Ray Ray be glad y'all never worked for an RV or boat dealer whereas ya pull a spark plug out one of them old big block chryslers or chebbies and the damn thing is growing tentacles and hair all over it... Guys like U Ray Ray would scratch your head and say WTF is that..
Do they actually make a vehicle today aside of the Silverado's where the most serviceable parts ain't totally buried under a ton of WTF is this shit bullshit parts and hoses?????
If you ever work on the m276 again. Just disconnect the battery and remove the ECU. It is way easier. Also it is more work but the intake is probably full of oil. It will need to be removed and cleaned. Also the back of the valves are probably full of carbon. Also those plugs are indexed. So you have to use a torque wrench on them otherwise the spark will not line up properly.
German engineer here. I will, here and now, apologize for this kind of horrible rats nest engineering my colleagues over at Daimler came up with. A friend of mine just recently bought a 1928 Ford Model A which I had the pleasure to work on for a little bit, and I just can't shake the feeling we are doing something wrong in our present days....
I would love to see a car completely designed by engineers without any input from sales, marketing, or accounting. It would likely be exactly my kind of car.
@@OvertravelX what do you mean. Engineers are exactly why a mechanic cannot actually work on a car anymore. Everything made currently is a blivit. 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound sack. An "engineer" needs to work servicing this kind of crap before they are even allowed to design anything to go in an automobile. Granted our "gubmint" has decreed all kinds of bullshit, but this is insane. No normal person can work on any vehicle anymore, even smart people can't. And you need 10K in diagnostic crap just to do basic shit.
@@OvertravelX That is an oversimplification. I personally believe it is a good thing for engineers to occupy those executive roles in auto manufacturing companies but somebody has to wear the marketing and accounting hats if the goal is to be profitable. And they can only be profitable if they make cars that people can afford.
So I was in my garage with my wife getting some stuff out of storage... She looks at my tool wall and says "I know what that is now!! 90lbs, click!" She learned what an analog torque wrench was from watching your channel with me Ray. Thank u sir! 😁
Dude! Your wife couldn’t learn from you about torque wrenches? She had to watch some strange dude’s videos to “learn about torque wrenches”? Maybe you should show her your torque wrench more often! 🤔🇨🇺🇺🇸
Hi mate I’m from the uk and work for Mercedes. Some things are a nightmare to do on those cars but don’t worry about disconnecting the ecm or as we call it ecu. We have to do it all the time. Just make sure the ignition is of and they key is out of the barrel. There may on the rear occasion throw a trouble code but it will clear and cause no problems 👍
I’m in the UK and an ex motor mechanic from the nineties, and this is why I moved on from cars to the military. It’s been twenty years since I last touched a car under the bonnet. I used to do my own brakes and oil but they are now out with my skills as they also need a computer to change them . Dealers are charging premiums to do the simple things but you don’t see many rich mechanics, which is wrong because it’s becoming a specialised job.
I remember years ago when I was a boy (I am 66 now), when my dad was teaching me about car maintenance, back in the day when you could fix just about anything on a car with a couple of spanners and a pair of pliers, him telling me that, 'every time they add a new fancy thing to a car, it's one more new fancy thing that can go wrong'.
You are the most patient mechanic I have ever seen. And I think you are getting used to being on camera, your sense of humor is coming out more. It’s great.
He has the right attitude to be a good mechanic. l never have.lm old now and it hurts to do it ,then i get frustrated and bad things happen. lts very frustrating to work on modern cars to me.Back in the old days when i was a kid in the 70s we all enjoyed working on our cars ,now i dread every project
Ray, have watched a bunch of your videos, never felt compelled to comment before. I have a couple of reasons I am willing to take the time to watch your videos 1) Your biting comments and the fun you poke at everything, I get it. 2) I always learn something 3) the "Ray-isms", Click, Do De Do, and the list grows. Remember "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" Thanks to Hunter S. Thompson for the quote. Peace out
Unless you owned one of the 60's- 70's era Chevy's that required partial removal of the engine or inner fenderwell to get to the spark plug all the way in the back. I hate to think how many of them got the old 7 plug sparkplug tuneup!
@@Rags722 Sad to say, a tech where I worked was famous for that. Eventually after 8 various cars, he would have a set of 8 plugs that he would sell. Eventually it came back to bite him on the butt and he was fired.
You mean like the old Chevy vans where you need to jack the car up, remove the front wheels and wheel well liners, and use extensions and offsets through the wheel wells to change out the plugs? Yeah, that was always really quick to do.
For years, I've kept a 2 foot long piece of 3/8" fuel hose in my toolbox to take out and thread in spark plugs. While it is primarily to avoid crossthreading a spark plug, it's great for retrieving a plug from a hot engine.
Quit apologizing. The mechanic ALWAYS reserves the right to criticize the work of a manufacturer that isn't out in the real world keeping that car on the street for 20+ years.
Mercedes, (sometimes called "the three pointed suppository") and BMW (sometimes called "Bowel Movement Warehouse") With my experience as a mechanic and owner (only once for both, wont bother again) they are wonderfully engineered solutions to problems that never existed. Really, it's ridiculous having to remove all that crap to get to the spark plugs. Components that get routinely checked/replaced should be easily accessed, not hidden.
I completly agree. ift there are 2 top brands i hate working on .. its those 2... i cant decice what one is number 1 or 2.. I work on vws and i find bmw and benz to be some of the worst
I never understood what makes these to be considered top brands. They aren’t something you’re going to get a long reliable life out of. About everything else on the road Outlasts them
Crap like this is why I won't turn wrenches anymore. Around fastener 4 of that ecu bracket I'd lose my cool. Kudos to you for keeping calm through the ordeal.
I worked on that engine before and I'm pretty sure you can just pull the ECU out of the bracket without unscrewing anything. Ainoy Sykeo has a good video about it.
I’ve done my own vehicle maintenance since 1971. People who say having the right tool is all it takes haven’t worked on cars. This guy knows how to use them.
Ive done many tune ups on these models. Disconnecting the PCM wont cause you any trouble. Just don't power up the ignition. 30 min job. You got this. Thanks for the great vids you share.
It's strange that Mercedes would put a very expensive piece of electronics right next to and above a very hot heat source-the engine. Not-so-great engineering.
@@adotintheshark4848Your suggestion comes too late. They did that on all the mini vans, left front fender well in front of the tire. PROTECTED {????} by the inner fender SPLASH SHIELD {????}....
Hi Ray. Gerday from Australia. I've just started watching your videos. I've learned heaps already. You're a great example of a methodical approach to mechanical work. I expect my cussin' will decrease by 50% if I follow your example. I might even stop throwing tools. I especially enjoy learning how to use my scan tool properly. Great work. I'll give you the thumbs up whenever I can.
going back and watching some of your old vids I missed... This one made me very happy I drive an old "classic" 28 year old truck... I changed a leaking valve cover gasket and changed plugs, wires, cap and rotor in less than an hour... and I took my time and cleaned up everything super shiny before I called the job done.... I don't think I would be qualified to change the air filter on that Mercedes.
This video makes me appreciate my 1970 straight 6 bronco. Plug wires, wires to the headlights and I can sit in my engine compartment while working :) Still love the videos Ray. Thank you for bringing us along.
