Buy ‘em, give ‘em the attention they need, drive ‘em. That’s how it should be.
AZBob Sent from my iPhone > On Jul 5, 2024, at 6:01 PM, Kevin Kraly via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > wrote: > > Sounds like a truly awesome ride!! Winner winner chicken dinner! > Kevin in Lexington NC > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Jul 5, 2024, at 6:40 PM, Floyd Thursby via Mercedes >> <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >> >> I had ordered stuff to fix the $2500 09S550 -- headlight bulb, brake pads >> (break pats), AC blower, front axles, and a lower control arm (ball joint on >> one was shot). >> >> Rear brake pads were fairly simple, I did have to remove the calipers but >> not a big deal, just required a bit of persuasion. Rotors were good. Front >> break pads were fine, looked nearly new. >> >> Headlight bulb required removal of wheel and fender liner but then was easy >> to swap over. I had the wheel off anyway to check the brakes. >> >> The AC blower was pretty crapped up and somewhat corroded on the squirrel >> cage shafts so I cleaned all that up. The diagnostic said the regulator was >> bad so I ordered another of those along with another fan. After putting all >> that in, still no joy, so I checked the 40A fan fuse, which tested OK for >> continuity. I swapped another one in anyway, and presto! JOY was had as the >> fan started working. I kept the new fan in but put the old regulator back >> in and kept the new one for a spare, was only like $35. I kept the old fan, >> even with cleaning it all and lubing it well, it was still a little slow. >> >> The axles were a real pain. I made up the tool I shared to use with the >> slide hammer kit I borrowed from the auto parts store. Finally worked. >> Putting in the new ones required a lot of finessing due to how much room >> there was along next to the LCA to slide the spline into the hub. Not fun. >> I also had a huge problem with the nut on the end of the air strut, there is >> a torx hole in the end to hold the bolt end of the fitting to keep the whole >> thing from turning, and of course that stripped out. Took forever to get it >> sorted, had to order new bolts (which were the wrong size), a tap and die >> set (14mx1.50 should you care) to chase the bolt and nut. Lots of torching >> etc to get it all loosened up and on and off. I finally got it all back >> together. The new LCA fit in pretty easily. >> >> Did a quick shakedown drive and all seemed great, axles were good, no >> rattles or looseness. I did have no ABS/ESP due to wheel speed sensor fault >> and an airmatic fault for RF wheel. I had a wheel speed sensor so put that >> in right quick. Both sensors plug into a socket together, I messed with >> them some but still had the fault. Not sure what that is about, seems like >> some sort of connectivity issue but I couldn't see anything. I could drive >> the car but no cruise control, and the airmatic seemed fine. >> >> Next day I drove it to Missisippi, about 500mi the first day, then the rest >> of the distance the second day. I made a stop in Augusta to pick up 3 >> wheels, I found 2 others wider for rear, so now I have a staggered set plus >> a spare. Nice AMG design wheels. I hope they fit the rear without rubbing >> on the fenders. I was a bit concerned about the difference in circumference >> of front/back due to tire sizes to fit the different width rims and how it >> might affect the 4matic but reading up on it it seems like it should be OK. >> Not going to put them on any time soon anyway but they do look nice. The >> tires that came with the car are only like 1.5yo now, good BFGs. >> >> Had no cruise control which was a bit of a pain, watching my speed >> constantly because 90 felt like sitting in an easy chair and it was easy to >> creep up on that if not paying attention. Traffic was moving 80-85 most of >> the way so I kinda just went with the flow. (I did have a couple of ohshit >> moments when I passed a cop hiding in the median) AC BLEW ICE COLD which >> was good because it was 90s-100F most of the time. No issues whatsoever >> with the car other than those sensor problems. >> >> I got like 21-24+mpg running at 80+/- the whole way plus some other highway >> driving 60-70. That is pretty damn good for a big car with a big engine. >> >> Miles. Gal. MPG >> 458.9 19.2 23.9 >> 312.2 15.1 20.7 >> 170.3 8.1 21.0 >> 129.3 6.1 21.2 >> 233.1 10.4 22.4 >> 342.0 14.0 24.4 >> 192.7 9.3 20.7 >> >> Roads in MS were really good, AL almost as good, GA OK, SC sux big time. You >> would think "poorer" states would be worse but I was really surprised. >> >> So anyway that was 1800mi or so of driving, the car was amazing. I am >> totally in love with it. Big, fast, comfortable, quiet, everything you want >> a Sonder-Klasse to be. Huge amount of trunk space, huge back seat space. >> And the black/black W221 looks amazing too, lots of "presence." I am tall >> so have my seat all the way back so I can stretch my legs out, there is >> still ample room in the back I could probably fit behind driver seat. AC >> kept temps 70-72F the whole time, and cooled down fast. Engine temp never >> went above like 85-90C even when sitting with AC running. Sound system is >> great (I had to get some adapters to plug my iFōn into the DVD sound jacks >> but it works). And for maybe $3200 all in now with the parts and acquisition >> cost it is an amazing deal. >> >> So, the story of the cheap S550... >> >> -- >> --FT >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
