I've just put a deposit down on an SL500

[Sp!ke]

Thanks for the heads-up, I'll get my stethoscope on the waterpump and check for noises.

 

[Sp!ke]

Well the waterpump was fine.

So on Saturday I fitted the new viscous coupling and the remainder of the bushes that were on back order.

The oil leak was also fixed by replacing the gasket beneath the oil filter and the two little rubber gaskets that connects the little oil cooler to the oil filter housing, plus the little concentric plate and gasket directly beneath.

I've decided to also change the front shocks as the offside shock is showing signs of being a little tired and the ride height is about a centimetre and a half lower on the offside (the springs look ok).

I'm also thinking about buying a porter cable too now so I can machine polish the car.

Obsessive? My wife certainly thinks so.

Seems no-one has yet shed any light on the AMG sticker on the manifold?

 

[Beetnik]

Pix, dude, we need some pix!!!

 

[Sp!ke]

I'm slacking on the photo front I know.

Combination of lousy weather and not enough time.

It has got to remain dry and and have a little sun (for at least a day) before I can take some decent pics.

The last couple of weeks have been awful. No sooner had I washed the car did it rain again. 1 trip later and the car looked filthy again. I can see owning a black car is going to be hard work.

 

[Oily Rag]

I'm slacking on the photo front I know.

Combination of lousy weather and not enough time.

It has got to remain dry and and have a little sun (for at least a day) before I can take some decent pics.

The last couple of weeks have been awful. No sooner had I washed the car did it rain again. 1 trip later and the car looked filthy again. I can see owning a black car is going to be hard work.

Hi Spike, hope you are having a good experience with the SL, and you will be cleaning it weekly unfortunately/ or fortunately depending on your outlook.! Hope everything is fine and the motor lives up to your expectations. All the very best. Lee

 

[Sp!ke]

I'm enjoying it muchly at the moment.

Although watching the fuel guage in earnest having just learnt my firm wants to take away everyones fuel cards.

 

[speedwell]

*******s!

 

[Tan]

Time to buy a fuel tanker whilst you still have the fuel card!!!

 

[stats007]

I did stumble across something quite interesting on the manifold and wondered if anyone could shed light on it. Why would the manifold have an AMG sticker? (see below) As far as I am aware it isnt an AMG car.

Pierburg make the manifolds for a lot of Mercedes - this AMG intake manifold (A1131400301) from the E43/E50/E55 was a superceeded part for the original (A1131400101). The part has been superceeded twice since then.

 

[Sp!ke]

So its perfectly normal to have an AMG manifold then?

 

[Shude]

Is that 189 emerald-black I see?

 

[stats007]

So its perfectly normal to have an AMG manifold then?

It is if it's been replaced for a newer part, though you'd have to wonder why.

 

[Sp!ke]

It is if it's been replaced for a newer part, though you'd have to wonder why.

So I still don't really know what to make of this then?

Is that emerald black?

Its a weird colour thats for sure... sometimes blue, sometimes green and sometimes black depending on the sunlight.

 

[stats007]

Is there nothing in the service history relating to it?

 

[BlackC55]

Well the waterpump was fine.

So on Saturday I fitted the new viscous coupling and the remainder of the bushes that were on back order.

The oil leak was also fixed by replacing the gasket beneath the oil filter and the two little rubber gaskets that connects the little oil cooler to the oil filter housing, plus the little concentric plate and gasket directly beneath.

I've decided to also change the front shocks as the offside shock is showing signs of being a little tired and the ride height is about a centimetre and a half lower on the offside (the springs look ok).

I'm also thinking about buying a porter cable too now so I can machine polish the car.

Obsessive? My wife certainly thinks so.

Seems no-one has yet shed any light on the AMG sticker on the manifold?

The shock absorber has nothing to do with the ride height. Only the spring is on your car (if it has no self leveling)

Replace in pairs too. This is important.

 

[MD5]

Same colour as my 500, emerald green, aka green black metallic, which I love for the reasons you mention, Spike. Mine has java upholstery.

 

[Roger Jones]

"Replace in pairs too. This is important."

Indeed. Some cheapskate previous owner of my SL500 didn't, so the car was too lopsided to put through the Wheels in Motion alignment system and I think was also activating the rollbar MIL (i.e. it has stopped since the problem was solved).

I got it fixed at SS Motors in Weybridge, to whom I took it because I thought it could be related to a larger problem (ADS) they had fixed before I bought the car, but Joe the Guv'nor spotted the problem quickly and fixed it cheaply with a buffer of a greater depth on the lower side (i.e. older spring).

I talked to him about the importance of changing both springs and he couldn't agree more, but added "but so many of them won't do it". He did also say that with the power off the car rests on the springs, hence his rapid diagnosis; and also that he saw many lopsided R129s.

 

[Sp!ke]

The shock absorber has nothing to do with the ride height. Only the spring is on your car (if it has no self leveling)

Replace in pairs too. This is important.

I thought this too but after a very close inspection no damage could be seen to the springs and my tame mechanic assured be that there was some gas pressure inside the damper which would be enough to make the 1cm difference in ride height. When testing the wheel travel with a long prybar you could feel a difference in damping between each side which convinced us both to tackle the damper first. Could be a single newer spring being replaced at some point I guess.

> Stats
The service history only references normal servicing as far as I can see. No refererence to any other work been done. It's a two owner car too and neither seems to know. When I look up ther car it referrs to it as being a special edition but I have no idea what that means.

 

[verysideways]

I thought this too but after a very close inspection no damage could be seen to the springs and my tame mechanic assured be that there was some gas pressure inside the damper which would be enough to make the 1cm difference in ride height.

Absolutely right.

 

[BlackC55]

Ride height is not always exact on both sides.

Was the fuel tank full and somone sitting in the car? This can make all the difference.