Don't like those quad filters at all. I will leave the factory box and the beauty cover and maybe do a velocity cone on the entry side of the air box at the front of the car.
@LegitStreetCars Hey Alex, regarding the leak on the banjo fitting, that seal can be fixed by putting in a copper washers designed for flares. They are called bubble flares, the lines are made of steel so it's hard to believe it's flattened but the washer should fix it.. Better to try than just buying new lines. You can also remove the old line and have someone re-flare the end, just simply cut off the flared end and make a new flare. Lastly, the end could just have junk on it, a good cleaning may fix it.
Next time save yourself buying new lines. Whats happening there is the suaged part has been compressed and now the thread is bottoming out before making the seal. If you sand a little off the front of the pipe it usually fixes it. If not sand a little more, sand the flaired part too and use a brake flaring tool with the appropriate end to re-flair it. This doesn't need loads cut off - its only a couple of mm total.
@@LegitStreetCars Hey there, linus tech tips made a video on how to purge these bot spam comments, i think you guys should give it a look because they are annoying and people can fall. The video is : Fixing what UA-cam couldn’t. - ThioJoe Spammer Purge - Linus Tech Tips
I really like what you’ve done to the car this far, especially fixing and keeping the ABC. There is on but though, the new intakes took something away from the V12 beauty.
I’m usually on board with anything Alex does, but even if he gets another 20 HP, it just looks way too Boy Racer. Finding better flowing air filters that fit the stock air boxes seem to be a more elegant solution to this amazing elegant monster. Maybe add stainless air tubes from the front to the air boxes. It needs the tubes anyway and that would add to the appearance and may also increase the resonance Alex is looking for.
For the door controls it is the main box behind the door panel that most likely has a corroded circuit board. Mine did and I removed it, opened it, dried it and oiled it. Works like a charm.
I have seen that exact thing on a 03 S class. Window was down in the rain. Replaced with used part from Flea Bay. Fixed. There's your problem lady! SMA reference
Eh, the idea of a new intake is good, but I think it is always more classy to be able to keep the engine covers and such. Plus, one of the luxuries of this car was how quiet it was.
@@waynepantry7023 old chevies can't be made to sound like f1's, you guys are retarded. Go look at some videos of v12 mercedes with full exhaust and they sound glorious
You add emotions to that engine as if it feels something. Engines love running hot, it makes them more efficient. It's why cars have thermostats. But cold air makes more power, so you think that's good. Filtration could be better, sure
Finally! Thanks Alex, I really only watch your Mercedes content. I think you can find way more power on the CL v12 than previous tuners who just add heat exchangers/pumps. You’re best mod before you go to Dyno will be meth injection.
Would love to have a CL65, but those issues are crazy. I still wouldn’t have changed the suspension. However, it often makes me wonder why they don’t just do what Lexus does to make them last.
Money. Why build a car that lasts forever when they can engineer a car that constantly breaks so they can charge you a small fortune every year to get it fixed.
I finally gave up on Mercedes after owning 3. Switched to Lexus. Still have 2 Lexus SUVs, including a 1999 RX, which was special ordered. Would like to have the CL65, but not the problems it comes with.
To be fair this car is like the worse case scenario. I've owned my cl65 for just over 2 years and nothing close to this has happened. Only had a check engine light once and that was cause a vacuum line for the aux air pump was torn. Other than that it's been general maintenance. Replacing leaking abc lines, two in the front, one in the rear. Replacing leaking oil level sensor. And a new radiator (one of the plugs on the plastic end tanks was leaking so I had to replace the entire unit as aftermarket plugs didn't work). The turbos have a slight coolant leak that gets triggered when it's super cold out but I just top off coolant once every month and it's fine. New battery and tires obviously, but that's general maintenance.
I’m super grateful for the ringing bell ! I was actually in Chicago a few weeks ago for a convention downtown. I wanted to look you up but I didn’t even know where to start ! I’ve been a subscriber since the beginning! You really inspire me ! Thanks for the content!
I have a volant cold air intake on my 02 Dodge Ram with the 5.9l engine. The intake comes with a plastic box and inside is a cone filter with a plastic tube that goes to the throttle body. I removed the box to expose the filter and i notice that the air temp was higher and heated up faster without the box. The air temp lowered way slower once the truck started moving and cruising. The cold air box kept the air temps from rising quickly in traffic and once the truck was moving, the air temps lowered quickly. I know how you feel Alex. If something isn't working on my vehicles, it feels cheap and junky to me. Even if it's a light bulb out. If it came working from the factory, i want it to work. That's a cool letter from the previous owner. I hope to make a book to leave with my car.
Everyone I’ve talked to that’s converted to coil overs has absolutely regretted it. Even the mechanics that have performed coil over conversions say their customers hate the way the car rides. ABC is expensive but it’s an incredible suspension.
In my opinion the hot air intakes on that car just don't make sense. At least not in that configuration. Again just my opinion. The factory engine covers are more appealing than a tiny amount of Intake noise.
Not sure I like the trade-off of the new warm air intakes over the cold air-fed factory units. Will be interesting to see if there is really much difference in power output. aesthetically, the engine looks unfinished without the covers though you might gain some cooling benefit to them being off. Really enjoy your channel. Well done!
Always look forward to watching your wonderful content. For the door repair, wouldn't it better to have the solder joint inside of the vehicle and door? The solder joint wont flex like the wire. As we saw from the previous repair the failure was at the joint. Of course, it's a lot more work to take the door and under dash panels off. For a longer lasting repair consider replacing the wire with the same gauge, but a higher strand count making it more flexible.
I was just checking out the performance of this car from accelerationtimes. The performance 0-200 km/h is 12.8 seconds and it's almost equal to Porsche 997 Turbo. Everybody knows that 911 Turbo is synonymous to "superfast" so CL65 is seriously fast car and in my opinion one of the most fascinating old super coupes on the market. There's just something that I can't put my finger on... it's just SO cool how it just goes like a jet. You won't even notice and you have absolutely sick numbers on the speedometer. The acceleration to 100 km/h to 200 km/h is STILL pretty damn fast, even by modern standards. It's crazy how fast it was almost 20 years ago. Cheers... and keep up the good work. I've been really enjoying this CL65 series.
