My 'cheap' High Mileage W211 E55 AMG Project

[clk320x]

Further investigation today on the fuel leak, looks like in my panic to stop petrol leaking everywhere (car was sat on jack stacks throwing fuel to one side, bad idea!) I didn't get the seal in fully. I removed the ring slowly and could see the seal was caught up. I also had a closer look at the wiring, not great! I repaired best I could but ideally I'd like to replace this section of loom. Second attempt on the seal/ring went much smoother. I left the car running for 10 minutes and all was dry, pump sounds ok and no smell of petrol. Next test will be to take it out and see if the fuel moving around is creating the leak. £Free (some electrical tape and time to reseat the seal)




Next issue to address was the oil leak, the worst seems to be coming from around the oil filler cap. Removing the valve cover is relatively straight forward and access is good. Unfortunately I noticed a crack in the breather section. The last person in here has sealer everywhere, so unevenly spread it wasn't actually sealing. I'm not sure if this crack was here before or not, hopefully I can find a replacement soon to get all back together! If anyone has a M113 cover A1130160205 please send me a DM. The good news is everything inside the cover looks clean and good for 230k.

I'm half thinking of painting the valve covers while they're off, not sure if red would be too much, maybe a fresh silver would look more OEM?







Thanks!

I would stick to silver, red looks too Honda.

 

[mbzclk]

No love for a Vauxhall Red Top?

 

[91dm]

August Update:

I managed to made good progress on the E55 in the last few weeks, here's the latest jobs completed:

Replacement valve covers arrived so I was able to continue with the new gaskets. I noticed the left hand gasket was rubbing against the bolt and wearing thin. I'm going to change the oil and filter shortly once there's no leaks.

I ended up painting the covers in a satin black which turned out ok, not my best spraying but ok for how visible they are. They're a pain to prep for paint, I would probably leave them alone if I was to do this again.

Unbelievably the replacement valve covers I ordered ended up being damaged with the courier but I managed to make one good cover out of two. They definitely clean up the engine bay and make it look a little smarter.

£50 in total (£40 for gaskets, £10 paint etc)















Brakes Pipes & Hoses
Next up was the brakes! I knew this was going to be one of the more painful jobs but it was even worst than I thought. The pipes were 80% good however in places very bad and I didn't fancy putting any pressure on them. They are so well covered by plastic the tester obviously couldn't see them so didn't pick up on it. I would definitely advise anyone with a w211 to take a look behind the covers and not rely on your test!

I bought new hoses all round as it made sense when all was apart. I could have got away with just replacing the rear lines however opted to do all front to back. The biggest issue was getting the bleeders out of the calipers, completely welded seized into the calipers. After many hours all came out apart from the rear left caliper, it broke and had to be drilled and repaired. The actual pipes were quite easy to replace, they just run along the inside of the cill and don't go over the fuel tank. There's also a surprising amount of space around of the V8 lump. There's no noticeable difference with the new hoses or fluid but it's reassuring to know the pipe is not going to burst! In total this cost £125 (£30 on copper pipe, £70 on hoses, bleed repair kit, fluid, ends & nuts)
















No Leaks
Managed to get the tank sealed (left hand side was always dry) so there's no more petrol smell inside. I would like to replace the connector at some stage.





I find this rust remover works very well, I've used it quite a few times on this!



Ready for the road!
That's all the jobs that I wanted to complete before starting to use the car, lots more to do but I plan to enjoy it for the next few weeks! Overall I'm still very happy with the purchase, for 230k miles I think it's now in good shape.







Thanks for looking.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

August Update:

I managed to made good progress on the E55 in the last few weeks, here's the latest jobs completed:

Replacement valve covers arrived so I was able to continue with the new gaskets. I noticed the left hand gasket was rubbing against the bolt and wearing thin. I'm going to change the oil and filter shortly once there's no leaks.

I ended up painting the covers in a satin black which turned out ok, not my best spraying but ok for how visible they are. They're a pain to prep for paint, I would probably leave them alone if I was to do this again.

Unbelievably the replacement valve covers I ordered ended up being damaged with the courier but I managed to make one good cover out of two. They definitely clean up the engine bay and make it look a little smarter.

£50 in total (£40 for gaskets, £10 paint etc)















Brakes Pipes & Hoses
Next up was the brakes! I knew this was going to be one of the more painful jobs but it was even worst than I thought. The pipes were 80% good however in places very bad and I didn't fancy putting any pressure on them. They are so well covered by plastic the tester obviously couldn't see them so didn't pick up on it. I would definitely advise anyone with a w211 to take a look behind the covers and not rely on your test!

