2007 W211 with issues, potential purchase... E350 Advise please?

[Duh_Vinci]

I hadn’t noticed the new look… old one here... Amazon.com: Dynavin N7-MBE Radio Navigation System for Mercedes E Class 2002-2009 & CLS 2004-2010 Includes Most Adapter : Electronics …

Yes, that's the original look I would use, looks stock, has the knob. I'm sure the new one is an improvement, larger screen too, but no knob!!!

Amen, brother! SAVE THE KNOBS! And, Ill take it a step further. I dont like digital rotary-encoder round knobs, although the vast majority of head units use those. I still have old-skool Nakamichi CD-700 head units in a couple of cars with analog rotary knobs. No blue teeth, no PlayCar stuff, no phone capabilities, just wired audio from an iPod or other MP3 source (ok, you could connect an adaptor to stream from you iFone or whatever). But anyway - I feel your pain about the knobs.

Yes, "SAVE THE KNOBS"



Seriously though, knobs are kinda a must to me!

Nakamichi's you have, I remember those units, wonderful sound quality, simple looks, symmetrical design, what's not to love! These modern "touch" buttons give you absolutely no feedback! I'm ok with the "secondary" option on the steering wheel, those - you at least feel the "click", still, nothing beats the quality rotary dial!

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Laugh all you want, but let me share a little experience with C-Tek Ceramic by Centric (PowerStop).

I've installed drilled PowerStop rotors with ceramic pads on my SL320 from TireRack 6-7 years ago and couldn't be happier.

On this car, semi-metallics with black dust like no other! Every day, wheels are black, tired of cleaning them. I do have a nice set of drilled/coated ATE with PowerStop Evolution to be installed later on, but first, I want to change the fender liners, clean up and paint the calipers (don't have time right now), but the dust ohhhh the dust drives me nuts!

So, just for the time being, I bough these Centric 103.08470 C-Tek https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ceb-103-08470, I mean 2 pins and pads are out, so:






Bedded very quickly, the bite is every bit as good as Pagid semi-metallics came out, and virtually no visible brake dust so far. No pulsation, no squeak forward or reverse. The bite is considerably better than the Akebono I have on SL500. Now I'm only interested to see how well these do in the rain, but for daily, 2nd day, I'm super happy of what these Centrics do on this E350, and every bit as good as Textar I installed on my father's E350.



EDIT: Rain all day, great brakes, no issues at all, would use these over and over for any daily!

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Today I've driven the car for just over 1000 miles after the engine install





"The Cloud" performed exceptionally! Code-less, CEL-less, bone dry, oil level perfect. Lots of car for the money, couldn't be happier with this little project W211! Transmission and diff service next...

Regards,
D

 

[Duh_Vinci]

But like you, I like the aluminum but am not sure if I love it.

After a week - aluminum out, and the wood is back it, looks and "flows" better...



Went to our pic-a-part yesterday morning, ended up spending about 2 hours there, practicing various R&R and harvesting various spare parts, replaced the center console handle



Little things



While changing front brakes, test fitted the MRR VP7 wheels I've had in the boxes, still new for about 3 years, it was such a bargain, I had to grab them, 18x8.5 et32 and 18x9.5 et35





Rears fit great, the front, and now I remember while these are still in the boxes: R129 - does not clear the caliper, needs 10mm spacer. W211 - does not clear the front bearing cap (but clears my sport brakes) I have to find a good use for the wheel, "failure is not an option" So I did a little re-shaping the cap, now, just little trimming is left to do and this should work and clear



Fits over the axle/bearing just fine

Regards,
D

 

[Duh_Vinci]

OCD - cured (for today)

When I bough the car, the lower tray/belly panels we off, just laying in the trunk, and with no support (all broken tabs), destroys the inner fender lining even further



Pick-a-part pieces from yesterday's trip (driver's side)



Passenger side





Even my SL500 does not have the fender linings this spotless! All the plastic nuts, belly pans and screws are now back on the car. This was "strangely" very very therapeutic experience.