I have a CL600, same car, not AMG. One of the things I like about is that it is extremely fast in silence. Adding sound doesn't suit these cars in my opinion.
I do trailer repairs and service, and hitch installs, at my work, and we always do solder and shrink for all our wiring. Much more reliable and durable. I would also have suggested you put had put the canister in a bench vise, and then use an angle grinder to cut it open. Much safer, and less chance of it binding and pulling your hand into the saw 👍
Can’t wait to see what this beast does on the dyno. I have a 2007 CL600 bone stock and it absolutely destroys challengers and mustangs, i can’t imagine what this car will do. Awesome vid as always man
As a benz specialist, I find the abc system is amazing . The problem is when the cars get older and their value drops people fail to remember the complexity and how advanced this system was when the car was released. Unfortunately due to the complexity of the system the parts are still very expensive 😕. Just wait till a turbo goes bad 👎 and it's 10k to fix. You have to make sure that you oil these types of air filters or you will dust your turbos and engine Don't put a solder joint in the door jamb(basic wiring). Follow the wire to inside the car and join there. Solder the other end inside the door. This break is completely normal for the drivers door after opening and closing for a long time , not a merceces fault. The intake won't make much if any difference without ecu tuning mate. Look at what BRABUS do to their mods. The only reason the wheels are spinning and smoking is because you put the car in dyno mode which turns the esp off . This is not what your viewer's should expect in normal mode. Any benz will do this in dyno mode
Watching you deal with this suspension makes me so glad we didn’t buy our car with adaptive suspension since we plan on keeping it a long time. That looks so rough.
Something similar You can get in EU Citroen C5 "Hydroactive" but it's not that easy to break. My family owns a ~2007 Citroen C5 wagon, with 2.0 turbo diesel, with Hydroactive+ (additional functions like anti-roll while sport mode on), still works fine, no leaks, no worn spheres. And diesel is 1.33USD/Liter (1 gallon = ~3.78 liters) Petrol (95, basic) is 1.32USD/Liter Greetings from Poland!
Alex loved this video, though it is a pain for you to go over so many things on your V12 Twin Turbo, but the issues you are finding and addressing is a huge service for your UA-cam community. Keep it up buddy!
Alex, if that car went to anyone else, it would already be in the junkyard! What a recovery. About the intakes... yes, they may reduce restrictions, but.... they look so bad, especially when the alternative is a carbon fiber beauty cover, very well integrated with the ar filters... is a bit of a shame to leave such a beautifull cover out of the engine, and replacing with some very generic looking filters... And it's always disconcerting to see all that acceleration with so little noise with the factory intakes...
Many Thanks for the investigations to find original fault of the ABC system. You're a top notch AMG technician, it's of course your call but I'd really enjoy more videos with you working on AMG cars. 🙂
Another video packed with information that gets me thinking... My thoughts and opinions on CAI... the straighter the path to the intake valve, the better. We want the lowest appreciable pressure drop, i.e. the least energy required to get air through the intake system possible. I havent taken a fluid dynamics course, but I know a few concepts... the velocity of the fluid loses its uniformity in a bend, and contributes to a pressure drop across the bend. Any tube will have some appreciable pressure drop across it, but the longer the tube and the more bends, the greater the pressure drop, especially in high flow situations. Large radius bends should be used if bends are needed at all. The thermal expansion is a factor, and it's inversely proportional to the number of oxygen molecules in the cylinder, but there are many factors which dominate that equation more than the thermal effect. (Air loses less than 10% of its density between 100F and 200F, for reference) To make my point: I think if we make an intake like the Caprice has, where the path is straight, fairly short, open to the environment, AND can take advantage of ram-effect, there would be appreciable gain to changing the intake piping. But, to do all those things for a conventional intake, especially if the throttle body doesn't face the front of the car, it will take some serious design work and it makes more sense to spend that money on a tune or cams, something with real, proven benefit for a few hundred $$$. If you are developing a race car and chasing that last 2-3% horsepower gain, it might be worth it. I know it would be easy to ruin the cone shape, but I wonder how viable sanding down and reprofiling the flare fitting would be... You would have to set up a jig to get an even cone shape, otherwise it would likely leak worse even if it were smooth! I pay $3.50 a gallon for 91 in Manhattan KS! Im glad my SVT Focus only requires 91, we dont even have 93 here... $4.70 a gal is crazy!!!
I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned this, but if you go on Amazon, they have soldering heat shrink connectors, all in one. They are pretty cool, you just heat em up, and they solder and seal all in one
Love the CL65 sir. What I don't understand is why you don't use flare wrenches on these fittings? Just an observation. A guy with all of your years of "mechaniking" should have all of the right tools, one would think.
Relatively large, non rusty perfect condition fittings. Why would you need to use a flare wrench on them? I’ve seen him use them a few times in videos. You don’t need them in this situation
Ur brave man with the ABC suspension. I would see them fixed one day then back in a few days after. It was common for customers to abandon these cars at the dealership too since the repair was ridiculously high. It was weird to witness
Thank you for the sharing of inside of the 'gerenade". I owned 4 m275 & abc cars and it is 1st. time that this parts is leaking. Besides the track and ultra high speed cornering, the ABC is Absolute ultimate Suspension System, Period. Whem you ride abc, it doesn't feel so good maybe, but after that you ride car without abc, you can feel how amazing the abc was. For that intakes, I think the m275 is too mush sensitive for those modifications. Just a proper chip will give you more light start and endless power for all rpms.
