Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Non-repair car talk
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kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

Ha, yeah.

Well my STS has the engine cover, just not the full dress. It has been parked outside for 3+ years. I have never seen even a sign of mice. I do consider myself lucky...

This is just a small cover that goes in the front, over the supercharger pulley. The engine covering is very minimal, probably because this is a nice looking engine.

Goes from this:
20200607_174256.jpg
To this:
PIC_0716.JPG
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

Good news: I scanned the Mercedes service history that came with the car. 53 pages of it.

Looks like this is service that occurred at Atlanta Classic Cars, a Mercedes-Benz dealer.

The first record is May 2006. Car seems to have around 29k at that time.

The service at this dealer runs through September 2010, at just under 68k. I have a feeling there is more history than this.

I also have some very interesting paperwork in the form of receipts from other places, like oil change places. I also found a P&S for the car back in 2011, when the service history I have ended. Had 68k on it and sold for $22,398. But then they tacked on a $500 dealer fee, $1,600 of sales tax (obviously), $2,147 in gap coverage, bringing the total to $26,647. Then they financed it for 36 months at $812.52/mo. Ouch. Total payments: $29,250.72.

This is how to turn a $22k car into a $29k car (or $27.5k if you exclude the tax that everyone has to pay). Classic. But look at that. On top of the $22k purchase price, they added $2,147 in gap coverage (because of the loan), and the loan cost was $2,603.72. So because they chose to finance (for only 3 years, mind you; longer would obviously be worse), this car cost an extra $4,750 or so, or over 20%! This is why I complain about financing.
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04 E55 AMG Mercedes service records.pdf
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kevm14
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Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

Did the interior charcoal filters and I received the regular cabin air filter (also charcoal) that goes in the engine bay. That one is ridiculously easy.

It takes two of the interior charcoal filters, which is part of the quad zone system. What's hilarious to me is there is a specific button on the dash that apparently ducts the air through those dual interior charcoal filters. I guess the idea is use only when necessary so they last longer or something. I've never seen a "filter more" mode. That's fancy.
20200614_183813.jpg
20200614_183822.jpg
20200614_183847.jpg
Don't know how old but the engine bay cabin air filter was a Mercedes part. Dirty. I forget if the interior ones were, too.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

Ordered a scan tool that is enhanced for Mercedes.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/174289736011

Should be good to scan all modules. This is not the same as the Star tool but those are considerably more expensive.

Price was reasonable and it says it comes with the latest software, though not sure that's necessary for an 04...
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

Finally found this. Doesn't use the letter codes though but I wonder if my scanner will tell me the number codes and I can look up all the things it wants....
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2004_2005_eclass.pdf
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Adam
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Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by Adam »

So after 150K it's fixed forever?
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

This one seems a little better and apparently includes AMG. It's for 2005s.

Found them here: https://www.mercedesbenzraleigh.com/ser ... rvals.html

Finally an explanation on the letters. So the letters are actually the hours of expected service based on what it thinks is due. That's....a little bizarre.
MB maintenance letter codes.PNG
I think mine says Service G which is apparently 7 hours of service. Maybe so the owner can decide to wait or drop off?? Just strange. Or...set an expectation on how expensive the service will be. Maybe that's it.

I hope my scanner actually lists the codes the car thinks it needs. I guess I should attempt to see what it really needs and perform those things if they don't seem ridiculous. I will say this, they want you to flush the brake fluid every 2 years. Lifetime brake fluid? No. Admittedly a lot of this is safety related, ze autobahn and stuff like that. But some of it is the SBC system and since brake fluid absorbs water, you are just shortening the life of (expensive) brake components. Plus the brake operation is worse (spongey or fades). Some things are done for a reason.
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2005_eclass_amg.pdf
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kevm14
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Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

So after I test drove the STS, I took the E55 to get takeout. This gave me an opportunity for a back to back comparison.

Steering
The STS has better steering than the E55. It's actually quite significant. It's tighter, better on center, better off center, it feels more direct, the ratio is better. It's better in every way. The E55 steering gets the job done but the STS steering feels quite good and satisfying. I think the E55 pulls to the right - feels like it has some cross caster or something because on some road surfaces it doesn't pull. I might try swapping the left and right tires, but it may also need an alignment. The STS tracks perfectly, even as the front tires are bald on the inner tread.

Chassis
The chassis is more direct in the STS. The E55 is more numb. The STS feels more....connected. Overall it feels more sophisticated. The ride is smoother but also less bouncy than the E55. And that's with worn out front lower control arm bushings. The E55 is smoother on sharp impacts but I think that's mainly because the STS needs front lower control arms still.