Haha I do the same thing mate. Must be an Aussie thing cause I can't go to sleep before I watch Ray's videos. Not because he puts me to sleep but because my day can't end without it. 😂
The most advanced skill of an auto mechanic is the ability to put every bolt/part/washer in the correct place. I'm amazed how you can tear apart something with so many brackets and bolts and put it back together without left over parts.
I'm watching you take out the spark plugs and the only thing that comes to mind is that this is ridiculous. When did it become accepted that something as mundane as getting at the sparkplugs requires parts of the engine to be disassembled and special tools? I feel spark plugs is one of the things that just about every car owner should be able to handle with no need for prior experience. It's right up there with changing air filters, checking the fuses, adding coolant and checking and changing the oil.
Well, I could do most of the work on the 1982 MB 300 SD turbo diesel that I owned for a while. It was a simple car to work on. These days I would not go anywhere near an MB. Oh, diesel, where I live, is 5.259 a gallon the highest I have ever seen.
I have a Ford F-150. Passenger-side rear plug is that plug that nobody wants to get. Worse yet, I have a 4x4. You have to climb up on the truck, lay across the engine and cut every finger on both hands just to get the tool on the plug. Okay, now turn the wrench.
"MB oil recommended". Nothing ever changes. My Dad's 1958 Ford Fairlane had a windshield washer bag, prominently written on it: "Use FoMoCo washer fluid". Nothing ever changes.
I'm surprised the car ran so smothly during that short test drive. Come to think of it I'm more surprised it even started with three of the plugs looking like that.
@@volvo09 Probably neither. That oil didn't all go through the engine at once, but it sure did leave a mess. I wonder if it was even the correct oil, since that residue looked like conventional oil ash, and I'm sure that MB specifies a high-performance synthetic, which is practically all I use anymore except in a couple very old engines that are past caring.
@@Elios0000 you get more oil out pulling the plug underneath if possible. Using a pump is just a quicker and lazier way to get the job done. These cars the dealer rips you off. It’s the easiest diy oil change in any car I’ve ever worked on.
I have to admit that I watch your shows just for the entertainment value from listening to your patter and not so much that I want to learn how to do things. Very entertaining so thanks!
Your video are just like one is looking over your shoulder. I appreciate this. The Mercedes is Nice example of German over engineering. Who needs this!
Worked with a guy that did this before at an Acura dealership years ago. We had those overhead oil guns with the digital meters. He walked away from it while the oil was still pumping, almost 20 gallons of oil later.....
Wow... unreal amount of labor involved, just to replace the spark plugs! I guess I'm old... I remember when it took 15 minutes to change plugs, and the hardest part of the whole project was opening the beer.
Watching here from Taupo New Zealand . Enjoy watching as i used to fix my car and do the services on it in the 80s . A bit different now. Love that you are a member of the grammar police .Click
You should visit my body shop sometime. Ya gotta be a contortionist just to get to some wiring harness plugs and other shit... There are days when I could easily pass for a yoga instructor....
When I made the decision to go back to school I had to choose between my two passions- art and cars (to be clear, old cars) I chose art and now teach in a graphic design program. As much as I miss working on cars your videos have assured me I made the right decision …for me at least. Cheers to your patience sir 🍻
That'l teach them never to go to a Jiffy Lube again. In Germany these cars have 30,000 km oil change intervals or every 2 years. They could let Ray's shop change it every 10,000 miles and still be pampering the engine by European standards.
Good day to you ray hope all well and morning from uk 👍 and that tool you never had always need is the one you had for years and now its serves for ease of this job👍
When I worked in my dads tune up shop we use to use short pieces of vacuum hose to insert plugs and remove some that were in odd positions. Nothing as bad a many modern cars though. As a side note, we were the first shop in California with a Dyno. Oh and I think I still have my Champion spark plug school certificate somewhere.
If you need to be certain you're not cross-threading plugs on install (Ford 4.6 V-8 2V, in my case) a piece of vacuum hose is food for that, too! I keep it next to my spark plug sockets.
Thanks for your content! You do an amazing job especially considering you have to work on any kind of vehicle that pulls in! That takes a special talent that not every mechanic has. Most mechanics would shy away from a Mercedes unless they worked on them every day! You make it look easy ! Thanks again for being one of the good guys!
I had fun with a traffic controller when driving the bus with a heap of passengers on board. I let the passengers know ahead of time that there was a traffic controller ahead. I asked them all to wave at him as we passed / blow kisses / etc. I only got about a 20% participation rate in the activity but was still funny and made the traffic controller blush. What I would have loved to do is hand out A4 pieces of paper with a score out of 10 (for rating the controller) and get the passengers to hold it up as we drove past but too much effort.
On some models of the nissan frontier, you need to remove the intake manifold to change the sparkplugs. To remove the intake manifold you need to reach in through the wheel well with a 2.5 foot extension. It turns a 10 minute job into a 3 hour job for literally no reason at all because the intake manifold could've easily been made to allow service of the coils and spark plugs.
German engineering at its finest: 100 steps to change spark plugs because everything gets in the way of everything else! Good thing spark plugs in a properly working modern vehicles last long enough that you shouldn't have to worry about them between major maintenance intervals.
This isn't unique to german engineering. But yeah, the M 276 has some questionable design features and I would recommend avoiding this engine, if you want to work on it yourself. It's usually densly packed in the engine bay.
Ray, go for the pilots license!! Right on! Never stop learning. 61, just checked out on a new airplane. Gonna some day get my sea plane rating! This after license at 18, working on restoring WWII airplanes, USAF and F-16s, last 25 years with the air line. Learning keeps you sharp, and young!!
When you go cheap for your vehicle maintenance like quick lube shops you gotta expect to pay double afterwards ... Cheap isn't always the best option and its often a half a....ss job
@m rapacki You're right , thats crazy .. But if we can do it ourselves we can save a ton of $ and You Tube has plenty of info about work and maintenance for all makes and models
@@Joserocha-wm9de, I agree with everything you’ve said up until the point where I wiggle back out from under the vehicle and then at 70 years of age, I have to somehow manage to get myself back to the vertical position that’s my normal state of affairs (other than when I’m sleeping and then my bed has enough height that I can just swing my legs over the edge and with a little oomph I’m back vertical again), yea, getting yourself vertical from a horizontal position can be challenging at a certain age depending on how much you’ve abused your body.
Lube shop is definitely at fault here for overfilling the engine sump BUT designing an engine with unnecessary complications built in and that too probably less reliable and less repair friendly is definitely Mercedes's own self glorified German mind and technology. Advancement= more complication built in, i.e. if you are a German engineer.
You are the coolest mechanic I have a scene I appreciate your teaching me and I appreciate watching you do your work and your sense of humor makes my day thank you so much I appreciate your sense of humor and the way you thought things yours truly Nelson from the Bronx New York
Talking about oil over filled and causing miss fires, almost learnt the hard way to double check oil levels after someone changes it, a company here in the UK (Kwikfit) overfilled my oil to a point it had developed a miss fire and was actually pushing oil out of the glow plug holes and it was building up on the top of the engine 💀
Bad for turbos too. I read the manual on a later merc and it actually instructs you to under fill the oil because due to expansion it will hit the full mark. Can't recall where I read it, but apparently the oil gets aerated.
Kwikfit is such an amateur outfit. Same here in the Nethetlands. Don't let them do anything other then tyres and exhausts. All the other stuff is a big fail!!
