Great you've renewed my desire to tile the garage....
Great you've renewed my desire to tile the garage....
The0retical wrote: Great you've renewed my desire to tile the garage....
You and me both.
The oil leak is through the the lower of the two drivers side cam sensors. It should be fixed pronto because the oil can flow down the wire shielding and fill the computer with oil. 
They checked and don't have any in stock so I'll order it when I get home. The transmission looked right about how they expect it to look at the 100k mile service. Fluid is spent and slight fuzziness on the magnets. On a long enough time frame it's a wear item. Other than that it has a clean bill of health. I couldn't be happier.
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.
Glad to see this response. I have worked in manufacturing for the past 25 years. Half of that as tier one supplier to the Big Three, Cat, Deere etc. Often times parts and equipment are made to spec and still fail due to unseen, Or sometimes seen, weakness in the design. When you get a call at 2 AM telling you that your parts failed, and they want 20000 replacements by weekend, and oh yeah we decided to make a few "small changes" before you produce them, you know they have a problem and are looking for a way out.
$120/hr seems low to me for a MB dealership. Local rural Ford dealership is $105, and some of the local independent shops are pushing $120.
The independent shop I used to refer R-12 AC and alignment work to was $160 13 years ago. (Although that was in Los Angeles) The Lexus dealership near us was $180.
Great news on the Mercedes pit stop experience. You've earned the admiration. :)
Also good to hear the oil leak is not due to a reassembly glitch and the tranny is as expected.
Hooray!
It must be a relief to know the leak wasn't an error on your part. I'm sure they were looking for a reason to pick the job apart.
In reply to mazdeuce:
Sir, you not only make me believe that we can do anything, but remind me of why we should do it in the first place.
Here's to you mazdeuce, well played.
Oil leaks sending oil through the wires is a fun one. I had one of those on the Jeep. Pulled an ECU connector and oil dripped out... Turned out the oil pressure sensor had failed and lubricated the harness.
In reply to mazdeuce: Yes we are talking about it.
Mazdeuce, Powerblock TV just put you on my Facebook feed again. Who knew that fixing a car could make a fella so famous?!?
You are a hero and a true inspiration. Congrats'
It may not be rocket science (maybe closer to rocket assembly), but the amount of knowledge that's been transferred on this thread is amazing. This makes me seriously consider more ambitious projects...maybe I should reconsider something silly like a V70R.
In reply to Hoondavan:
Rocket assembly sounds just about right. But then again I've never actually assembled a rocket. Hmmmmm.......
Someone around here needs a V70R. It needs to happen.
In reply to snailmont5oh:
I still don't quite understand what's happening or why. The van runs. People are having fun reading. I'm not sure I could ask for anything more at this point.
MB_tech2005 wrote: In reply to mazdeuce: Yes we are talking about it.
I had a great experience with the techs today. There is something culturally going on that has people happy to be doing good work and I hope it's going on at all the MB dealerships. Mercedes is right on the edge of drawing in a generation of gear heads. There are some spectacular cars to be bought for very reasonable money. All the parts are available to fix them and MB seems committed to keeping parts available. The only thing missing is good dealer/DIY interaction. If people could have the kind of experience I did today, they'd be more likely to be driving around some cool cars.
In reply to FunkyCricket:
Thanks for the kind words. If your mower is broken then there is no reason NOT to take it apart. Worst case scenario you end up with a lawn mower that's still broken, but you have more knowledge than you had before. Remember someone has solved your problem before, it can be solved again, don't be afraid to ask for help.
A year ago I was driving down dirt roads in Upper Michigan as a rally support car. Suspension in monster truck mode, kids hanging out in the woods eating carpenter ant larvae after kicking a log apart like a bunch of bear cubs.
I just had an interview with Mark at Fuel Curve and he asked me if I had any idea that this was going to turn out like it has when I drove home from Florida. The answer is no. God no. The plan was to be completely boring in an amazing car, change the oil a couple of times, maybe do brakes, and somehow get away with owning a minivan shaped supercar with no real expenses.
That didn't happen.
But somehow, with the help of this board, I've managed to turn a $57k repair estimate into a grand adventure that I can honestly say I'm happy about.
