Mercedes-Benz CLK350 Elegance - Bottom of the Barrel
Discussion
I've bought another CLK. I make no secret of the fact that I really like these things, though the thread title is apt as this car is of a similar status! I decided that I would like the Sport body kit on the Thulite 350, and after a quick browse of eBay I saw that people were asking up to £750 for the front bumper alone. Now, CLKs are at absolute rock bottom at the moment: aside from the few low mileage examples left, they are at peak - or should that be trough - undesirability and value, but there is a complete disconnect between used parts prices and values. I decided that it would make more sense to buy a cheap car.
I found a 280 Sport advertised as spares or repairs. I spoke to the owner who mentioned engine issues, and that the cam sensors were recently replaced but they didn't cure the issue. I offered £1,100 explaining that it's most likely a terminal engine issue due to a worn balancer shaft gear. The price was agreed and so I went on what I thought would be a jolly via the train network, to collect the car. The train journey reminded me why I own a car.
The car got me home just as the seller said that it would. The engine issue manifested itself as a near complete lack of power, however - curiously - turning off the ignition and back on again cured it temporarily, so surely the balancer shaft issue was not at play. Aside from this engine problem and a squeaking O/S/F top mount, the car drove really well.
Condition Review
So what do we have? Well, the previous owner has spent a fair amount of money on recent maintenance
New water pump and tensioner
New Battery
New shock absorbers, ARB links, both arms, and F &R discs, calipers, and pads
Bonus: LPG conversion
Non bonus: LPG installation using self tappers through the (galvanised) floorpan! This kind of thing is why I don't like third parties 'installing' anything on my cars.
Issue Diagnosis
I'd removed the battery which cleared many of the codes including a misfire, but the active codes that came back immediately are as follows:
P0521 relates to a common issue with the variable length & geometry inlet manifold: inlet tract length is adjusted by some plastic actuators, and the plastic link rods have a habit of snapping. This is a simple if time consuming fix using a repair kit that costs around £45.
The coil open circuit was more interesting. There was a recent invoice for six new coils. Upon investigation I immediately noted that the coils looked like generic Chinese parts, and the wires to cylinder 6 were visible.
The exposed wires suggested a more fundamental problem, but I replaced the cylinder six coil with a genuine, used part that I had in stock, and to my surprise that cured the issue. The car now drove like a dream:
My Dad also has a CLK and he's always like the navy blue hood, so I removed this to swap with him:
I'm currently evaluating the rest of the car to decide if it's worth saving.
I found a 280 Sport advertised as spares or repairs. I spoke to the owner who mentioned engine issues, and that the cam sensors were recently replaced but they didn't cure the issue. I offered £1,100 explaining that it's most likely a terminal engine issue due to a worn balancer shaft gear. The price was agreed and so I went on what I thought would be a jolly via the train network, to collect the car. The train journey reminded me why I own a car.
The car got me home just as the seller said that it would. The engine issue manifested itself as a near complete lack of power, however - curiously - turning off the ignition and back on again cured it temporarily, so surely the balancer shaft issue was not at play. Aside from this engine problem and a squeaking O/S/F top mount, the car drove really well.
Condition Review
So what do we have? Well, the previous owner has spent a fair amount of money on recent maintenance
New water pump and tensioner
New Battery
New shock absorbers, ARB links, both arms, and F &R discs, calipers, and pads
Bonus: LPG conversion
Non bonus: LPG installation using self tappers through the (galvanised) floorpan! This kind of thing is why I don't like third parties 'installing' anything on my cars.
Issue Diagnosis
I'd removed the battery which cleared many of the codes including a misfire, but the active codes that came back immediately are as follows:
P0521 relates to a common issue with the variable length & geometry inlet manifold: inlet tract length is adjusted by some plastic actuators, and the plastic link rods have a habit of snapping. This is a simple if time consuming fix using a repair kit that costs around £45.
The coil open circuit was more interesting. There was a recent invoice for six new coils. Upon investigation I immediately noted that the coils looked like generic Chinese parts, and the wires to cylinder 6 were visible.
