Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

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

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

kevm14 wrote: Sat May 30, 2020 8:56 pm And that hand was, sell the Roadmaster like this summer. Continue to daily drive my STS until I decide it is not viable or I get completely bored with it. At that time the E55, which hopefully will be totally sorted if it's not already, would move into daily driver status replacing both cars. I think the reduction of cars from 2 to 1 really sold it.
Random thought....should I sell the STS first? If I sell the STS, do I need to sell the Roadmaster? I mean it doesn't achieve the reduction of cars...and I lose access to what has been an enjoyable daily that is equipped for snow driving.

I guess when I get it back on the road from the trans cooler issue I'll get over this and continue with the plan to sell the Roadmaster....sigh.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

Thankfully they changed the status.
https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item ... 0E55&mdf=1
Screenshot_20200603-175144.png
Unless he just sold it to someone else. Oh man I'd be mad.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

I talked to him yesterday. He got the mounts earlier in the week and hopes to install them today or I guess today/tomorrow.

We spoke about my OBD-II readiness concern. He called his indie shop that specializes in Mercedes and their recommendation: drive the car. I was hoping they would be able to run a drive cycle for him or something but I guess I have to absorb the risk. The good news is there were no pending codes which is an indication that there are no looming issues. Those systems may not have achieved readiness but there ARE tests I think that could throw a CEL immediately (I mean even for catalyst and evap) and there is no CEL. Between that and no pending codes I think I'll be ok. It's not ideal but for $9,500 I think it is a risk worth taking.

I also figured out that this car is emissions exempt in Mass as an 04. They have a rolling 15 year window. It's crazy that RI is more stringent (goes back to 96 I believe or perhaps a rolling 25 year window - they can't test OBD-I anyway). So this is moot in Mass. Doesn't help me of course.

Anyway we're still on track. I did mention that I'll need his full name and address for the bank check. He said he'd snap a pic of the title but he hasn't sent it yet. I need to look up bank hours in case the window of opportunity tomorrow is extremely limited.

Also still not sure on a pickup day. Obviously Sat at the earliest and hopefully Sunday latest. I'll know more today if he has made progress on (or perhaps finished) the mounts.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

He completed the engine mounts as well as the trans mount. I think he said a little over 2 hours all in. Pretty easy apparently.
Here it is with the hood up, NOT in the service position.
IMG_20200606_201850_01.jpg
I asked how it felt and he said he couldn't believe how smooth it runs. That's awesome. He said they looked completely destroyed. Hopefully these Lemforder mounts last a good long time for me.

I am going to pick it up tomorrow for 10:30. I got my check today and it was funny how laid back he was about the whole thing. He was like "figure out your life and let me know."

Oh, I need to print a bill of sale and my insurance card. It is insured as of today. Also the annual premium is several hundred less than the SRX and I guess CTS-V. You can't get into an accident if it's broken, they say.

I also asked about the oil change. I guess it has a "couple thousand miles" so not sure if due or if they have an oil life monitor (that I can trust). At least he uses Amsoil. I asked about trans fluid. He never did it. That's too bad. That means this car is probably overdue. Might also be due for a brake fluid flush.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

Picked it up today. We agreed on 10:30 and we got there a few minutes earlier. I parked in his driveway but he told us to follow him to his shop, not far down the road. Even though it was close he took the opportunity to do one last hammer on the E55. When we got there, I was like "one last mash, eh?" He goes "you know, I wanted to know how fast this thing goes so this morning I had it up to 145. Didn't take long to get there."

This guy is great.

Also, he was totally sandbagging about what his business is.

https://greenerblast.com/
He owns this company which designs and sells blasting machines. He has dealers all over the globe.

So...guy probably has some bucks.

In his shop he showed me the old mounts. They really were destroyed. It was in two pieces and you could see the hydraulic oil inside. It was just ripped apart. He also showed me the boxes for the Lemforder mounts. I guess in his haste, he left out one screw from one of the under panels. It's in the armrest so I'll install that at some point. Maybe just when I change the oil next. I mean they didn't fly off at 145 apparently...

We did the deal and chatted for a while. My dad chatted him up, too. I asked him some service history stuff. I don't think he had anything to add but he repeated several times until I left that I could call if I had any questions.

