This is a very interesting video. I have a 2010 C63 with about 41k miles. My VIN is in the affected range and I knew it when I bought the car. I intend to do the head bolts once I get used to the car and if I decide to keep it for a long time. My car was dealer maintained between 2010 and 2017 and had frequent coolant changes with the original MB coolant during that period. The last one was about 3 years ago, I might change the coolant for peace of mind and contemplate doing this next year!
Thanks for watching. I also made a head bolt replacement DIY that might be helpful when/if you decide to do the head bolts th-cam.com/video/zJO1qNnhxw4/w-d-xo.html.
I wonder if changing the coolant more often like every 2 years and adding an additive in there to possibly stop corrosion would help with the longevity of the bolts.
My fear are the intake camshaft lobes flattening and the cam adjusters wearing.Very expensive.I can't believe each cam is over $700 a piece.Need more aftermarket. There is a guy here in Illinois like me and on TH-cam with a channel called LegitStreetcars that does some great videos and work on AMG cars
I agree:) All I got out of replacement is the peace of mind. Otherwise, I think this issue is exaggerated by the internet. My head bolts didn’t need to be replaced. Also, if you liked the content I hope you can subscribe to support the channel:)
It was a gd thing you did this at this time,imagine if u waited and more rust occured..the heads of the bolts could snap off when you finally decided to replace,then you would have no choice but to pull the heads..
Have you done head bolts on yours? Also, glad you found my channel. You helped me to get some questions answered related to IM gasket replacement couple months ago :)
@@AccentOnCars oh nice,ye i remember..yes i did my headbolts at 40k miles and they were in worse shape then yours..that was 15k miles ago with no issues 🙂
Hi, thanks for the video, I thought the issue was the head bolts stretched just below the head and the design of the bolt with the female Torx not having enough strength/material in that area, your thoughts are much appreciated, love the videos keep them coming, thanks
You are right about the bolt design, but the failures happen because of the rust; it is not a stretching issue. These are torque to yield bolts and they are supposed to stretch when torquing them. IMHO, failure rate is well over-exaggerated by the internet. Let me know if you have any questions.
I did them myself. But I have a pretty knowledgeable mechanic now who’s done head bolts and even heads on m156. He says head bolts are about 10-15 hours of labor. His rate is $90/hour. Replacing head bolts one at a time is pretty much the same procedure as cam replacement and it is about 10 hours of labor in MB work manuals.
Regardless of whether you do the bolts one at a time or pulling the heads off it can be done with the engine in the car. Have you seen this video? th-cam.com/video/zJO1qNnhxw4/w-d-xo.html Also, I hope you can subscribe to support the channel. Thanks.
The cutoff for engines not affected by this design flaw is engine serial number 60-060658. You can find the engine serial number located on a white sticker affixed to the left valve cover. The new design bolts were not used until 2011.
Just bought an 08’ C63 with 68k miles. Excited, but the internet has scared me about the head bolts. Seems to be 5-6k at MB dealer near me to replace them. Everybody I’ve talked to even an AMG mechanic said they wouldn’t worry about it. What do you think?
Congratulations! I think I expressed my opinion in this video :-) Don’t worry about it unless you’re scared by the internet just like I was, 😂 The failure rate is very low. The catastrophic failure rate is even lower. So you can address this issue now or when you see signs. But the bolts can be replaced one at a time before they fail to save time and money. You must have seen my DIY video. Replacing them one at a time takes about 10-15 hours. If anyone wants to charge you for more than that find a different mechanic. So a great indy can do it for under $2000.
AccentOnCars well thank you for your videos. Well made and easily understood. Gives me more confidence in doing this myself at some point. For now, I’m just going to oil change and coolant flush routinely and enjoy the car :-)
That’s very important. I change the oil every 4k miles or sooner. I add a bottle of Ceratec every 2-3 oil changes and LM MoS in between with each oil change. It helps to keep your lifters and cams healthy. Also, check the oil level as frequently as you can. Keep it very close the max level but don’t go above. This will help with lubricating the upper intake cams.