The exposed wires suggested a more fundamental problem, but I replaced the cylinder six coil with a genuine, used part that I had in stock, and to my surprise that cured the issue. The car now drove like a dream:
My Dad also has a CLK and he's always like the navy blue hood, so I removed this to swap with him:
I'm currently evaluating the rest of the car to decide if it's worth saving.
Shnozz said:
Reminds me of my old one that went to the scrapyard in the sky after losing power and found to have stretched its timing chain. Beautiful looking thing.
I probably would have bought yours - it looked very nice. Was it a 200 Kompressor? I've read about timing chain issues on that engine.Sheepshanks said:
Blimey - if he had a garage do that work he must have spent a couple of £K.
You are right, there's a lot work. I have the invoices.Max M4X WW said:
I love that you like these so much, as I do really want one, but that photo of the coil pack area of the engine instantly puts me off 
Oh, the snakes nest of rubber hoses is part of the LPG system. If you would like a good one of these - unlike the cars in this thread which are a bit of a folly - then look at 57 plate onwards V6s: the balance shaft issue was resolved and the early 7G gearbox issues mostly ironed out. Check the VIN online to confirm that the engine is out of the affected range.The 5.0 V8 is available in a facelift, and they are reliable.
Max M4X WW said:
I missed those vents and assumed the grille was an eBay effort!
I just fear the rear arches may match the front ??
The grille is an eBay special but the bumper itself is a 63 part, either genuine or a copy.I just fear the rear arches may match the front ??
It's worth a look. Late car, nice colour scheme, and good options.
J4CKO said:
Cool, have missed your detailed postings and fascination with the old CLK, ours has gone but it still gets mentioned what a lovely old thing it was.
I am busy ruining my ST into a more track oriented theme, some monstrous brakes being fitted tomorrow, 330 mm on a fiesta ! Was looking at Jag XJs as a potential daily but a CLK might be a much cheaper alternative.
On the slop to full track car, then? Makes sense given how capable they are. I'd love one at some point. 330 is big - will they go under 17s?I am busy ruining my ST into a more track oriented theme, some monstrous brakes being fitted tomorrow, 330 mm on a fiesta ! Was looking at Jag XJs as a potential daily but a CLK might be a much cheaper alternative.
I think the CLK is right at the bottom of the depreciation curve. A good car for not a lot of money.
PositronicRay said:
I too joined the clk fold last year...
Very nice - I haven't seen that colour before. I'm very surprised that those brakes were only an advisory. How does the CLK compare to the 129?
I decided to break the 280 cabriolet. Its Sport bodykit will go on the Thulite (red) car. I'll sell the engine and keep most of the rest for spares; this way I end up with a complete Sport kit, add some spares to my stores, and make a little bit of money in the process. I'm also stripping the Cubanite (gold) car of its many options to make a retrofit package for the Thulite car. The 280 will donate all of its standard loom/equipment so that I can MOT and sell the Cubanite car with a new MOT but with the balancer shaft issue. I suspect that it may be exported to eastern Europe somewhere as a project car, which is what happened when I sold a W210 320CDi with a blown engine.
The ultimate goal is to make the Thulite car into my ideal spec; it's my favourite colour scheme and a bit of a unicorn - with only 36k miles it's worth the effort to make it even more to my liking: a near fully optioned car. When that project is complete it's something that I'll enjoy just as much as my Fiesta and Ferrari.
On to the removal of options from the Cubanite car. I will remove:
The Luxury climate control is interesting: it features a sunlight sensor and pollution sensor. The HVAC unit also controls the coolant after-run pump and even the headlight washer pump, so there's a bit of work in the engine bay to remove the two associated looms.
The front end back together with halogens and the standard climate control looms. I've converted to pneumatic manual headlamp levelling so that everything is correct for a non-xenon car.
That was all I'll cover with the strip down - the other project thread will be more interesting as I build up the Thulite car.
Before signing off this thread I wanted to draw attention to just a few small items of interest that impressed me. I find it a real joy working on the CLK due to its high build quality: of course, they aren't anything special at all in relative terms, but the solidity of build and thought that goes into the engineering really is great - I'm left thinking just how far do we really need to go with what is for most a throw away, undesirable product after the first few years from new.