My CL500 of the same vintage had exactly the same electrical issues on the drivers door wiring loom between the door at the A pillar starting to give up the ghost, very very common issue. Not too bad a fix :-). Glad you kept the ABC, amazing system! Thinking of getting another CL500 or 55 as they are just lovely cars (when working!) to sit alongside my 2010 XKR :-)
Shell to panel harness failures are common across many cars,I do at least 2 or 3 a week,at least one is a repair of someone else's repair. I find the mistake many make is using the wrong kind of cable for a bridge or by situating the repair where the break occurred so that the ends of the rigid join is put under tension when flexed,the joins need to be at supported points in the harness,I invariably pull cables back to at least four or five inches from any sort of movement and replace thicker 25-30 amp supply cables with 2 or 3 smaller thicker cables,even decent multistrand stuff work-hardens quicker from flexing causing the inner strands to snap which push out the outer strands causing a kink. A good practise is to fill the bellows,/trunking/sleeving with some sort of lubricant,light grease,vaseline etc. I use white spray grease,this helps the cables to move in the bellows and reduces the chance of binding in the convolutions and causing kinks In the cables,I also remove any restrictive sheathing where the cables run in the bellows.A more modern practise is to have a small panel sub harness connected at the pillar,these have their own deficiencies too,usually the old green rot in the plug and socket😁.
Just a thought with the ABC system.. So...When you make threaded seal connections for extreme high vacuum applications, I use a simple .10 cent ACE hardware copper crush washer inbetween the metal to metal connections.. It's all the same and I understand Mercedes engineers are amazing, just look at the new EOS 580s, but could the problem be solved with a simple solution, that Mercedes did not do so they would get service money on their inovative yet shit ABC system?? Just saying!! Plus I feel the intake system you added looks and kinna is jenkie. Let it be what it is cold air boxes, with a beautiful engine cover. Also look at Bentley GT accumulators they may work better. Thanks for chopping it at the risk of your hand
Alex, PLEASE TURN UP THE VOLUME FOR VIDEO. I have to have my TV up pretty loud for your videos and then I get SUPER LOUD ads. But what did you want to say? You wanted to re-buy the entire ABC system. Wow, yeah, that’s a big difference on the lines. The ABC system is amazing and I applaud you for keeping it!
Something to remember on the piping of the intake. One 90* elbow is equivalent to 5’-0” of pipe run. So, with the old setup every bend and angle of pipe actually = a significant amount of piping length under the hood. I don’t know if I phrased this right for everyone to understand but I’d say you removed the equivalent to 20’ - 30’ of piping.
I love this channel. I've been driving my kids in a 400 dollar 2003 e320 for 2 years thanks to your videos. Lots of info and most importantly your honest approach to repairs/mods make these cars less overwhelming to own and maintain.
My 1JZ has twin intakes with pods coming from each turbo (highflowed) and makes 550whp. Yeah, it could be sheilded (and I have one that needs some modification), but your explanation about having a good intercooler setup makes perfect sense Alex.
That's why the intercooler is there. If it was NA then yes the cold air would make a difference,on a turbo car with an intercooler the intercooler cools the air before it goes into the intake.
I had a CL600 with the ABC, when it started going bad I did a coil over swap. It never drove the same. The ABC is perfectly tuned for the weight of these cars (when it works)
FYI - the best way to smoke a drink is to have a plank of cedar and torch the cedar till a good smoke then put a CHILLED glass upside down right over the smoking part of the cedar wood. Fill with your drink and enjoy. My favorite smoke drink is the Applewood - wow! 🥃🥃 🏁🏁
Mercedes Benz recommends using non ethanol premium fuel. I'm in a different country, but I think Shell V-Power 93 is non ethanol. There may be others in your locale. In the long term, you probably aren't saving by using Costco ethanol fuel as the ethanol eats away at the expensive rubber and plastic parts.
@18:30... the door harness wires break from years of opening and closing the door. We both know the 215 has extended door hinges that move the door open and back. pull back the accordion cover over the harness and you will find broken wires.
So happy for you that the channel is doing so well. You made the right choice becoming a full time UA-camr. I love watching you wrench on cars. Your passion comes through so well. Congratulations. My only criticism would be too many mid roll ads.
9:46 I completely agree there, I never like seeing these cars converted to coils, especially airmatic cars, which are cheaper and simpler than abc cars.
A lot of people forget that you can’t get colder air than the ambient air temp. Also there can be a lot of air moving around the engine bay when moving. So what might seam really hot when parked can cool off once the vehicle is moving.
As to lines leaking because of the flare overused, I insert a thin copper washer. I buy them from my metric hardware supplier quite inexpensively. ALWAYS use a flare nut wrench.
🌴I like your style but there is another good reason for the new induction.I have seen someone nailed a puddle of water and the turbos sucked it up and hydro locked the engine.Having those air breathers up out of the way is a really good idea and one that I would do if I owned a Mercedes with twin turbos.What a fun opportunity to check out Mercedes in every detail.The ABC suspension what you had to go through but I think you need a quality exhaust sound the overall nosie isn't out of this world at all and needs an upgrade really bad and some custom wheels maybe a killer wrap if you know your in the mood to spice things up a bit.
I was looking at creating an airbox for the kn filter on my turbo frs. It is a very similar setup as the one on your trans am. But as you mentioned you better have a hot air intake rather than restriction in air flow. That is what was going to happen with the new box. This video saved me time fabricating something I don’t really need as the intercooler is big enough. Thanks Alex
Having a Sam's membership makes driving a car with premium more bearable. Generally with $.05 of regular at a gas station. Last tank I put in was just under $3.
With regard to intakes, it's worth noting that it's not just about power. Higher intake temps equals higher chance of detonation. It also results in higher EGT with a 1:1 ratio. Not saying it's guaranteed to cause issues but just something to be aware of.
Hi to stop the lines leaking you sand the double bubble flare smooth to remove any burrs and also check the taper shape inside the female junction block it screws into for burrs and scratches ,the pipes use the same crush seal method as brake lines , the pipe is aluminium and soft compared to the junction block it screws into so as you tighten it it will squash to the same shape as the bowl shape in the junction block thus sealing it but once you get burrs or scratches from repeated removal and installation it gets harder to seal, so you just sand it smooth removing the burrs and scratches being careful to keep the original shape and it will seal again and i have done this numerous times on all kinds of hydraulic lines that uses the double bubble flare crush seal method.