Regards,
D

 

[LWB250]

OCD - cured (for today)

When I bough the car, the lower tray/belly panels we off, just laying in the trunk, and with no support (all broken tabs), destroys the inner fender lining even further

View attachment 161758

Pick-a-part pieces from yesterdays trip (drivers side)

View attachment 161759

Passenger side

View attachment 161760

View attachment 161761

Even my SL500 does not have the fender linings this spotless! All the plastic nuts, belly pans and screws are now back on the car. This was strangely very very therapeutic experience.

Regards,
D

As soon as I get a "new to me" car one of the things I do is pull all of the fender linings and clean the fenders out. It's amazing the amount of detritus that ends up behind these. Also gives you a good look at things like brake line brackets and things like that...

Dan

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Installed new wiper blades today - Bosch Aerotwin 3397118948, what a nice blades!



And for the price of $21 for a pair from Amazon - I can't find nothing even remotely close locally for under $21 each. Literally 1 min to replace both, that new simple system is a great design!

Driving home yesterday, the screen on the comand unit screen goes half blank, exactly as when I first got the car (it came back to life after the engine swap, battery was off for 2 days, somehow reset itself?) It's great to have spares! The unit I got from the ebay seller was literally like brand new, no scratches, no dust, no faded anti glare coating...

Swapped that today, and surprise: no code was needed? Straight plug and play, came on with "no questions asked"... Came from CLS550 2006... yet another step closer to "perfection"

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Determined to make these VP7 work on W211! Rears fit no problems, front - grease cap is the issues (was the issue), clears front calipers no problems, and the wheels are hubcentric. Amazing how much work does it take to design the wheels and to ensure the proper fitment for a particular car! Bolt pattern and bore diameter is not all that it takes!

Started with the grease cap - reshaped



Comparison of before and after, reshaped and shortened the lip







The front wheel center bore had inner lip (what grabs the center cap tabs) that had to be removed for clearance, as there is no way of shortening the grease cap anymore, great tool to have for this in the absence of machine shop, rasps and air grinder



Test fitted with a temporary center cap



It will take a little "creativity" to make the center caps work in the front, but failure is not an option!

Should be all sorted out by the end of the week, fingers crossed...

Regards,
D

P.S. Calipers needs refinishing, now I have to decide on black with sliver lettering, vs dark charcoal metallic with silver lettering, vs bright silver with black lettering...

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Ok, this is the first for me... Usually, all the wheel that I've had over the last 31 years (lots of wheels), had 1 hole for the valve stem. Just noticed, these MRR wheels have 2 holes

I thought there must be a reason for this brand new factory MB specific staggered 18"set was priced at $399 with free shipping - error, drilled x2 holes? Nope, apparently, there are many wheels on the market now have x2 valve stem holes with multiple explanation (one of them TPMS), etc...

I was planning just swapping TPMS sensors from the stock wheels, and just getting a shorty nipple, but just discovered that my 2007 hast no TMPS according to the build sheet

I've done just about every variation of the "TPMS delete/plug etc" and the only place I could find a set was at WORK wheels TPMS Valvestem Hole Plug

"This is a plug that is intended to seal the additional TPMS valvestem hole, when drilled, if unnecessary."





Well then, ordered a set, coming from California, that would be the last thing I need to "make" these wheels work.

Regards,
D

 

[Duh_Vinci]

1500 miles after the engine swap, purrrrfect still. Bone dry, clean, full level on the deepstick!

I decided (an overkill, I know), to drain the oil (original since the install), just in to keep it extra clean, and actually drained it (not syphoned it this time).



Replaced the drain plug, crush washer, new filter with o-rings, and re-installed the other, 2 out of 3 belly pans (mid engine and rear, transmission cover, these been off the car since I purchased it). All the hardware in place, all the screws in place now.



Replaced the forward engine cover with the pic-a-part one, mine had one tab missing, this one is all intact.



Our family friend is back in town later next week, so tires will be mounted and the wheels will go on (after last time when discout tire scratched my Carlsson wheel, can't even think of taking anywhere else).

Regards,
D

P.S. Valvoline 5W-40... When I dropped the car off the motor swap, I've stopped by walyworlds locally, NO 5W-40 in stock??? Paps likes his Valvoline, been using in his Cadillac and his MB cars for so many years, so that's what I buy for him. Grabbed 2 jugs of his Valvoline Euro, and that's what I drained from the car today. His 2008 E350 runs super smooth with that oil, and so did this 2007 for the last 1500 miles, so I decided to continue using it... Butter smooth. Next time I will sent a sample to blackstone labs just for fun.

