What Have You Done To Your Merc Today?

[8bit]

Thanks all for the input on the plate frames - just ordered a pair from eBay.

 

[W1ghty]

Had an irritating squeak noise whilst driving to France (wasn’t Mrs W) , mainly manoeuvring at low speed or when the back of the car was moved up and down when stationary .
I had replaced the rear anti roll bar bushes before I left , so I was hoping this could be it .
I got the car on wheel ramps and got Mrs W to rock the back of the car whilst I put some automotive ear thingy’s onto various suspension bits , (I also checked it on Mrs W which yielded a squeak in a different range ). Fortunately it was the ARB bushes .
Quick removal , grease and back on again….no squeak .
Its not often fixes are free

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Another name to add to the list.....
MobBobbyilo Dazzler

 

[SmartAmg]

Took the front plate and mounting plinth off to see if I can potentially mount the plate directly to the bumper, as I don't like the big, dark grey, plastic plinth. It's doable, can drill the plate in the positions that the plinth mounts to but I'm not sure if it looks a little unfinished without the plinth, also wondering if there's some functional reason for having the plinth...

Before:
View attachment 159324

"After":
View attachment 159325

If I was going to do it permanently I'd get a fresh plate made up but I stopped short of drilling this one for now. There's a company in Australia that do a much smaller plinth which can't be seen behind the plate but I don't think that's suitable for UK sized plates. Wish there was a slimmer alternative in the UK, if anyone knows of such a thing please let me know!

Did that on my C207. I didn't like the big plastic thing either. It looks so much better without it.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Thanks all for the input on the plate frames - just ordered a pair from eBay.

I was about to offer you a free set. A car I bought recently has a set but I like my cars to have the same registration number frames so I’ll be replacing them soon and you would be welcome to the originals.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

Washed the W212.

Got some gaskets to encourage me to fix the E55.

 

[AMGeed]

Finally receive a call with the diagnosis. It’s what I told them when I called Mobilo on Sunday night and then told the dealer when it arrived with them first thing yesterday.

They’re still charging me £200 for the diagnosis which I’m not impressed with given that I told them and they would confirm within 15 seconds of popping the bonnet.

Parts should arrive tomorrow.

I can see both customer and dealer sides of this.
If the customer states categorically that the car needs , for example, a new CPS and the dealer takes the customer at his word and replaces the CPS and it doesn't cure the fault, its money wasted.
It's the high diagnosis fee that I object to, especially when, as you say the fault can be diagnosed within minutes. That £200 fee is looking OTT then.
A word in the service managers ear about that fee would be my move, especially as you are a regular customer.

Another good reason I guess to use a trusted Indy you know won't gouge you on diagnosis charges. Bit different obviously with Mobilio or warranty work, but you get my point.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I can see both customer and dealer sides of this.
If the customer states categorically that the car needs , for example, a new CPS and the dealer takes the customer at his word and replaces the CPS and it doesn't cure the fault, its money wasted.
It's the high diagnosis fee that I object to, especially when, as you say the fault can be diagnosed within minutes. That £200 fee is looking OTT then.
A word in the service managers ear about that fee would be my move, especially as you are a regular customer.

Another good reason I guess to use a trusted Indy you know won't gouge you on diagnosis charges. Bit different obviously with Mobilio or warranty work, but you get my point.

Thanks Rog.

Unfortunately Mobilo recovered it to a dealer I don’t usually use so I have no relationship with them. Had it been my usual dealer I donmt think ; have had to pay for the diagnostic charge.

My frustration (and it’s slight) isn’t the cost of the diagnostic it’s that it took them 1.5 days to do it when they know that we are waiting for it to be fixed to go on holiday!

They could have popped the bonnet when it arrived to confirm what I had asked them to do, and ordered the parts there and then. I would have had it back today or maybe even last night.

I suspect if I had taken the offer of a hire car then they might have been a bit keener to turn it around. My first priority is getting the car back soon, fingers crossed it will be sorted in the morning

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Interesting option, thanks. How does the plate secure to the holder, if not with screws? Also the W204 front bumper is not flat, not sure about the W221, will the holder cope with that, do you think?

@tmwsccsh - that's good to know, thanks. I'll bear that in mind. Nice to meet another ex-Jaguarista, I had two XKRs and an XF S before the C63!

Spurred in by this thread I removed the plate holders which were fitted to the car when new, and fitted the new holders to match my other cars.

The ones I removed (see photo) show how most of the standard Wuerth holders work, as fitted by many main dealers for a long time.

You slip a narrow flat blade screw driver or similar into the side - near the two prongs in the photo - and it pops open. Do that at both ends.

Pop the the plate in, then close the frame around the plate, making sure that the clips (those two prongs! have “clicked” tight at both ends.