24:00 What if they design a single pipe, not with two air filter on each bank, and this pipe connects from the turbo, directly to the factory cold intake hole, and the metal filters inside the pipe, so you can still have filtering, and be able to wash them, and keep the beauty covers on?
Been enjoying you series with the V12 CLS 65. For a possible next project you should consider a repairing at a budget V8 CLS, with a coil over conversion.
Alex just a quick tip for you When or iff you ever get the same problem or something similar again with leaking joints. Go to diy store and get some PTFE Plumbers Tape wrap around the threads a couple of times save you a lot of time. Money 💰 and heartache
Mad respect for following through on opening up that accumulator...I was very interested and looks like it was a bit of a sketchy operation but thanks for pulling through for us!
Alex, you can't imagine how much I admire the matter-of-fact presentation, you make repairing these cars even a die hard car guy would walk away from. And this car really is a knock-out!! We already know how much this beast tried to beat you up!!! LoL.....Congratulations! Great work. Terrific series..
Again a great video Alex! Here in Denmark, I fuel my car with petrol oktan 100, $9 pr. gallon. And oktan100 Diesel for my MB C220d, is roughly $8 pr gallon. 😅 But really loving that V12! 😍
I have a 2013 S65, not I'll be swapping out my air intakes anytime soon.. Funny you're having to deal with the ABC. I think my pump might be taking a dive. If I drive the car around town, light, it's fine. But when I get onto the freeway and drive for about an hour, when I'm exiting the power steering/ABC pump sounds like it's low on fluid, which it isn't. But if I park for an hour, let it cool down and take off again it stops making the noise. I'm assuming the pump might be on it's way out. Would hate to do all of that work to swap it out if there could be another issue. I bought it used in 2017 with about 22k miles on it. It's got about 80k now. Been a great car. Just replaced the coil packs, plugs and VT box, runs great, I love these cars. Keep making these videos, I'm learning a lot watching you, so much appreciated.
Hi Alex only watched it half way Door harness broken between door and post Almost definitely Back to abc worn accumulators These also soak up pressure spikes I blew two expansion pipes in six months and they are nasty to change New accumulators all round Like a new car, ABC is great when it’s set up and working properly for all its faults I love it Keep vids coming all the best..
Alex, I had the same thing on my 55 with the leak in those metal joints. You can use teflon plumber tape around that area around the threads and retighten it and it should keep the area from leaking. Otherwise those pipes go to the front of the engine or valve block and lots of labor to change. FYI coils suck, the car is designed for abc
I have always wanted a CL65 but been put off by the ABC issues. I'll scratch the AMG V12 itch one day though! 12:02 - i run Super Unleaded which is 99RON in my car (tuned) which is £1.60 per litre at the moment / $2.18! A US Gallon of it would be $8.24 so you guys have a pretty good deal over there.
Check out CL65 AMG Snow Drifting right here! fb.watch/beg6R9tyty/
Don't like those quad filters at all. I will leave the factory box and the beauty cover and maybe do a velocity cone on the entry side of the air box at the front of the car.
That car is beautiful man
@LegitStreetCars Hey Alex, regarding the leak on the banjo fitting, that seal can be fixed by putting in a copper washers designed for flares. They are called bubble flares, the lines are made of steel so it's hard to believe it's flattened but the washer should fix it.. Better to try than just buying new lines. You can also remove the old line and have someone re-flare the end, just simply cut off the flared end and make a new flare. Lastly, the end could just have junk on it, a good cleaning may fix it.
For your window issue do an update to the door module its a common issue
Next time save yourself buying new lines. Whats happening there is the suaged part has been compressed and now the thread is bottoming out before making the seal. If you sand a little off the front of the pipe it usually fixes it. If not sand a little more, sand the flaired part too and use a brake flaring tool with the appropriate end to re-flair it. This doesn't need loads cut off - its only a couple of mm total.
Perfect timing for another glorious V12!
Everyone needs a little V12 in their life. Literally just a little though as you'd go broke quick with a lot of V12.
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Nice to see you here 🤗
looking forward to watching your new V12 video next 👍
Love your channel
No way I’d be willing to lose the carbon fiber cover and the AMG builder signature. Too boy racer for me…
Agreed! Close the hood, can't look at it.
I'm sure they could be modified to fit them back in. There is always a way
Totally agree
I really like what you’ve done to the car this far, especially fixing and keeping the ABC. There is on but though, the new intakes took something away from the V12 beauty.
I disagree I think it’s still beautiful but far cooler looking
I’m usually on board with anything Alex does, but even if he gets another 20 HP, it just looks way too Boy Racer. Finding better flowing air filters that fit the stock air boxes seem to be a more elegant solution to this amazing elegant monster. Maybe add stainless air tubes from the front to the air boxes. It needs the tubes anyway and that would add to the appearance and may also increase the resonance Alex is looking for.
He needs to trim the original engine cover to fit and build a box to capsule the filters and use the original cold air intakes to feed it
"There is on but though" wtf?
@@mwilliamshs *there is one
Do you know why 8 was afraid of 7?
For the door controls it is the main box behind the door panel that most likely has a corroded circuit board. Mine did and I removed it, opened it, dried it and oiled it. Works like a charm.
I have seen that exact thing on a 03 S class. Window was down in the rain. Replaced with used part from Flea Bay. Fixed. There's your problem lady! SMA reference
Oiled? With what? What does that do?
I’d pass on the intake. It would be a shame to discard the AMG cover and carbon fiber trim just for some extra under hood noise.
New airfilters make it look kind of a "cheap". Keep it classy, keep it OEM.
I agree. I like the engine covers too.
Yup they look trash and not much gain sound wise, at least in my headphone.
OEM looks low better
Agreed. Put it back to stock.
@@stevenduhaime1484 Stock airbox is consistent with the stock suspension. Keep it STOCK
Eh, the idea of a new intake is good, but I think it is always more classy to be able to keep the engine covers and such. Plus, one of the luxuries of this car was how quiet it was.
Its a v12, I'm just waiting for him to make it sound like an F1, not enough people with v12s do it and they can sound pretty close to the f1s
@@Motorsportsgeek cringe
While that would have it's advantages, sometimes you just have to do things the ugly way to get results.