 

[Duh_Vinci]

And after 3 years sitting in the boxes, VP7s are on the car! 18x8.5 ET32 with 245/40/18 and 18x9.5 ET35 sized up to 275/35/18



A little "concaviage" going on



1. Love the fact these were custom made for MB, 66.5 center bore, tight fantastic fit!
2. Got lucky, a wheel bolts from my old W211 (E500) - also cone seats and length matched perfectly!
3. Brake clearance on W211 (with sport brakes) perfect
4. Upsized rear tires - perfect for this car (275 vs 265)



Front rim took a little work to make it "work", but fits like a glove. Center caps - had to be a little creative. Even with modified dust caps - no way to snap in the factory center caps...

I took 75mm MB center caps



Delaminated the aluminum portion



This is the strongest outdoor double sided adhesive I could find





Ready to be mounted





When it gets a little warmer, will re-finish calipers in deep dark blue metallic with silver Mercedes-Benz lettering, should go well with center caps blue tones. Will lower it a little (H&R/Blistein) in the spring too, it needs that 1.2-1.4" reduction to my eyes (besides, other than off road cars, I've lowered every vehicle I've owned in the last 30+ years)



Regards,
D

 

[maw1124]

They look great!! Congrats!

"I love it when a plan comes together."

maw

 

[Duh_Vinci]

They look great!! Congrats!

I love it when a plan comes together.

maw

Cheers maw! It's been a good budget project, and everything has been coming together quite nicely! The bonus, it's actually a pretty nice car to drive daily.

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Now that I drive the car daily, starting to need some little basic maintenance (as expected), developed faint "clunk" over the low speed small bumps, when cold, very similar to what any Volvo would develop every 3-4 years, sway bar links... Reached under, end link easily twists by hand, so I'm quite certain that's the culprit of the noise. Now to the source...

I ordered everything online through FCP





Now, I like to support the local businesses, but when the prices are higher than the dealer, for example at NAPA, $70 each (Altrom), or Autozone $35 (for URO), just can't do that...

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Refinished the calipers, those were looking old, tired, signs worn out, rust on the bolts









Will do the rotors and pads in few weeks, then everything should look nice and tidy.

Regards,
D

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Unlike the previous generations, many parts on these cars are made out of plastic then, chromed over. Well, here is what happens on the plastic door handle from stress: Crackidy crack...



Replacement only takes about 10-15min, and it's a $12-$13 part, but makes a world of difference (not to mention razor-like cuts from that peeling chrome)



Now to ocd (yes, it's a $2000 car, still), passenger side door molding had a ding in the stainless trim and a deep scratch



I was lucky to find exact same color car (not much to remove from it, too much damage), but that very door molding was really nice, other than the little ding in the stainless trim, about the same area where mine was... Well, a silver donor at the yard had a perfect stainless part, but the deep scratch on the painted part, so disassembled, removed, reinstalled from 2 cars into one, $5 (love pick-a-part for that)

Clips that hold stainless trim



And ta-daaaa



No respray needed!

 

[Duh_Vinci]

More little fixes continues: Intermittent blower motor...

A. Climate control unit
B. Blower motor regulator
C. Blower motor



Being intermittent, I wasn't sure where to begin, but let's start with the easy part, regulator (NLA as new MB part) or the blower (have spares for both). This car is so easy to get to all these parts, have the climate control unit as well (good, tested on the running car) thankfully, really is simple!

B. Regulator, once the 4 screws removed, bottom cover exposed, 2 more screws, regulator out, and replacement in - 5 min swap. Unfortunately still intermittent.

Suddenly I remember my father's Cadillac had similar issue, intermittent blower. When was removing his, suddenly, it started to work. Upon close inspection, much black "dust" fell out of the armature assembly, I properly vacuumed all, and held unloaded palm sender, more black dust came out, and in his Cadillac it's been working ever since, 4-5 years now?