Car comes with one key so I guess I'll deal with that. Not sure if I can avoid the dealer for a replacement/extra that codes to the car so I will look into that. He also made sure I knew there was no spare (not my first rodeo) and also that I need to keep a spare quart of oil in the trunk. It had a quart of M1 0W-40, not the Amsoil 5W-40 that he runs.

I asked to see his 39 Nash. Here it is. It is a rare 2 door sedan I guess. Nice back seat. This car has flush mount headlights. That's crazy for the time. Most cars didn't get that until like the mid 80s.
20200607_105521.jpg
20200607_105258.jpg
20200607_105321.jpg
20200607_105326.jpg
20200607_105332.jpg
20200607_105340.jpg
20200607_105343.jpg
20200607_105349.jpg
20200607_105353.jpg
20200607_105516.jpg
I did ask about the aux in. Evidently, a prior owner installed it because it was in the factory location in the glovebox!! It even had some wire coiled up though it was due for replacement - it was having issues if I touched it.

My first fuel up. Need to add to Fuelly...
20200607_112332.jpg
We were almost home when this message came up:
20200607_125051.jpg
The thing is you never really know when you are going to get this, at least until I get used to the car, and it ends up using a consistent amount of oil over a mileage interval like my STS (about 2,400 miles). But the good news is, without a dipstick, this means even idiots will be notified that the car needs oil, rather than just assuming and driving it 6000 miles between checking. So that's something. I added the quart of M1 0W-40 and haven't seen the warning come back.

Anyway on the drive the car was awesome. It cruises at 70 just breathing on the throttle. About 2,000 rpm which seems high because it could probably pull off 1,500 rpm. It got an indicated like 22.3 or 22.5 ish on the drive back. If that is near accurate, color me extremely impressed. That is completely acceptable fuel economy for a vehicle like this.

Some of the ergonomics are completely foreign to me. The cruise stalk is weird though probably the same as it's been since the 70s. It sets easily enough and a cool LED bar readout comes on to tell you your set speed and visually show on the speedo where it's set. That's advanced for the time, at least compared to GM which didn't start doing that until around 08. Speaking of, this car also does the triple flash to change lanes when you touch the turn signal stalk. GM didn't do that until 08 (SRX does it, STS does not).

I didn't hear any kind of objectionable wind or road noise. No sunroof noise. Just a little exhaust note but frankly pleasant. This engine sounds....burly. That's a good word. And the car just cruises so nice. No steering wheel vibration.

I drove the entire way back without heavy throttle until I was almost home. Just did a quick blast up to 105 or so. It takes no time. People complain about this transmission but it's miles better than the 4L60E, though maybe not better than the 5L50 in my STS (which I like). It likes to lock up the torque converter. I think it even locks in 1st. Crazy.

I tried the ventilated driver's seat. I felt nothing. At least in my STS you can hear the fan and feel like suction. Maybe it's just not working. Good news and paraphrasing Mitch Hedberg: ventilated seat temporarily regular seat. Sorry for the convenience. Maybe I'll look into it, maybe I won't.

Oh, I hit the Nav button and it said something about device not found or whatever. Soooo....did some digging in my 04 brochure and nav was not actually standard in 04. I wager that this car doesn't have it! In GM land, if it has a screen in the dash, it has nav, at least during this time period. I may be able to add it, which will annoy everyone. Or I may not add it. Depends on how expensive and time consuming it is.

By the way, the visibility is EXCELLENT in this car. It has 90s car visibility. Plenty of greenhouse and no problem anywhere you look.

Also the interior is generally pretty high quality. It's hard to find a surface that creaks and flexes when you press on it. Even the very front of the dash pad feels solid and good. It feels well put together. I know that's almost a cliché but it's true.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

At home I learned more things. First, some good news.
20200607_170948.jpg
20200607_170955.jpg
The catalyst monitor became ready on the drive home, leaving only evap (with its bizarre long idle requirement). The good news is, it did this with no codes or pending codes. And, with only 1 system not ready, it will pass an OBD-II emissions test. Yay!!

