W211 possible SBC pump failure

[merc85]

Thats not good on the Tc front HB , do you know what caused the failure? how many miles has yours done?

 

[HB]

Thats not good on the Tc front HB , do you know what caused the failure? how many miles has yours done?

It's remnants of the initial glycol contamination which we didn't catch in time despite changing the radiator etc... It started playing up at exactly 103K, we changed the gearbox oil and it was fine till 125k. We then changed the gearbox oil again, and it was fine with no juddering but, now at 155k, it didn't respond too well to the fluid change so, looks like a rebuild is the way to go. I don't know if I should just wait till it stops working all together or to get some quotes and start saving.

 

[merc85]

perhaps a 2nd hand box from a slightly later car may be the cheaper option say 2004 on? or like you say get your original rebuilt. Such a shame going especially after changing the Rad

That was the 1st thing i did when i bought mine at 79k i dont i think i had contamination but i changed it just incase.

 

[HB]

perhaps a 2nd hand box from a slightly later car may be the cheaper option say 2004 on? or like you say get your original rebuilt. Such a shame going especially after changing the Rad

That was the 1st thing i did when i bought mine at 79k i dont i think i had contamination but i changed it just incase.

The problem with buying a second hand box is , do you know it's history ? Let's wait and see. I'll keep you up to date as we have the same car but, hopefully not the same problem.

 

[Amo]

SBC at full price by someone like Olly is £1250...Sve managed to get his for 700+around 200 for repair so 350 cheaper but he also got 70 back from replacement unit..thats over 400 cheaper. I know its not a biggie but its a big cost!!

Lets see how far i can take mine ;-) (Everything crossed!!)

 

[gl boy]

It's a 2002 model with no records of MB history here in Malta which is since 2007/8.

Ohhhh ok , only ask as I had mine done on my SL as a good will gesture , was out of the 3 year warranty by a few months but I had full MB service history and it's a big help when it comes to getting good will gestures

 

[HB]

SBC at full price by someone like Olly is £1250...Sve managed to get his for 700+around 200 for repair so 350 cheaper but he also got 70 back from replacement unit..thats over 400 cheaper. I know its not a biggie but its a big cost!!

Lets see how far i can take mine ;-) (Everything crossed!!)

My SBC failed at 146k.

 

[b1g1an]

but I had full MB service history and it's a big help when it comes to getting good will gestures

Just about the only way of getting goodwill gestures

 

[b1g1an]

SBC at full price by someone like Olly is £1250...Sve managed to get his for 700+around 200 for repair so 350 cheaper but he also got 70 back from replacement unit..thats over 400 cheaper. I know its not a biggie but its a big cost!!

Tis true but how much of that £400 is cancelled out by getting it done straight away without any hassle and 'simple' process if it all goes wrong, as opposed to car off the road for much longer with all the hassle of sorting it yourself, then finding someone you trust to do it properly and who's to blame if it all goes wrong ...only the individual can decide.

Look at it that way and, personally, I don't think it's nearly as much of a saving as it should be to be an easy choice over just biting the bullet. 10 out of 10 to SVE though for finding out it can be done and then sharing it with us.

 

[Sve]

Well as you can see I started the thread just a day after I got the dreadful message and then shared each of my suggestion/decisions. Probably it wasn't that much of a saving for me because I already had a diagnostic done for £70 and another blind shot of a friend to fix it for £30. The car was off the road for nearly 45 days and I had to buy weekly travel cards to take the little one to nursery which probably was around £100 in total. That leaves me with around £200 in my pocket, yes I agree it is not much but image someone has his SBC failed and reading this post now – definitely it wouldn’t take that long to replace it and will save him some money. Having said that if I knew all that before probably I would have gone with Olly because I had to drive the car few times with no brakes and all the journeys I had to make to leave the car at someone’s garage and get back home by public transport. I don’t have to mention the other bits, you know what it’s like without having a car – even going to the nearby supermarket is a pain.

Another point to mention if you order the SBC from abroad is that you might get few more pounds depending on the EUR/GBP conversion rate. The failed unit I sent earlier has arrived at the shop yesterday and I'm waiting for my deposit to be returned - I'll let you know how much it is once I receive it.