The rear quarter panels are split into an upper and lower section: the upper is secured in place with a locking bar that is hidden behind the B pillar door seal. It lifts up to allow access to the airbag and door ajar switch. All of the trim is really, really solid. There is moulded foam or felt along the contact surfaces.
The aluminium passenger footrest is pressed aluminium, with a 1" foam cover, then sound deadening and carpet. The wiring loom is secured within moulded plastic channels.
Mercedes have long been the masters of options: I remember my Grandfather buying new cars in the 80's & 90's and paying extra for silly things like a radio. Even later, that ethos remains - the MB wiring loom is one of the most modular that I've come across; an example below is the door wiring loom: airbag yellow, Speakers blue, memory seats green, and door module/CAN black. These connectors clip together to enable a composite set of options in the doors.
The wiring loom has various tape identifiers. For example, in the following photo the yellow tape acts as an alignment marker to ensure that the various looms are correctly aligned. The mixed white/coloured bands are positional markers to show where a sub loom branches from the main loom area: in the case of the green/white sub loom it also identifies where two branches of a related loom must run together.
The fuse boxes are modular with a central, colour coded bus bar into which the option sub loom fuses fasten - colour coded to match the bus bar. In the photo below I'm removing the grey fuse for one of the option looms.
The fabric loom tape is even colour coded: in my car blue for Keyless Go, and green for Harman/Kardon and associated systems.
Where would be be without silicone spray? This stuff can save a lot of time when assembling things!
That's mostly all for this thread. Appreciate it's a bit down in the weeds to be interesting for most - the other threads should be a bit lighter.
The ultimate goal is to make the Thulite car into my ideal spec; it's my favourite colour scheme and a bit of a unicorn - with only 36k miles it's worth the effort to make it even more to my liking: a near fully optioned car. When that project is complete it's something that I'll enjoy just as much as my Fiesta and Ferrari.
On to the removal of options from the Cubanite car. I will remove:
- AFS (adaptive lighting)
- Aux in
- CD changer and wiring
- Digital TV
- Electric rear sun shade/blind
- Harman/Kardon
- Keyless Go
- Luxury climate control
- Xenons and auto-levelling
The Luxury climate control is interesting: it features a sunlight sensor and pollution sensor. The HVAC unit also controls the coolant after-run pump and even the headlight washer pump, so there's a bit of work in the engine bay to remove the two associated looms.
The front end back together with halogens and the standard climate control looms. I've converted to pneumatic manual headlamp levelling so that everything is correct for a non-xenon car.
That was all I'll cover with the strip down - the other project thread will be more interesting as I build up the Thulite car.
Before signing off this thread I wanted to draw attention to just a few small items of interest that impressed me. I find it a real joy working on the CLK due to its high build quality: of course, they aren't anything special at all in relative terms, but the solidity of build and thought that goes into the engineering really is great - I'm left thinking just how far do we really need to go with what is for most a throw away, undesirable product after the first few years from new.
The rear quarter panels are split into an upper and lower section: the upper is secured in place with a locking bar that is hidden behind the B pillar door seal. It lifts up to allow access to the airbag and door ajar switch. All of the trim is really, really solid. There is moulded foam or felt along the contact surfaces.
The aluminium passenger footrest is pressed aluminium, with a 1" foam cover, then sound deadening and carpet. The wiring loom is secured within moulded plastic channels.
Mercedes have long been the masters of options: I remember my Grandfather buying new cars in the 80's & 90's and paying extra for silly things like a radio. Even later, that ethos remains - the MB wiring loom is one of the most modular that I've come across; an example below is the door wiring loom: airbag yellow, Speakers blue, memory seats green, and door module/CAN black. These connectors clip together to enable a composite set of options in the doors.
The wiring loom has various tape identifiers. For example, in the following photo the yellow tape acts as an alignment marker to ensure that the various looms are correctly aligned. The mixed white/coloured bands are positional markers to show where a sub loom branches from the main loom area: in the case of the green/white sub loom it also identifies where two branches of a related loom must run together.