Hand assembled...
20200607_174143.jpg
20200607_174256.jpg
Fuel pump bulletin or something?
20200607_174313_HDR.jpg
Some shots in my driveway.
20200607_174505.jpg
20200607_174521.jpg
20200607_174538.jpg
20200607_174552.jpg
20200607_174619.jpg
20200607_174641.jpg
20200607_174708.jpg
This is a little odd. 2 years expired emissions sticker? Maybe Mass stopped doing stickers like CT in 2018? Who knows.
20200607_174817.jpg
I figured out how to set the analog clock in the dash. You do it through the steering wheel menu buttons and then it sets itself.

I did the all important audio test with Adam's Daft Punk CD. I have good news again: I think this audio system is sufficient. It is NOT as smooth, balanced and refined as my STS. It can get kind of shrill where I want to turn the treble down even from the middle. But, it makes loud noises, the bass pounds and, well, it sounds just fine. I can live with it. I was worried about it.

I went on a drive again after getting home with Ian. I tried some WOT in 1st and my god this thing does pull. It is fast! And it makes wonderful noises.

Oh, here's a bit of a bummer. The right rear door does not open from the inside. I don't think it is a child lock. I think something is broken. Maybe the cable just slipped off the handle. I will have to remove the door panel to find out.
https://youtu.be/A5cffkjMvSk

Maybe I should just order this plastic piece since that may be what broke.

Also both rear door lock pins are missing so I ordered 2 brand new ones. They were super cheap, like $3.20 each though shipping was stupid for the size/weight. I guess they have been the same forever. They are similar in shape to the old 80s GM ones, flared at the top, and they just thread on.

Fun fact: it stops cranking if you lift your foot off the brake. On my STS it only needs the brake to be pressed upon initial crank. I usually let go before it fired because I'm impatient. On the E55, twice now it has aborted cranking prematurely because I let my foot off the brake. It'll take me a while to get used to this.

Here's the thing: I don't care if I have to fix stuff. This car is brilliant. The handling is decent, the brakes are great, the engine is superb, it's comfortable, it even gets halfway decent fuel economy. I mean...I don't see why I couldn't replace both my STS and Roadmaster with this. I realize it is day 1 but I am very satisfied with this vehicle.

All I want to do is go drive around, or even drive long distances. I certainly haven't felt this way since I got my CTS-V 10 years ago. As I was explaining to Bob, there's this weird (but not surprising) car enthusiast thing that happens to our brains when driving around in a high performance car. Like, I look at basically everything driving around and it's like....yeah I'm faster than that. Ian started asking me as he saw stuff and I don't think I had to answer "this is slower than that" for anything. On the way home there was some fast moving traffic but none of it was like super fast stuff, just people driving fast. Normally I would have been tempted (though it's not recommended to race in your return trip from buying the damn car, right?) but I looked at those cars (one was a later model Acura TLX or TSX I think) and it's like - I have nothing to prove to those guys. Frankly I would say the interesting runs would be against some late model stuff, like any Camaro SS, Mustang GT or Challenger/Charger Scat Pack. Or even a non-Z06 Corvette I suppose. Because those guys are driving around thinking the exact same thing.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

I have ordered some maintenance items and stuff.

Rockauto - $302.35 shipped, tax, discount
$22 - Transmission filter, gasket and electrical adapter (they are known to leak, haven't even been under yet but this was a kit)
$34 - Pair of blower housing cabin air filters, Denso on clearance
$20 - Engine bay cabin air filter, Wix
$44 - Supercharger belt, fancy upgraded Gates one
$25 - Accessory belt, Gates
$43.50 - Pair of Mann engine air filters. He said it has K&N now. I don't like those.
$69.50 - 10 liters of Pentosin ATF 134. May have only needed the one jug but buying extra just in case. Depending on how it looks I may want to do another drain and refill anyway, if it's like GM transmissions (gets less than 50% of the fluid out)

Amazon - $202.75
$117.36 - 12 quarts Mobil 1 Formula M 5W-40 (yes the M is for Mercedes)
$10.66 - WIX oil filter with O-rings
$53.40 - 2x CERAKOTE Ceramic Headlight Restoration Kit (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084R ... UTF8&psc=1). Comes with a ceramic coating that is supposed to actually last rather than having to redo every 3, 4, 5, 6 months or whatever.
$11.72 - Mercedes 722.6 transmission fluid dipstick (used temporarily to check the fluid during a service)
$9.61 - Pick set (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N ... UTF8&psc=1). This is hardly unique to this car and I should have had a pick set a long time ago...using a flat head screwdriver to remove O-rings isn't really right.

