R63 AMG The Unicorn of my Destruction

I tried to have a used uber SUV (V8 X5) and finally got tired of fixing all the German goofs. Like window regulators, water cooled (!) alternator, door lock actuators.

I finally gave up and got a Honda for family hauling duties.

I applaud your gumption and hope you stick with the uber Benz. It makes for good entertainment.

mazdeuce wrote: The plan was always to have it be the primary people moving car until I'm down to two kids, so 4-5 more years. Of course that also meant that it would be hauling the family across the country regularly, a job at which it excells. How much does road comfort make up for the everprrsent potential that will might have to load it on a U-Haul and drag it back to Texas? And if I can only trust it locally, does it really fit in with the fleet? I don't know. It needs to get back together, actually work, and give me a couple of clean oil samples.

Here are the two halves that make up the variable runners.
This is the inner piece the other way with the flaps open. And closed. Nothing groundbreaking but I get the feeling that not a lot of people have taken these apart for a look see.
And all five pieces have this cast into them. I think that complicates fixing it. Anything special I should know about working around cast magnesium?

In reply to hegels:

I think the usual long pipe will work to pull the crank bolt once I get something to hold the pulley. It's not really tighter than any other crank bolt out there.
I'm glad you like reading the thread. I thought I was getting long and rambling when I was in corporste purgatory with MB, I had no idea it was going to keep going like this.

In reply to smokindav:

Everyone's got to have a hobby. This is a dumb one, but it keeps me out of trouble.

This doesn't help here, but some handy advice:

For crank bolt removal on a still assembled engine, you can sometimes cheat. Put a big wrench or breaker bar on the bolt with a piece of duct tape holding it to the crank pulley so it doesn't fall off. Let the end of the bar sit against some solid piece of metal on the chassis. Hit the starter. As soon as the engine starts to rotate, let off. The tape will usually tear, letting the wrench fall. The bolt will be broken loose at this point.

It certainly is NOT a dumb hobby. I think we can all agree on that! Cars = Life.

mazdeuce wrote: In reply to smokindav: Everyone's got to have a hobby. This is a dumb one, but it keeps me out of trouble.

In reply to smokindav:

Many of us are in awe. mazdeuce's thread reminds me when I was 40 years younger and my neighbor (a heavy equipment operator who could wrench anything, and did) urged me to rebuild the family '67 Impala that was blowing oil through the filler cap. His challenge was that it didn't take a rocket scientist to build the V8 in the first place and if I was careful to take it apart logically, I could repair the bad piston rings and put it back together. He was right. I had my first engine rebuild under my belt and while I still respect the engineering that goes into fine automobiles, I'm no longer afraid of the idea of getting my hands dirty or tearing one apart!

Thanks Mazdeuce, sir. I wish I were 40 years younger and you were my neighbor!

In reply to rslifkin:

I learned that trick the hard way after doing a valve adjustment and forgetting the breaker bar was on the crank pulley. Scared the piss out of me when I started up the engine. Fortunately, no damage done.

However, considering the R63's engine is out of the car and half apart on the grosh floor, I'm not sure mazdeuce can use this technique.

Ian F wrote: However, considering the R63's engine is out of the car and half apart on the grosh floor, I'm not sure mazdeuce can use this technique.

Yeah... For future disassembly, pull the bolt before the heads come off. That way engine compression will hold the engine well enough for an impact to break it loose.

But.......what about tightening it? Yes there are ways around that to, but those don't let you tighten it to spec. If you're trying to properly tighten in you need a proper way to hold it. If you need a proper way to hold it to put it back in why not use the proper way to hold it to get it out? Yes, an impact or bumping the starter is faster, but in this case I still need the tool to do the job properly.

A long piece of flat steel, two holes drilled in it, bolt to the back of the crankshaft? Or is the torque converter still on there?

True, if it's a TTY bolt or something torque sensitive, you do need a way to hold it for tightening (assuming engine compression isn't sufficient). Manual trans cars can cheat by using the driveline to hold the engine, but no such luck for autos.

On crank bolts... using a piece of hardwood between a counterweight and the block has been known to hold things plenty. YMMV.

A new intake from MB is $2600 at the cheapest place I can find it. That sounds insane, except it's five separate magnesium castings with four mating surfaces held together with 40 bolts and there is the whole variable runner geometry thing. It's expensive, but it really is an exotic piece.

Paul_VR6 wrote: On crank bolts... using a piece of hardwood between a counterweight and the block has been known to hold things plenty. YMMV.

Was just about to recommend the same

Have a look here in regards to the Mg Al Zn alloy:

7xxx Series

EDIT: I found the right elements but in the wrong order, dang.

mazdeuce wrote: Incidentally, Mercedes says to never ever take this apart further than accessing the throttle bodies. Non serviceable and all that. Bottom off. This looks expensive.

I love that attitude. Screw the fact that German engineers said it was not serviceable let's take it apart and call them pansy's.