The new Wuerth holders open and close differently, and whist it’s a similarly neat design, it requires around 15-20mm clearance beneath the holder.

The car I wanted to fit them to has zero clearance beneath the holder so I had to swap them from another car first which was a bit of faff! Done now.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

View attachment 159367

Spurred in by this thread I removed the plate holders which were fitted to the car when new, and fitted the new holders to match my other cars.

The ones I removed (see photo) show how most of the standard Wuerth holders work, as fitted by many main dealers for a long time.

You slip a narrow flat blade screw driver or similar into the side - near the two prongs in the photo - and it pops open. Do that at both ends.

Pop the the plate in, then close the frame around the plate, making sure that the clips (those two prongs! have “clicked” tight at both ends.

The new Wuerth holders open and close differently, and whist it’s a similarly neat design, it requires around 15-20mm clearance beneath the holder.

The car I wanted to fit them to has zero clearance beneath the holder so I had to swap them from another car first which was a bit of faff! Done now.

Replacements now fitted.

 

[SpikyMikey]

Replacements now fitted.

View attachment 159368

Certainly looks like it was Würth the effort

 

[8bit]

I was about to offer you a free set. A car I bought recently has a set but I like my cars to have the same registration number frames so I’ll be replacing them soon and you would be welcome to the originals.

Ah, thanks! That's very kind but I've got the eBay ones on their way now, otherwise I'd have taken you up on that.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I received a text message from the RAC who operate Mobilo in the UK on behalf of Mercedes, saying that the recovery would be 30 minutes later than previously advised so rather than wait 2.5 hours trying not to think about needing a wee, I got Junior D to pick me up.

I arrived home and jumped straight in the shower, still a very comfortable 2h 20m from the estimated recovery time received 15 minutes prior. The very moment I stepped in the shower the driver called to say he’s be there in 10 minute!s!

Jumped out of the shower and straight back to the car. Recovered in minutes and on its way to a secure storage yard. Overall very good service but how they go the timing so wrong is anyone’s guess. The RAC tracker still thinks I’m waiting for the recovery truck to arrive.

Whilst I was sat in the car, only five or six cars passed me. Ironically one of them was a breakdown assistance van from the very same independent recovery outfit, and he passed me twice! Remarkable coincidence!

I received a call from the main dealer just after lunchtime to say that it was ready to collect. I received a small discount in the original price. The service advisor confirmed that the belt, all pulleys and the tensioner have all been replaced.

The M156 is a mechanically noisy engine so I was surprised that you can hear the difference (just about). Mrs D drive her home which gave me lots of opportunities to see the car driving from all angles which is a rare treat.

Yes I did say that, I am that sad.

 

[MSG2004]

I had our GLE through the handwash people at Morrisons today. They did a good job as it had been 10 months since last wash edat MB
when car was serviced. From mem I think the clean the inside as well, The paint on the had pits the car wash people could not remove. so back home I used a bit of polish. TBH, I forgot how nice the car looks. The inside is very clean as we don't eat in the car etc and I shake the mats out as required

 

[sidehustleveteran]

searched for part to get back on road

 

[milan11]

Replaced AUX battery in the dash, fiddly but only cost me £20 Vs £160 that I got quoted from mechanic. I went for a Yuasa rather than the original and took an hour so happy with that.

 

[W1ghty]

Changed both front rubber brake hoses on the CLK and squeezed some more green MB grease into the front bearing caps .
I couldn’t remove the rear rubber brake hose top nut on either side so I’ll leave them for now (or get a garage to do them) .
Changed the brake fluid whilst I was working on each corner .

 

[8bit]

Fitted the front plate holder that arrived late last week. Much prefer this to the chunky, dark grey plinth that was on there before. I'll need to get fresh plates made up without the screw holes. The screws supplied with the holders are slightly too small so the heads pass through some of the screw holes which is annoying. I will take it off next time I wash the car to properly clean behind the plate then try refitting the holder with a couple of washers to secure it better.



Please excuse all the dead bugs, I'd enjoyed a spirited drive on Saturday morning

 

[HappytalkAgain]

• Full service
• MOT
• Front Suspension Arm
• AT oil change
• Pano roof service
• Rear discs & pads
• Full 4 wheel alignment
• All 4 wheels balanced

….on the car. All done at our Indie in Carlisle (AutoTeck: Kingstown). Amazing service from Richard from start to finish.

I’ll be working the next 10 weekends.

 

[AMGeed]

Serviced to S204 ready for an MOT next week.
Oil and filter, plugs done. Forgot to take pics of plugs being done..
Got the oil blocking pig tails arriving to attach to the cam magnets. Have checked and no oil present right now.