R63 AMG The Unicorn of my Destruction

Well there's yer problem...the compressor failed!  Got the wheel liner loosened and out fell the spring, aluminum bit and black cap.  Not sure what caused the failure as it went in as shipped direct from Arnott.  Reassembled and drivable while FCP is rushing a new pump out to execute the exchange.  Took a quick trip to the San Antonio Mercedes dealer as well; asked them to clear the codes (hand-held scanners can't access the AIRMATIC fully) and to get a nut.  The latter as a replacement for one that is now forever lost to the front crash bar assembly.  Both the code clearing and nut were free of charge; a first for Mercedes I believe!  

Also, props to FCPEuro!!  This has been by far and away the easiest swap/warranty claim ever.  

That's weird. Both the failure and the free stuff from Mercedes. 

Glad to hear it's a piece that can be fairly easily dealt with all things considered. 

mazdeuce - Seth said:

That's weird. Both the failure and the free stuff from Mercedes. 

Glad to hear it's a piece that can be fairly easily dealt with all things considered. 

Indeed weird!  I'll admit a bit of shock to making it to my in-laws from Austin to Seguin on TX-130 with the compressor in that condition.  Cruising at 85-90 and on a road that has some "unique" undulations.  She is a tough ole gal!!  

Wanted to give a quick snap-shot of what its taken to keep this R63 running over the last 15k miles and ~20 months.

• Fuel used - 1,004 gallons ($2,754.78)
• AVG MPG - 14.6
• 307 miles per tank
• 26.1 miles per day avg
• .188/mile running cost of fuel or $4.95/day 

Parts replaced, swapped, or otherwise not as it was delivered from mazdeuce - 

• Transmission Valve body & Conductor Plate with .5qt larger pan
• Primary & Aux Batteries
• Dip stick
• 4x Wheel Speed Sensors 
• Front Wheel Bearings
• 8x Fuel Injectors
• 8x Spark Plugs and Coils
• Rest-of-World Air Boxes with High Flow Filters
• Flex Disc
• Navigation Disc
• Power Steering reservoir
• Front lower subframe bushings
• Front Sway Bar bushings
• Air Compressor
• Drivers Door window switch assembly
• Cabin Filter
• Multiple Oil changes
• Transfer Case Fluid
• Front Diff Fluid
• Rear Diff Fluid
• Engine Coolant
• Power Steering Fluid
• Automatic Transmission Fluid
• 4-wheel alignment (done 2x)
• 4x Tires
• 4x TPMS sensors
• OEM Rear Bumper due to elderly lady running red light

Total cost....It's a hobby and one that's rewarding.  Only item really left on my to-do list is the brake fluid, and door seals.  At some point get it re-sprayed in the future as she is showing some age and rock chips, dents and so forth.  

Hope your projects are progressing!!!

Hi everyone. I had watched Doug's video a long time ago, but recently I was looking at cars and found the R63 and this thread. I read all of it in two days and just wanted to say hello! I don't have any cars myself yet, and the R63 is out of a university student's budget, but I hope to have something exciting after school is done. Hope the unicorn holds up well in the future!

NoahWeb said:

Wanted to give a quick snap-shot of what its taken to keep this R63 running over the last 15k miles and ~20 months.

• Fuel used - 1,004 gallons ($2,754.78)
• AVG MPG - 14.6
• 307 miles per tank
• 26.1 miles per day avg
• .188/mile running cost of fuel or $4.95/day 

 

Parts replaced, swapped, or otherwise not as it was delivered from mazdeuce - 

• Transmission Valve body & Conductor Plate with .5qt larger pan
• Primary & Aux Batteries
• Dip stick
• 4x Wheel Speed Sensors 
• Front Wheel Bearings
• 8x Fuel Injectors
• 8x Spark Plugs and Coils
• Rest-of-World Air Boxes with High Flow Filters
• Flex Disc
• Navigation Disc
• Power Steering reservoir
• Front lower subframe bushings
• Front Sway Bar bushings
• Air Compressor
• Drivers Door window switch assembly
• Cabin Filter
• Multiple Oil changes
• Transfer Case Fluid
• Front Diff Fluid
• Rear Diff Fluid
• Engine Coolant
• Power Steering Fluid
• Automatic Transmission Fluid
• 4-wheel alignment (done 2x)
• 4x Tires
• 4x TPMS sensors
• OEM Rear Bumper due to elderly lady running red light

Total cost....It's a hobby and one that's rewarding.  Only item really left on my to-do list is the brake fluid, and door seals.  At some point get it re-sprayed in the future as she is showing some age and rock chips, dents and so forth.  

