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683 views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  compaddict 
#1 ·
Hello World!

Well, as much as I loved my CLK (and plan to get another W208 someday) and kind of miss my E500 (had to let it go with the ex), I'm having a blast with my new (to me) toy. Didn't expect to find the color combination that I fell in love with in my old CLK, but my long time dream car has been 04-08 SL55 AMG, Dark Blue with Light Gray interior. Decided to not settle, do a nation-wide search and find my car! Came up with only one, which happened to be 5 miles away. So, here I am. I'm all about doing as much work on the car as my knowledge will allow and eventually, I'll dig into a new stereo and maybe change out the wheels. I still need to do a complete tear-down on the poor wax job it received, but clearing a space in my garage is this weekend's project.

Without hesitation I took it up Hwy 1, North of San Francisco for a hundred miles or so of "spirited driving". Having taken that drive dozens of times, this is the first time virtually every car quickly pulled off, waved me on with a thumbs up! My only other dream now is to do the entire coast over a week's time. That will happen.

Although it's been a while since I was active around here, the CLK board and the general board had a ton of great people on it. I look forward to getting to interact with the regulars here and learn as much as I can, eventually to contribute knowledge myself.

Cheers!
 

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#2 ·
Welcome back!
I've got the dark blue/dark gray combo on my SL55, and like yours, it is pretty rare color combo to find.
Plenty of good help to be found here for the R230. You didn't mention the mileage your car has, but it would help us to give you suggestions on preventative maintenance you should do, or potential flaws to premptively repair.
Treat it right and it won't be a garage queen. Neglect it and you will be sorry. Enjoy the new ride!
 
#3 · (Edited)
Very sharp looking car, and SL55, in my opinion, is the right way of doing R230.

R230 are very complex beasts that require utmost attention to maintenance. It is often the case that previous owners tend to take less care when about to sell the car. With this in mind, if you don't have documented history of getting this done, change all filters and fluids.

Now, the fly in your ointment, is ABC system. I hope you took due diligence purchasing it and there are no codes or sagging. If you already completed rodeo as PPI, then I recommend changing ABC fluid. If not, then at the very least examine condition and the level of the fluid. ABC is very finicky system, and servicing it is not on the schedule. Consequently, old fluid and neglect make ABC troubles very prevalent in R230s. If you find original ABC fluid, my recommendation is to gradually (third of fluid at a time, every 2 weeks) change fluid, then at the end also change ABC filter. Also, if they are original, consider preemptively changing your spheres. They act as dampers, and do wear down. Once they no longer correctly working, you get extra stress and wear through your system. Also ride quality noticeably deteriorates, but you might not notice this since the car is new to you.

Last but not least, you need to start looking for a reputable indy. Keeping R230 on a road is an ordeal that will be very costly if done at a dealership.
 
#4 ·
Thank you for the input and welcome. Several months before I even searched for the car, I went indi shop hunting. After interviewing several places with the "what should I look for" questions, I found one that gave an answer almost verbatim to you SinSL. He talked about flushing the fluid and running the car on some rack that goes through all of the ABC calibration steps. Said that failure to do that every 40k miles is the main reason for most of the issues. I have no idea how much was fluff and glitter as I don't know the car yet, but he certainly seemed to be incredibly knowledgable about the SL. The ABC fluid was at proper level and looked new, but I'm not sure if the fluid would look discolored over time or not. Having dealt with an airbag issue with my first E500 and a co-worker who dealt with his SL ABC issue, I went through and looked for anything that might look like trouble. Eyes can only see so much, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

The car was one owner, a silicon valley person that seemed to have taken very good care of it. It's probably the cleanest used car I've ever come across. I took it with 65k miles on it.

The only issues I've found are the following:
The dealer backed into something that cracked the taillight. He ordered a new one, which I just changed myself to save time.
Slight SC Chirp on occasion - researching if I need to replace the clutch
Squeaky brakes that I plan on remedying soon - likely going to change to porterfield pads
An issue that my E500 started to develop and one that popped up here after putting it though the paces on Hwy 1... in parking lots, there's a bit of a creaking from the front when starting to turn the wheel. Sounds like a bushing. I'm sure it's going to be a pain to track down, but it will drive me crazy until I do.

So, I think that's about it. Thanks again for the input. I think this weekend's drive will be up in the sierra's.
 
#6 ·
For that squeak, take a look at the bushings on the rear inner lower control arm mount of the front suspension. These are not very long life parts, and any crack in the rubber could cause rubbing on the subframe, which is costly to fix. I had to press 2 bushings in at 88K on mine.

FWIW - I like Akebono pads due to very low brake dust. With those stock 'turbine' wheels, you don't want ANY dust.
 
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