Heldenzeit's Garage (Endless Maintenance)

[Heldenzeit]

Quick trip back to the Bay for work. Rented a Cinquecento Pop from Turo. I just love them.

Gorgeous Roma at the hotpot place in Sunnyvale.

Glad to be back home in Houston with the 600. Needs a wash, but it rains so randomly here. 😅

 

[SVX]

Quick trip back to the Bay for work. Rented a Cinquecento Pop from Turo. I just love them.

Best colour too

 

[ScottPuss20]

Glad to be back home in Houston with the 600. Needs a wash, but it rains so randomly here. 😅
View attachment 1133970

I get some serious Midnight Club 3 vibes looking at this. I didn't always the like the CL but I do now because it's such a clean design.

 

[Heldenzeit]

New addition to the fleet. I'm picking it up tomorrow.

 

[Darla Starch]

 

[Heldenzeit]

It's an S65! Needs some love, but I couldn't pass it up for the deal I got on it. 71k miles, CA car.

 

[wfooshee]

Yeah, looks like it's sitting a little high in the front. When Hurricane Sally's flooding took my S55, I was at the point of removing the ABC in favor of coilovers. I would have nabbed the bits from an S600 so I could put anti-roll bars on it, but I was saved by the bell.

But damn, what a motor in that thing!!!!

 

[Heldenzeit]

Yeah, looks like it's sitting a little high in the front. When Hurricane Sally's flooding took my S55, I was at the point of removing the ABC in favor of coilovers. I would have nabbed the bits from an S600 so I could put anti-roll bars on it, but I was saved by the bell.

But damn, what a motor in that thing!!!!

It is for sure. Have it in raised mode here. Will take it in for ABC work in a few days. Definitely not getting rid of ABC, it's incredible when it works.

Straightened the grilles today. Before:

After:

 

[SVX]

I can't wait to drive this.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Did some more work on the lower grilles, now with the correct clips. Also fixed the trunk mechanism which somehow came loose.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Replaced cupholder, and made my first YT video.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Replaced the air filters. Found more broken stuff. ABC gets sorted next Tues.

Love how even the clamps have the three pointed star.

 

[Heldenzeit]

So here's where we are at with the S65 after a few months, and 5 weeks at the repair shop. Suspension still doesn't hold pressure overnight, but isn't leaking externally. Drives totally normal with no warnings during operation. So it's better, but looks kinda silly sitting on its tires overnight.

Here's what has been replaced:
-ABC pressure line, pump to separation point (8 hours labor, requires subframe to be dropped)
- front accumulator with pulsation damper
-front left strut assembly reman
-front right strut assembly reman
-power steering filter
-ABC filter
-tandem pump reman (ABC and power steering)
-front lower ball joins
-serpentine belt
-untold quantities of mineral oil, but I know the system requires 10 liters
-12 attempts of rodeo test (system flush)

So its getting better, and I feel more confident driving it. Dynamic Seats still need more diagnosis, and of course the cluster blacklisting decided to quit (its usually a capacitor).

PSE pump looks fine, and the fuse was ok, so not sure what the deal with the seats is.

Had a random check engine light come on for Secondary Air pump. Naturally it went away when I washed the car a week later. 🤔

So I like the car, but I don't love it like I do the CL600. Will likely keep it a year and look for an SL next.

 

[wfooshee]

Yeah, that fluid is expen$ive! at least 20 dollars a quart and it takes at least 10 quarts to do a flush.

Lines busted out is almost always a result of a failed accumulator. If the accumulator has no pressure behind its diaphragm, then it has no capacity to absorb pressure spikes from suspension movement, and the only thing that holds that pressure spike is then the lines themselves. POP!!!! When I had my S55 and it would sag after 10 or 15 minutes of driving, but replacing both front and rear accumulators fixed that issue, without too much impossible work. The car quit sagging, but the ABS still didn't work, it took a set on startup and simply stayed there.

I never bothered with a full flush because I wanted to rebuild the valve bodies first, and not keep cycling more of that softened o-ring material through the system. The flood that totaled the car took care of that project for me...

I also never got the air system to the seats working. Not only no dynamic seat, but no manual adjustment available, either. The air pump in the trunk would run, but no air got anywhere in the seats. No issues with the doors locks, though, which run off the same air system. Finding air leaks looked to be a matter of stripping the interior and tracing the air lines, which I simply wasn't up for.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Yeah, that fluid is expen$ive! at least 20 dollars a quart and it takes at least 10 quarts to do a flush.

Lines busted out is almost always a result of a failed accumulator. If the accumulator has no pressure behind its diaphragm, then it has no capacity to absorb pressure spikes from suspension movement, and the only thing that holds that pressure spike is then the lines themselves. POP!!!! When I had my S55 and it would sag after 10 or 15 minutes of driving, but replacing both front and rear accumulators fixed that issue, without too much impossible work. The car quit sagging, but the ABS still didn't work, it took a set on startup and simply stayed there.

I never bothered with a full flush because I wanted to rebuild the valve bodies first, and not keep cycling more of that softened o-ring material through the system. The flood that totaled the car took care of that project for me...