Fyi.. I love the shop band-aid on your finger. I've done the same several times in my life. Nothing that duct tape or electrical tape and TP or a bit of a paper towel or shop towel can't fix. Even when it comes to plugging a leak on a human. 👍🙂
I dont know Benz, but I don’t know why they would route PCV to one side combustion and not the full intake. Fully possible though. Fancy is fancy. I also don’t like one side being SO bad and the other being relatively clean. The higher pressures overfilling causes could have blown something, some seal or gasket out that side of the engine. Could also explain why it went away but came back when the fouling became so bad. Keep this video proof if they try to pin the blown side on you when the quicky place owes them the fix. IMO
On GM & Ferd that will blow a rear main seal with ease. Seen it happen to one of my own taking it to one of those shit places with all drug addicts or idiots that don't speak english that change your oil... About 6 some odd years ago took my ole faithful Silverado to go to my daughter in Texas so I got lazy and took it to Fast Lube place while on the way. By the time I had the leak I knew the oil was over full. Believe it or not some of those places tell the retarts they hire actually tell em more oil is better the customers won't complain and it won't hurt anything. Well here ya see that is a lie...
In the late 80's Mercedes started printing a warning on the oil cap that engine damage Will occur if the oil level was too high.... obviously,they stopped doing it.😁😁
I'm a mechanic at a beef slaughter house. Ray, I understand your pain. All these machines are built WITHOUT thought that they will have to be worked on!
Now, if you were operating FBO service center, or were back in time fifty years, you'd have a spark plug cleaner and could blast that fouling right off!
@@gregstone1306 I'm an old guy too...I miss points,condensers and actually having to set timing. I had a career change due to technology and cost of "specialty tools" around 1985.
Why I fix everything myself .My 1968 chev convertible could not be fixed, i drove it to the shop, wearing shorts,sitting on a milk crate at hiway speed.Drove it home.Same problem with my 72 mach one mustang.These old guys who did not know how to use a tool. Advised me need something newer.LMAO. Love your show, girlfriend is jealous.
As an German guy, we often make jokes about car manufacturers. All in good funny way. Something like : BMW equals Bei Mercedes Wegeworfen. Means BMW = Thrown away by Mercedes
Can confirm. There is also the fact that “VW Golf” stands for “Völlig Wertloses Gerät Ohne Logische Funktion” (translates to “completely worthless device with no logical function”). Or “FIAT” = “Funktioniert Irgendwie Aber Trotzdem” (translates to “somehow it works, despite everything”). An alternative Interpretation for the latter is “Fehler In Allen Teilen”, which means something like “Every single part has flaws”.
Fiat Dodge in stalantis are literally all garbage cans I hate Dodge I despise Dodge Don't ask me why I like Chevy and Ford and Toyota those are the only three car manufacturers I will ever buy or drive Ford and Toyota are the best in the world. And Chevy used to be the best but now I just drive old Chevys cuz the new ones are trash but yeah once again I should go to like an anger management thing because I hate Dodge and Fiat so much and still answers but honestly I've hated Dodge my whole life like my buddy got a ram when we were young and I was like that thing so ugly and then it blew a transmission in a rear end like a month later That's why I don't like them
@@kitsuneneko2567 In Germany, we say "Er fuhr Ford und kam nie wieder" - Which is a pun that works only in German, because "Ford" is pronounced the same as "fort", which means "away", as in "away and gone forever, possibly dead". It would be something like "He drove away and never came back". It kinda gets lost in translation.
This is a prime example of why everyone should learn how to do simple maintenance on there vehicle's such as oil changes and transmission because someone like jiffy lube doesn't care about your property.
I don't go to Jiffy Lube or places like that all. I have a good dealership & a nearby Tire Kingdom to do my oil changes etc (to save $15 or so being under a car is not worth injury or death to me). I have had many times where I changed a filter recently & a Jiffy Lube employee shows me a very dirty filter. I immediately call them out on it & all of a sudden that filter is from another car.
"This is a two handed operation. One to hold the shaft and the other to do the twisting. That came out wrong. Alright, where's my rubber? (there it is) I'm doing most of this by feel, I cannot see what's going on down here. Well that one's nice, look at that, that one's super clean, I wonder what that's about? I did not expect that to happen. Well let's see about the other two. " Just listening to that section it could quite easily be on another website 😂
21:10 Nice, I had a funny moment where I thought you said "Too many prybars", but it turns out that you said "Two mini-prybars". Got the intended meaning when you followed up by saying "Twice as good as one mini-prybar" and that's all good. Thanks for an interesting tour of this engine and its oil problem.
If one is going to spend the money on a Mercedes, you would think they have the $ to go to the Mercedes dealership. Rapid lubes are great for risking your car
I use a an old coil boot all the time. The boots off a 5.7 hemi work awesome because they're super long and are entirely rubber so the flex and bend into tight spots really well
I was a flagger (sign waving guy) for a couple weeks. For how easy it looks, that is one tough job. You'd be surprised how much strain you put on your body standing still for 10 hours a day. I was happy to go back to electrical work once the need for a flagger was over. Usually construction teams switch up who gets to / has to be flagger... Or they give it to the new guy or a guy who's hurt
I appreciated when the drivers would give me a wave btw. They won't always wave back because thousands of cars pass by in a day and it gets repetitive but I'm sure they appreciate it
The bmw and porsche products are well engineered with excellent suspension systems and great engines. The overly complex fasteners and layers of crap you need to remove to get at anything is not great. The cost of parts can be a huge downer. Along with needing to but half an engine to get a sensor that should be available seperately. I like the beautiful paint work and high quality seating. In my world less tech is way better. A dipstick and manual trans and no lane assist or auto stop is better.
You've got to stop apologizing. These trolls do not need your apology, they just need to leave lol. I know I got on you for one video of yours, but your content minus one video is friggen phenomenal. I love my Chevys, and hate to Fix Or Repair Daily. We can have our opinions, people can't take them away from us.
If this video doesn't convince you to learn how to complete an oil change on your automobile and never use a Quick Lube place again, then you weren't paying attention.
This is why I like my little K24 4 cylinder Honda… the coil packs are right on top… the plugs take 15 minutes to replace.. AND I only have to replace them every 100k miles
With all that oil on the plugs, I wonder if the PCV system has been clogged and stuck open. Let's hope the PCV in this motor can be easily examined, replaced, or removed.
I agree with you Ray the folded ones were probably closest to the PCv inlet that's probably wheel the excessive oil got sucked in. That thing looks like it's been overfilled and driven awhile. I would find a new oil change place, it even has a dipstick! hope the cats are ok
A series on learning to fly would be awesome yes. I’m from the U.K. but I have a license and I’ve flown a lot in Miami and other parts of the USA. It’s a great country to fly in compared to the U.K. and Europe. Good luck with that Ray...
If that was overfilled at a lube-shop, I'd be inclined to check the gearbox oil as well. They may have drained the box and put new oil in the engine. 🤔
Those plugs look better than the plugs did in my 79 turbo 2.3 ford when my turbo main seal blew out. I actually melted 2 plugs from the heat of burning oil. I once bought a 72 Grand Torino for $50 that smoked only when turning left, it ended up having clogged oil drain ports on the right side head and would suck oil through the valve guides when turning. A simple dipstick shoved down the holes and an oil change after cured it. I also had a Probe GT given to me, was told it had a bad trans and was un-driveable. I popped the hood and noticed it had a throttle tube torn after the MAF. I cut a section off a shop exhaust hose and clamped it into place and hit 80mph in the parking lot, I drove that car for 3 yrs after that.