@@YungEagle3k What is cringe about making a v12 sound glorious instead of a vacuum cleaner with turbos?
@@waynepantry7023 old chevies can't be made to sound like f1's, you guys are retarded. Go look at some videos of v12 mercedes with full exhaust and they sound glorious
As for those intakes... man, that's a hard no for me. All that hot poorly filtered air going into that poor engine. No.
You add emotions to that engine as if it feels something. Engines love running hot, it makes them more efficient. It's why cars have thermostats.
But cold air makes more power, so you think that's good. Filtration could be better, sure
Finally! Thanks Alex, I really only watch your Mercedes content. I think you can find way more power on the CL v12 than previous tuners who just add heat exchangers/pumps. You’re best mod before you go to Dyno will be meth injection.
Would love to have a CL65, but those issues are crazy. I still wouldn’t have changed the suspension. However, it often makes me wonder why they don’t just do what Lexus does to make them last.
Money. Why build a car that lasts forever when they can engineer a car that constantly breaks so they can charge you a small fortune every year to get it fixed.
I finally gave up on Mercedes after owning 3. Switched to Lexus. Still have 2 Lexus SUVs, including a 1999 RX, which was special ordered. Would like to have the CL65, but not the problems it comes with.
Some cars are just more fun to drive than fun to own.
@@Rose.Of.Hizaki Or you finally get so frustrated and buy a new car.
To be fair this car is like the worse case scenario. I've owned my cl65 for just over 2 years and nothing close to this has happened. Only had a check engine light once and that was cause a vacuum line for the aux air pump was torn. Other than that it's been general maintenance. Replacing leaking abc lines, two in the front, one in the rear. Replacing leaking oil level sensor. And a new radiator (one of the plugs on the plastic end tanks was leaking so I had to replace the entire unit as aftermarket plugs didn't work). The turbos have a slight coolant leak that gets triggered when it's super cold out but I just top off coolant once every month and it's fine. New battery and tires obviously, but that's general maintenance.
Loving the Mercedes content. What a complicated vehicle. Thx for cutting the pump open.
Talk about peugeot lol
Alex, I love your videos. No click bait half done 'next time' stuff. You just say it how it is. Thanks for your content.
No clickbait? He literally said it sounded like a fkn fighter jet....
I’m super grateful for the ringing bell ! I was actually in Chicago a few weeks ago for a convention downtown. I wanted to look you up but I didn’t even know where to start ! I’ve been a subscriber since the beginning! You really inspire me ! Thanks for the content!
Alex,
Thanks for keeping the promise of the diagnostic for the suspension!! I enjoy your good humor and brilliant repair work.
just not a fan of this intake. Under the hood the car loses all its appeal. It looks like a civic turbo budget build.
Lol do you a v12 amg??
@@aleksantini1938 had 2 previous v12 Mercs. And a C63. Don’t understand the point of your question.
Don’t care your opinion sucks
@@directcIan 😂😂😂. Ouch. My feeling is hurt
Looks stupid
I have a volant cold air intake on my 02 Dodge Ram with the 5.9l engine. The intake comes with a plastic box and inside is a cone filter with a plastic tube that goes to the throttle body. I removed the box to expose the filter and i notice that the air temp was higher and heated up faster without the box. The air temp lowered way slower once the truck started moving and cruising. The cold air box kept the air temps from rising quickly in traffic and once the truck was moving, the air temps lowered quickly. I know how you feel Alex. If something isn't working on my vehicles, it feels cheap and junky to me. Even if it's a light bulb out. If it came working from the factory, i want it to work. That's a cool letter from the previous owner. I hope to make a book to leave with my car.
What you gained isn’t worth losing the clean look of the engine bay with the covers
Your CL65 AMG are the most anticipated videos for me!
Thank you for the ever entertaining and educational content!
Everyone I’ve talked to that’s converted to coil overs has absolutely regretted it. Even the mechanics that have performed coil over conversions say their customers hate the way the car rides. ABC is expensive but it’s an incredible suspension.
In my opinion the hot air intakes on that car just don't make sense. At least not in that configuration. Again just my opinion. The factory engine covers are more appealing than a tiny amount of Intake noise.
Every time I watch you with your cl 65 it makes me so happy that I sold mine! THANKS!😀
Not sure I like the trade-off of the new warm air intakes over the cold air-fed factory units. Will be interesting to see if there is really much difference in power output. aesthetically, the engine looks unfinished without the covers though you might gain some cooling benefit to them being off. Really enjoy your channel. Well done!
Always look forward to watching your wonderful content. For the door repair, wouldn't it better to have the solder joint inside of the vehicle and door? The solder joint wont flex like the wire. As we saw from the previous repair the failure was at the joint. Of course, it's a lot more work to take the door and under dash panels off. For a longer lasting repair consider replacing the wire with the same gauge, but a higher strand count making it more flexible.
no factory harness uses solder connections
@@ezacher4634 Well there are solder points on the control module circuit board? LOL I understand what you are saying though
I was just checking out the performance of this car from accelerationtimes. The performance 0-200 km/h is 12.8 seconds and it's almost equal to Porsche 997 Turbo. Everybody knows that 911 Turbo is synonymous to "superfast" so CL65 is seriously fast car and in my opinion one of the most fascinating old super coupes on the market. There's just something that I can't put my finger on... it's just SO cool how it just goes like a jet. You won't even notice and you have absolutely sick numbers on the speedometer. The acceleration to 100 km/h to 200 km/h is STILL pretty damn fast, even by modern standards. It's crazy how fast it was almost 20 years ago. Cheers... and keep up the good work. I've been really enjoying this CL65 series.
I have a CL600, same car, not AMG. One of the things I like about is that it is extremely fast in silence. Adding sound doesn't suit these cars in my opinion.