For the record - my SBC failed at 122k.

Regards,
Sve

 

[Amo]

I have 108K on mine and hope it can give me 10 - 15 k more LOL.

I agree the hassle is not worth for £400 (for me anyway) i am hoping to buy 2nd car which will ideally be perfect as having 55AMG as daily stop start traffic isnt ideal!

Hats off to Sve for going all the way to actually proving its doable outside of dealerships!

B1g1an - AMG's has other parts which cost almost as much anyway so 1250 doesnt seem as extreme as it would have for my old W211 320cdi! so i totally agree with you regarding hassle etc.

 

[Timster]

Mines on 216k and still on original sb unit!

Expecting to change it soon!

53 plate S211 320cdi!

I love the sbc system!

 

[Sve]

I'm really grateful for all the comments and happy that I can help the community.

Good to hear that Timster! Mine is exactly the same - 53 plate S211 320CDI except it's on 122k. Is it the specific BLUE color by any chance, very popular for this model ?

 

[Timster]

I'm really grateful for all the comments and happy that I can help the community. Good to hear that Timster! Mine is exactly the same - 53 plate S211 320CDI except it's on 122k. Is it the specific BLUE color by any chance, very popular for this model ?

Afraid not - it's big standard silver!!

 

[DCM!]

New SBC Pump

Just had the white warning light on mine with 192K on the clock. Diagnostics came up with pump wear and tear.

My inde pointed me at www.dronsfields.co.uk which is a Merc breaker and they have used SBC pumps for £450 with a guarantee that they work but obviously not for how many brake depressions might be left in them.

However they also do new pumps for £795.00 inc next day delivery with a two year warranty which is what I have gone for. Fitting etc another £200.00 which is not cheap but far better than main dealer. Should give me another 50\60K and more importantly peace of mind.

My inde told me that if the red warning came on you got off the road immediately or I would need thighs the size of Chris Hoy to stop the thing!

Hope this helps.

 

[merc85]

Thats a Great price DCM

 

[AMGeed]

Just had the white warning light on mine with 192K on the clock. Diagnostics came up with pump wear and tear.

My inde pointed me at www.dronsfields.co.uk which is a Merc breaker and they have used SBC pumps for £450 with a guarantee that they work but obviously not for how many brake depressions might be left in them.

However they also do new pumps for £795.00 inc next day delivery with a two year warranty which is what I have gone for. Fitting etc another £200.00 which is not cheap but far better than main dealer. Should give me another 50\60K and more importantly peace of mind.

My inde told me that if the red warning came on you got off the road immediately or I would need thighs the size of Chris Hoy to stop the thing!

Hope this helps.

Welcome to the forum DCM
Thanks for your informative post. Just to be clear as I'm a bit dumb today, it is your indy that can supply a replacement SBC pump for £795 ?
Could you say who your indy is for future reference? I assume VAT is included in your figures?

 

[Sve]

Follow up on my journey just to let you know that I got my deposit back today, ten days after the failed SBC arrived at the shop. If I have to summarize I paid £701 in total, then I paid £16 for shipment and got £86 deposit back.

So the price of a new SBC unit from Germany will cost you £631 in total, probably less as the pound is strong against the euro now.

 

[AMGeed]

Follow up on my journey just to let you know that I got my deposit back today, ten days after the failed SBC arrived at the shop. If I have to summarize I paid £701 in total, then I paid £16 for shipment and got £86 deposit back.

So the price of a new SBC unit from Germany will cost you £631 in total, probably less as the pound is strong against the euro now.

This is the way I will go should my SBC pump fail me.
Thanks for the update

 

[karozza]

Follow up on my journey just to let you know that I got my deposit back today, ten days after the failed SBC arrived at the shop. If I have to summarize I paid £701 in total, then I paid £16 for shipment and got £86 deposit back. So the price of a new SBC unit from Germany will cost you £631 in total, probably less as the pound is strong against the euro now.

Unfortunately, they don't have it for the SL55.