant trouble or excessive wear by using it for super short journeys where it's likely it won't even hit optimal operating temperature?

Sorry if these are super dumb questions; I've been oblivious to the world of cars for a while.

You guys have also jogged my memory, I drove the neighbours car on a new year's day, I recall not being at all disappointed in it's power delivery, in fact it was surprisingly lively at the top end, but he did say it's remapped.

Despite their quirks, something about them just seems like they're an inviting and comfy cocoon to waft along in, would he nice to get some driving holidays done in the summer together with the little one (toddler). While the ML63 does all these things brilliantly, when the drive needs to be a chilled one, the ML was never built for economy so I'd rather do less miles on it and just enjoy it until I consider the market healthy enough to part ways with it.

To everyone who has contributed so far, thank you.

 

[E55BOF]

The market for W164 ML63s will never be healthy enough to part with it. Poor fuel economy, very high road tax, old, 'AMG Factor' if you need specific spare parts, all militate against it. I like mine a lot, but I can afford to run it without worrying too much about the fuel economy or road tax.

 

[mersum1es]

Am I going to open myself to any significant trouble or excessive wear by using it for super short journeys where it's likely it won't even hit optimal operating temperature?

That is ´poison´ for DPF...

 

[WilliamMaldivess211]

That is ´poison´ for DPF...

Then could you get one without a dpf:

“I believe in 2009 in became standard with up to that year being an option 474 on the datacard. Easiest way to tell is by the soot on the tailpipes and bumper. Soot means no DPF, clean pipes mean DPF.” (Quote from other thread)

My e280 cdi has driven short journeys all its life and has never been a problem with proper servicing and maintenance.

 

[ALFAitalia]

They still get black.... even with a DPF .......no DPF can clean ALL the particular matter out pf the exhaust gas. My E350 CDI exhaust tips get dirty over time....and I do have a DPF. It will be worse if the engine is running sub optimally. Euro 6 emissions cars are much better.......but these cars are 4 and 5.

 

[toteimerced]

Don’t forget to check/ change the red intake seals, cheap as chips from eBay and easy to change, I do mine as part of the service, just make sure you get the correct ones, as there are several types.