Accent On Cars I think I will change antifrezze first to determine condition. Could you please list at the foot of your video tools and spare parts used? thanks!!!
You could find the list of parts along with good information to read/watch in the description of my other video where I talk about head bolt replacement th-cam.com/video/zJO1qNnhxw4/w-d-xo.html. I use the site called FCPEURO for parts.
ML and pretty much any other 63 AMG from this era have exact same engine indexed as m156. Check it out as much as you can. I made a buyer’s guide th-cam.com/video/8ddmNLz3B0U/w-d-xo.html
@@AccentOnCars I think a tensile strength test would be very interesting, compared against a new set of bolts. You could probably get it done at a local university.
If you’re close to Boston, have a car, and want your car to be featured in future episodes shoot me an email at accentoncars@gmail.com
This is a very interesting video. I have a 2010 C63 with about 41k miles. My VIN is in the affected range and I knew it when I bought the car. I intend to do the head bolts once I get used to the car and if I decide to keep it for a long time. My car was dealer maintained between 2010 and 2017 and had frequent coolant changes with the original MB coolant during that period. The last one was about 3 years ago, I might change the coolant for peace of mind and contemplate doing this next year!
Thanks for watching. I also made a head bolt replacement DIY that might be helpful when/if you decide to do the head bolts th-cam.com/video/zJO1qNnhxw4/w-d-xo.html.
I wonder if changing the coolant more often like every 2 years and adding an additive in there to possibly stop corrosion would help with the longevity of the bolts.
anti -corrosion additive mixed in with the coolant by Lubegard back in 2017. If the bolts do not corrode, they should hold.
My fear are the intake camshaft lobes flattening and the cam adjusters wearing.Very expensive.I can't believe each cam is over $700 a piece.Need more aftermarket. There is a guy here in Illinois like me and on TH-cam with a channel called LegitStreetcars that does some great videos and work on AMG cars
The bolts from the picture look actually very good.
I agree:) All I got out of replacement is the peace of mind. Otherwise, I think this issue is exaggerated by the internet. My head bolts didn’t need to be replaced. Also, if you liked the content I hope you can subscribe to support the channel:)
Thanks for documenting your experience!!
Thanks for watching friend.
It was a gd thing you did this at this time,imagine if u waited and more rust occured..the heads of the bolts could snap off when you finally decided to replace,then you would have no choice but to pull the heads..
Have you done head bolts on yours? Also, glad you found my channel. You helped me to get some questions answered related to IM gasket replacement couple months ago :)
@@AccentOnCars oh nice,ye i remember..yes i did my headbolts at 40k miles and they were in worse shape then yours..that was 15k miles ago with no issues 🙂
Hi, thanks for the video, I thought the issue was the head bolts stretched just below the head and the design of the bolt with the female Torx not having enough strength/material in that area, your thoughts are much appreciated, love the videos keep them coming, thanks
You are right about the bolt design, but the failures happen because of the rust; it is not a stretching issue. These are torque to yield bolts and they are supposed to stretch when torquing them. IMHO, failure rate is well over-exaggerated by the internet. Let me know if you have any questions.
Approximately what were you quoted for the headbolts to be replaced?
I did them myself. But I have a pretty knowledgeable mechanic now who’s done head bolts and even heads on m156. He says head bolts are about 10-15 hours of labor. His rate is $90/hour. Replacing head bolts one at a time is pretty much the same procedure as cam replacement and it is about 10 hours of labor in MB work manuals.
hi, can you do that whole job without the use of a hoist? Is everything you need to remove, accessible from the top? Thanks
Regardless of whether you do the bolts one at a time or pulling the heads off it can be done with the engine in the car. Have you seen this video? th-cam.com/video/zJO1qNnhxw4/w-d-xo.html Also, I hope you can subscribe to support the channel. Thanks.
