As a Mercedes mechanic i appreciate how thorough you are when it came to indexing the plugs. Just a quick tip though. Tighten them just a little more to get it within index requirements wouldnt have hurt anything.. just giving a little tip👍🏽👍🏽... just so people dont jump all over me I'll explain why. The washer that is on the spark plug is called a crush washer. Meaning they do exactly that. They crush when tighten, so to tighten slightly more to index would've been fine
I absolutely would NOT recommend this. First off, even if you doubled the tq, you would see 5-10degress tops, far less than the 90+ degrees many need. But the main reason is Ive seen dozen of posts about broken spark plugs related to overtightening. Literally the threads break off stuck in the head while the rest of the plug stays in the socket. Ive even seen many cases of stripped threads. A few minutes of sanding vs risking the complete destruction of your cylinder head? no brainer.
@@ExoticCarDIYI’m about to do this on my cls63 sAMG but I got the spark plugs and I can’t figure out how to take off the washer from the spark plug so that I can sand it. Feedback would be appreciated
Great video! M157 one of the most reliable AMG engine, specialLy after 2012, hewer it is not a "bullet proof". If you not modify it, and every 5000ml - new oil MB 229.5 only. It will last. In Russia some of them already has over 400k km
Excellent video! You have a great future. Just a note based on my and my favorite repair shop recent experience. My Cl550 with the M278 engine had its plugs replaced at 50,000 miles with the cheaper Bosch plugs. Within 1/2 hour I got the engine light on the dash… my scanner showed 2 misfires on cyl 4 and 6. Of course, it ran like shit… On the advice of my shop, I had it towed to them to have it checked out. Long story short, the Bosch plugs had the ceramic break loose from the steel housing! The ceramic would slap back and forth allowing pressure to escape from the cylinders and make a horrible rattle. Not to be expected since the Bosch plugs are “identical” to factory… Apparently, they are not… my shop replaced the Bosch plugs with the Mercedes branded version. Engine purrs like a kitten again and goes like the wind when asked.
This was very interesting, as I plan on indexing the plugs on my 370z when I do a tune up. I thought you might be able to take some of the guesswork as to how much sanding to do on the washers by looking at the thread pitch of the plugs. With a M14 x 1.25 plug, the plug will travel 1.25mm for each full turn. If, for example, you need to advance the index line by ¼ turn, then you would need to decrease the thickness of the washer by ¼ x 1.25mm = 0.31mm. My recommendation would be to use a copper-based anti-seize lightly applied to the threads, with the tightening torque reduced by a factor of 30%. The benefits would include improved thermal and electrical conductivity, along with improved cylinder sealing and easier removal for the next time. Mercedes is scared to recommend the use of anti-seize, as it then can't predict how the mechanic might misapply the anti-seize or over torque the plug because of the reduced sliding friction of the thread surfaces.
When I was planning the video, initially I planned on just under or over tightening the plugs by maybe 5-10... But I found that this would only allow literal 2-3 degrees, far less than the 45-90 needed. Plus there is an extreme rush of breaking the threads of the plug in the head . It's been a while since the video, but I seen to remember something like every 0.05 reduction in thickness equals like 10-12 degrees. But don't quote me
Hey Kenny! Great video! I'm replacing my spark plugs every 10K miles (thanks to FCP Euro warranty), because I'm tuned on stage 3 and they wore out faster. Also, because of the tune I have to go with step 2 colder plugs SILZKBR8D8S (NGK-97506) gapped 0.021 according to a tuner. OEM Bosch will give a misfire on tuned M157(tested). BIG THANKS to you for pointing out how to properly indexing with lines (very smart)! P.S. there are a lot of videos for spark plugs on the internet but non of them were that informative ❤
Awesome, hope this video helps. There's several ways to do it. I found with these plugs, this method would likely be the easiest. The main issue is what if it stops past the injector, you need a thicker washer, so some people have bought 2 mm washers and sanded them down
@erraf430 it will work. But there is no need to do that, and the stock car should use stock plugs. When I went back to stock, colder plugs worked normally, but I replaced them with oem Bosch plugs anyway
Well thanks to this vid (👍👍👍) I just did my 2015 E63 spark plugs, and after which I've decided I will never again take my e63 to 'professional' mechanics for servicing... only one plug came out with the earth strap pointing within 45deg of the vertical. All the others were 90 to 120deg! And way over torqued, probably about 40 N m!!
Hey man. I just wanted to thank you for a nice in depth video, i know not a lot of people have a 157 and of those people, not much are willing to do a whole tutorial, especially one that is truly in depth. I have followed your alcantara cleaning video, leather seat cleaning, door trim change from wood to black, air filter,and the spark plug one. I truly appreciate this info.
