Good afternoon Mike. Myself and many other viewers want to emphasize that although you may be completely frustrated, ready to bang your head into a wall, etc., please remember that these vehicles you work on, are great content for us to watch, and bring you much more RU-vid money. So Mike, don't throw these cars away, but truly keep buying the "bottom beaters" for they are a great entertainment to us and draw many many viewers to your channel, same as the ratings for a TV broadcaster, remember those days?? Thanks Don
That engine is toast. Between the uneven crank and low compression readings and then the cylinder scoring and the high mileage, the engine has served its purpose. Great series Mike! Let her rest in piece.
I know of a couple, whose combined income would rival the GNP of some smallish, developed countries, that purchased a matched set of S class Mercedes as daily drivers. I can't speak to all the problems they ended up having with those cars, but they threw a LOT of money at them primarily due to engine and electrical problems. They were ultimately given two options by the dealership, #1: New, crate engines from the factory, #2: Complete engine rebuilds. Both options included complete wiring harnesses. The two legal eagles put their heads together and limped both cars to a nearby Lexus dealership and left with a matched set of the highest end cars the dealer had on his lot. Unless something has changed dramatically since I had reason to drive past their McMansion both of those Lexus luxury cars are still in daily use by the couple. Strip every useable part off that SLK350 and have the husk towed to the nearest recycling center and sell it for the scrap metal value and sell everything else before you develop an ulcer!
A titanical effort, Mike! 👏 but yes, get rid of that cursed peace of shipwrecked lost hopes and dreams. lol do it for you, Michael .. do it for You!...
With 200k+ miles the cylinders are not going to look perfect . I would have wanted to eliminate fuel by bypassing the fuel system and feeding it ether and see if it runs. If it does, I would get some of those telltales that show that the injectors are getting firing pulses from the ecu.
It did not look like the spark was correct in the first test. @12:00+ the wire sparked to the body and that looked better. Compression is not the problem. It will run on those numbers For Certain. I like to eliminate ignition. give it a small squirt of starting fluid. If it kicks or runs even for a few seconds, ignition is not the problem. If it does not kick you have an ignition problem. Fix ignition before fuel always. -Cheers.
I say since you are going to junk it, this is a good opportunity for you to take the engine apart and see what you find, I wouldn’t mind watching that.
Mike I love watching you think and work on this car. I know its so frustrating feeling like you're searching for an issue that is just managing to evade you. Thank you for the content you have made over this car.
Mike, a year ago or so, when it overheated, I mentioned low compression. Evevn the times it started it took a long time for it to start, like it had to build compression.
So you drove it from back to front of house, so a functional engine and transmission. The engine turns over fast sometimes and at others times just clicks so my guess is a faulty ignition switch which may also send a signal to the ECU to trigger the injectors and spray fuel. Just because you have fuel pressure at the tail it doesn't mean the injectors will spray without an electronic pulse to open the tap. I'd try spraying eazi start in the the throttle housing by keep a fire 🔥 extinguisher handy, ha 😁. I had start issues on a car that had stood for 8 years, the fuel had turned to treacle and blocked all six injectors so none were opening despite an electronic pulse being present, slightly different issue but same result a no start. I'd pull the injectors and check they're spraying or insert your proboscope whilst manually giving low voltage to the injectors. Shame to swim across the river and give up just as you approach the shore. Remember this car drove into your garage Mikey! 😎
This car sounds like a nightmare! I feel your pain. It's always tough when you pour so much time and money into a project and it just keeps fighting you. But hey, at least you documented the journey in a way that can help others avoid similar pitfalls. Good luck with whatever you decide to do next!
Mike, when doing a compression test open the throttle 100% or you will not get the airflow necessary. Spray some ether in the throttle body ( with open ) and try to start. If lights up will be a fueling problem. My CLK430 after getting it had a bad vacuum line in the intake. A real bugger to get at as could not seperate the 2 halves of the intake and had to use a pick and get all the pieces out and a bugger to install. Check that as a last resort as will need new intake gasket set and injector orings as well. Think you also have 100% bad head gaskets due to the smoking when you first fired up.
