CLK500 Exhaust

[schmalex]

Hi folks,

It appears that both of the rear Cats on my 500 have failed, leaving me with the potential of a £1,500+ bill to fit new MB parts. Having done a little surfing round the web, it appears that the 2nd Cats can be cut out of system & a straight through rear pipe fitted, yielding a slight power improvement, better noise & a much smaller bill than £1,500!!!!

Are there any exhaust guru's on here who may be able to confirm or advise?

Cheers

Alex

[Biggriff]

Removing the secondary cats on the sLK55 is a fairly normal mod so I see no reason why you can do similar. The V8 noise will harden a bit but it does sound awesome.

Any competent local garage should be able to it.

[schmalex]

Thanks chap. I think that's the way I'm going to go. Is it case of fitting a new rear section once they are cut out, or a bridging piece welded into place to join the new, shortened front pipe to the stock rear section?

[shentodj]

I'm very interested in how you get on as my wife also has a CLK500. We've changed a cat on each side so far (from the rattles, I'm assuming they were under the doors) so if we can bin any others + improve noise it would be a win win.
Keep us posted!
Thanks,
Shentodj

[schmalex]

It is indeed the rear cats (those under the doors) that are rattling. Unfortunately, the front section contains both forward & rear cats & the parts are £1,500+ VAT from Mercedes. My Indy is looking to source non original parts currently, but is struggling a bit, as none of his normal suppliers manufacture for the 500, hence why I'm looking to chop them out. I'll let you know how we get on!

[JDs Paul]

It may be a bit of a trip for you, but if you don't have any other luck try Infinity Exhausts (just outside Bristol). Martyn (the owner) will almost certainly be able to make something custom for you and for much less money. I have used him for a number of cars in the past including a couple of Mercedes (one of which was an SLK 55). The results have always been top notch.

[schmalex]

Thanks for that, fella. Bristol's only an hour or so from me, so I will give them a bell this week