Another fantastic Exotic Car DIY M157 video. It's funny MB would just give a torque spec and assume the best given that the calibration of any tech's wrench may be off somewhat. Your method is so much better! Who knows, your wrench may be off slightly too, but since you physically indexed the plugs and didn't over-tighten you negated the risk. Well done!
I will admit, I've easily done 2500+ spark plugs in my life, mostly on airplanes, this is the first time I've ever used a torque wrench. Initially, when I was coming up with different options on how to index them, I thought about just tightening a little bit more or less, but really you hit a wall at 23 newton meters and you really can't tighten them anymore or any less.
Works great, some people have reported with other plugs you may run into an issue where the plug passes the injector, in that case you can buy thicker washers and then send them to something like a 1.6 or 1.75 etc
Excellent tutorial on this, Kenny. Much appreciated! Plugs are nothing new to me but this "indexing" process was, so I wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into before starting the job. I plan to put a Weistec tune on my 42K mile wagon soon and want to go ahead and get fresh plugs (and likely one step colder and gapped appropriately) installed beforehand. Now I know just what I need to get and do. Thanks for the link on the borescope as well. I have an OK one that I used with an app on my phone for a few years but for the price $65) and relative quality of the one you linked, I figured I might as well upgrade.
Fantastic video. Glad I found you. Thank you!! EDIT: I'm doing my plugs soon, and have researched that the crush washer will allow for a little more tightening to get alignment "perfect"... without doing the sanding. The sanding seems like "overkill" to me, but it's your car. As long as the ground strap on the plug is not blocking the spark... the alignment is good.
Great video content. Excellent idea to suggest extra spark plug boots. You will absolutely damage 50% of them due to tearing. Put a little lube (i think it's dielectric grease) on them at the tip (not too much), to prevent them from sticking, as I do not believe the factory does this which is why they are difficult to remove without tearing.
Thank you for this!!!! I gotta do mine soon and it’s kinda daunting. I’ve built engines in the past and indexed many times but with a new process and engine it’s always “the devil is in the details”.
I own two M276 Dela30 engined cars. The factory plugs weren't inside that 45 degree spec, and none of the NGK plugs I've put in since have either. Both engines run like new, one with 125K miles and one with 70k.
I have a 2014 E63 with 36k miles & it’s time for the A service. I was wondering if I should do the spark plugs early/now but after watching this I will wait until it’s actually time. My manual says change them @ 60k miles though, not 50k. I don’t put alot of miles on it but I will change them next year, probably won’t hav 50k miles even by then. Thanks again!! Great content.
Kenny I bought that gap tool per your recommendation. I unfortunately it’s got some pretty loose tolerances. I had to use the .020 gauge in order for it to gap correctly to .022. Even then, the .023 would still slide in from the side of it or from one corner at the tip. Essentially either the tool doesn’t bend the strap down straight or the gauges are not uniform in thickness. Also should be mentioned that the boot you demonstrated is of the newer design. There is another type out there that is impossible to remove with anything other than a pair of pliers. My vehicle had a mix of both new and old ones - previous owner replaced 3 coils.
I have been loving all of your videos. They are amazingly helpful being an E63 owner. Any chance you can make a video on doing a coolant change/flush? I need to do it on my car but I havent found any videos showing how to do it.
Thank you for the video! Very well done and helpful. How did you take the washers off the plugs? It seems that they designed them so that the washers won’t come off easy. Again, your contents are great.
They were slightly tricky, basically, yes they have those four little nauseous in the washer, with a little bit of practice, you can line them up on the threads and unscrew them fairly easily. Only one of mine needed minor assistance with some soft use of pliers to start them unsrcwewing
@@ExoticCarDIY thank you so much for the quick response. I just replaced the spark plugs on my W212 M157, and as you said, they all came out at the edge of the specification when torqued to 23 n.M which I am losing sleep over lol, so I am going to give the washers another try.
Most flash tuners I've read suggest using one step colder plugs if going stage 1. Maybe a correlation with that and tuned engine issues? Thankfully havent had any issues with mine. I don't drive it often or beat on it to hard when i do. Funny ending by the way 😂
Congratulations, you're probably the only one that actually saw the ending LOL. There's a few cases where people have either talked about bent rods or scored cylinder walls. The big one on in the world right now, initially he thought it was just the power he's making, but later he found out the injector was getting stuck open which melted the Piston. So it's possibly not just the tune that's causing these people's issues, but possibly that the fact that the tune is putting more stress on other components which when they fail, like the injector, can cause a domino effect which can damage some major engine components. Who knows
@@ExoticCarDIY The conclusion I came to is that while this engine is more stout than basically all BMW V8 turbos (and probably some others), it is still fairly fragile. Misfires, injector issues, a bad tank of gas, and you really risk it all with these. It's a little scary. I have one, too.
