What Sonic said. I don't know what it's like down in TX, but AMG models are pretty common up here in the Northeast, so an engine may be cheaper. My minivan has hauled an engine before, it can do it again and I do travel a bit.
What Sonic said. I don't know what it's like down in TX, but AMG models are pretty common up here in the Northeast, so an engine may be cheaper. My minivan has hauled an engine before, it can do it again and I do travel a bit.
mazdeuce wrote: If the block is anything other than scrap it should stay with the car somehow. This morning after I drop the kids off I'm headed to the dealer to chat and give back the loaner. I'm very impressed with it and am going to see if I can have a salesman call me if they get an AMG version in. Double the power, double the drive wheels and better seats and it might be perfect. I'm going to collect the names and cards of my service rep and the tech that did the diagnosis and talk to the tech if they'll let me. Get any contact info they'll give me at MB USA to talk to about it. Be nice because quite frankly they've been great to me so far. Then call the tow truck and get a ride back home. So that's the plan for today.
Wait, so you bought an expensive rare version of a Mercedes van which failed spectacularly and has proven to be rather expensive to fix. Your solution is to purchase another expensive rare version of a Mercedes?
Sorry to be cynical, but your venturing into "more money than brains" territory.
I'm not in a position to buy anything with this repair looming, but it would be silly to dismiss a good car because of problems with a completely different good car. At this point establishing a positive relationship with the dealership about an interesting product can only be a positive. MB taking on any of this would be an amazing act of good will. The GLA is a very nice little car. I'll do a 'rental' review later, but the van blowing up doesnt really have any bearing on how I feel about AMG and MB in general.
In reply to mazdeuce:
I dunno man. I was thinking similar thoughts to Tuna there. Mercedes has a known common problem with those motors and their solution to your experiencing that problem is a $57k repair bill. I think buying another Mercedes - especially another AMG - at this point falls firmly into "fool me twice" territory. No matter how nice the service advisors have been and how good the coffee is at the end of the day they're still making you pay for their engineering or manufacturing failure.
Here's hoping they do something for you on the R63.
So the diagnostics are:
Start car (gah!)
See smoke.
Check oil.
Water in oil is head bolts. Recommend new engine because there is a solid chance (not 100% by any means) that a rod bend or there is a cylinder problem or........
Send customer home weeping.
That's where we are. Only very basic diagnostics done and at $150 an hour it's not a good financial move to have them tear into this motor as a let's see. I'm heading home on a flat bed to call MB USA and plead my case that this is their engineering failure on a very rare special car. Once I've exhausted my options one way or another then it'll be tool time. The AMG tech said it would be worth every penny to buy a lift. Sounds like justification to me!
And for those of you that question my judgment, the only other car I'm searching for long term is a late 70's early 80's Rolls Royce Silver Shadow station wagon. I have an almost unlimited capacity for bad automotive decisions.
Mrs. Deuce just messaged me and said she's looking forward to seeing how epic this build thread becomes. She's a keeper.
In reply to mazdeuce:
You do have a keeper.
I am just wondering what you will do. Junkyard engine, straight rebuild, LS swap, V12 AMG swap, the possiblilites are endless.
A lot of it depends on what I find when I tear the motor apart. There is a non zero chance that it just needs new gaskets and bolts and this and that and it's fine. It really depends on how much fluid got into the cylinders at a time. Enough to bend rods? We'll see. Otherwise the basic plan is to find another motor that hasn't blown up, take it apart to do the reliability upgrades, and then put it in.
I'd keep it original and just upgrade what needs upgrading to keep it stock. I mean, it's a rare car as it is. No need to bastardize it and make it even more rarer-er... Not to mention it already has 'holy berk' amounts of hp and tq stock.
Bonus point is Deuce can sign his own damn 'hand built by______' badge on this one, hehe.
Whew... yes, this thread will be epic.
The tech likely recommends a lift because in cars like these, it's much easier to drop the engine out the bottom.
When the car is back on the road, it'll need a new tag: "Phoenix"!
Did they do the "diagnosis" for free? Cause that seems pretty damn cursory if you paid $150/hr for that! Seems like you can find out a bit more before actually tearing into it by doing some testing at home...
No lift needed to pop an engine out the bottom.
Granted, it would be a nice thing to have but not entirely needed.
I also spent the better part of an hour with the AMG tech discussing the motor, the fix, and an invite to call him with questions when I tear into it. They towed me from home, gave me a loaner, and treated me well all before I had spent a dime. So yes, I paid the $150, their time is worth something.
In reply to GPz11:
I've done that before. I'm sure I could do it again on this, but I'd pull the whole front end off and pull it out the front first. Lift options are just one of the many things to think about.
My neighbor has not answered my test yet, but he is traveling. I will ask again when he gets home this weekend.
I wish I lived closer, I would love to lend a hand.
This is as good of any reason to get a hoist. Small potatoes compared to the price of repairing the car and a lift will be useful for many years to come.
new plate when it's done: 57K PHNX
Prophetic thread title perhaps.
I think the general ideas here are good. Tear into it, find out if the motor can be fixed, if not get a junkyard motor.
It doesn't surprise me that the motor installed is $57k, you're probably looking at $10k in labor alone. It's a hand build AMG motor in a car that retailed for around $90000. My hand built LS7 motor retails for $16k for just the motor and that's a Chevy. Mercedes dealership labor rates are stratospheric.
There isn't a Mercedes dealer out there that will break that thing down and see if it can be fixed. I doubt they will break any motor down, it's probably all swaps for every dealer.
For one thing, do you want to pay them the labor to find out if it can be fixed? A nice $5000 or so I bet to pull it and break it down to that point and find out, no it can't be fixed. I doubt they are able to fix it properly anyway and probably have no business case for fixing it and putting a guarantee on it.
Are they (1)head bolts or (2)studs?
Did they (A)stretch, or (B)pull out of the deck?
If (1) and (A), I would only do enough to remove old bolts and replace with new bolts. Then change oil, start engine, and see where you're at.
If (2) and (A), I'd do pretty much the same as above.
If the commingling of oil and coolant is due to head lift and somehow the gasket(s) didn't fail, you could be on the road again without removing the heads.
In other words, don't commit to tearing it down without some investigative work. The "maybe it bent a rod" can be ruled out by observing piston position at TDC on each cylinder with a bore scope in through the spark plug hole.
If you find that the above effort didn't fix it, you're only out a little bit of money and some time. But if the above effort does fix it, you're a goddamned internet hero!
In reply to mazdeuce:
Re. Antifreeze eating bearings, have you drained the crankcase and refilled with clean oil yet?
Thinking about it, it might be a good idea to drain the fluids ASAP. If there's coolant in the oil, having it sit against the bearings can't be good.
AngryCorvair wrote: In reply to mazdeuce: Re. Antifreeze eating bearings, have you drained the crankcase and refilled with clean oil yet?
Don't think he's got it home yet.
AngryCorvair wrote: In reply to mazdeuce: Re. Antifreeze eating bearings, have you drained the crankcase and refilled with clean oil yet?
I was thinking about that yesterday. Ideally, you'd want to crank it over to flush out the crap oil, right? then probably change the oil again once the old stuff has been flushed (hopefully) to the pan? And do it like RTF now?
edit: clearly not the only one thinking it.
Are there any MB specialty independents around you? I can't imagine an engine like that having no fans in the independent shop scene.
I'm home and headed to get oil and drain everything and cycle some fresh oil through it to hopefully preserve what is left of the motor. But yes, I'll be tearing into this slowly and methodically. No reason to buy a new motor until I figure out what's the deal with this one. Not a huge hurry.
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