Hope your projects are progressing!!!

Noah like I said before this vehicle and Seth are what brought me to GRM. I'm currently looking at a new clutch. rebush the entire rear suspension, find the gas tank leak, tear the dash apart for the HVAC thingy that toggles between defrost and center vents on my 'V' ..all that being said, I've no intention of kicking this to the curb.....especially when I can roll a 5.0 stang without dropping a gear.....kids don't do this at home...wink........stay with it and carry on ....late

This thread brought me to the forum as well.  And in spite of everything it was instrumental in my decision to get an R63.  Thanks for the updates.  Please keep them coming as you are able.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=772328340186764

Looks like Optima Batteries and Tanner Foust Beat you to the punch for the fastest Minivan thanks to Covid-19..

Sorry dude..

spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=772328340186764

Looks like Optima Batteries and Tanner Foust Beat you to the punch for the fastest Minivan thanks to Covid-19..

Sorry dude..

They stole my idea...but only sort of.  I want to set the production record.  While their R63 is ludicrously fast thanks to the Weistec Supercharger, it isn't production.  Still impressive though!!  The Texas Mile took all of the March reservations for speed runs and shifted them to October, then did not accept new reservations for October.  Have to wait.

As an update to the R63, the warming glow of the "CHECK ENGINE" light greeted us a few days ago.  Checked the codes and found the worrisome P0016 (Alternating adjustment of intake camshaft of right cylinder bank direction "advanced" or "retarded.") code.  This is indicative of (1) the camshaft position sensor failing or (2) the camshaft adjuster failing.  

The latter is a "common" problem for the M156 engines, and one that mazdeuce discussed earlier in this thread.  I ordered a new camshaft position sensor, installed and cleared the codes.  CEL came back.  Le sigh.

Each of the Cam Shaft phasers are $690.  There's four ($2,760).  Plus 4x new bolts ($152), valve cover gaskets and timing cover gaskets.  Labor estimate is 10 hours.  The question is do we just do one (failing one), two (Right side intake & exhaust) or all four.  

From a timing perspective, it's been nearly 12 months since the R63s Valve Body/Conductor Plate started to fail.  If the R63 continues on a yearly cycle of nigh on catastrophic bank account draining....that isn't sustainable!  

I love this thread, but still can't believe the complexity and costs that people put up with on MBs of this generation.  There is no need for the over engineering and therefore even more of a nightmare.

In reply to NoahWeb :

Well that's good you still have a record left to chase!

 

NoahWeb said:

 If the R63 continues on a yearly cycle of nigh on catastrophic bank account draining....that isn't sustainable!  

 

LOL. Joys of Euro ownership. Its entertaining to the rest of us :)

The mystery of Mercedes Parts...  The local dealer quoted $725/ea.  ECS Tuning quoted $735.20/ea.  FCP quoted $690/ea.  Found a MB Dealer, VIN & part number matched, at $487.20/ea.  Needless to say I placed an order after calling to confirm pricing.  This difference in price nearly covers the entire cost of labor to install the adjusters...and yes, we are doing all four of the adjusters.  

Need to give props to mercedespartscenter.com for lowest pricing and, thus far, great customer service!!  Now we sit on the front porch like a kid on Christmas for the USPS/UPS/FedEx delivery man to arrive with four round hunks of precision machined metal with some teeth...

In reply to NoahWeb :

You are stubborn!  After your first year (even after Mazdadeuce's heroic efforts), I'd have been trading this thing for an electric car to get away from this maintenance minefield.

Nader said:

In reply to NoahWeb :

You are stubborn!  After your first year (even after Mazdadeuce's heroic efforts), I'd have been trading this thing for an electric car to get away from this maintenance minefield.

Sound like my SO!  We've decided that the R63 must be driven to be reliable...she breaks in storage/non-use.  Plus I like the challenge of finding the right part, at the best price....

She's a minefield but one that can be navigated successfully with due caution and fourtitude!  