The fuse boxes are modular with a central, colour coded bus bar into which the option sub loom fuses fasten - colour coded to match the bus bar. In the photo below I'm removing the grey fuse for one of the option looms.
The fabric loom tape is even colour coded: in my car blue for Keyless Go, and green for Harman/Kardon and associated systems.
Where would be be without silicone spray? This stuff can save a lot of time when assembling things!
That's mostly all for this thread. Appreciate it's a bit down in the weeds to be interesting for most - the other threads should be a bit lighter.
PositronicRay said:
Well done, fantastic job
Thank you.trevalvole said:
What size wheels and what spec of springs/dampers/anti-roll bars will you be fitting to the Sport-kitted Thulite car?
I need 17" to clear the 350 spec brakes. UK Sport cars have 18" but US have 17", and that's what I'll use. There is a 17" version of the UK Sport wheel that over here was fitted to some C coupes and SLKs.Since my last suspension post I tried another combination as I found that the US non-Sport ARBs were a little too soft. I found that combining the US dampers and the UK Sport ARBs works really well.
Front dampers = US non-Sport
Front springs = red/white (74.14 lb/inch but UK Sport ride height)
Front ARB = UK Sport
Rear dampers = US non-Sport
Rear springs = blue/blue/blue (371.13 lb/inch)
Rear ARB = UK Sport
giggity said:
...I had a 2005 320 CDI some years ago with Sport Pack but then switched over to a handful of AMGs - then picked up a Dec 2004 320 Petrol with the M112 (interior facelift) I facelifted the front grill and the rear lights but then lost interest in putting the bumpers and side skirts on.
I had a 270 CDi CLK but not the 320 CDi. I should imagine it's a pretty good package. I remember reviews at the time saying that the mid-range punch made it a good car for overtaking. J4CKO said:
Will be somewhere in-between, not going to go too mad, keep the interior and standard looks but will be largely mechanically different.
Currently is reputedly just over 300 bhp and supporting mods, with Bilstein B8 suspension and an LSD.
Will add the big brakes, doing them next weekend, was going to do them this but realised I needed new wheel studs and 20mm spacers from the front to get those brakes on, only had a 15 on so that on order, as are the new studs as the originals were cut down tot get the 15mm spacer on, dont fancy a deeper spacer on cut down studs, especially on track.
After that, may got to coilovers with a rear ARB, will order some AR1 track tyres for my spare wheels, baffled sump going in when I do the brakes, bed it all in and book another track day.
Plan to then sideline it from daily duties and get something else, may get a CLK, as you say they are rock bottom and they are really quite a nice motor, weird how desirable they were and now quite hard to shift in some cases, we sold ours and it was up for sale not that long after and was a few hundred cheaper, we sold it for £1550, but three or four for a really nice one is insane value, still wouldnt mind the 5.5 but they are expensive when they do come up.
The Fiesta sounds good. 300bhp is a serious amount of power in that package, in real-world terms. I'm always a bit nervous about coilovers on a car used for the road, but the kits have a come long way these days.Currently is reputedly just over 300 bhp and supporting mods, with Bilstein B8 suspension and an LSD.
Will add the big brakes, doing them next weekend, was going to do them this but realised I needed new wheel studs and 20mm spacers from the front to get those brakes on, only had a 15 on so that on order, as are the new studs as the originals were cut down tot get the 15mm spacer on, dont fancy a deeper spacer on cut down studs, especially on track.
After that, may got to coilovers with a rear ARB, will order some AR1 track tyres for my spare wheels, baffled sump going in when I do the brakes, bed it all in and book another track day.
Plan to then sideline it from daily duties and get something else, may get a CLK, as you say they are rock bottom and they are really quite a nice motor, weird how desirable they were and now quite hard to shift in some cases, we sold ours and it was up for sale not that long after and was a few hundred cheaper, we sold it for £1550, but three or four for a really nice one is insane value, still wouldnt mind the 5.5 but they are expensive when they do come up.
There was a 5.5 Elegance on Autotrader a couple of weeks ago. Under 60k miles and up at £5,995. I thought that was a reasonable price given the mileage.
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