I bought new hoses all round as it made sense when all was apart. I could have got away with just replacing the rear lines however opted to do all front to back. The biggest issue was getting the bleeders out of the calipers, completely welded seized into the calipers. After many hours all came out apart from the rear left caliper, it broke and had to be drilled and repaired. The actual pipes were quite easy to replace, they just run along the inside of the cill and don't go over the fuel tank. There's also a surprising amount of space around of the V8 lump. There's no noticeable difference with the new hoses or fluid but it's reassuring to know the pipe is not going to burst! In total this cost £125 (£30 on copper pipe, £70 on hoses, bleed repair kit, fluid, ends & nuts)
















No Leaks
Managed to get the tank sealed (left hand side was always dry) so there's no more petrol smell inside. I would like to replace the connector at some stage.





I find this rust remover works very well, I've used it quite a few times on this!



Ready for the road!
That's all the jobs that I wanted to complete before starting to use the car, lots more to do but I plan to enjoy it for the next few weeks! Overall I'm still very happy with the purchase, for 230k miles I think it's now in good shape.







Thanks for looking.

The car looks fantastic, and loving the work you’ve done to it. Enjoy

 

[AMGeed]

Great work so far and good advice on the brake pipes.
I had one go on my S204. On further inspection 3 were in dreadful condition and needed replacement.

 

[Jobsworth]

Did you go cupro-nickel or pure copper on the brake lines?

 

[ALFAitalia]

Hopefully not copper...

 

[philnewmerc]

I don’t know exactly who was working on the car last but I wouldn’t let them near it again! It had a new air compressor fitted which is good news however I can’t understand how it was left the way it was. One bolt was missing and held up with lots of cable ties. The one bolt was twisting the bracket so it was pushing on the arch liner! I stripped all down, cleaned and found another bolt, all back to together as it should be. I’ve a replacement arch liner on order. £24 for a arch liner.








As I was looking around the car I noticed the back seat didn’t clip in, taking this off revealed another disaster of workmanship. The plastic ring to hold the pump down was barely on half a thread, as soon as I touched it flew off splashing petrol around. As they couldn’t get the ring on, the cover wouldn’t fit so they botched this with sealant and left the bolts loose. I cleaned everything off, got the seal in and ring back on without any issues. I was lost for words looking at this as there was nothing wrong! £Free cost









I gave the brakes a clean up all around checking on pads and discs, all ok here but the brake pipes need doing very soon! £Free cost (brake cleaner and copper grease)




The front undertray had a split which I repaired with some cable ties. It turned out stronger than I expected so might leave this depending on the price for a replacement. £1 for cable ties




The rear tyres were down to the limits so got some new Continentals fitted, the front has recently had new Continentals which are like new. £160 each for 265/35/18.






Some new bulbs to highlight the AMG! £1 for bulbs




eBay special removed for cleaner look! £Free cost




A second hand sensor fixed the parking sensors, easy plug in/out fix! £9 cost




Car is pretty much ready for the test on Friday now, fingers crossed for a pass!




Thanks for looking!

Am reading through this again because your quick fixes based on knowledge rather than £££ is very impressive: so a quick question, did you manage to find a way to replace the parking sensors without removing the whole bumber?? Thanks

(Btw you mentioned you thought it unfortunately doesn't have cooled seats - my CLS does and they are a gimmick imho. They only blow the tiniest amount of ambient air through them and where ever you are sat blocks the perforations anyway )

 

[91dm]

The car looks fantastic, and loving the work you’ve done to it. Enjoy

Great work so far and good advice on the brake pipes.
I had one go on my S204. On further inspection 3 were in dreadful condition and needed replacement.

Thanks for comments!

Did you go cupro-nickel or pure copper on the brake lines?

10% nickel if I remember correctly.

Am reading through this again because your quick fixes based on knowledge rather than £££ is very impressive: so a quick question, did you manage to find a way to replace the parking sensors without removing the whole bumber?? Thanks

(Btw you mentioned you thought it unfortunately doesn't have cooled seats - my CLS does and they are a gimmick imho. They only blow the tiniest amount of ambient air through them and where ever you are sat blocks the perforations anyway )

Thanks for the comment, yes a bit of time and research goes a long way. I think it does show that there's no such think as a cheap example. If you had to add labour on top of what I've spent, I'd say the cost would be double. You'd be better off with a completely sorted example.