As I watch these videos I hope there is a hell just for the designers of these cars that need half the engine to be disassembled to replace spark plugs or coils. Seriously you need "regular" access to coils, plugs, oil filler, drain and filter, so why make them so hard to gain access to?
German engineers feel the need to make stuff as complicated as possible. I build computers and one day I decided to buy this fancy smancy computer case costing nearly $300.00 That thing is a night mare. In order to remove the power supply you have to practically dismantle the entire case. It was made by a German company called Be Quiet.
I just posted about the same thing.., I think the car MFG's go out of their way to do that shit to ya... CHANGE SPARK PLUGS FLAT RATE 6.5 HOURS... I think it is a good idea before folks buy any car that they also look up flat rates on simple maintenance items like spark plugs pcv and other shit. Then again most folks don't even know what FLAT RATE MEANS.
There seems to be a running trend among foreign car designers to over complicate simple jobs. Did you happen to catch the lower control arm swap on the Toyota Camry? It was listed for 7.5 hours because you essentially need to lift the motor to remove a motor mount to get to the bolts. Ray found a quick way around it but that's on his skill. I did the same job in my home garage on my Chevy HHR. No special tools, no motor lifts, nothing, and the entire job took me 1 hour. Changed my spark plugs and a bad coil...20 minutes. It's like they conspire to make simple things cost more to do.
@@davidmollard9832 That has nothing to do with the complexity of the way the engine is put together. Engines can be made to last without making them exceedingly difficult to take apart and put back together.
Yes sir. Now that I'm in the IT sector I like to remind myself frequently - it's just lego, logical connections of parts or systems, don't overthink it. Engineer mindset applies to all things.
Mercedes mechanics are laughing saying "the book calls for 5 hours to change the spark plugs, that's why we never change the ones on the left side of the engine!"
A long long time ago, in the local Galaxy, I went to one of those quick change oil outfits for the first oil change post purchase of a new car. While waiting for the oil change, the proverbial snot-nosed kid comes in the waiting room and informs me that my wiper blades need replacement. Hmmmm, the car has 3k mikes on the clock. It’s a brand flipping new car. Thus ended my use of said establishments. I’ve been changing the oil myself ever since.
Went to one of those places once. Guy came up with the rattiest, filthy air filter ever and said I need a new one and it's on special. Told him to bang off the crap and put it back in. He protested and I didn't budge. Guy sitting next to me said that filter was terrible. I agreed with him and told him that never came from my truck. It had a heavy duty oil bath filter with a mesh screen but that guy didn't know that. At check out he still tried to shame me into a filter, that's when I called him a parts scammer in front of other customers and told him about the air filter system on my truck and he could check if he wanted to. I would not have said anything if he hadn't of tried to shame me.
Click here for part 2. Reassembly ua-cam.com/video/MNqwwU1bS9o/v-deo.html
Ray Ray be glad y'all never worked for an RV or boat dealer whereas ya pull a spark plug out one of them old big block chryslers or chebbies and the damn thing is growing tentacles and hair all over it... Guys like U Ray Ray would scratch your head and say WTF is that..
Do they actually make a vehicle today aside of the Silverado's where the most serviceable parts ain't totally buried under a ton of WTF is this shit bullshit parts and hoses?????
Thanks for noticing us too😊
Ray giving the Heil Hitler salute to the flagman in Zee German car.
If you ever work on the m276 again. Just disconnect the battery and remove the ECU. It is way easier. Also it is more work but the intake is probably full of oil. It will need to be removed and cleaned. Also the back of the valves are probably full of carbon.
Also those plugs are indexed. So you have to use a torque wrench on them otherwise the spark will not line up properly.
dude don't apologize for blocking the view, you're working. We should be grateful for all the videos you whip out. Love the content man
I was going to say the same thing. Only Trolls comment about such things!
Agreed. He actually has the best views of any of the mechanics. Also the most well spoken.
You need to see where you’re driving us, we’re just along for the ride.
I agree
@@bigragu6828 …..Maybe you are just along for the ride. Not I…. Master Tech here.
🤔🇨🇺🇺🇸
German engineer here. I will, here and now, apologize for this kind of horrible rats nest engineering my colleagues over at Daimler came up with.
A friend of mine just recently bought a 1928 Ford Model A which I had the pleasure to work on for a little bit, and I just can't shake the feeling we are doing something wrong in our present days....
I would love to see a car completely designed by engineers without any input from sales, marketing, or accounting. It would likely be exactly my kind of car.
I have a W220. I'd like to have a word with you...
@@OvertravelX I doubt that sales and marketing was responsible for a bracket with a dozen fasteners guarding a spark plug.
@@OvertravelX what do you mean. Engineers are exactly why a mechanic cannot actually work on a car anymore. Everything made currently is a blivit. 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound sack. An "engineer" needs to work servicing this kind of crap before they are even allowed to design anything to go in an automobile. Granted our "gubmint" has decreed all kinds of bullshit, but this is insane. No normal person can work on any vehicle anymore, even smart people can't. And you need 10K in diagnostic crap just to do basic shit.
@@OvertravelX That is an oversimplification. I personally believe it is a good thing for engineers to occupy those executive roles in auto manufacturing companies but somebody has to wear the marketing and accounting hats if the goal is to be profitable. And they can only be profitable if they make cars that people can afford.
So I was in my garage with my wife getting some stuff out of storage... She looks at my tool wall and says "I know what that is now!! 90lbs, click!" She learned what an analog torque wrench was from watching your channel with me Ray. Thank u sir! 😁
I think she’s paying a little too much attention. I wouldn’t be so happy lol
I thought this comment was going in the x rated direction for a few seconds... Whew! We get enough double entendre's from Ray!
Dude! Your wife couldn’t learn from you about torque wrenches? She had to watch some strange dude’s videos to “learn about torque wrenches”? Maybe you should show her your torque wrench more often!
🤔🇨🇺🇺🇸
@@danieliglesias6278 found the troll
that could be dangerous.. next thing you know she'll want to use them..
Hi mate I’m from the uk and work for Mercedes. Some things are a nightmare to do on those cars but don’t worry about disconnecting the ecm or as we call it ecu. We have to do it all the time. Just make sure the ignition is of and they key is out of the barrel. There may on the rear occasion throw a trouble code but it will clear and cause no problems 👍
I’m in the UK and an ex motor mechanic from the nineties, and this is why I moved on from cars to the military. It’s been twenty years since I last touched a car under the bonnet. I used to do my own brakes and oil but they are now out with my skills as they also need a computer to change them . Dealers are charging premiums to do the simple things but you don’t see many rich mechanics, which is wrong because it’s becoming a specialised job.
I remember years ago when I was a boy (I am 66 now), when my dad was teaching me about car maintenance, back in the day when you could fix just about anything on a car with a couple of spanners and a pair of pliers, him telling me that, 'every time they add a new fancy thing to a car, it's one more new fancy thing that can go wrong'.
You are the most patient mechanic I have ever seen. And I think you are getting used to being on camera, your sense of humor is coming out more. It’s great.
Ray, I appreciate that your struggles aren’t edited out and we get a good feel for the real time the repair takes. Dave in Omaha
Ray appreciates it too, since he has to edit less!