Hi Mike. Just sell the car as it is. Someone might want to change the engine or rebuild it. As every other thing in the car is ok except the toasted engine. Love the video series 👌 ❤️ 👏
Try some oil down the spark plug hole just a little bit so you cover the top of the piston that might help with compression, make sure that you get it out again before putting spark plugs in and try to start it
Cylinder walls are scored but its a high mileage engine. Compression is low and again its a high mileage engine. Do you have water in the fuel? Put in new plugs and give her some good gas.
Mikey, Don't be frustrated ! Things happened and if its time to give up, then give up .... If you look from another angle, you'd saved many cars and keep them running on the road that you should be happy with ! Enjoy watching your video much & Thanks !
I suspected compression in the last vid from the gallop in it. Ahh, the goodies that went with it, overall tired, scored cylinder walls and coolant from a blown head gasket... Just... YUCK. Hope someone will give her the work needed, she's not done but needs a LOT of love for sure. Thanks for the vids Mike!
Mike. That motor is toast. Always start with spark then fuel then compression. If no compression then bore scope it. If all good then check mechanical timing. No money needs to be spent. Cheers
Mike the 3.5L V6 is a plentiful engine. You should be able to get a good one from a junkyard cheap with 50-75K miles on it. I would get a cheap motor and replace the engine.
Mike....UNDERSTAND your frustration! This was an "A+" video. Everything about it, including your honesty was a "homerun"! I am having major frustration/depression on a Rolls Royce I bought recently! Thinking it was a "simple" problem, it has become a nightmare!
always do a compression test first. If that passes then you can start replacing other things. Go to the junkyard and get a used engine out of a wrecked car. Or trash the whole car. Those are your options
As your mate Al Jarreau once said “we’re in this love (of Mercedes) together”! I feel for ya man, I got to this point with my W215, you literally can’t bear to look at it. Only thing I can suggest (from my experience with a Satan W215) is Cam position sensor, but I see as I watch the end, it’s not that. I’m sorry Mike, burn it with fire, sell it to JR, trip up with Randy would be good content!
Each injector may be accepting fuel but the electric switch is not energizing. Have you checked to see if the ECU is getting an oil pressure increasing signal on engine start/crank. I think this engine is smart enough not to start if there is not an oil pressure reading from the oil pressure sensor to the ECU.
Mike, see if JR is interested in it to take apart and part it c out. He will give you the best bang for c it. I'm not sure if he'd be wanting it with a bad engine though. If so, he'd give you more than scrap value. Just a thought.
Hello there cowboy here again have you tried a wet compress test you now put a few drops of oil into each cylinder compression see if its rings or valve train it might give you a new direction and answers
You may have a bad head gasket but I bet the problem is someone put a high percentage of ethanol gas in the car. Get someone to spray starting fluid in the intake and see if it starts. This is a problem with the new gas station pumps. The bore scope will make marks on the walls of the cylinder look really bad. That will not make it run.
I could have sworn it was the starter not engaging was the issue but it is time to cut your losses and move on from the vehicle. I would put it on Marketplace, explain all that has been done to it and everything that has been checked. Include the compression rates for each cylinder and then ask what you paid for it. See if you get any bites. I would avoid selling to any junkyards unless after 1 month you get no calls, then send it to the scrap yard. Sometimes there is a reason cars go to Copart.
It's OK fuel pressure, but if injectors are not firing, try the old method with easy start, or flammable brake cleaner, don't give up till you beat it, have watched you through worst times
That's some extremely low compression. Have you checked to see if the cam and crank positioning sensors are good? But that doesn't matter. That engine is shot after looking in the cylinders. All that scaring in my opinion, is the reason for such piss poor compression. .
The old video of when you had it running and all that White smoke was rolling out the back end I had mentioned Head gasket and hearing it turn over it sounded like my 2000 Nissan Sentra and it was toast, Sorry Mikey but you gave it your best shot.