C. Blower motor, 4 screws - out. Grabbed a spare, came from a low miles clean car. Few drops of oil onto the bearing for a good measure



And boom! Blower motor on, any speed, whisper quiet, just in time for upcoming summer!

 

[Duh_Vinci]

OCD continues... The only way I knew there was something "wrong" with passenger side tail light, after the rain, in the dark, the reflecting pattern with the tails on - this one was a little different. Upon close inspection, small, long hairline crack



Considering that the tail light + climate control + blower motor + blower motor resistor assembly + blower motor cover = $100: it's a shame not to replace. If I was selling the car, not even noticeable, but once you know, you know...



Now I need to go wash it.

 

[LWB250]

OCD continues... The only way I knew there was something wrong with passenger side tail light, after the rain, in the dark, the reflecting pattern with the tails on - this one was a little different. Upon close inspection, small, long hairline crack

View attachment 164118

Considering that the tail light + climate control + blower motor + blower motor resistor assembly + blower motor cover = $100: its a shame not to replace. If I was selling the car, not even noticeable, but once you know, you know...

View attachment 164119

Now I need to go wash it.

Good to know I'm not the only OCD person when it comes to my cars...

Dan

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Good to know Im not the only OCD person when it comes to my cars...

Dan

LOL imagine that! I must add though, I can not tolerate any time frames, projects for me just need to flow, and I do them at the pace that I feel comfortable with. If I'm in the mood - I will, otherwise...

It has to be almost a "labor of love" and DIY as much as possible, because if one was to take the car to the dealer, for every "little" thing, one must have really pockets. I remember few years ago when I picked up 1 owner 2004 E500 4Matic with very low miles, $5,000 was the agreed price, and a stack of receipts that the owner gave me, just 2 last years of the ownership - over $15,000.

Granted, some things I can't do, and the dealer is a must a times, but I would at least try just about anything...

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Cabin air filter. Most cars I've owned - it usually awkward place, under the dash, kinda pita to change. So I typically change these every 2 years or so. This W211, wow, 5 min or less!!!

Under the hood, little cover, one 10mm nut and all exposed



New filter trying out, $12, charcoal, made by Airmatic



Made in Germany, very good fit, snug, gasket all around.



With as much ease as this was, I see no reason not to change this once per year, particularly for $12

And while there, the access to the top of the blower motor - couldn't be easier for the time with the bearing needs to be lubricated to remove the occasional annoying "chirp-chir-chirp" as any W211 have



Regards,
D

 

[Duh_Vinci]

There are good days at pick-a-part, there are great days, than there are days where one just scores a mother load! My interior color is not the most common, and I've never seen on at the yards, until today. First I found a donor of the same exterior as mine, got few pieces here and there, but then, went to look at 2006 Silver W211, never seen such clean interior, must have been very low mileage car, and interior looked similar in color... pulled the build sheet, same name, "twin/artico - gray", but the code is different, 138A (mine is 148A)

I promptly take a small sample from inner arm rest, and went to pay for all the trim pieces ($10.50) Get to my car, pull out a sample from 138A and what do I find:



Well, let me be clear: The aftermarket cover I installed on the damaged (all facelift W211/W212 have issues with newly formulated MB-Tex, cracks), just doesn't exactly match in texture (ok, but not great)



For all this and 6 trim pieces, I mean come on!!!!!



These are literally like brand new!!! Words can not describe how much I appreciate this "diy-learn-how-to" experience pic-a-part provides, where one can practice on how to remove/install parts. And some parts were tricky, particularly the headrest inserts. I've also learned last time how to remove all the seating pads all intact and without removing the heavy seat out of the car (which is not possible at the junk yard anyway)





After a little cleaning - the match is beautiful, and a wonderful interior to be in, really is!!!

Now, let's get back to OCD... All facelift W211 - not sure what plastics MB started to use, some particular pieces turn yellow (like these door inserts, all 4 door panels)

\

Pre-face lift W211 do not have these issues, even the texture of these inserts is a little different. I know, small things, but these $11.99 for all 4 piece (plus others) makes a world of difference to me personally.



Ohh, but let's not stop there... Last of the dings in the trim, had a hard time finding a perfect replacement for this



OMG, an eye sore!!!