He has the right attitude to be a good mechanic. l never have.lm old now and it hurts to do it ,then i get frustrated and bad things happen. lts very frustrating to work on modern cars to me.Back in the old days when i was a kid in the 70s we all enjoyed working on our cars ,now i dread every project
Ray, have watched a bunch of your videos, never felt compelled to comment before. I have a couple of reasons I am willing to take the time to watch your videos 1) Your biting comments and the fun you poke at everything, I get it. 2) I always learn something 3) the "Ray-isms", Click, Do De Do, and the list grows. Remember "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" Thanks to Hunter S. Thompson for the quote. Peace out
Unbelievable how difficult it is to access spark plugs on modern cars. Definitely not like the old days.
Unless you owned one of the 60's- 70's era Chevy's that required partial removal of the engine or inner fenderwell to get to the spark plug all the way in the back. I hate to think how many of them got the old 7 plug sparkplug tuneup!
Depends on the car. Some aren't so bad, but some older V6s you needed to remove the intake manifold to get to three of the plugs.
i mean this is a mercedes, known for being hard to work on
@@Rags722 Sad to say, a tech where I worked was famous for that. Eventually after 8 various cars, he would have a set of 8 plugs that he would sell. Eventually it came back to bite him on the butt and he was fired.
You mean like the old Chevy vans where you need to jack the car up, remove the front wheels and wheel well liners, and use extensions and offsets through the wheel wells to change out the plugs? Yeah, that was always really quick to do.
For years, I've kept a 2 foot long piece of 3/8" fuel hose in my toolbox to take out and thread in spark plugs. While it is primarily to avoid crossthreading a spark plug, it's great for retrieving a plug from a hot engine.
Threading plugs with hose
@@topfell8277 Yes, that's what he said.
I can say I always kept an old spark plug boot from the old days to thread back into the block as well order retrieve it if it was hot
Quit apologizing. The mechanic ALWAYS reserves the right to criticize the work of a manufacturer that isn't out in the real world keeping that car on the street for 20+ years.
It always amazes me that shops, where the only job is to do oil changes, fairly frequently fail at doing it
The three pointed star company makes it easy- using a suction tube you will never get it all out; add in stated capacity and you're a quart over, QED.
Mercedes, (sometimes called "the three pointed suppository") and BMW (sometimes called "Bowel Movement Warehouse")
With my experience as a mechanic and owner (only once for both, wont bother again) they are wonderfully engineered solutions to problems that never existed.
Really, it's ridiculous having to remove all that crap to get to the spark plugs. Components that get routinely checked/replaced should be easily accessed, not hidden.
I completly agree. ift there are 2 top brands i hate working on .. its those 2... i cant decice what one is number 1 or 2.. I work on vws and i find bmw and benz to be some of the worst
Spark plugs last 50,000 miles -they are not regular service items anymore. But what a pain to get at in this car.
I never understood what makes these to be considered top brands. They aren’t something you’re going to get a long reliable life out of. About everything else on the road Outlasts them
Cross Subarus off your list then.
In the UK we call a bmw a black mans willy
I've been a mechanic for over 25 years, and I love how calm, happy, and patient you are working on a MB. I hate those things.
Crap like this is why I won't turn wrenches anymore. Around fastener 4 of that ecu bracket I'd lose my cool. Kudos to you for keeping calm through the ordeal.
I worked on that engine before and I'm pretty sure you can just pull the ECU out of the bracket without unscrewing anything. Ainoy Sykeo has a good video about it.
@@michael931 But as we saw, that bracket has to move to get to the regular service part called a spark plug.
@MonkeyJedi99 yes but once you pull the ECU off, it is easy to unbolt the bracket. Only #6 is very challenging on that engine.
I’ve done my own vehicle maintenance since 1971. People who say having the right tool is all it takes haven’t worked on cars. This guy knows how to use them.
Ive done many tune ups on these models. Disconnecting the PCM wont cause you any trouble. Just don't power up the ignition. 30 min job. You got this. Thanks for the great vids you share.
It's strange that Mercedes would put a very expensive piece of electronics right next to and above a very hot heat source-the engine. Not-so-great engineering.
@@adotintheshark4848 Fiat-Chrysler's done the same thing with the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200. The ECM is tucked right next to the engine.
@@calyodelphi124 why stop there? Why doesn't Chrysler stick the ECM in the fender well so it can be splashed with water?
@@adotintheshark4848Your suggestion comes too late. They did that on all the mini vans, left front fender well in front of the tire. PROTECTED {????} by the inner fender SPLASH SHIELD {????}....
@@terryharvey4811 I'm guessing he knew that and was being sarcastic. :)
Hi Ray. Gerday from Australia. I've just started watching your videos. I've learned heaps already. You're a great example of a methodical approach to mechanical work. I expect my cussin' will decrease by 50% if I follow your example. I might even stop throwing tools. I especially enjoy learning how to use my scan tool properly. Great work. I'll give you the thumbs up whenever I can.
Excellent tenacity. This is why I gave up fixing my own vehicles. I would open the hood and not be able to locate the motor.
Do you change your oil or do your own brakes?
going back and watching some of your old vids I missed... This one made me very happy I drive an old "classic" 28 year old truck... I changed a leaking valve cover gasket and changed plugs, wires, cap and rotor in less than an hour... and I took my time and cleaned up everything super shiny before I called the job done.... I don't think I would be qualified to change the air filter on that Mercedes.
Any good professional never stops learning. The only constant in life is change. Thanks Ray
This video makes me appreciate my 1970 straight 6 bronco. Plug wires, wires to the headlights and I can sit in my engine compartment while working :) Still love the videos Ray. Thank you for bringing us along.
I enjoy watching your videos before bed. Have a good day from Australia
Haha I do the same thing mate. Must be an Aussie thing cause I can't go to sleep before I watch Ray's videos. Not because he puts me to sleep but because my day can't end without it. 😂
@@Matty7272 same here :) g'day from Wollongong.
Same! Hi from Albury 😊
Same from Sydney. Even if I'm dead tired from a long day, I stay up to watch it.
Same, again, from country Vic
The most advanced skill of an auto mechanic is the ability to put every bolt/part/washer in the correct place. I'm amazed how you can tear apart something with so many brackets and bolts and put it back together without left over parts.
I'm watching you take out the spark plugs and the only thing that comes to mind is that this is ridiculous. When did it become accepted that something as mundane as getting at the sparkplugs requires parts of the engine to be disassembled and special tools? I feel spark plugs is one of the things that just about every car owner should be able to handle with no need for prior experience. It's right up there with changing air filters, checking the fuses, adding coolant and checking and changing the oil.
Ive got two Lexus LS400 sedans and just about as complicated..but not as complicated as damned Mercedes & BMW
Well, I could do most of the work on the 1982 MB 300 SD turbo diesel that I owned for a while. It was a simple car to work on. These days I would not go anywhere near an MB. Oh, diesel, where I live, is 5.259 a gallon the highest I have ever seen.
I have a Ford F-150. Passenger-side rear plug is that plug that nobody wants to get. Worse yet, I have a 4x4. You have to climb up on the truck, lay across the engine and cut every finger on both hands just to get the tool on the plug. Okay, now turn the wrench.
@@GeorgeSemel That's nothing, were I live it's $10+ a gallon......