@@ExoticCarDIYI have 2014 E550 with a stage 1 tune. No issues other than a 113mph speeding ticket. I had Mercedes install Bosch spark plugs at 60k. Still running good today at 105k My biggest issue that I recently tackled was the turbo coolant lines. I almost gave up twice but I got it done. Great channel
I was scared to the point of giving up on buying a 2014 CLS 63 because of all the horror stories. If its just a matter of caring for the engine by doing things like this, I'm fully on board again
I've been watching a bunch of your videos recently as I am about to pick up me w212 E63S which has the M157 this week!! I am beyond stoked and a lot of your videos are helpful, I wish you were local I would love to get some of my mods done by you! I am in CAN sadly lol. Is there a good source I can get some of the parts here in CAN?
It's the same story on all the Mercedes in the past dozen years. To my knowledge, a 'mod ' has not been tested on the m177 yet. Also, I am not aware of any oil related faults on the m177 such as cylinder scoring, melting Pistons etc. it's possible AMG finally compensated for the lack of oil in some other way. (The m177 does suffer from rear main seal leaks and oil separator failures tho)
Kenny - thank you again for another super helpful video! This M157 indexing topic has been misunderstood by many. I used the NGK 1555 plugs which at 23NM indexed pretty close to 12’oclock without messing with the washer (each pointed to 11 or 1’oclock position in my case). That Hazet socket is super helpful to get the #4 and #8 plugs. How did you get the bloody washers off to sand them? I have a box of 8 MB OEM plugs and mine indexed same as yours initially pointing to 9 or 3 o’clock and off a bit.
For the washers, keep them flat and they will unscrew. At least 8 of the ten by hand only, 2 I gently used pliers to get them started, then they easily unscrewed.
Thanks for the detailed video. One question as most of them came up short of where they need to be indexed, wouldn’t the wobble socket reduce the torque from the torque wrench? At an angle 23Nm on the torque wrench would actually be less at the spark plug, right? Could that be the difference in getting them to where they need to be without filing?
The angle spark plug tool really is just to get it into the hole. Once it's in there it's completely straight when I'm tightening it down. Another person in the comments suggested just over tightening them to reach the correct indexing. That was actually what I was first going to try, maybe just fudge the numbers by two or three foot pounds, but once you're actually try that, it's impossible. There is no bolt stretch, as soon as you hit that 23 it's not going to go any further. Even if you cranked it to 80, you might get an extra 2°, far from the 90° you need. And the worst part is, somewhere in the 50 Newton meter area, the spark plug will break off from the threads leaving the threads inside your head. So yeah, I highly advise against ruining your car by trying that
What a great video with so much detail. As a M157 owner myself. I do thank you, as a parts advisor i don't like how you should the plugs in the beg. hahahh jk jk! Great video all around!!!
How do I tell if car has been tuned? Is there a way to check with xentry or maybe some other tricks? I’m trying to buy one but don’t want to risk buying a previously tuned w212
I literally cannot get the clips off of the ignition coils. I’ve tried everything. Please help. One of them already broke and I’m not sure how to fix that.
That sucks, sometimes the plastic kind of sticks together. Try pushing them in first, maybe wiggling it while you push in, then release the clip and remove. You saw the part in the video about how to work the clip correct?
Hey Ken loved the video. So I installed a RaceIQ stage 1 tune and got misfires so then they said oh well you need to do one step colder plugs which I purchased from Weistec. They are NGK plugs. I HIGHLY doubt that they indexed plugs when replacing factory plugs. Still got a misfire so then we pulled plugs out and regapped them. Did it twice from first install with cold plugs. So basically went 28 to 26 to 24 and even tho it took more time to get a misfire it still occurred at 24 with one step colder plugs. I removed tune and it’s back to factory. Any clues as to what the issue might be? Car runs perfectly fine with factory tune so left it alone, not worth it being tuned and not knowing when a misfire will occur. Anyways I am a huge fan of your channel and have turned several other E63s owners on to it. Thanks for all the highly education videos brother. Cheers from San Diego California 😎👍🏼
Stage one shouldn't be that much more boost than stock. If you're still getting it even after closing up the gap to 24ish. It likely something to do with the tune. Was this mail order? Or did you get it done in person?. I guess over the last few years, after reading a lot of experiences, it seems It's a 50-50 shot that you're going to be happy and safe with any given tune, it's nearly 100% good experiences with the OEM ECU.
