That was the longest forum thread I have ever read. Very inspirational! I have everything I need all ready to rebuild our race car. Okay I have had everything ready for six months... Now I feel even more lazy! The MB 63 is a wonderful piece of machinery and I love my S63. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration! Vince
I saw this headline "AMG's Engine Factory Makes No Mistakes" and thought "So ironic..." Was so hoping to see Guido featured in the article. AMG's Engine Factory Makes No Mistakes
I saw that too, IMHO it was a response necessitated by R&T corporate overlords, the article reads more like a PR piece than anything else. I think it even linked the piece they did on Mazdeuce, so a rebuttal of sorts. Pay no attention to that man down in Houston.. 
EDIT: You think with all the attention to detail that article describes they would have taken the time to spec some decent head bolts..
I think there's a good PR argument to be made that the assembly portion of AMG doesn't make mistakes. The failure in my engine wasn't assembly related at all. However it's the corporate/engineering's side that maybe isn't 100% honest. When I talked about the improved head bolts with corporate they said "Mercedes always updates parts though an engine's lifecycle. Just because we change something doesn't mean the the origional was bad, just the the new part is better." I have no doubt that meets the legal definition of true, but it's not exactly helpful for those owners who's engines revealed the need for those updates.
It's hard to find a car that doesn't have some fundamental engineering issue somewhere in it these days. Mercedes is no better or worse than anyone else at that.
In reply to compaddict:
You no doubt noticed that there were extended periods where I created excuses to sit on my hands instead of actually work. I completely understand staring at a pile of parts.
Thanks for reading, I hope you're turning wrenches soon.
Trying not to threadjack but I think it is an interesting coincidence. I own a 2010 Honda Odyssey and it is going to have to have the engine rebuilt. It seems the Ex-L and Touring models with the Eco mode will wear out cylinders 1-4 and start burning oil and fouling plugs. This seems to happen somewhere north of 80k miles. We have 113k on ours. Honda is rebuilding these engines under warranty AFTER settling a class action lawsuit. I'm guessing there weren't enough affected engines or irate owners to file a lawsuit over the head bolt issue against Mercedes and AMG to get a similar settlement from Mercedes.
mazdeuce wrote: I think there's a good PR argument to be made that the assembly portion of AMG doesn't make mistakes. The failure in my engine wasn't assembly related at all. However it's the corporate/engineering's side that maybe isn't 100% honest. When I talked about the improved head bolts with corporate they said "Mercedes always updates parts though an engine's lifecycle. Just because we change something doesn't mean the the origional was bad, just the the new part is better." I have no doubt that meets the legal definition of true, but it's not exactly helpful for those owners who's engines revealed the need for those updates. It's hard to find a car that doesn't have some fundamental engineering issue somewhere in it these days. Mercedes is no better or worse than anyone else at that.
Engineers don't make mistakes, they make design changes.
Kristian
MazD, the tone of the R&T article clearly indicates that YOU , in a remote spot in deep east Texas, for goodness sake, has clearly exposed a raw(AMG) nerve. Thanks to you, GRM, and THE MIGHTY INTERWBB ,the little people may sleep in peace tonight....
In reply to Motobones:
Too bad Honda is fixing your Odyssey. It would have been a golden opportunity to get a lift and some new tools. 
mazdeuce said:"It's hard to find a car that doesn't have some fundamental engineering issue somewhere in it these days. Mercedes is no better or worse than anyone else at that." "It's hard to find a car that doesn't have some fundamental engineering issue somewhere in it these days. Mercedes is no better or worse than anyone else at that."
So much truth in this statement, I've been looking and every time I think I've found a model I like the looks and specs on there's some glaring error that comes to light. Or maybe I just have horrible taste in cars.
In reply to Wall-e:
Out of curiosity I got the service bulletin and repair process from the service manager. It looks basically like what Mazdeuce has done with the R63 except they don't pull the engine and transmission out to do it. Also, since it is warranty, Honda only gives the dealer 8 hours labor for the whole thing. That's nuts. I can't see how it's possible to do that in one work day. It would take me a year and Ms. Motobones is not as patient as Ms. Mazdeuce.
In reply to Motobones:
Continuing the Not a Threadjack, Honda re-ringed the V6 in my 2010 Accord at around 53k. Fouling the plugs on two of the rear cylinders due to the Eco-cylinder deactivation mode that I didn't really want in the first place.
Mazdeuce Could you check your gmail account associated with your profile. I sent you a note. Thanks
az57chevy wrote: Mazdeuce Could you check your gmail account associated with your profile. I sent you a note. Thanks
I think I got it and replied. Unless you don't hear back, in which case I found someone else's message that I somehow missed. So if you don't hear from me, try again. 