I do trailer repairs and service, and hitch installs, at my work, and we always do solder and shrink for all our wiring. Much more reliable and durable. I would also have suggested you put had put the canister in a bench vise, and then use an angle grinder to cut it open. Much safer, and less chance of it binding and pulling your hand into the saw 👍
Can’t wait to see what this beast does on the dyno. I have a 2007 CL600 bone stock and it absolutely destroys challengers and mustangs, i can’t imagine what this car will do. Awesome vid as always man
As a benz specialist, I find the abc system is amazing . The problem is when the cars get older and their value drops people fail to remember the complexity and how advanced this system was when the car was released.
Unfortunately due to the complexity of the system the parts are still very expensive 😕.
Just wait till a turbo goes bad 👎 and it's 10k to fix.
You have to make sure that you oil these types of air filters or you will dust your turbos and engine
Don't put a solder joint in the door jamb(basic wiring). Follow the wire to inside the car and join there. Solder the other end inside the door. This break is completely normal for the drivers door after opening and closing for a long time , not a merceces fault.
The intake won't make much if any difference without ecu tuning mate. Look at what BRABUS do to their mods.
The only reason the wheels are spinning and smoking is because you put the car in dyno mode which turns the esp off . This is not what your viewer's should expect in normal mode.
Any benz will do this in dyno mode
Watching you deal with this suspension makes me so glad we didn’t buy our car with adaptive suspension since we plan on keeping it a long time. That looks so rough.
there are many types of adaptive suspension so it doesn't mean that every fail
Only air suspension/hydro-pneumatic adaptative suspension is prone to failure
They’re not for people who can’t wrench lol
Something similar You can get in EU Citroen C5 "Hydroactive" but it's not that easy to break. My family owns a ~2007 Citroen C5 wagon, with 2.0 turbo diesel, with Hydroactive+ (additional functions like anti-roll while sport mode on), still works fine, no leaks, no worn spheres.
And diesel is 1.33USD/Liter (1 gallon = ~3.78 liters)
Petrol (95, basic) is 1.32USD/Liter
Greetings from Poland!
Alex loved this video, though it is a pain for you to go over so many things on your V12 Twin Turbo, but the issues you are finding and addressing is a huge service for your UA-cam community. Keep it up buddy!
Alex, if that car went to anyone else, it would already be in the junkyard! What a recovery.
About the intakes... yes, they may reduce restrictions, but.... they look so bad, especially when the alternative is a carbon fiber beauty cover, very well integrated with the ar filters... is a bit of a shame to leave such a beautifull cover out of the engine, and replacing with some very generic looking filters...
And it's always disconcerting to see all that acceleration with so little noise with the factory intakes...
Many Thanks for the investigations to find original fault of the ABC system.
You're a top notch AMG technician, it's of course your call but I'd really enjoy more videos with you working on AMG cars. 🙂
Another video packed with information that gets me thinking...
My thoughts and opinions on CAI... the straighter the path to the intake valve, the better. We want the lowest appreciable pressure drop, i.e. the least energy required to get air through the intake system possible. I havent taken a fluid dynamics course, but I know a few concepts... the velocity of the fluid loses its uniformity in a bend, and contributes to a pressure drop across the bend. Any tube will have some appreciable pressure drop across it, but the longer the tube and the more bends, the greater the pressure drop, especially in high flow situations. Large radius bends should be used if bends are needed at all. The thermal expansion is a factor, and it's inversely proportional to the number of oxygen molecules in the cylinder, but there are many factors which dominate that equation more than the thermal effect. (Air loses less than 10% of its density between 100F and 200F, for reference)
To make my point: I think if we make an intake like the Caprice has, where the path is straight, fairly short, open to the environment, AND can take advantage of ram-effect, there would be appreciable gain to changing the intake piping. But, to do all those things for a conventional intake, especially if the throttle body doesn't face the front of the car, it will take some serious design work and it makes more sense to spend that money on a tune or cams, something with real, proven benefit for a few hundred $$$. If you are developing a race car and chasing that last 2-3% horsepower gain, it might be worth it.
I know it would be easy to ruin the cone shape, but I wonder how viable sanding down and reprofiling the flare fitting would be... You would have to set up a jig to get an even cone shape, otherwise it would likely leak worse even if it were smooth!
I pay $3.50 a gallon for 91 in Manhattan KS! Im glad my SVT Focus only requires 91, we dont even have 93 here... $4.70 a gal is crazy!!!
Oh to have fuel that cheap in the UK. We pay around $9 a gallon!
Here in Sweden the fuel price (for diesel) is 21.76kr/litre. So in dollars its around 8,8usd/gallon 💸
Basically the same as in Norway 😢
@@lijoden well… not every day😉. I’m a happy Swede That working in norway… and you’r diesel is WAY better💪🏻💪🏻
Is it my birthday? Legit CL65 V12 goodness AND M539 V12 smoothness...
And no one at home to bother me.
12:03 FJB!!
I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned this, but if you go on Amazon, they have soldering heat shrink connectors, all in one. They are pretty cool, you just heat em up, and they solder and seal all in one
Love the CL65 sir. What I don't understand is why you don't use flare wrenches on these fittings? Just an observation. A guy with all of your years of "mechaniking" should have all of the right tools, one would think.
Relatively large, non rusty perfect condition fittings. Why would you need to use a flare wrench on them? I’ve seen him use them a few times in videos. You don’t need them in this situation
Ur brave man with the ABC suspension. I would see them fixed one day then back in a few days after. It was common for customers to abandon these cars at the dealership too since the repair was ridiculously high. It was weird to witness
Love to grab me an abandoned AMG
Hydraulic hoses can be made by any good shop. Cheaper than Mercedes hoses.
Very ugly with that aftermarket intake. Love the original AMG setup.
Thank you for the sharing of inside of the 'gerenade". I owned 4 m275 & abc cars and it is 1st. time that this parts is leaking. Besides the track and ultra high speed cornering, the ABC is Absolute ultimate Suspension System, Period. Whem you ride abc, it doesn't feel so good maybe, but after that you ride car without abc, you can feel how amazing the abc was. For that intakes, I think the m275 is too mush sensitive for those modifications. Just a proper chip will give you more light start and endless power for all rpms.
