Lorane know the story i have gone down the same path as you .But i have not had to pay out as much as you have ,but close to it . I retired so we only needed one car . Then my cousin purchased a new BMW and the Merc came as a gift .Then i threw in most all of my free cash now the book is empty all but a grand .I would say i sank £4 000 in to it in 3 years .Looking 99% good now .And i have had enough so its going soon . These old mercs are cash eaters you start one job only to end up doing a few more.

@optimusprime: I was really close to 99% at one point. I had just finished rebuilding the top half of the engine and I figured while I’m at the front of the car I would re boot my front axles. For some reason after I installed them the abs/4matic sensor could no longer read the grooves in the front axle. And of course they are machined in to the axle. Better still, that axle only lives in one model and only made for 2 years.

I literally had to buy another car just to get the axles.

After all that, got the system bled again and the 4matic worked perfectly again for a few days. Then the transfer case blew. Got that swapped out and immediately after installing a hydraulic hose ruptured.

I’m done.

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Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2