I fitted oem plugs on my S63AMG M157 but I done that before I saw this video. Is it worth taking them all out again or would you say that they should all be within Mercedes spec? I’ve probably done 60 miles since I had them fitted as the car is not a daily. Your advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for the video. Great channel, I’ve subscribed 😊
I just did my spark plugs on gl550 m278 engine I just torque them down. I did find some oil on spark plug #4 and #8 I wounded what can that mean cylinder #4 had more oil than #8
Probably okay, as long as it's not excessive when you're not seeing any oil consumption. Foreign 8 being at the back, it is possible that they get most of the drain from the crankcase ventilation system
I really like your videos I prefer your vids just have a question, so I am thinking of buying aW213 e63s in the future but just wanted to know where is fuel filter is so I can do it myself because I don't plan on taking it to a dealership just for service when I can diy
Hi I have CLS63 it’s been tuned for 730bhp it has no cats ! It recently threw a EML (yellow) while on the highway under load its acceleration just died for a second then I slowed down incase something bad could occur . Just to let you know I don’t drive it much it could be sat on driveway for weeks then I go sometime on a blast but this light is still on dash now and there’s no smell of fuel or anything juddery about it just wanted to know what could of been the cause . I have a feeling it could be coilpacks gone wrong or maybe a bad o2 sensor I have yet to get scan on it
Excellent video! Thank you for taking your time and making this video! Any chance you can share link to that MB document about anti seize? I know it shouldn't be used on MB engines ,but I never actually saw any official MB document about this. I also checked WIS and can't find any mentioning about that topic.
I think this is the article I read www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=automotivetechinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Mercedes-Benz-Spark-Plug-Procedures-and-Precautions.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjfuJvr5K6AAxVflGoFHUAwCYAQFnoECBYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2EVf8X1OhkCfgI13vgUfET
Thank you again for the great content. I am a big fan and am inspired by your work. I purchased my 2014 E63s six months ago with 52k miles and replaced the spark plugs after watching this video at 55k miles. I recently took my car to the dealership for a minor electrical problem, and they told me the car is most likely tuned as the technician noticed it's "faster" than normal. Do you know how I can find out if the car is tuned? I prefer to either remove the tune or ensure plugs are gapped properly so I won't damage the engine. I really appreciate it if you could help me with this question. I live in Southern CA if that helps.
To be honest, I'm not sure. I've scanned tuned cars with the same xentry a dealer woul or use and I can find a difference. Im sure there is a way, but it's unknown to me. I would buy a draggy and do some 0-60, 1/4 and maybe some 60-130. Likely the best indicator You can also call eurocharged and weistech to see if your vin is in their system
Hello sir I subscribed your channel i also own a e63s 2014 in the Netherlands i wanted to ask i open my engine today and saw some oil on the turbos i also saw some oil on the engine oil cap. Is it because i drove on high speed and the oil came up or could it be a leakage didnt saw oil any where else. just on the top
Not sure, could be several things. Usually just a little bit of oil in the intake system come is generally just from the crankcase ventilation system. If it's excessive, it could indicate maybe a more significant issue.
@@ExoticCarDIY oh like those old days where brabus would fit a V12 in the E class. EV12. Yeah your idea would be dope especially the new AMG with the AWD system and a V12 🥶
Love your vids.. As an owner of a 2010 E63, I have a question. Damn passenger door won't open. Did some "google" searches, and found nothing. Any suggestions?
Silly question , going to do spark plugs today on my 157. Just realized the craftsman 3/8 tq. wrench stops at 20 ft lbs/33.9 Nm . Assuming your just going under the scale slightly & it's still accurate ?
Have you ever experienced abit of transmission slack on slow take off from a junction.? A little jerky on occasions. Is this normal? Mine is UK mainiac spec Rear wheel drive because no all wheel drive over here 2016 wagon. 53000 miles.
The slowness off the line is a normal issue, not sure why but it seems to be designed that way. Many people report a TCU tune or even a pedal boost mod or whatever it's called, will help significantly on this. That's one thing I actually love about the 213, the sluggishness off the line is gone. As for the jerky behavior, I don't think that's normal, I've never experienced that
This was cured by a Set of brand new engines mounts. Rear wheel drive. One hour 30 minutes fitting time. Mercedes estimated 7+ hours which didn't included the gearbox mount which was done at the same time.
You are good, but why do you file the washer, instead you can turn the plug a little bit to the right side and boom it will point perfectly towards the injector, good video anyway.
