This guy did so many things right and deserves some kind of prize.

*kompressor

You’re correct that the V8s don’t have a balance shaft. But the M273 V8 has an idler gear the same place that the balance shaft gear would be on an M272 which is prone to the same wearing problem, and will throw the same codes. But in most cases, the engine doesn’t need to be pulled to replace the idler gear, like…

Except the M137 is one of the worst engines Mercedes-Benz ever released.

This article is actually incorrect. The 273 V8s like the one in the S550 does not have a balance shaft. It just has an idler gear. The 272 V6s have a balance shaft. The idler gears in the V8s are prone to the exact same problem, though, but is not as extreme (though still extreme) to replace as an entire balance…

Sure! I used to be an MB tech and always loved how easy the 203s were to work on. Since I’m a performance car enthusiast, I went with the AMG.

I just bought a 2002 C32 last week. They’re all selling for around 7-10k around here (WA state), depending on mileage. I picked up mine for $7.5 k with 121k miles on it.

The biggest thing I see wrong with this video is the tech’s inability to properly drive a stick through parking lot maneuvers with all the excessive revving. This video really doesn’t show much. The owner should be in his rights to be disappointed, enough that showing it to the service manager shouldn’t be out of the…

I owned one for about 4 years. If you just floor it from a start you’ll have a low to mid 5 0-60 time. But, if you build brake boost by revving the engine, then mash the brake and gas until full boost is achieved prior to launch, it’s good for about 4.6 seconds, and a mid 13 1/4 mile run.

I actually find the Mercedes-Benz M112 and M113 engines to be some of the easiest engines to work on. The engines are very simple and everything is easy to access. Especially an SLK320 or SL500 with those engines being so far away from the firewall.

As someone who is a professional automotive technician, I’ll have to say, I’ve seen some scary stuff as a result of people trying to work on their own cars. People are too driven to save a few bucks, when it could cost them more as a result, in the long run, including their life as well as the others on the road.

This mostly applies to E46’s. 90% of the crank/no start of an E46 is a bad fuel pump. Sometimes you can get lucky/unlucky, if you have a SULEV E46. The pump has the same failure rate, but is permanently attached to the fuel tank, which means the entire tank has to be replaced. But, the lucky part is that they are…

Maybe it is only in the U.S. Here, CLK’s never came with a manual transmission.

Though, they were rare, you absolutely could have gotten a C320 in a coupe or a sedan with a 6 speed gear grinder.

Wow. This brings back memories. I actually worked on this car when I worked at a Benz dealer prior to the Seattle International Autoshow (2003/04?). It looked exactly as it does now. I remember the drivetrain being stock at the time, aside from the exhaust. I do remember the Xbox (or it might has a Playstation at the…

Nobody should ever give that engine a thumbs up.