@@AccentOnCars thanks for the response, have subscribed:)
Great video. Thank you
Glad you liked it 👍
i just had mine replaced and its a good thing i did one of them was already so rusted it was cracked
Wow. Glad you did it on time
How many miles did you have when you changed them?
@@ed-fe7uy 106k miles
About the M5-8 short bolt can you please tell us the size ,and also the timing tool you bought link if possible please thanks :)
Hi. I believe m5-8 is 0.8*8mm. You can Google. The timing tool I had was bought from eBay. I would say any one with good reviews on eBay should work
Good good
I hope you can subscribe to support the channel 😎
@@AccentOnCars i will..
Anyone know what vin numbers to look out for that need the replacement?
The cutoff for engines not affected by this design flaw is engine serial number 60-060658. You can find the engine serial number located on a white sticker affixed to the left valve cover. The new design bolts were not used until 2011.
@@AccentOnCars thank you
Just bought an 08’ C63 with 68k miles. Excited, but the internet has scared me about the head bolts. Seems to be 5-6k at MB dealer near me to replace them. Everybody I’ve talked to even an AMG mechanic said they wouldn’t worry about it. What do you think?
Congratulations! I think I expressed my opinion in this video :-) Don’t worry about it unless you’re scared by the internet just like I was, 😂
The failure rate is very low. The catastrophic failure rate is even lower. So you can address this issue now or when you see signs. But the bolts can be replaced one at a time before they fail to save time and money. You must have seen my DIY video. Replacing them one at a time takes about 10-15 hours. If anyone wants to charge you for more than that find a different mechanic. So a great indy can do it for under $2000.
AccentOnCars well thank you for your videos. Well made and easily understood. Gives me more confidence in doing this myself at some point. For now, I’m just going to oil change and coolant flush routinely and enjoy the car :-)
That’s very important. I change the oil every 4k miles or sooner. I add a bottle of Ceratec every 2-3 oil changes and LM MoS in between with each oil change. It helps to keep your lifters and cams healthy. Also, check the oil level as frequently as you can. Keep it very close the max level but don’t go above. This will help with lubricating the upper intake cams.
Thanks for your advise...I have same car like you and I love it 2007 with 45,000 miles, how many miles does your car have?
Glad to help, Jorge. Mine has 68K at the moment. It had 47K when I bought it 2 years ago. Let me know if you have questions.
Accent On Cars I think I will change antifrezze first to determine condition. Could you please list at the foot of your video tools and spare parts used? thanks!!!
You could find the list of parts along with good information to read/watch in the description of my other video where I talk about head bolt replacement th-cam.com/video/zJO1qNnhxw4/w-d-xo.html. I use the site called FCPEURO for parts.
Great job on these videos.I have a 2008 just like yours with 62000 miles.Just had to have the trans rebuilt unfortunately.I'm in Illinois
What about 2008 MB ml63 amg because I want to buy it.
Is it good to go?
ML and pretty much any other 63 AMG from this era have exact same engine indexed as m156. Check it out as much as you can. I made a buyer’s guide th-cam.com/video/8ddmNLz3B0U/w-d-xo.html
I wouldn't mind to get the link for the mb forum
Sure. You can find it in the description of this video th-cam.com/video/zJO1qNnhxw4/w-d-xo.html
Do you think these bolts were rusty enough to replace or not?
No.. people are infatuated with this issue
Do you have the old bolts still?
I had them until recently but I threw them away. Why are you asking?
@@AccentOnCars I think a tensile strength test would be very interesting, compared against a new set of bolts. You could probably get it done at a local university.
When they fail they do because of rust, not because they’re weaker.
Was this job hard ?
That’s subjective depending on what you consider hard. Here is the detailed DIY for you to decide th-cam.com/video/zJO1qNnhxw4/w-d-xo.html
Definitely your bolts was ok
Agree! But at least I sleep better now 😂
Here is the DIY video: th-cam.com/video/zJO1qNnhxw4/w-d-xo.html