You ever sell a car you really like? And you hope that you somehow found a new home where everything goes well and it's the right owner but they drive off into the sunset and you never really know? I get to know that my old car is in the best place. That makes me happy. 

Well look what was delivered today, 2x Intake & 2x Exhaust Cam Shaft Adjusters for the M156.  They are much heavier than I expected given that they are spinning at ~8k RPM.  Will weigh one of the old ones.  The R63 will be delivered tomorrow afternoon and I expect her back in a few days with new Valve Cover Gaskets, timing cover gaskets and a fresh oil change.  The latter being somewhat of a disappointment as its fresh oil!!   

FedEx....worst shipping experience ever.  Deliver on Sunday, called and confirmed, didn't happen, package lost, etc etc.  Remember when FedEx was "the world on time....". Yeah.  Not so much any more.  Nonetheless they are here. 

So...that gap at the top, yeah....that 1/4" piece of metal is somewhere inside the motor.  When the Drivers Side Exhaust Cam Shaft adjuster was pulled off, the sealing ring was down one notch and snapped into two parts.  Not sure where the missing bit went, but we believe it snapped a VERY long time ago.  Thankfully the entire ring didn't drop down into the timing chain area, or the small bit, causing damage.  Further, there was no rotational damage to the housing (ie scoring, gouging, etc).  We believe it to be resting in peace and harmony at the bottom of the oil pan, or trapped by an oil filter changed long ago (unlikely though).  

The engine was started the first time in 2 weeks yesterday.  No valves slapped any pistons!! However the ECU continues to report the drivers side timing is off, but won't say how much.  Locking bars used to set timing, and engine at 40 degrees...makes no sense!  Bear in mind the codes were originally ALL for the passenger bank of cylinders....everything above is specific to the drivers side!  At this point we believe it's one of the solenoids not functioning correctly.  Thankfully MB uses the same part for all four adjusters!  Get one...test all four!  

On a positive note, the tappets/lifters all look great and the cams are in great condition!  New cam adjusters are in, valve cover gaskets completed, and finally the brake fluid was flushed for Motul RBF 660.  All fluids have been flushed!!  Eager to get the R63 back and have the 500+ HP under my right big toe!  

Edit - Oh yeah....this is the same part that was just doing 160 MPH with LegitStreetCars and Alex from Chicago!  Go figure huh!  

Glad the cams/lifters are still looking good. There were arguably more engine failures due the lifter wear issue than the headbolt  issue. Hopefully you can get the cam adjuster problem sorted out. 

I do not have the vocabulary to explain just how much better the starting of the R63 is with new Camshaft Adjusters installed.   It entirely changes the character of the R63!  Everything is tighter and sounds....well healthy!  

The previously timing problem noted above was not a solenoid issue as it turned out.  Rather the base timing was off a smidge; "easily" adjusted and good-to-go.  

Photos in a few days...can't wait to drive to post tomorrow and let her run out some!  The 5 cylinder S60 Volvo from Lord knows when wasn't cutting the mustard....but a loaner is a loaner!  

Just before buttoning up the engine.  

Have you found where Seth hid the "mazdeuce was here" signature?

Curious about the "base timing" being off and what exactly that means. Mostly because when I reassembled it there seemed to be about 300 ways to get everything wrong, and one to get it right. I still have a bit of a cold sweat about the valvetrain on this car. 

mazdeuce - Seth said:

Curious about the "base timing" being off and what exactly that means. Mostly because when I reassembled it there seemed to be about 300 ways to get everything wrong, and one to get it right. I still have a bit of a cold sweat about the valvetrain on this car. 

Best Guess is the tech doing the change out accidentally rotated something, thereby causing the overall (base) timing to be out by 1-2 degrees.  Unfortunately it meant removing the air boxes, ignition coils, wiring loom on both sides, and valve covers on both sides to adjust.  We were hoping it was the solenoid...which required none of the above!  

I can't say how much better the R63 starts and runs!  Will see if I can get a cold-start video posted to YouTube...the difference is extreme!!  

I installed one of the Bluetooth CarPro modules a few days ago; worked great. Then yesterday the head unit only displays the MB Star Logo...nothing else.  

Looked around the various MBsites and followed the pulling of specific fuses to reset the system, and unplugged the CarPro iPod adapter. That worked, sort of. The Headunit stays stuck on the MB Logo, and now only plays static. Anyone shed some light here?