SL considerations !!

[ARoosterinaC220CDIEstate]

Hi to you all out there. Having owned and then sold and later bought back a rather nice low mileage SLK 230 Auto and then buying my C220 CDI (170 bhp) I then sought out and bought an R171 SLK 280 Auto.
It is that R171 that has raised my interest in an SL350 Auto but I know absolutely nothing about them other than buying a bad one can involve the bottomless pit of money syndrome.
Do they have two sparkplugs per cylinder ?
What is the cost of re[placing the 'leisure' battery and what does it power ?
What is the transmission service interval and likely current cost ?
Are there any rogue years for reliability ? I am looking at 2003 - 2004 - 2005.

Having had a test drive of an SL350 Auto of March 2004 registration I found it a more comfortable car than my 2008 SLK280 Auto on the move.

Any help/heads-up would be much appreciated and faithfully applied.

 

[pioneercollector]

Hi There, I cannot really comment on the SL350, although i did take a couple of test drives in them - Lovely cars, in fact i ended up buying the SL500 from 2003 - This one does have two plugs per pot ( 16 plugs ) and this one does have the ABC system, i believe that this was an optional extra for the 350 model.
The leisure battery or 'consumer battery' that lives in the boot powers all of the ancillaries ( Roof, computer, command system, ) well everything apart from starting the car, that is done with the smaller battery under the bonnet. The battery is not that expensive, just the same price as any fairly heavy duty battery. Note - these cars do not like to be stood for weeks and weeks not being used, the battery will deplete, but a quick 15 run will get it back up to snuff ( or use a trickle charger )
Transmission ( auto box) servicing is not that frequent ( 10's of thousands of miles ) and should cost around £250 from an independent MB specialist ..... always worth doing anyway if the car is new to you!
The road tax is a lot cheaper than the post March 2006 models ....
I did read somewhere that they is a potential issue with a bearing in the V6 engine.... But as i decided to not go V6 i stopped researching that model and got stuck into the V8 instead.
I have spent a LOT of money on mine, including the ABC struts, was it worth it? Not if i was purchasing the car as an investment, which i am not! So yes of course it was worth it, love the car....
Check the bottom of the boot for water ingress, sometimes the seals fail and water can get in and ruin some of the electric buried down there - Mine is fine.... most probably will be, but it is a known issue.

Very comfortable and stunning looking i think ....... but i am biased

 

[ARoosterinaC220CDIEstate]

Hi pc. I guess that you are a Pioneer HiFi fan as am I.

Thank you for the info within your rather quick reply.

I have followed up on a few cars that are advertised and the most promising is unfortunately up in Aberdeen I am very very close to Southport but still just about in West Lancashire.

I just might look into the V8 powered version.

 

[BTB 500]

Are there any rogue years for reliability ? I am looking at 2003 - 2004 - 2005.

The M272 V6 used in these cars from about 2005 onwards has a known issue with the balancer shafts. There are three potential problems (the most serious of which will potentially write the car off due to the cost of fixing as this requires the engine to be taken out) and these are based on specific ranges of engine numbers. You can look these up in post #2 here:

The Complete M272 Engine Thread | Engine

Following on from my Complete M271 Engine thread please feel free to add resources to this thread for the M272 Engine. Mercedes-Benz M272 engine Mainly from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia but added to: Technical brief: 76 pages...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

There's also a problem with the variable length inlet manifold - this is activated by a plastic arm, which is prone to breaking as the mechanism becomes stiffer to operate due to carbon fouling. This puts the EML on. Mercedes don't sell the arm ... just the whole inlet manifold. Aftermarket arms are available on eBay etc. but the manifold would ideally need de-coking before fitting one of these.

Both issues are mentioned on Wikipedia:

Mercedes-Benz M272 engine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[ARoosterinaC220CDIEstate]

Hi BTB500. Again thank you for the info. The issue of the Balancer Shafts was conveyed to me when I bought my 2008 registered SLK 280 and my particular engine was given the all clear on the SLK World forum based upon the chassis/Vin number and the month in which it was built.
My understanding was that it was only after two Class Acts against MB that they caved in and rectified the engine issues and the replacement of the rear subframes on the R171's irrespective of age or main dealer servicing history.

 

[BTB 500]

The issue of the Balancer Shafts was conveyed to me when I bought my 2008 registered SLK 280 and my particular engine was given the all clear on the SLK World forum based upon the chassis/Vin number and the month in which it was built.

To be sure it's the engine number you need to check rather than the VIN or build date. I think 2008 is reasonably safe but I'd definitely want to look at the engine number on a 2005 R230. I had a 2007 C230 with the 2.5L version of this engine, and that fell into the second category. It's the first category that's the potential killer (engine numbers up to 2729..30 468933).

We did have the inlet manifold issue with ours.

 

[ARoosterinaC220CDIEstate]

Surely if all the numbers match then that is simply confirmation that is hasn't been interfered with.

 

[BTB 500]

Surely if all the numbers match then that is simply confirmation that is hasn't been interfered with.

Not sure what you mean there? The risk of a particular balance shaft issue occurring is based on the engine number being in one of the three specified ranges ... nothing else. The only exception would be if there was paperwork with the car to prove that it had already happened and been fixed, but on a (typically) low mileage car like an SL or SLK this is less likely. Really it's the first category that's the issue as it's very costly to repair if it happens.

 

[ARoosterinaC220CDIEstate]

Not sure what you mean there? The risk of a particular balance shaft issue occurring is based on the engine number being in one of the three specified ranges ... nothing else. The only exception would be if there was paperwork with the car to prove that it had already happened and been fixed, but on a (typically) low mileage car like an SL or SLK this is less likely. Really it's the first category that's the issue as it's very costly to repair if it happens.

Hi BTB 500. Neither was I - an attack of nearly 78 year old 'Brain Fog'

The SLK World forum provided me with the evidence that all was OK with my particular car engine.
I then breathed a huge sigh of relief !!

 

[pioneercollector]

Hi There,

Just picked this up - And yes i am a big fan of the Pioneer silver series hifi from around 1976 - 1980, and over the years have managed to complete the entire system, including the Spec stuff ..... Cheaper to own a Merc these days looking at the current prices ....

'Balancer Shaft' That was the issue i was trying to convey to you ! I too have brain fog and am younger than you, I basically weighed up all of the pro's and con's and came to the conclusion that the difference in MPG was negligible, the insurance was about the same ( Very cheap ) and i always wanted a big V8 powered car.

I love mine, I would be happy with the 350, but for a slight price difference the V8 made complete sense to me..... I managed to drive from my home in Bath to York last week on around £121 Premuim E5, which is around 28.21 miles per gallon (470 miles round trip )

Certainly not for a daily commute, but for high days and holidays ..... perfect!