Swapped the trim from the donor (just the insert)



Regards,
D

 

[RicardoD]

Don't know how I missed the thread. But am caught up now. Great work on making a gorgeous daily driver.

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Dont know how I missed the thread. But am caught up now. Great work on making a gorgeous daily driver.

Thank you Ricardo!

I'm enjoying this little project more that I thought I would. It's becoming a "well sorted" daily driver that I enjoy to be in and for a very little money so far. It's spacious enough, comfortable, has enough get up and go for daily, and seem to do better on gas than my C280 did, and I think MB did good on the design of these W211.

Regards,
D

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Not all mornings are "pleasant", 55mph, out of the blue and right in front of the car - groundhog darts and right under the car, not enough time to stop or move...

Cracked bumper, broken fog, broken mesh, I had to rip out fender liner so the car can be driven again... Oh well, life goes on. No structural damage, drivable, doesn't even look that bad. Easy way - I can patch the carck, paint the section, slap on a used liner and get China-made fog/trim, very little money...

Letting insurance figure it out, did online claim, they said 24-48 hours. So while I wait, doing it my way, I went ahead and ordered E63 looking bumper, 100% positive feedback on fitment and quality, comes with fogs, grills, trims and all







Made in Taiwan, materials are ABS, Plastic and Polypropylene (glad not FG), so I'm looking forward to the "upgrade"

Regards,
D

 

[Duh_Vinci]

The bumper is shipped, coming from CA... And that's a good looking bumper (wonder who's car is that ) Dave, miss it?

Wonder how long would it be to get into the paint booth... Also, replacing driving/headlight lenses while the bumper is off, will brighten up the look for sure, will talke "few years" off

 

[gsxr]

I do miss that car. *sniff*

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Shipping company called me on Fri to say that due to unforeseen circumstances, my bumper would be delivered on Monday (tomorrow) and now on Friday as originally scheduled... well, no sense of stressing over it since I have no control over this matter, so we attended to my brothers R129 and early in the AM went to pick-a-part to get me the lower belly pan, fender liner and bunch of other bits and pieces (clips, plastic nuts, 8mm washer/screws combo, etc). At the checkout:

"All you have are these trim pieces?"
"Yes, that's all..."
"$5.00"



Brother's car out of the garage, my turn. This is the damage



Already test fitted replacement belly pan and fender liner, all matching and hanging well. Now disassembly



While headlights don't look bad, but close up, from certain angles, that is where you see the micro-cracks



New lenses arrived, off to replacing those...

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Cleaned up the assemblies before taking a heat gun to the lenses



And it's time consuming, rather pain in the ass... But an hour later, both old lenses were out



I've installed new lenses, using the dum-dum putty, the clear silicon around entire seam/perimeter for a good measure. Keeping protective wrap still while drying. But already day and night difference!



My headlights didn't come with the trim/gaslket/covers, not sure why, and I think these fill up the gaps between the fenders/hood/bumper nicely, so I got a set from donor W211, going clean them up, these will comeback looking new, tried few spots.



Test fitted them before disassembling the lights, perfect fit, all the tabs and mounting points match up perfectly.

 

[gsxr]

I assume the new lenses are aftermarket? I wasn't aware of OE/OEM replacement lenses available for the 211.

A higher-cost alternative is buying new OEM Hella headlight assemblies, under $500/pair last I checked, along with Lamin-X film to help prevent the fading/fogging in the future.

 

[Duh_Vinci]

I assume the new lenses are aftermarket? I wasnt aware of OE/OEM replacement lenses available for the 211.

A higher-cost alternative is buying new OEM Hella headlight assemblies, under $500/pair last I checked, along with Lamin-X film to help prevent the fading/fogging in the future.

Dave, I was surprised that the price was not “hateful” , being adaptive bi-xenon, now at about $650 a set…. If this was pristine car, I great option indeed!

For a daily, these $50 (pair) are a great alternative (no, MB does not offer these). I replaced lenses on Paps’ W211 about 3 years ago with the same, holding up beautifully! Still look brand new on his car.

I’ll take a pic of a completed lenses today, really nice way to erase many years off the car!

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Completed headlights looking absolutely brand new!