I changed the oil this afternoon and saved aside a sample to send to Blackstone in the fall. The cam position sensor is ordered and I'll put it in first thing when I get back. The van is tucked safely in, the Battery Tender Jr. is hooked up, and that's pretty much that.
I need to be able to tow an old Airstream and haul some lumber on vacation this summer and the R63 isn't the right tool for that job. In the fall I'll fire it back up and continue to sort out the small things. I'll drive the kids to school and enjoy it for what it is, one of the finest family haulers ever screwed together.
I'm going to have a very limited internet presence for the next couple months. No WiFi here.
If anyone needs to get ahold of me, continue to message me, just don't be worried or offended if it takes a while for me to respond.
That lake looks like the Upper Michigan Peninsula. How you got Texas kids to swim in ice-floe water I have no idea!
Bon voyage Mazdeuce! We'll be waiting for more tales of your adventures 
mazdeuce wrote: In reply to Hoondavan: Rocket assembly sounds just about right. But then again I've never actually assembled a rocket. Hmmmmm.......
Trust me, you don't want to go there. I've done some, well, not exactly assembly, but checkout in preps for firing. Depending on the fuel, it can be a bit ... tense. Protocol for the one I was involved in required you to turn your cell phone off (none of this airplane mode stuff) and leave it in the car. Which had to be parked with the front facing the parking lot exit.
Assuming you still wanted to go inside, everything was air tools. No electric motors of any kind anywhere inside. After a while it all seemed "normal" until something dictated you moved one of the motors around (these particular ones were "small" enough that several people could push them around on the dollies they rested on) - then you would hear the fuel sloshing around inside and questioned what on earth you were doing.
In reply to NorseDave:
If you haven't read "Ignition!: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants", you should. :) https://archive.org/details/ignition_201612
Have been reading this whole thread over the last couple of days and just had to register to pass on my congrats on getting the beasty running.
The first engine I took apart was the 3.9 V8 in my Discovery a couple of years ago after the head gasket blew and the relief when it went back together and worked was awesome, I can image the jubilation of getting yours to run was of the scale.
Gentabout (UK)
NorseDave wrote:mazdeuce wrote: In reply to Hoondavan: Rocket assembly sounds just about right. But then again I've never actually assembled a rocket. Hmmmmm.......Trust me, you don't want to go there. I've done some, well, not exactly assembly, but checkout in preps for firing. Depending on the fuel, it can be a bit ... tense. Protocol for the one I was involved in required you to turn your cell phone off (none of this airplane mode stuff) and leave it in the car. Which had to be parked with the front facing the parking lot exit. Assuming you still wanted to go inside, everything was air tools. No electric motors of any kind anywhere inside. After a while it all seemed "normal" until something dictated you moved one of the motors around (these particular ones were "small" enough that several people could push them around on the dollies they rested on) - then you would hear the fuel sloshing around inside and questioned what on earth you were doing.
Yep, why do you think all the amateur stuff is solid-fuel. I was HOPING to hit both 10,000ft and Supersonic this year, but life intervened and I don't think I'll be doing any high-power flights at all for 2017.
-Hans
mazdeuce wrote: Any story that doesn't end in tragedy ends in the mediocrity of life.
Nah. There is wonder even in the small things, and life is what you make of it. A mediocre life is one where, at the end of it, you're full of regret for all of the things you didn't do.
I can't PM as I'm too new, but that looks like you will be relatively close to where I live. That looks like Lake Michigan if I've ever seen a picture of one. I'm in the northern lower peninsula area myself. Great place for the summer. Enjoy.
FYI: ticks are bad up here this year, keep an eye out and give a quick check if you are in the woods at all.
hhaase wrote: Yep, why do you think all the amateur stuff is solid-fuel. I was HOPING to hit both 10,000ft and Supersonic this year, but life intervened and I don't think I'll be doing any high-power flights at all for 2017.
I think there's a bunch of amateur hybrid rockets using solid fuel and liquid oxidizer (N2O)?
All the rocket assembling I do is in Kerbal Space Program, though. :)
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