Why don't you try this and report back lol? If you could torque these to 100ft/lbs... The would still only rotate about 3 more degrees, far from there 90 degrees most of them need. However, around 40ft/lbs, the threads will break off and you would have to pull the entire cylinder head off to remedy the situation.
Thanks for the amazing videos. I bought an e63 with about 46,000km in Australia. Drove it for about 16 hours from location bought towards home no issues and later had a power steering malfunction issue which makes steering hard but works perfectly fine after a while (error on and off). My guess is the cause seemed to be the low voltage battery because the car was driven very little for years and been in garage. So replaced the battery but didn’t resolve the issue so took it to Mercedes they recommend its steering rack issue and quoting me $8500 aud. On the computer I had a lot of low voltage error could it be the fuse box cables or fuse it self? People replaced steering rack multiple times and issue was still there according to MBchat. So not wasting money ordering one which also takes 2-6 months to get here. Could you kindly guide me if you have any ideas please?
I would definitely try all the little things first before replacing the steering rack. Check grounds for corrosion, check any wires for any damage possibly from rodents etc. Replace relays and fuses related to the steering. Most things on cars are not self-healing, however, if a car has been sitting for a long time, sometimes frequent driving will remedy some random issues like you're having
The intercooler header tank. 🤔 What is the correct level. There is some in it but it looks a little low on my car. Would you know what is the correct level.?
I asked this when I first got my car several years ago, most people said fill it to the internal casting lines, which is about 3/4 full. But in reality, it's not a critical thing as long as it's got fluid circulating
Do you think that indexing is required for all AMGs? I had my Edition 507 (M156), plugs done at 33k miles, and I wonder if the tech performed the correct procedure.
I believe it's related to the direct injection engines. I would imagine any Mercedes with direct cylinder injection would require this. I'm not sure what typethe m156 is off the top of my head
Hey man. need your help once again. we got the exact same car. Just found out today I got a bad oil cooler, cause leaks of coolant and oil when I finish drive n park it. I got 140k km on the odo. already ordered the parts. here's my question. should I have them look into the seal between the timing case and cylinder crankcase? I love this car n want it to run forever. Please advice. Thanks in advance
Pretty much impossible to accurately diagnose a card just from a short description of the issue. It is very common that the turbo coolant lines will crack and leak. If you're leaking coolant, that will be the first place I would check. To my knowledge, I don't think there's any engine coolant that runs to the oil cooler. If you're leaking oil, you might just need to replace the oil cooler only
Hey man, I’m local around orlando. I have a gle63, does your m157 on cold start ever have shake. Kinda feels like it’s trans but it’s really the engine turning. It’s not constant but it does this rough shake, goes away after it warms up. Can you help me out? Or know any good mechanics no stealerships pls
No, mine is very smooth both cold and hot. No codes? I mean could be a few things, ignition related perhaps, also mounts. Don't know why shops there. Maybe eurocharged?
I have a huge?? Is doing the fuel pump difficult? I can do plugs, oil, brakes and the 4 cam position sensors but I am getting no info in my search for fuel pump removal or location except on 2004 to 2011 W211 E and C219 CLS 55. I have a W213 and 218 models. I seem to have developed a sudden fuel smell in tbe cabin but cannot see any leaks underneath with panels removed. People have told me swso the fuel tank or check in-tank fuel pump, ss the latter is usualky the common problem and a relatively inexpensive $80 part/fix vs a $800-900 fuel tank. Your thoughts would be appreciated before I throw $$ at the stealership. I can def contribute to your chan with $ for helpful advice 😊. Thanks.
There are three fuel pumps on the e63, too high pressure ones on top of the motor. And one in tank one in the fuel tank. To access the rear one you have to remove the rear bench seat cushion. And then it's right there, I don't think it's too hard up a job but do you think you might need a special tool for the locking ring I've never done it. It might be worth pulling off the cushion just to check for fuel leak
Not sure filing the washer is good advice!?!? Doing it this way you are moving the spark plug closer to the piston or in other word you are moving ignition place slightly off. I don’t think indexing has so much importance but where the spark ignites in the cylinder DOES. I think all this indexing is just non sense!
None of us are Mercedes engineers. Mercedes says to index, not me. The likely reason is the fuel injector literally sprays toward the spark plug. It make the most sense to spray fuel at the arching electric zappy part opposed to at a thick, metal strap on three plug. Infact, it makes total sense. So, If I had to choose between spraying fuel at a thick metal spark plug strap that may deflect the fuel away Vs, moving the plug 0.1mm closer(a human hair).... it's pretty obvious which one I'd pick.
@@ExoticCarDIY as you said your are not a Mercedes engineer and one would never sand a washer on a spark plug !!! For you may sound reasonable but for a engine engineer it is not !