I also never got the air system to the seats working. Not only no dynamic seat, but no manual adjustment available, either. The air pump in the trunk would run, but no air got anywhere in the seats. No issues with the doors locks, though, which run off the same air system. Finding air leaks looked to be a matter of stripping the interior and tracing the air lines, which I simply wasn't up for.

I think my pic above is the valve block, and not the PSE pump. Will remove the pump in a few days, as ome of the plastic fittings there can melt.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Another bay area trip. This time borrowed a 2015 WRX. Pretty fun when pushing it around freeway ramps, but I didn't care much for the suspension tuning, particularly on rebound.

Effortless trip in the 600 out to Galveston Island. Need to get some new tires soon though. This is the sub that sank the IJN Shokaku.

No real update to the S65. Drive it once or twice a week, and it seems happy.

Houston is fantastic, glad i made the move.

 

[SVX]

Another bay area trip. This time borrowed a 2015 WRX. Pretty fun when pushing it around freeway ramps, but I didn't care much for the suspension tuning, particularly on rebound.

News to me!!!!

 

[Heldenzeit]

Replaced washer pump on the S65, then the instrument cluster burnt out. Found the Bluetooth adapter, but I don't think the car is wired for it. At least it looks the part. Also found one of the missing rear HVAC buttons.

One of the rear wheels on the CL600 is bent, so will need to send that out for a refurb or find a new set altogether. Back on the spare for now.

 

[SVX]

@coolheldenzeitmaster

 

[Heldenzeit]

@coolheldenzeitmaster

CoolJunkyardMaster

 

[Heldenzeit]

Updates to both cars.

S65, intercooler to throttle body boot is very torn. Ordered a new one.

Found that the oil cap was broken while fixing the vacuum leak in an above post. Replaced with a new one.

Started removal of the gauge cluster with the OE removal tool. Will start disassembly.

Swapped the wheels on the two cars. The Wald wheels keep getting bent, and the 600 is my daily so we cant really allow that for convenience.

Amazed they fit here with the massive rotors.

 

[wfooshee]

When I first got my genuine, correctly-sized AMG wheels for my S55 to replace the monstrously oversized aftermarket wheels that were on it when I bought it (tires were cutting the sidewalls on the fenders,) the tire installer balanced them with adhesive weights on the inside center of the rim, which the calipers immediately shaved off, the clearance was that close!

 

[Heldenzeit]

When I first got my genuine, correctly-sized AMG wheels for my S55 to replace the monstrously oversized aftermarket wheels that were on it when I bought it (tires were cutting the sidewalls on the fenders,) the tire installer balanced them with adhesive weights on the inside center of the rim, which the calipers immediately shaved off, the clearance was that close!

Definitely checked for that clearance too haha

 

[Heldenzeit]

Put the new intake Y-pipe on and found the throttle body itself to be loose! Tightened that up. Throttle response is much improved. Car is really fast now with the boost leaks fixed.

Fixing little clips here and there.

Japan style!

 

[racedevil70]

Try to get a hold of an AMG C36.There might be one or two for sale here in my country (sweden) or one with the "Hammer" v-8.They are sleepers and i had a 190 2.3 -87 aut with a 2.5 engineblock.Sadley not 16v head.But it was fine-tuned with different 190 parts.Also had an 3.5 SEL -74 and an c280 -95 (tuned)

 

[homeforsummer]

The CL's such an amazing shape. Interesting to follow your progress with these two, both I think have a bit of a "reputation" but I guess if you know the ins and outs and don't mind getting your hands dirty, you can end up with something pretty incredible that a lot of other people wouldn't touch...

 

[SVX]

The CL's such an amazing shape. Interesting to follow your progress with these two, both I think have a bit of a "reputation" but I guess if you know the ins and outs and don't mind getting your hands dirty, you can end up with something pretty incredible that a lot of other people wouldn't touch...

He's definitely been persuasive for me to get into a Euro...

 

[Heldenzeit]

Try to get a hold of an AMG C36.There might be one or two for sale here in my country (sweden) or one with the "Hammer" v-8.They are sleepers and i had a 190 2.3 -87 aut with a 2.5 engineblock.Sadley not 16v head.But it was fine-tuned with different 190 parts.Also had an 3.5 SEL -74 and an c280 -95 (tuned)

I almost did get a C36 for my second car, but passed and got a C4 Corvette instead. What a mistake haha. Would still love one. If you look a few pages back, I had a 190D with a 2.3-16 body kit!

The CL's such an amazing shape. Interesting to follow your progress with these two, both I think have a bit of a "reputation" but I guess if you know the ins and outs and don't mind getting your hands dirty, you can end up with something pretty incredible that a lot of other people wouldn't touch...

I agree, it's what has drawn me to that car for so long. It definitely helps to be able to wrench on your own with both of these. You can get into a lot of trouble without that knowledge. That being said, the S65 is unbelievably fussy.

He's definitely been persuasive for me to get into a Euro...

Yes, go get a C36!

 

[Heldenzeit]

La bella macchina

 

[TheHun99]

La bella macchinaView attachment 1216401

Looks good! Bought or rented?