Love your videos
aaand that is my birthday gift from you so thank you
My CL500 of the same vintage had exactly the same electrical issues on the drivers door wiring loom between the door at the A pillar starting to give up the ghost, very very common issue. Not too bad a fix :-). Glad you kept the ABC, amazing system! Thinking of getting another CL500 or 55 as they are just lovely cars (when working!) to sit alongside my 2010 XKR :-)
Man I love that car… with you owning it and fixing it lol
Shell to panel harness failures are common across many cars,I do at least 2 or 3 a week,at least one is a repair of someone else's repair. I find the mistake many make is using the wrong kind of cable for a bridge or by situating the repair where the break occurred so that the ends of the rigid join is put under tension when flexed,the joins need to be at supported points in the harness,I invariably pull cables back to at least four or five inches from any sort of movement and replace thicker 25-30 amp supply cables with 2 or 3 smaller thicker cables,even decent multistrand stuff work-hardens quicker from flexing causing the inner strands to snap which push out the outer strands causing a kink. A good practise is to fill the bellows,/trunking/sleeving with some sort of lubricant,light grease,vaseline etc. I use white spray grease,this helps the cables to move in the bellows and reduces the chance of binding in the convolutions and causing kinks In the cables,I also remove any restrictive sheathing where the cables run in the bellows.A more modern practise is to have a small panel sub harness connected at the pillar,these have their own deficiencies too,usually the old green rot in the plug and socket😁.
Just a thought with the ABC system.. So...When you make threaded seal connections for extreme high vacuum applications, I use a simple .10 cent ACE hardware copper crush washer inbetween the metal to metal connections.. It's all the same and I understand Mercedes engineers are amazing, just look at the new EOS 580s, but could the problem be solved with a simple solution, that Mercedes did not do so they would get service money on their inovative yet shit ABC system?? Just saying!! Plus I feel the intake system you added looks and kinna is jenkie. Let it be what it is cold air boxes, with a beautiful engine cover. Also look at Bentley GT accumulators they may work better. Thanks for chopping it at the risk of your hand
Alex, PLEASE TURN UP THE VOLUME FOR VIDEO. I have to have my TV up pretty loud for your videos and then I get SUPER LOUD ads. But what did you want to say? You wanted to re-buy the entire ABC system. Wow, yeah, that’s a big difference on the lines. The ABC system is amazing and I applaud you for keeping it!
Im sure the previous owner would be very happy to see the car being taken care of!
Not sure he cares. He didn’t exactly take care of it himself. Lol
Hoodie didn’t care 😂
Something to remember on the piping of the intake. One 90* elbow is equivalent to 5’-0” of pipe run. So, with the old setup every bend and angle of pipe actually = a significant amount of piping length under the hood. I don’t know if I phrased this right for everyone to understand but I’d say you removed the equivalent to 20’ - 30’ of piping.
Great job on this awesome car. Not a fan of that intake, looks cheap.
I bet Renntech or Kleeman have a cleaner looking intake? Maybe something that will allow keeping the coves for a clean look?
I love this channel. I've been driving my kids in a 400 dollar 2003 e320 for 2 years thanks to your videos. Lots of info and most importantly your honest approach to repairs/mods make these cars less overwhelming to own and maintain.
15:32 PCV tube, not secondary air injection tube - that's on the other side of the engine (and doesn't go into the intake!)
Great update as always.
Would be an option to add water jets to the intercooler locations. Food for thought
Those intakes are hideous
indeed they are, looks something a kid made in his room
My 1JZ has twin intakes with pods coming from each turbo (highflowed) and makes 550whp. Yeah, it could be sheilded (and I have one that needs some modification), but your explanation about having a good intercooler setup makes perfect sense Alex.
That is a humongous HOT air intake you have installed. I bet you lose HP once that engine bay is heat soaked
Agreed, LSC will probably take them off after a bit.
That's why the intercooler is there. If it was NA then yes the cold air would make a difference,on a turbo car with an intercooler the intercooler cools the air before it goes into the intake.
I had a CL600 with the ABC, when it started going bad I did a coil over swap. It never drove the same. The ABC is perfectly tuned for the weight of these cars (when it works)
I've seen people do swaps and not retrofit sway bars so it can be dangerous
Before kids arrived I owned an alfa romeo which I absolutely adored. Makes me well qualified to understand why you still love the ABC on this car!
A very sympathic guy with an positive attitude, i like him and his way solving issues
FYI - the best way to smoke a drink is to have a plank of cedar and torch the cedar till a good smoke then put a CHILLED glass upside down right over the smoking part of the cedar wood. Fill with your drink and enjoy. My favorite smoke drink is the Applewood - wow! 🥃🥃 🏁🏁
So glad to see more content on the mighty Mercedes V12. I look forward to seeing the dyno results
Pulling out the torch for the heat shrink tubing is the realest thing I’ve ever seen
Mercedes Benz recommends using non ethanol premium fuel. I'm in a different country, but I think Shell V-Power 93 is non ethanol. There may be others in your locale. In the long term, you probably aren't saving by using Costco ethanol fuel as the ethanol eats away at the expensive rubber and plastic parts.
This is by far one of my favorite series!
@18:30... the door harness wires break from years of opening and closing the door. We both know the 215 has extended door hinges that move the door open and back. pull back the accordion cover over the harness and you will find broken wires.
Ohhhhh that is so satisfying seeing someone else other then me solder wiring!!! Thank you sooooo much!!
So happy for you that the channel is doing so well. You made the right choice becoming a full time UA-camr. I love watching you wrench on cars. Your passion comes through so well. Congratulations. My only criticism would be too many mid roll ads.
Thanks brother! I put in less ads then what UA-cam defaults too. I can't remove too many though. Need to pay bills
You could always download a add blocker
9:46 I completely agree there, I never like seeing these cars converted to coils, especially airmatic cars, which are cheaper and simpler than abc cars.
100% there is nothing like ABC , so nice .. airmatic is great too
Glad you kept the ABC system. Cant wait to see it tuned.