The US doesn't know how good it has it with fuel prices lol
look at any subaru enginebay i cry everytime one of those rolls in for a sparkplug job
"MB oil recommended". Nothing ever changes. My Dad's 1958 Ford Fairlane had a windshield washer bag, prominently written on it: "Use FoMoCo washer fluid". Nothing ever changes.
I'm surprised the car ran so smothly during that short test drive. Come to think of it I'm more surprised it even started with three of the plugs looking like that.
Amazing to see plugs that look like that... That engine must have been smoking like crazy, or glowing red cats if it wasn't.
@@volvo09 LOL.. 👍could even be the world's first V3. Don't think that will catch on.
@@neilhamill318 There actually are a few two-stroke V3's in Honda sport and race bikes from the 80's.
@@volvo09 Probably neither. That oil didn't all go through the engine at once, but it sure did leave a mess. I wonder if it was even the correct oil, since that residue looked like conventional oil ash, and I'm sure that MB specifies a high-performance synthetic, which is practically all I use anymore except in a couple very old engines that are past caring.
Ray, you inspire me to do more work on my own vehicle. I really appreciate your accurate troubleshooting. Good work man.
This is why i do my own oil changes now.
why ive done them for 40 years of driving!
car like this you take to the dealer... you Merc and other high end cars do all there changes from top now needing a pump to get the old oil out
@@Elios0000 It's super easy changing the oil with a sucktion pump. And the filter, if it's an insert type changed from above.
@@Elios0000 you get more oil out pulling the plug underneath if possible. Using a pump is just a quicker and lazier way to get the job done. These cars the dealer rips you off. It’s the easiest diy oil change in any car I’ve ever worked on.
I have to admit that I watch your shows just for the entertainment value from listening to your patter and not so much that I want to learn how to do things. Very entertaining so thanks!
Ray coming in clutch with the only early Monday morning upload
Your video are just like one is looking over your shoulder. I appreciate this. The Mercedes is Nice example of German over engineering. Who needs this!
Worked with a guy that did this before at an Acura dealership years ago. We had those overhead oil guns with the digital meters. He walked away from it while the oil was still pumping, almost 20 gallons of oil later.....
Finish the story please.
If it's digital why did it say 20 gallons, shouldn't it be litres?
Wow... unreal amount of labor involved, just to replace the spark plugs! I guess I'm old... I remember when it took 15 minutes to change plugs, and the hardest part of the whole project was opening the beer.
All that dismantling to change 3 spark plugs, good job Mercedes
Watching here from Taupo New Zealand . Enjoy watching as i used to fix my car and do the services on it in the 80s . A bit different now.
Love that you are a member of the grammar police .Click
Ray is the Chuck Norris of automotive repair
You should visit my body shop sometime. Ya gotta be a contortionist just to get to some wiring harness plugs and other shit... There are days when I could easily pass for a yoga instructor....
@@thekingsilverado8419 lol
I hate drama people hating on Ray Ray. I look forward everyday to watch Ray Ray on youtube.
When I made the decision to go back to school I had to choose between my two passions- art and cars (to be clear, old cars)
I chose art and now teach in a graphic design program.
As much as I miss working on cars your videos have assured me I made the right decision …for me at least.
Cheers to your patience sir 🍻
Yes sir...there are ladies here. 😀 I love watching your videos! I'm a weekend warrior when it comes to cars...I love learning from you 🙂!
If those plugs are that bad, I can only imagine what the catalytic converters look like!
Yep, going to be a problem down the road. Plugged, or overheated and worn out.
Just took 4.5 lives from the CAT. Surprised it wasn't totally smoked.
I would have went ahead and just replaced all the oxygen sensors just to be safe
Leave the car parked outside overnight, the cat will magically get pre-replaced.
That'l teach them never to go to a Jiffy Lube again. In Germany these cars have 30,000 km oil change intervals or every 2 years. They could let Ray's shop change it every 10,000 miles and still be pampering the engine by European standards.
Watching this makes me glad I work on old cars
Good day to you ray hope all well and morning from uk 👍 and that tool you never had always need is the one you had for years and now its serves for ease of this job👍
Dude I wish I lived in whatever part of Florida you're in cause you'd have another loyal customer 👍🏿.
When I worked in my dads tune up shop we use to use short pieces of vacuum hose to insert plugs and remove some that were in odd positions. Nothing as bad a many modern cars though. As a side note, we were the first shop in California with a Dyno. Oh and I think I still have my Champion spark plug school certificate somewhere.
If you need to be certain you're not cross-threading plugs on install (Ford 4.6 V-8 2V, in my case) a piece of vacuum hose is food for that, too! I keep it next to my spark plug sockets.
I have been watching you channel for 8-10 months and have yet to discover why “Rainman”? Great content!
Thanks for your content! You do an amazing job especially considering you have to work on any kind of vehicle that pulls in! That takes a special talent that not every mechanic has. Most mechanics would shy away from a Mercedes unless they worked on them every day! You make it look easy ! Thanks again for being one of the good guys!
I've owned a bunch of Mercedes. They're not worse than anything else. Just watch what you're doing.
I really enjoyed seeing you working so confident everything comes out okay 👍
I had fun with a traffic controller when driving the bus with a heap of passengers on board. I let the passengers know ahead of time that there was a traffic controller ahead. I asked them all to wave at him as we passed / blow kisses / etc. I only got about a 20% participation rate in the activity but was still funny and made the traffic controller blush.
What I would have loved to do is hand out A4 pieces of paper with a score out of 10 (for rating the controller) and get the passengers to hold it up as we drove past but too much effort.
I can appreciate your patience while doing this. I appreciate the vehicles I've owned with coil on plug right in the top of the head.
It's amazing how much faith engineers put into a consumable item such as a spark plug to justify designing the car around it.
He could at least get to those. In the 1969 Mustang Super Cobra Jet 428 you had to pull the engine to get to spark plugs 4 & 8.
On some models of the nissan frontier, you need to remove the intake manifold to change the sparkplugs. To remove the intake manifold you need to reach in through the wheel well with a 2.5 foot extension. It turns a 10 minute job into a 3 hour job for literally no reason at all because the intake manifold could've easily been made to allow service of the coils and spark plugs.
Those aren't bad. You should try changing plugs on an Express van!
@@fredygump5578 I've heard those require a hole saw.
Rainman Ray, you're fun to watch and delight to listen to! Thanks for sharing.
German engineering at its finest: 100 steps to change spark plugs because everything gets in the way of everything else!
Good thing spark plugs in a properly working modern vehicles last long enough that you shouldn't have to worry about them between major maintenance intervals.
It seems obvious to me that the car was designed to pull the front subframe to do service on the engine.
This isn't unique to german engineering. But yeah, the M 276 has some questionable design features and I would recommend avoiding this engine, if you want to work on it yourself. It's usually densly packed in the engine bay.
Mercedes require spark plugs changed every 50,000 miles on these models so it was overdue anyway
Won’t be an issue when they convert to electric motors. ;-)
No your just a shitty mechanic ! I have 2 Mercedes there’s nothing hard about them at all.
Ray, go for the pilots license!! Right on! Never stop learning. 61, just checked out on a new airplane. Gonna some day get my sea plane rating! This after license at 18, working on restoring WWII airplanes, USAF and F-16s, last 25 years with the air line. Learning keeps you sharp, and young!!
Good morning, Ray. Six AM in FL, and it's time for the Rainman show. Okay Maestro, what's on the menu? A Benz, let the show begin.