Was that coolant in the cylinders or fuel? My guess is the fuel injectors are blocked so that's why it's not starting. Clean them out and have another go at getting it started. Curious to know if I'm right. Don't despair Mike. Failure still makes good content on RU-vid.
Sorry to hear your SLK350 passing ⚰️ 🙁 It did give you a sign once when you had it running in your old intro, smoking like crazy 🤔 Have an ice cold beer 🍺 and try to forget your troubles. You’ll Be Back !
It IS a good looking car. Compression is a bit low, but consistent. Everything I saw in the video says to me the car was not maintained very well. The gap on the spark plugs looks like they might be the 2nd set(At 200K+ miles), and the cylinder walls say the owner didn't believe in regular oil changes. Lots of deferred maintenance here. I don't see why it wouldn't start if you put fresh plugs in it and made sure the injectors were firing. BUT(there's my big butt lol) The engine is tired and the car is at a point where it most likely needs one of "everything" to make it run and drive well. This car is proof of the saying "The most expensive car in the world is 20 yr old used Mercedes". It may be time to put Ole Trigger down.
That car was severely overheated. My parents had a jeep Wrangler that my Dad decided to drive without coolant. When the radiator plugged it did the same thing. It just destroyed. The Pistons there was aluminum galling embedded in the side of the cylinder walls. I think that's what you're dealing with severely overheated
Oh, come on Mike, all it needs is a few simple parts, like an entire engine assembly and maybe a transmission, drive shaft and rear axle assembly! Easy peasy!
mike dont worry keep up the good work we love your videos sorry that car became a junk u will find a good car down the line god bless you love your channel
Mike!!!! You are such a great mechanic. The double finger is such a mechanic move. Ask me how I know. lol. I know more then your average mechanic and sometimes I get stumped. I even threw a wrench at my 70 challenger I was so mad at it. I swear someone above is watching and laughing as they pull off a stunt to get us mad. Keep up the great work.
I'd probably ditch it too. Not worth a complete rebuild to save it's current engine unfortunately. If you could find another engine relatively cheap, that'd probably be the most cost efficient way to go about it at this point. Assuming the body, frame, interior is worth it of course.
I'm going to posit that a head gasket blew, or it ran out of coolant and someone kept on going instead of getting it towed home... You should also reach out to Eric at his "I Do Cars" RU-vid channel and see if he'd like to take it off your hands for an engine tear down on his channel.
If watchjrgo wanted to bye Randy's mbenz convertable that ran fine to strip and sell as parts ! This one would be well worth a part out for him ! That way the body panels and everything else would save other cars and he could make some great money ! A collaboration between both would help you and help him explain his new business model ! A few videos for free and not get anything for scraping would be a shame ! Just an idea ! God Bless !
G'day mate, put some oil in each cylinder and then retest the compression. If the compression goes up, it means the rings are worn out, so sell the car. If it does not go up, the most common culprit is valves not seating correctly. At that point check the valve gaps. After that, sell the car because it is most likely a head gasket. Great video, shame about the car.
Have you changed the plug wires? And, have you checked the coils? You seem to be having a similar problem with starting this vehicle that I have with a lot of my repairs. I hope you get it figured out and that it's not just a Mercedes xx350 problem.
what about the "computer chips? fuse box the thing where all the chips in the box where all the colored things are up front left side or by the fron by the lights
Hey Mike, ever thought of an engine swap? That little Benz engine to a Toyota engine? Might draw a bunch of new viewers! “Mercedes style with Toyota reliability!”😛
Spray some starter fluid down the intake save yourself some time check to make sure that the crank position sensors are okay because it's common issue on all the v6s and v8s even if you're getting spark but seriously do the basics you already confirmed spark is there this is a fuel issue
Yep, complete tear down might save this engine. $$$$$$ though. You could probably find a whole working, more recent, better car, for what you would have to spend on this one.
That little Mercedes is kaput Mike. 90psi is horrendous, you were getting amazing spark, and the dang thing was turning over, so unfortunately it's time to send this one to god.