These lenses are spot on compare to the stock, correct lines, mounts and all







Beauty rings from the donor car are on, and perfect fit, not sure why my car was missing these (so is Paps' 2008 W211)



Bumper arrived - love it! Arrived in a sturdy custom box covered in "Fragile" "Do Not Stack" stickers.





Fit and finish is wonderful!





Material is very similar to stock, abs and poly-of some kind. All the plug gaps are very very even and precise! Bumper really can just be painted as is, and would look wonderful!



Grills with integrated bezels included and fit is perfect!





Fogs are glass, appear to be very nice quality too, DOT stamp. If I had to guess, these are C class (W204 units, which makes me happy, tons available for replacement at a reasonable cost)



Only few pieces needed a transfer, x3 foam impact blocks and the center support bracket





Will do some final adjustments tomorrow, wills finish stripping off the salvageable bits and pieces for Paps' car off my original bumper and off to the paint it goes by the end of the week


P.S. This Taiwan made bumper is a great value for the money, very happy with this purchase!

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Test fitted the fog lights with bezels, very nice finish and fit! Applied Lamin-X



We did the final test fitting and fine adjustments of the bumper last night, "massaged" the re-bar mounting points on both sides, adjusted the most inner hanging brackets, really really straight! Just for reference, when I bought the car, somebody ran over something, so the front was very much off in many directions (picture from the sales ad)





She is very well gapped now!

Good to have a wagon (actually loaded into my brother's P2) both bumpers loaded (giving the body shop original for paint match/spray out)



He is off tomorrow, and will drop off the everything at the body shop, they said 1 week turnaround. Kinda miss driving this thing...

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Today I've been officially called a "Wheel Whore-der" I can't help it, I love 1/6...

Picked a set of 18" this morning for a very reasonable price, very nice set overall, came of W140, I will refinish them when the time permits, I think these will look good on W211

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Noticed the other day that my horn sounds like a tiny squeal after the animal damage. Turns out the low range unit is done. I've used FIAMM brand before on my Audi, Amazon had them in stock, 72112 on sale with next day delivery (made in USA)





Replaced the original Bosch perfectly

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Tackled the radiator today (Fedex dropped of replacement)...

I've noticed a month ago few little spots under the car, couldn't find the location, not coolant loss in the reservoir that I noticed. Once I've reinstalled the belly pans, never seen the drop again.

Now that the car is disassembled, and up in the air in the garage, noticed drops again few day ago. Sure enough, slow weeping radiator on the passenger side



Pelican has a very solid tech article on E320 (very similar for the most part Mercedes-Benz W211 Radiator Replacement (2003-2009) E320, E500, E55 | Pelican Parts DIY Maintenance Article ), so the old radiator was out in under 20 min, love those service-clip style connections!

I opted for Nissens radiator, since what was in the car was not original but Behr-Hella Service, and apparently didn't last very long. Considering how easy it is to remove, and I had a credit at FCP, will try this one. Very very straight forward replacement.



The car has been running for about an hour, at operating temp



And bone dry as it should be



I was dreading this job a little, and really for no reason.

 

[gsxr]

Nice work! Any COO on the Nissens radiator or box/label?

 

[geraniumtr]

Duh Vinci, Last Sat. I replaced a weeping radiator in my E320 with a Nissens. Pretty easy job. Toughest part is the R & R of the transmission hard lines. U need to counter hold and not much room to work. Also helps to have extended length wrenches.
The Behr/Hella that I pulled out was less than 10 years old.

Regards,

Peter

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Nice work! Any COO on the Nissens radiator or box/label?

Cheers Dave! Yes Sir, Slovakia. Came with new seals too. I've also replaced radiation "suspension" bushings while there, dirt cheap, so why not...

Duh Vinci, Last Sat. I replaced a weeping radiator in my E320 with a Nissens. Pretty easy job. Toughest part is the R & R of the transmission hard lines. U need to counter hold and not much room to work. Also helps to have extended length wrenches.
The Behr/Hella that I pulled out was less than 10 years old.