FCP Euro - $16.32
$16.32 - 2x door lock pins, black. They are missing for both rear doors which is odd. This is the genuine Mercedes part.

So total of $‭521.42‬. This is basically all maintenance. I could have deferred much of it obviously, but I didn't. I guess I want to start off on the right foot. It would be nice to have the car registered and legit before I go too crazy but I'm not parking it until the DMV accepts appointments. And since I will be driving it, I want to do these maintenance items soon. Like...after I get the STS back on the road I would presume.

Only other item I haven't planned for is the right rear door handle fix. I was struggling to identify the right part that may have broken so I will probably end up having to go spelunking inside the door to see what's up and then order, presumably, some cheap plastic part that broke. And I might want to get a set of those plastic door panel retainers but I'll wait I guess.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

I was joking with Bob tonight that the reason these cars are so cheap is because there's no garish/giant Mercedes 3 pointed star on the grill. And no hood ornament. And the placard that's on there says AMG.
20200608_190048.jpg
Compare to the 2008 C-class:
2008-mercedes-cclass-5.jpg

Maybe it's not a joke...people can be pretty damn vain.

Took it out for a little ride tonight. Didn't get too far from my driveway when I noticed that the low beam aim was awful. It was aimed at the ground. Got a 7mm allen wrench and adjusted them up, multiple times. Much better. Also, the high beams are excellent, though I don't think it has auto high beams like my STS. The headlights will improve when I polish the lenses. There doesn't seem to be a way to turn the fog lights on with the headlights in auto which is weird. They don't do a whole lot but I guess they look cool or whatever. To turn them on, you twist the headlight knob from auto to headlights and then pull out once. If you pull out again, it adds that infamous rear fog light that makes people think there's something wrong with your terrible European electrical system :D

Other notes....

Trans shifts fairly firmly before it warms up. I think it is actually the torque converter locking. I am sure a fluid change will improve this. It also has the tune so who knows, it could be shifting firmer than stock anyway. It feels solid either way.

Anyway I still think this car is just so great. I don't want to pour it on too thick during the honeymoon phase but man, I feel lucky to have it even if anyone could technically afford to buy one.

I think the passenger side ventilated seat works. I could feel it working with my hand on the perforated leather. I am still not sure if the driver's seat one works but I guess I will try feeling the suction with my hand. The heated seat does work.

The air suspension did not settle since Sunday so that's good.

Sometimes the "hood open" alert comes on. Reminds me of my STS before I replaced the hood latch. He showed me how to finagle the sensor back into place but it needs to be replaced. Looks really easy. I will probably just do it because that red warning is going to drive me nuts.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

kevm14 wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:44 pm Sometimes the "hood open" alert comes on. Reminds me of my STS before I replaced the hood latch. He showed me how to finagle the sensor back into place but it needs to be replaced. Looks really easy. I will probably just do it because that red warning is going to drive me nuts.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/merced ... 8219251#qa

LOL

It's $16 for the actual Mercedes part. Take that, Cadillac! I had to pay $170 for the entire hood latch to fix this problem on the STS. Unlike the STS, the sensor part is separate from the latch. Imagine that. This car also has dual hood latches for....de Autobahn.

Here is basically how this works: they made a million W211s (well maybe not literally but certainly hundreds of thousands - unlike Cadillac, these were sold all over the world) and many parts are all the same, including this one. This even has a lifetime warranty through FCP Euro.

Also ironically, the very thing that made it more expensive in the first place (less component unitization) actually makes it cheaper to maintain down the road. At least in this case.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Mercedes E55 AMG hunt (W211)

Post by kevm14 »

kevm14 wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:53 pm Here is basically how this works: they made a million W211s (well maybe not literally but certainly hundreds of thousands - unlike Cadillac, these were sold all over the world) and many parts are all the same, including this one.
No I had it right the first time!!
On 19 December 2008, Mercedes-Benz announced it had delivered 1.5 million units of W211 E-Class vehicles, with 1,270,000 sedans and 230,000 wagons.
How about that?
Post Reply