Such an addictive channel, you're doing it right!
When you go cheap for your vehicle maintenance like quick lube shops you gotta expect to pay double afterwards ... Cheap isn't always the best option and its often a half a....ss job
Burning all that oil probably took 1/2 the remaining life out of the cat too... Maybe even partially plugged it.
@m rapacki You're right , thats crazy .. But if we can do it ourselves we can save a ton of $ and You Tube has plenty of info about work and maintenance for all makes and models
@@Joserocha-wm9de, I agree with everything you’ve said up until the point where I wiggle back out from under the vehicle and then at 70 years of age, I have to somehow manage to get myself back to the vertical position that’s my normal state of affairs (other than when I’m sleeping and then my bed has enough height that I can just swing my legs over the edge and with a little oomph I’m back vertical again), yea, getting yourself vertical from a horizontal position can be challenging at a certain age depending on how much you’ve abused your body.
Lube shop is definitely at fault here for overfilling the engine sump BUT designing an engine with unnecessary complications built in and that too probably less reliable and less repair friendly is definitely Mercedes's own self glorified German mind and technology. Advancement= more complication built in, i.e. if you are a German engineer.
You are the coolest mechanic I have a scene I appreciate your teaching me and I appreciate watching you do your work and your sense of humor makes my day thank you so much I appreciate your sense of humor and the way you thought things yours truly Nelson from the Bronx New York
Talking about oil over filled and causing miss fires, almost learnt the hard way to double check oil levels after someone changes it, a company here in the UK (Kwikfit) overfilled my oil to a point it had developed a miss fire and was actually pushing oil out of the glow plug holes and it was building up on the top of the engine 💀
Bad for turbos too. I read the manual on a later merc and it actually instructs you to under fill the oil because due to expansion it will hit the full mark.
Can't recall where I read it, but apparently the oil gets aerated.
Kwikfit is such an amateur outfit. Same here in the Nethetlands. Don't let them do anything other then tyres and exhausts. All the other stuff is a big fail!!
@@ZerokillerOppel1 I guess there's a reason they call themselves "Kwikfit" and not "Qualityfit".
Fyi.. I love the shop band-aid on your finger. I've done the same several times in my life. Nothing that duct tape or electrical tape and TP or a bit of a paper towel or shop towel can't fix. Even when it comes to plugging a leak on a human. 👍🙂
I dont know Benz, but I don’t know why they would route PCV to one side combustion and not the full intake. Fully possible though. Fancy is fancy.
I also don’t like one side being SO bad and the other being relatively clean.
The higher pressures overfilling causes could have blown something, some seal or gasket out that side of the engine. Could also explain why it went away but came back when the fouling became so bad.
Keep this video proof if they try to pin the blown side on you when the quicky place owes them the fix. IMO
On GM & Ferd that will blow a rear main seal with ease. Seen it happen to one of my own taking it to one of those shit places with all drug addicts or idiots that don't speak english that change your oil... About 6 some odd years ago took my ole faithful Silverado to go to my daughter in Texas so I got lazy and took it to Fast Lube place while on the way. By the time I had the leak I knew the oil was over full. Believe it or not some of those places tell the retarts they hire actually tell em more oil is better the customers won't complain and it won't hurt anything. Well here ya see that is a lie...
@@thekingsilverado8419 More is better? Haha....only to a point. There is a range within which more is better. It's marked on the dipstick lol
I got my PPL(H) but never took the trouble to grow up so go for it right now, don't wait.
In the late 80's Mercedes started printing a warning on the oil cap that engine damage Will occur if the oil level was too high.... obviously,they stopped doing it.😁😁
I was thinking that the bad sparkplugs on one side must be because of the engine rotation direction slinging the oil to that side only.
I'm a mechanic at a beef slaughter house. Ray, I understand your pain. All these machines are built WITHOUT thought that they will have to be worked on!
Now, if you were operating FBO service center, or were back in time fifty years, you'd have a spark plug cleaner and could blast that fouling right off!
yeah but spark plugs wouldn't cost $40 each, or an arm and a leg for fine wire.
Ah yes....those were the days . A spark plug cleaner and a blast of carb cleaner....sigh.....
I'm an old guy and I don't miss plugs and points you fellas are welcome to the good ol day's. They were not that good. Lol
@@gregstone1306 I'm an old guy too...I miss points,condensers and actually having to set timing. I had a career change due to technology and cost of "specialty tools" around 1985.
Why I fix everything myself .My 1968 chev convertible could not be fixed, i drove it to the shop, wearing shorts,sitting on a milk crate at hiway speed.Drove it home.Same problem with my 72 mach one mustang.These old guys who did not know how to use a tool. Advised me need something newer.LMAO. Love your show, girlfriend is jealous.
As an German guy, we often make jokes about car manufacturers. All in good funny way. Something like : BMW equals Bei Mercedes Wegeworfen. Means BMW = Thrown away by Mercedes
Can confirm.
There is also the fact that “VW Golf” stands for “Völlig Wertloses Gerät Ohne Logische Funktion” (translates to “completely worthless device with no logical function”).
Or “FIAT” = “Funktioniert Irgendwie Aber Trotzdem” (translates to “somehow it works, despite everything”). An alternative Interpretation for the latter is “Fehler In Allen Teilen”, which means something like “Every single part has flaws”.
Lotus = lots of trouble usually serious.
Fiat Dodge in stalantis are literally all garbage cans I hate Dodge I despise Dodge Don't ask me why I like Chevy and Ford and Toyota those are the only three car manufacturers I will ever buy or drive Ford and Toyota are the best in the world. And Chevy used to be the best but now I just drive old Chevys cuz the new ones are trash but yeah once again I should go to like an anger management thing because I hate Dodge and Fiat so much and still answers but honestly I've hated Dodge my whole life like my buddy got a ram when we were young and I was like that thing so ugly and then it blew a transmission in a rear end like a month later That's why I don't like them
@@kitsuneneko2567 In Germany, we say "Er fuhr Ford und kam nie wieder" - Which is a pun that works only in German, because "Ford" is pronounced the same as "fort", which means "away", as in "away and gone forever, possibly dead". It would be something like "He drove away and never came back". It kinda gets lost in translation.
Here in the U.S. BMW stands for Bring More Wrenches
A good pilot never stop learning said Captain Joe.
This is a prime example of why everyone should learn how to do simple maintenance on there vehicle's such as oil changes and transmission because someone like jiffy lube doesn't care about your property.
I don't go to Jiffy Lube or places like that all. I have a good dealership & a nearby Tire Kingdom to do my oil changes etc (to save $15 or so being under a car is not worth injury or death to me). I have had many times where I changed a filter recently & a Jiffy Lube employee shows me a very dirty filter. I immediately call them out on it & all of a sudden that filter is from another car.
WHAT A JOB getting to the spark plugs!
"This is a two handed operation. One to hold the shaft and the other to do the twisting.
That came out wrong.
Alright, where's my rubber? (there it is)
I'm doing most of this by feel, I cannot see what's going on down here.
Well that one's nice, look at that, that one's super clean, I wonder what that's about?
I did not expect that to happen.
Well let's see about the other two. "
Just listening to that section it could quite easily be on another website 😂
I was thinking "That's what she said."...
21:10 Nice, I had a funny moment where I thought you said "Too many prybars", but it turns out that you said "Two mini-prybars". Got the intended meaning when you followed up by saying "Twice as good as one mini-prybar" and that's all good. Thanks for an interesting tour of this engine and its oil problem.
