DansSlk

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Just out of curiosity you've not done any mod's to the engine have you? And as far as you know has it always been serviced by MB with the right oil's and stuff.

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jmeredith

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Dan,

NO mods, service record was clean when I viewed it prior to purchase, no carfax issues, was Certified Pre-Owned bought from dealer...

when I added oil a few weeks ago, I bought the 0/40 and added a quart as the computer asked for. has run fine since then, until last night

About a month ago I did notice a little clicking, at idle under the hood, was planning to ask about in when I went in to ask about my radio acting up, but it had not messed up again, so I had not been in for service. it wasnt a loud clicking, if it had been I would have gone in for service quickly.... just noticed it in the garage when starting in the mornings.

I dont race, dont do track runs, or any thing too crazy... I do like to get on it every once in a while, but thats what its designed for, certainly not doing anything out of the ordinary when this happened.

-J

DansSlk

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Fair enough mate, as i said before probably a manufacturing defect.

If it has thrown a rod then that little 113 has my up-most respect for battling on bless her heart, normally when that happens to engines they just think f*ck it and die on the spot.

I'm not saying this is the case here because you would have had an overfill warning but when those little add oil messages pop up always double check them using the operating system because they are often issued in error.

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Sorry to hear the verdict. As everyone, I was hoping for something less severe, not engine or transmission related. Keep us informed what they find as the cause and will it be a new completely assembled engine as replacement?

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-----------------1-----------------
---------SLK 55 ///AMG---------
TOP D0WN-URGE 2 DRIVE GOES UP

dltslk

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I've dealt with the engine defect issue, I would insist on a complete new engine install, that's what they did with mine on their own. BTW, how many miles on the lump?

jmeredith

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They have said it will likely be a new engine, with either come from Dallas or Germany... not sure why they would have a new AMG 55 engine in Dallas, but stranger things have happened. MB is wanted them to photograph the heads and remove the oil pan for photos as well...

she had 15,000 when I got her, has about 18,000 now...

got a c300 for a loaner, its just not the same

Dan, if they replace the engine, will it be a long block, what will they save from the old one? maybe thats why they are looking at the heads? also what's the cost on that engine out of curiosity? anyone know?

-J

alroumi

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Engine costs are probably around 30-40's assuming they cost the same as the Kompressor M113.

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06 Kleemann Designo Mocha Black SLK55 AMG
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DansSlk

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Probably have a depot in Dallas mate, an engine is a hell of a lump to ship from Germany so if they can avoid it they will.

When we replace an engine we normally forklift them and it's up to MB to decide what to do with the damaged unit once they have it back with them, a dealer workshop is not designed for intricate engine work so it just makes more sense to install a totally fresh unit (cheaper and faster).

Cost a 5.5 is $40k, it's the single most expensive part of the car and normally equals more than half it's value, a lot of head-on crashes in AMG's result in car's being totaled because of engine damage.

I say totally fresh but they could be re-furb's, MB are well within rights to use them and its much cheaper for them but its like buying something at half price because the box has been opened, the engine itself will be as good as new even if it's a rebuilt unit.

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etyu

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Very sorry to hear and see the damage to the engine Jmeredith. How long since you've owned the vehicle?

You didn't overfill (engine oil)? just because of the timing of the event

Does the damage look like it may have been caused by something similar what happened to dltslk? or is the damage possible from too much engine oil? (just asking).

You have our sympathies and prayers Jmeredith. Hope a new engine is on its way.

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Eddy

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richard_leeds

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Another moment for my ignorance again .... Too much oil can cause major problems? How does that happen?

billh556

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So sorry to hear what happened. Hoping they get you a complete engine, quickly.

Man this makes me nervous, having bought mine less than a month ago, but a year older and 2x the miles as yours. I've been thinking that mine idles a little rough, and I should take it to my dealer and have them check that and a couple of minor things. My little stuff seems unimportant by comparison to what happened to you.

Good luck getting things sorted. Hope you are having fun driving with a new engine soon!

cyberdrakon

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Yup, there's a major parts depot somewhere in Texas...I seem to be getting a lot of parts from that area now.

mtiede

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I seem to remember that too much oil can cause parts to splash around in the excess causing it to foam up. The foamy oil is then circulated and it doesn't do the necessary job of lubrication causing things to overheat or seize and go boom.

DansSlk

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It can foam up from contact with the moving engine part's and that is not good for lubrication, it can also get forced into cylinder's and dumped out via the exhaust valve's causing major coking in the cylinders and damaging the cat's but the worst case is a fast moving part hitting relatively still oil and causing hydraulic lock.

If that happens the engine will instantly rip itself apart so never overfill the car.

If I'm honest mate your engine is probably fine, failures are very very rare.

And i hate to be negative but if a part deep inside the engine has a mechanical defect it's impossible to find without stripping the engine down.

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dltslk

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With mine there was a piece of loose metal floating around that eventually stuck a valve open that got smacked by a piston. Make a real mess of the combustion chamber and cylinder wall. They flew in a new complete engine and sent the broken one back to AMG for inspection and "flogging of that tech".

jmeredith

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Yeah they said this one will go back to whoever signed it... guess his calendar will be filled for the next few days after it arrives

I added the amount specified by the computer, after adding and rechecking it said it was OK. I ran the car several days without issue after refill, so its not likely it was overfill.

I suppose maybe there could have been computer hiccup that prompted for more oil then when it was added it went to OK mode, but seems unlikely as well... either way I think the germans were NUTS when they decided not to put a dipstick in a $40,000 engine that could be destroyed with an overfill

I guess that $100 service tool dipstick is looking better. wonder if we could have a batch of dipsticks produced with handle and seal and proper length that could stay in the engine all the time like just about every other car on the road? have min/max marking at correct depth... depending on the number of interested people we might be able to get them cheaper than $100 each.

-J

etyu

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Jmeredith, did you use Dan's suggested method to check engine oil level (not the one from the Owner's Manual)?

It is the following (warm engine):

With the MFD showing the odometer (miles traveled and total miles),
move key to position 1, press R button at the side of the instrument cluster 3x in quick succession,
MFD shows voltage, press up arrow on steering wheel button, MFD shows engine oil in ---/--- quarts,
move key to pistion 2, wait about 10 seconds or so,
MFD should show engine oil in quarts (liters if outside US).

Bring key back to position 0 when done.

Addendum: Since the engine ran okay a few days after adding some oil, this leads me to believe it's not related but just one of those events that happen. Again My sympathies.

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Eddy

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DansSlk

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It displays the add oil warning and the goes back to OK regardless of how much oil you put in, it's a fault in the gateway, since you say you ran it for a few day's without issue and you got no excess oil warning it's probably not that, again think defect.

I can understand that your annoyed the engine went pop but to be fair you show me any engine that cannot be destroyed by excess oil and i will show you rocking horse shit, it's just a fact of life.

Like i say to every owner i see who asks me about engine oil, always use the service menu and get the exact figure before you do anything, Eddy has the procedure posted above.

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jmeredith

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I completely understand the overfill problem, I just find it silly that they decided not to put a dipstick in it.... sometimes analog is better

I see the computer checking as a cool feature, but don't get why they left out the manual method of checking.

I don't think oil oil attributed to this problem, just a side bar about the oil measuring capability of this fine auto

-J

DansSlk

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