Here's how I attacked one of my Subarus. Is something like this an option for your crank pulley?

In reply to Woody:

I can. I've thought about it. The tightening procedure is something like:
1. 184lb/ft
2. Back off 180 degrees
3. 147lb/ft
4. 180 additional degrees
Not super complex but I feel like I want something that I know isn't going to slip.
So that leads me back to since I need (really want) the proper tool for tightening, I'll just wait until I have that tool to take it off.

This thread is fantastic... so are a bunch of the others. I am so glad I found this site..

I totally appreciate taking care of the Benz yourself. I got my wife a used 06 R350 that we had for a while..I have moved her into a leased new car instead. That said, now that the R has been gone for a little bit, I miss that tank. My only issue with it was it was great at hauling our family of five or a bunch of stuff in the back, but was pretty useless at both. With only one third row seat down there still was very limited cargo space. That said, I had a blast working on that car. It was easy to repair and actually really well built and engineered. As you are finding out. The one thing I did find sort of funny and frustrating is that it seemed some stuff you would think a typical owner would do themselves seemed unnecessarily complicated (main battery for one) yet stuff like brakes and suspension were amazingly simple to service... hmmm, did they do that on purpose to drive owners to the dealer?

Anyway, I might as well give you something potentially useful out of my post. While not related to your current rebuild, there is a design issue that can potentially become a major issue with these cars. Water intrusion through the climate control unit. It floods the lower floor area that holds the two batteries and electronics. Not good. I learned about it on Mercedes forums and fixed it just in time. Had rain, caught it just when some water started to get in.

On the firewall on the passenger side is a grill over a box that is the air intake for the climate control. In the bottom of that box is a little rubber valve that is supposed to let water out. The problem is it gets clogged and allows the box to fill up with rain water that then dumps into the climate control box. The solution is to simply remove the rubber valve. It is so high up that if you actually sink the R that deep, you have bigger problems than water in the air box. Please, while fresh in your mind, check to see if that rubber valve is there and get it out..

Cheers for now. Not much to add, but I did mess with other stuff that is fairly common to all versions. So, hopefully my experience with this neat and odd car from Mercedes will be helpful.

codrus wrote: A long piece of flat steel, two holes drilled in it, bolt to the back of the crankshaft? Or is the torque converter still on there?

I've never thought of doing that but it seems like the best idea. You're basically bolting the crank to a bell housing hole so it doesn't turn?

Wall-e wrote:

codrus wrote: A long piece of flat steel, two holes drilled in it, bolt to the back of the crankshaft? Or is the torque converter still on there?

I've never thought of doing that but it seems like the best idea. You're basically bolting the crank to a bell housing hole so it doesn't turn?

The transmission is still on the back, but Mercedes (so says the internet) says specifically not to do that.

In reply to JOsworth:

I'm 99% certain I know what you mean but I'll check tomorrow. I certainly have good access to the firewall now.
I agree that the van is an amazing people mover but kind of a terrible minivan. If it weren't for the 63 part I wouldn't own this one. I'm not so much attracted to horsepower as I am to the type of automotive crazy that ends up putting this motor in this van.

In reply to mazdeuce: Thank you very much for what you wrote. Working on cars is what I do when necessary like right now. I called my son a little while ago and told him that as long as I was in his engine I was replacing the head gaskets. There is always one of those "as long as I'm here I might as well" moments. I am loving watching you do this job. I love all of the "as long as I'm here".

Mazdeuce: I'm on BAT,saw your thread there:

Sorry to hear of your problems...but many kudos to you,and thanks for taking the time to post all of this so others in the future can refer back to this helpful thread. What can also be learned from this thread is not just how to do it,but how to work on things such as this: label everything,take pictures,get the manual,zip ties and tags,labelling bolts,etc.

I have too many Mercedes W140 (S Class) 600s- coupes,sedans,AMG versions as well as R129 SL600s and have done all my own work on them and are easy to work on. The only really trying thing is the AC evaporator. Working on my Bentley Arnage is even simpler,as the basic engine design dates back decades...and I can honestly say I wouldn't tackle a job such as this. I'd take the driveline out for sure,but when it comes to replacing the guts on an engine-forget it! Kudos again.

Other lessons I've learnt and I'm sure you adhere to: be patient,get tired-quit,tired in any way-don't work on it,if something gets annoying-take 15 minutes for a walk,make it comfy to work on-no bending over or sitting on the hard cold floor,etc.

ATF,let it sit a while and a toothbrush works on carbon deposits,and on that subject I found this recently and was excited to buy it but...it costs more than that new 6.2 engine: Laser rust and carbon removal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8q3DZB_l6M

At any rate,many people think I'm a daft for fiddling around with my cars...but I think they're nuts for spending hours a day in front of the stupid TV.

Wishing the best,and I'll check back in periodically to see how it's going.