You have slowly become my favorite channel. Been watching for 2 years or so, the firebird one
A lot of people forget that you can’t get colder air than the ambient air temp. Also there can be a lot of air moving around the engine bay when moving. So what might seam really hot when parked can cool off once the vehicle is moving.
There are ways to retrofit other suspension systems onto that car, that are not only easier but cheaper. And not junk steel coils.
In Perth Western Australia ,$8 per gallon Alex OUCH ...Bob in Ozz..
As to lines leaking because of the flare overused, I insert a thin copper washer.
I buy them from my metric hardware supplier quite inexpensively.
ALWAYS use a flare nut wrench.
🌴I like your style but there is another good reason for the new induction.I have seen someone nailed a puddle of water and the turbos sucked it up and hydro locked the engine.Having those air breathers up out of the way is a really good idea and one that I would do if I owned a Mercedes with twin turbos.What a fun opportunity to check out Mercedes in every detail.The ABC suspension what you had to go through but I think you need a quality exhaust sound the overall nosie isn't out of this world at all and needs an upgrade really bad and some custom wheels maybe a killer wrap if you know your in the mood to spice things up a bit.
Come out to Rockford, Alex. I paid $3.59/gallon for 93 yesterday.
I was looking at creating an airbox for the kn filter on my turbo frs. It is a very similar setup as the one on your trans am. But as you mentioned you better have a hot air intake rather than restriction in air flow. That is what was going to happen with the new box. This video saved me time fabricating something I don’t really need as the intercooler is big enough. Thanks Alex
Current diesel price for me in the UK is £1.56. This works out in US language at about $7.10 per US gallon.
£1.49.9 for BP diesel In Northern Ireland
Having a Sam's membership makes driving a car with premium more bearable. Generally with $.05 of regular at a gas station. Last tank I put in was just under $3.
With regard to intakes, it's worth noting that it's not just about power. Higher intake temps equals higher chance of detonation. It also results in higher EGT with a 1:1 ratio. Not saying it's guaranteed to cause issues but just something to be aware of.
Hi to stop the lines leaking you sand the double bubble flare smooth to remove any burrs and also check the taper shape inside the female junction block it screws into for burrs and scratches ,the pipes use the same crush seal method as brake lines , the pipe is aluminium and soft compared to the junction block it screws into so as you tighten it it will squash to the same shape as the bowl shape in the junction block thus sealing it but once you get burrs or scratches from repeated removal and installation it gets harder to seal, so you just sand it smooth removing the burrs and scratches being careful to keep the original shape and it will seal again and i have done this numerous times on all kinds of hydraulic lines that uses the double bubble flare crush seal method.
Yes!!! More Merc V12 videos. I own a 2005 SL65 and love getting to see what makes these cars so great, and a pain in the ass.
I DONT KNOW, but I would guess that those lines would use a onetime only crush washer.
24:00 What if they design a single pipe, not with two air filter on each bank, and this pipe connects from the turbo, directly to the factory cold intake hole, and the metal filters inside the pipe, so you can still have filtering, and be able to wash them, and keep the beauty covers on?
Been enjoying you series with the V12 CLS 65. For a possible next project you should consider a repairing at a budget V8 CLS, with a coil over conversion.
Alex just a quick tip for you
When or iff you ever get the same problem or something similar again with leaking joints. Go to diy store and get some PTFE Plumbers Tape wrap around the threads a couple of times save you a lot of time. Money 💰 and heartache
Mad respect for following through on opening up that accumulator...I was very interested and looks like it was a bit of a sketchy operation but thanks for pulling through for us!
I have a CL500 and when I had issues with my door functions and other electrical things, I replaced the SAM module and that fixed everything
Alex, you can't imagine how much I admire the matter-of-fact presentation, you make repairing these cars even a die hard car guy would walk away from. And this car really is a knock-out!! We already know how much this beast tried to beat you up!!! LoL.....Congratulations! Great work. Terrific series..
Again a great video Alex! Here in Denmark, I fuel my car with petrol oktan 100, $9 pr. gallon. And oktan100 Diesel for my MB C220d, is roughly $8 pr gallon. 😅
But really loving that V12! 😍
I think it's the blocks. Maybe the interior of the blocks where the line seats are also worn down.
Yes! At the very least, they should have been inspected and dressed if needed
I absolutely love v12 mercedes. God damn. They are my dream car. I love how you can get any used merc for so cheap.
I have a 2013 S65, not I'll be swapping out my air intakes anytime soon.. Funny you're having to deal with the ABC. I think my pump might be taking a dive. If I drive the car around town, light, it's fine. But when I get onto the freeway and drive for about an hour, when I'm exiting the power steering/ABC pump sounds like it's low on fluid, which it isn't. But if I park for an hour, let it cool down and take off again it stops making the noise. I'm assuming the pump might be on it's way out. Would hate to do all of that work to swap it out if there could be another issue. I bought it used in 2017 with about 22k miles on it. It's got about 80k now. Been a great car. Just replaced the coil packs, plugs and VT box, runs great, I love these cars. Keep making these videos, I'm learning a lot watching you, so much appreciated.
Hi Alex only watched it half way
Door harness broken between door and post
Almost definitely
Back to abc worn accumulators
These also soak up pressure spikes
I blew two expansion pipes in six months and they are nasty to change
New accumulators all round
Like a new car, ABC is great when it’s set up and working properly for all its faults I love it
Keep vids coming all the best..
Alex, I had the same thing on my 55 with the leak in those metal joints. You can use teflon plumber tape around that area around the threads and retighten it and it should keep the area from leaking. Otherwise those pipes go to the front of the engine or valve block and lots of labor to change. FYI coils suck, the car is designed for abc
Thanks for all the content brother. Keep that UA-cam grind up. ⬆️ 💯
I have always wanted a CL65 but been put off by the ABC issues. I'll scratch the AMG V12 itch one day though!
12:02 - i run Super Unleaded which is 99RON in my car (tuned) which is £1.60 per litre at the moment / $2.18! A US Gallon of it would be $8.24 so you guys have a pretty good deal over there.
For that little bit of whisper I wouldn't sacrifice that nice cover with the signature of the worker who assembled the motor.