I've an issue with the front door locks, bouncing when locking which seems a common problem from what I can see online. To fix this and a interior refresh I think are next on the list.

Thanks again!

 

[91dm]

Am reading through this again because your quick fixes based on knowledge rather than £££ is very impressive: so a quick question, did you manage to find a way to replace the parking sensors without removing the whole bumber?? Thanks

(Btw you mentioned you thought it unfortunately doesn't have cooled seats - my CLS does and they are a gimmick imho. They only blow the tiniest amount of ambient air through them and where ever you are sat blocks the perforations anyway )

Yes the front trim that sensor is fitted in can be unclipped, not easily but it can be done with plastic tools. Luckily for me it was the corner sensor which made it easier.

That's good to hear about the seats, at least the A/C is ice cold!

 

[Simonty]

Lovely looking car and the work you're able and willing to do is deeply impressive. I've not dared touch my CLS, just left it to the main dealer mainly (though it's brutally expensive and I can barely afford it haha). It just so happens one recent recommendation / MOT advisory was to replace two brake lines (replace front brake pipes; replace brake fluid; 1 x bulb; OSF steering gaitor; rear propshaft coupling: £1,415). Unsure of the specific amount on the brake line work but you saved a lot I'd say!!

Simon

 

[91dm]

Lovely looking car and the work you're able and willing to do is deeply impressive. I've not dared touch my CLS, just left it to the main dealer mainly (though it's brutally expensive and I can barely afford it haha). It just so happens one recent recommendation / MOT advisory was to replace two brake lines (replace front brake pipes; replace brake fluid; 1 x bulb; OSF steering gaitor; rear propshaft coupling: £1,415). Unsure of the specific amount on the brake line work but you saved a lot I'd say!!

Simon

Thanks Simon, that doesn't sound too bad considering main dealer labour rates. I wouldn't like to count the hours spent so far.

 

[91dm]

Evening,

I've just over 200 miles driven and all seems to be behaving well. No smell of petrol, brakes feel good and gauges stay steady! Enjoying the E55 so far, it's very comfortable and I think the power is still very respectable!

I can't decide on what to go at next, possibly a clean up of the interior and fix the bouncing locks.







231k miles coming up...

 

[MrGreedy]

I think a repaint of the front leather seats and steering wheel. People have had pretty good results doing it themselves. If you wanted to pay someone to do it, check out Alex225's results on his S class a few years ago.

Leather Seats Repainted | Interior

Thought I'd just share my experience having my seats essentially repainted by a leather specialist. The S Class seats weren't in a bad state but dotted around the seats and arm rest were what appeared to be paint, that I could not shift at all. I had been discussion with a local repairer who...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

If you have white stitching, definitely discuss this with whoever you get to do it if you go that route. If you don't ask, they might just spray over the lot and would result in black stitching.

 

[91dm]

I think a repaint of the front leather seats and steering wheel. People have had pretty good results doing it themselves. If you wanted to pay someone to do it, check out Alex225's results on his S class a few years ago.

Leather Seats Repainted | Interior

Thought I'd just share my experience having my seats essentially repainted by a leather specialist. The S Class seats weren't in a bad state but dotted around the seats and arm rest were what appeared to be paint, that I could not shift at all. I had been discussion with a local repairer who...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

If you have white stitching, definitely discuss this with whoever you get to do it if you go that route. If you don't ask, they might just spray over the lot and would result in black stitching.

I've already got a bottle of dye thanks to Alps, so will go over all the seats! I think it will freshen up the interior although I don't think is too bad for the mileage.

 

[Matt58]

Cars looking fab, how are your headlights fairing, I’ve just restored mine using the cerakote kit, suggested by someone here on the forum, bit of elbow grease, but great results.

 

[Simonty]

Cars looking fab, how are your headlights fairing, I’ve just restored mine using the cerakote kit, suggested by someone here on the forum, bit of elbow grease, but great results.

Super interested in this aspect as mine as yellow as you like. I bought new glass parts from Ebay but I think it's a bit of work to fit them.. i think OP's headlights look fine though (and are different to CLS-class anyway, unlike most of the car).

Simon

 

[cluffy]

Lovely car and the work you've done has been excellent - well played!

 

[DanE350cdi]

Wow, awesome work and great attention to detail.

 

[philnewmerc]

Just out of curiosity has the ATF been changed regularly to make the box last 230k ?

Nice work btw, respect