Regards,

Peter

Cheers Peter! I can certainly see what you are talking about! Luckily, in my case, the car in rather "dire mode" for the moment, awaiting the bumper to return from the body shop. All the trays, bumper, headlights, all removed, and up in the air with QuckJack, so access is plenty:



That's why I decided to do it now. Interesting to me, but it seems that modern day MB radiators only last for about 8-10 years My1998 C280 was still on original radiator, and that is 25 years old. Granted, I've had that car most of it's life and new antifreeze every 3 years, I don't know if that has anything to do with, but...

On the positive note, indeed, very easy to replace. To me, the biggest hurdle was actually hanging up the maze of little plastic parts that channel the air on both sides,, kinda fiddly and flimsy, wish it was a single shroud.

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Little sneak "preview"... Picked up my bumper after work today. They did a nice work, and surprisingly quickly, literally 3 days! Current wait time in most shops is 30+ days



I still have to do few minor adjustments, attached fogs and side grills and all "under-armor", should have her ready to drive by the weekend.

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Finally had a chance to put the car back together, all buttoned up, went for a short test drive early this morning, all I had to do is to "Top Off Coolant" after replacing the radiator, I guess the system burped itself through after few cycles of thermostat.









I still have to adjust the headlights and foglights, still few more minor tweaks, but overall - she is back together.

She is ready for daily driving again! Overall, very happy with this "alternative" to the stock front bumper!

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Tackled 722.9 transmission fluid, 4+ hours! But next one (paps car I can probably don in 1.5 hours: Took some time to get use to the fluid transfer pump, trip to a dealership for torque converter drain plug, just a learning curve of the system)

Tool I'm using is VEVOR 10L extractor





Very complete set





Graduated markings



All quick connect/disconnect components included



The only "modification" I used "A" style couplings that I have on all of my tools, this extra spare gauge with adjuster, works perfectly with this setup.



For fill up, transmission must be at 45C, my Matco scanner couldn't access that module, someone recommended a simple tool by AUTEL AP200 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094XRDH7S?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details With 15% off, this little guy is a very very useful tool for very little money, and cordless, anther reason why I bought it, under the car, looking at my phone at the live data: priceless!



I did drain torque converter, just couldn't do it half ass, since I have no records of last transmission fluid change. Took about 8L, used TITAN 4134 (236.14 approval)



Magnets had very little ultra fine sediment, but absolutely nothing on the bottom of the pan, felt good about that! Cleaned up to as new



Test drive - butter smooth! Cruising:



More live data from transmission module (I'm impressed with how much data this little AUTEL thing can extract!



Back up on the quick jack to sit overnight just to make sure there are no leaks.

If anyone wants to tackle their 722.9 here are some guides/manuals to do so:

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm doing it, found this lip at the price I couldn't resist





Now, it is made for the actual E63, and mine is a replica, few very minor differences, but the lip is a fiberglass, I can/will make adjustments easily for that "perfect" fit





Good fit, but I will make it better (when the weather cools of a bit)

 

[Duh_Vinci]

This is pap's 08 E350, but same, so...

I noticed a gasoline smell in the garage yesterday, actually though it was the Porsche (being the oldest car), nope, smell from the driver's side rear wheel arch. No drips on the floor... Power of the internet search: Fuel sending unit, located on the driver's side rear, under the rear seat, sure enough, looks just like that



Found this little gem

Parts ordered, can't stand the smell of fuel, but it's got to be done! Worse for me was in my old ML430, middle of the winter, in the snow on the parking lot of the apartments I use to rent after divorce. Failure is not an option!

 

[Duh_Vinci]

Well, this was quick! To my surprise, the best price on the pump came up from Advace Auto! Direct shipping from VDO





Made in Germany, nicely packed, shipped and delivered in 1 day. Gaskets I got at the dealer, tool to remove the ring from amazon



It should all go smooth tomorrow...

 

[Duh_Vinci]

This was remarkably simple, smelly, but simple, all done in about an hour. If you own W211, this is something you will most likely face at one (or more time) during the ownership, and definitely is a DIY! Just work in the well-lit and well ventilated area.

Little overkill, but no spills no splatters



Leaky leaky



Out with the old



in with the new





This tool worked very well in removing the rings



Took it for a spin, make sure it's all neat and tight, all good, back together and calling it done!