Woah. It took about 5 days of reading in my spare time (and then slightly longer than 24 hours for the grace period), but I made it through all 102 pages! I never do that. What an adventure! I can only echo what everyone has already said. You are an inspiration, both at turning wrenches and life in general. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this whole ordeal, and have been binge reading this emotional rollercoaster of wrenching geekdom. Who knew such a cool place existed? All these guys and gals, everyone here, all pitch in to lend some advice, or ad to the story. Pure gearhead awesomeness. So now you may all have to suffer my stories, too! ;) I also finally subscribed to the print magazine.
I too am a seeker of unicorns. My friends always give me a hard time about them, and I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of the fun. I was burned by one {Audi S4 Avant 6M) but am still in love with another (E39 328iT sport 6M) and am sure to eventually get my hands on a few more. I still haven't owned a V70R or an AMG wagon. I'm a wagon guy at heart. I'm curently in the process of converting my highly customized Buick Roadmaster wagon to a 6 speed manual... And now I think I've found a place where there are crazies like me who may enjoy the experiences. Believe it or not, I was linked here by a friend on a car stalkers FB group, when I was considering making another horrible automotive purchase of a well worn and unloved AMG.
Anyways... Thanks for all of that. The learning. The laughing. The crying, well almost. The anticipation. The stress. The community. And the downright glee at the resurrection of the persona-transforming beast that should have never existed, But does. Oh, and the wife envy. She rocks. You're a lucky man.
Now go get that tranny service done! I'm dying to hear what they say!
In reply to toomanytoyz:
A V70R is on my list. Those are cool. I also admit I would take the risk on an S4 Avant and probably end up with the motor all over my garage. Around here converting a Roadmaster to manual is the easy and logical route, you'll fit right in. This is a magical place.
In other news, the dealer work bays are 'slightly' nicer than the Grosh. 
Waiting for it to go on the lift. The service writer and the service manager I talked to before have both come and found me and congratulated me on getting it back together. They seem genuinely happy and surprised to see it back.
No wonder they have to charge $120+ an hour for labor.
In reply to onemanarmy:
Well, the DO have massage chairs, which I'll take advantage of right after I finish my complimentary muffin and coffee. There is also a TV in the mirror in the bathroom. Swanky.
Oh, it's popcorn and anticipation time for the way this chapter ends.
-Hans
See if they have Mercedes napkins!
My local MB dealer has a very posh waiting area but it's not as nice as that one!
What really puzzled me is that they had all sorts of tie clips, watches, cuff links, and jazz like that in the parts department. Lots of hats, polos, water bottles, and other stuff. But not a single thing that said "Hamilton" or had a number 44 on it...
Up in the air!
It was swarmed by techs. For a couple of minutes it looked like an F1 pit stop. Apparently one of the techs just got back from training in Florida and they were talking about it. 
Hello to all the MB techs, you guys are cool.
Initial inspection showed the oil leak, they'll check and see if they can see exactly where it is when they get it back down, otherwise they're happy with it. Setting up the equipment to change the transmission fluid now.
I used to love taking cars to the MB dealer and BMW dealer here in Austin for my old job. We'd always carve out a few minutes for complimentary food. BMW has a movie theater, considered taking advantage of that a few times.
I finally had to register due to your other thread. I've been a lurker here for years, but I stumbled on your thread from the original interwebs spike. Your writing style is completely captivating. I agree with everyone here, you should do some kind of writing and someone should pay you for it. You are honest, funny, and kind. You can relate complicated things easily and your energy is infectious. I've rebuild a couple cars, but I don't have anything other than the people movers now. I agree, I've wanted a V70R for awhile. Turbo charged I5, AWD, WAGON! I love mini-vans and wagons, though from page 70 or so, for me, mini-van is defined by sliding doors. If it has hinged doors, it's just a big wagon! I have a Ford Flex now (sadly not ecoboost), and it's just a big wagon. Thank you again for posting, I haven't rebuilt anything in years, and due to your inspiration, I'm going to build a work bench in my "grosh" (awesome thread btw) and rebuild the mower, oil in chamber and gas in oil, so something is broke.
Tried the massage chair. After that kind of intimacy I feel like I need a few moments of cuddling.
The AMG tech just cut the transmission filter apart. I'm interested to see what he says. The fluid was way beyond gross when I pulled the cooler lines. Much worse that I ever would have let it get if there was an actual dipstick to check it.
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