Imagine that. A sleazy outfit does a b.s. oil job with severe consequences. Who would have ever thought such a thing could happen?
@@DougFLTRX I was thinking the same. He kinda deserves it.
If one is going to spend the money on a Mercedes, you would think they have the $ to go to the Mercedes dealership. Rapid lubes are great for risking your car
They should be billed
I use a an old coil boot all the time. The boots off a 5.7 hemi work awesome because they're super long and are entirely rubber so the flex and bend into tight spots really well
I have never seen spark plugs that bad, I wonder if it affected the cat.
I was a flagger (sign waving guy) for a couple weeks. For how easy it looks, that is one tough job. You'd be surprised how much strain you put on your body standing still for 10 hours a day. I was happy to go back to electrical work once the need for a flagger was over. Usually construction teams switch up who gets to / has to be flagger... Or they give it to the new guy or a guy who's hurt
I appreciated when the drivers would give me a wave btw. They won't always wave back because thousands of cars pass by in a day and it gets repetitive but I'm sure they appreciate it
The bmw and porsche products are well engineered with excellent suspension systems and great engines. The overly complex fasteners and layers of crap you need to remove to get at anything is not great. The cost of parts can be a huge downer. Along with needing to but half an engine to get a sensor that should be available seperately.
I like the beautiful paint work and high quality seating.
In my world less tech is way better. A dipstick and manual trans and no lane assist or auto stop is better.
You've got to stop apologizing. These trolls do not need your apology, they just need to leave lol. I know I got on you for one video of yours, but your content minus one video is friggen phenomenal. I love my Chevys, and hate to Fix Or Repair Daily. We can have our opinions, people can't take them away from us.
The Mercedes self tightening seatbelts reminded me that seatbelts are really just airbag positioning devices.
Great job Ray. You are a professional German Star surgeon.
If this video doesn't convince you to learn how to complete an oil change on your automobile and never use a Quick Lube place again, then you weren't paying attention.
this is one of the best spark plug change videos I've seen for that engine.
This is why I like my little K24 4 cylinder Honda… the coil packs are right on top… the plugs take 15 minutes to replace.. AND I only have to replace them every 100k miles
With all that oil on the plugs, I wonder if the PCV system has been clogged and stuck open. Let's hope the PCV in this motor can be easily examined, replaced, or removed.
Doesn't seem like anything is easy on this engine!
I agree with you Ray the folded ones were probably closest to the PCv inlet that's probably wheel the excessive oil got sucked in. That thing looks like it's been overfilled and driven awhile. I would find a new oil change place, it even has a dipstick! hope the cats are ok
We're in trouble when comedy has to continuously apologize, qualify, and preface every joke with "don't be offended".
I totally agree with you about bashing on and making fun of anything and everything.
The cable harness looks like it's been mucked around with insulation tape ?
i like it when the sign guys wave back too 🙂
I've seen plugs that bad... on an engine that needed a rebuild... it was "fill the oil and check the gas" bad at using oil.
My sister had an early Vega that was also "fill the oil and check the gas".
A series on learning to fly would be awesome yes. I’m from the U.K. but I have a license and I’ve flown a lot in Miami and other parts of the USA. It’s a great country to fly in compared to the U.K. and Europe. Good luck with that Ray...
If that was overfilled at a lube-shop, I'd be inclined to check the gearbox oil as well. They may have drained the box and put new oil in the engine. 🤔
Those plugs look better than the plugs did in my 79 turbo 2.3 ford when my turbo main seal blew out. I actually melted 2 plugs from the heat of burning oil.
I once bought a 72 Grand Torino for $50 that smoked only when turning left, it ended up having clogged oil drain ports on the right side head and would suck oil through the valve guides when turning. A simple dipstick shoved down the holes and an oil change after cured it.
I also had a Probe GT given to me, was told it had a bad trans and was un-driveable. I popped the hood and noticed it had a throttle tube torn after the MAF. I cut a section off a shop exhaust hose and clamped it into place and hit 80mph in the parking lot, I drove that car for 3 yrs after that.
As I watch these videos I hope there is a hell just for the designers of these cars that need half the engine to be disassembled to replace spark plugs or coils. Seriously you need "regular" access to coils, plugs, oil filler, drain and filter, so why make them so hard to gain access to?
German engineers feel the need to make stuff as complicated as possible. I build computers and one day I decided to buy this fancy smancy computer case costing nearly $300.00 That thing is a night mare. In order to remove the power supply you have to practically dismantle the entire case. It was made by a German company called Be Quiet.
I just posted about the same thing.., I think the car MFG's go out of their way to do that shit to ya... CHANGE SPARK PLUGS FLAT RATE 6.5 HOURS... I think it is a good idea before folks buy any car that they also look up flat rates on simple maintenance items like spark plugs pcv and other shit. Then again most folks don't even know what FLAT RATE MEANS.
There seems to be a running trend among foreign car designers to over complicate simple jobs. Did you happen to catch the lower control arm swap on the Toyota Camry? It was listed for 7.5 hours because you essentially need to lift the motor to remove a motor mount to get to the bolts. Ray found a quick way around it but that's on his skill. I did the same job in my home garage on my Chevy HHR. No special tools, no motor lifts, nothing, and the entire job took me 1 hour. Changed my spark plugs and a bad coil...20 minutes. It's like they conspire to make simple things cost more to do.
So you won't do it destroy the engine and buy another
@@davidmollard9832 That has nothing to do with the complexity of the way the engine is put together. Engines can be made to last without making them exceedingly difficult to take apart and put back together.
6:04 - gotta love purchasing a special tool, and have it at a later stage when you really need it.
On the positive side, the spark plug threads were well lubed and unseized.
Yes sir. Now that I'm in the IT sector I like to remind myself frequently - it's just lego, logical connections of parts or systems, don't overthink it. Engineer mindset applies to all things.
Mercedes mechanics are laughing saying "the book calls for 5 hours to change the spark plugs, that's why we never change the ones on the left side of the engine!"
You have the patience of a saint!
This is why I take my rides to a mechanic, mainly the dealer.
A long long time ago, in the local Galaxy, I went to one of those quick change oil outfits for the first oil change post purchase of a new car. While waiting for the oil change, the proverbial snot-nosed kid comes in the waiting room and informs me that my wiper blades need replacement. Hmmmm, the car has 3k mikes on the clock. It’s a brand flipping new car. Thus ended my use of said establishments. I’ve been changing the oil myself ever since.
Why would that car need an oil change at 3k miles?
@@stoopingfalcon891 because I change the oil every 3k miles, and continue to do so to this day. Car purrs like a kitten 🐈 Meow Baby!
@@mikehartmann5187 Fair enough. I wasn't trying to be confrontational, I was just curious.
Went to one of those places once. Guy came up with the rattiest, filthy air filter ever and said I need a new one and it's on special. Told him to bang off the crap and put it back in. He protested and I didn't budge. Guy sitting next to me said that filter was terrible. I agreed with him and told him that never came from my truck. It had a heavy duty oil bath filter with a mesh screen but that guy didn't know that.
At check out he still tried to shame me into a filter, that's when I called him a parts scammer in front of other customers and told him about the air filter system on my truck and he could check if he wanted to. I would not have said anything if he hadn't of tried to shame me.
Sounds made up