Seats
I added this as an edit but I will say the E55 seats are better overall. Much more support for spirited driving. Wish the driver's side ventilation system worked though.

Stereo
I didn't do an in depth comparison but I like the Bose in the STS better. It sounds more refined. The H/K Logic7 does seem to pound out more bass but that's about the only thing it does better. This does help it maintain good bass with the windows open which gets a little thin in the STS with the windows down. But the STS sounds good with a flat EQ except a small bass boost. I boosted the bass but had to lower the treble from neutral in the H/K. It gets harsh and seems to boost some upper mids - sort of the H/K sound if you will. As I said before, the loudness curve is also lousy in the H/K. There is little bass at lower volumes, unless I am parked with the engine off.

Transmission
I actually prefer the way the STS transmission goes about its business. The shifting is very smooth and you never really notice it is doing anything, in a good way. The trans in the E55 is admittedly quite stout to handle the torque but the way it aggressively locks the torque converter (especially when cold) reminds me of the way an Allison in a dump truck would shift. Heavy duty, but not particularly smooth. I hope I can remedy some of this by changing the fluid and maybe resetting the adaptations. Yet with more mileage the STS trans just gets the job done better imo.

Engine
Here's where the E55 demonstrates a complete victory. It isn't even close. Like I punched it at 40 in the STS and was totally underwhelmed after driving the E55 while the STS was in the garage. The E55 pulls off the kind of traffic maneuvers that you can only daydream about in the STS, and usually doesn't even require WOT to get it done. It sounds great.

Almost seems like the conclusion is the E55 is an engine in search of a car. That's a little unfair. As a total package I do like the E55 quite a bit. What's funny is it almost seems like the spiritual predecessor to the Hellcat. Everything is "acceptable" but the engine is the main attraction. Honestly, when the E55 came out in 2003, it was easily as dramatic as the Hellcat was in 2015. Possibly more so. There were VERY few fast cars in 2003. And a LOT of fast cars in 2015.

I'll put it in terms of Corvettes. The E55 (which came out as a 2003) was about as fast as a current C5 Z06 and if you want to split hairs, call it the 01 with 385hp instead of the 02-04 with 405. So a sedan as fast as a 2 year old, highest performance Corvette made. Well the Hellcat was equivalent to an 06 C6 Z06, in 2015. That's what I mean by significant.

I just wanted to point out that the STS compares favorably in many other categories (than speed). Hell, the ventilated driver's seat works in the STS....
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

I got my service manual.

Ordered this for $18 total.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/254525092781

Came on 4 DVDs. My DVD drive in my desktop has been dead for years. So I used my trusty VAIO to copy the disk content to my drive which took probably over 30 minutes each. Almost 32GB when done, as a compressed/spanned file which was mostly the Mercedes Virtual Box system image.

To get the files to my desktop I copied them over the network which was much faster than reading the disks. To avoid cyber concerns, I identified the executables that they wanted me to run.

First, the 7-Zip archive extractor. I simply downloaded the same version as they supplied directly from the website and overwrote the one that came with the software. Then I extracted the archives. Over 50GB extracted. Damn.

After that, they want you to install Virtual Box, using another supplied executable. Again, I downloaded the exact version and build from the VB website directly. For the record, I do not believe that either executable was compromised but figured this was safe.

Then I installed Virtual Box. Selected the MB manual system image. Allocated RAM (per instructions), and fired it up. It boots to some weird Windows 7 system that identifies as "Windows 7 Dream Lite." Perhaps this is just the OEM customization.

Anyway, opened the manual and yup it all works. The interface is pretty arcane compared to my GM manual but there is probably more in here, whether I need it all or not.
MB manual.png
kevm14
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Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

kevm14 wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 2:49 pm Also perhaps partly due to being a white car with a light interior, I felt like the STS A/C was better at dropping the temp of the interior. I had it set to 70 and I was OK but a little warm.
Apparently the reason I was warm that day was because I had just done my 2.5 mile walk in the sun AND the ventilated seat doesn't seem to work. I drove to CT and back on Sunday and it was like 88F on the highway. Had all zones set on 70F and the fan throttled itself way back to maintain that temp. Later in the trip, my left hand began to feel very cold. So this A/C seems quite good. Black on black is hard on A/C (the Roadmaster does a good job, too). Only thing worse would have been the panoramic sunroof. Or I guess the wagon (more glass and more air to cool).
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