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How much is a thermostat job on my SL just out of curiosity?
1.8 hours plus coolant bleed time (.5 for you, nothing complex vs other cars), it's likely a 20 min job in reality based on location and access.
Detention the belt, lay the belt below the upper idler, and unbolt the coolant outlet/thermostat before fighting the upper rad hose clamp. System will honestly self bleed if you don't drain much more than the job requires, I would detach the hose at the rad end and refill from there after the new part is installed to make the bleed process nearly unneeded. Bolts are external torx so they will not round etc on you but you need to use the correct sockets, don't try and cheat it with a 6/12 point normal type lol!
It is far more annoying to do on the M113k engines
Last edited by Striker223; Jan 26, 2026 at 02:51 PM.
1.8 hours plus coolant bleed time (.5 for you, nothing complex vs other cars), it's likely a 20 min job in reality based on location and access.
Detention the belt, lay the belt below the upper idler, and unbolt the coolant outlet/thermostat before fighting the upper rad hose clamp. System will honestly self bleed if you don't drain much more than the job requires, I would detach the hose at the rad end and refill from there after the new part is installed to make the bleed process nearly unneeded. Bolts are external torx so they will not round etc on you but you need to use the correct sockets, don't try and cheat it with a 6/12 point normal type lol!
It is far more annoying to do on the M113k engines
Car was inspected/serviced by MB last year about 3k ago, all fluids were fine etc. etc. Whatever it needs, it gets... (though Indys do repairs.)
Could very well be a fluke, I could get it out tomorrow and the temp read normal and never do it again. That stuff happens, or it has to me before.
can’t you leave in your mailbox to send? that’s what we do here for the rare occasions we have to mail anything these days.
No. Doesn’t work with home delivery…
Originally Posted by BayeauxLex
Gotta get a V35A Tundra with TRD off road package to get center diff lock 🫠 or I believe there’s an aftermarket option to add to 2.5 gen tundra. Not quite sure.
Tundra has never had a centre differential…on any generation
Uh yeah it can. That's literally what the books all say it takes to do the job. Sorry but that's facts and you would be astounded how little time it takes to get a car to that state if you know what you are doing
You are doing the thing you accuse people of, you are arguing with someone who has direct experience with something when you yourself do not.
The question is how much first hand experience you really have with this specific job. For instance you said you could order the thermostat without the housing...you cannot. People who have had this job done at MBWorld their cars have been at the dealer for a week +, its not a small job. Your screen shot of the book time shows 5 hours of labor and $800 in parts, plus the coolant and the A/C refrigerant...so like the thing I posted yeah, its a $3,200 job.
You're famous for dramatically understating repairs on German cars and dramatically overstating them for Lexus cars lol
Car was inspected/serviced by MB last year about 3k ago, all fluids were fine etc. etc. Whatever it needs, it gets... (though Indys do repairs.)
Could very well be a fluke, I could get it out tomorrow and the temp read normal and never do it again. That stuff happens, or it has to me before.
Do you have any sort of scanner? You can fairly quickly/easily rule out the issue yourself, that said it is a very good engine overall and not prone to issues.
The question is how much first hand experience you really have with this specific job. For instance you said you could order the thermostat without the housing...you cannot. People who have had this job done at MBWorld their cars have been at the dealer for a week +, its not a small job. Your screen shot of the book time shows 5 hours of labor and $800 in parts, plus the coolant and the A/C refrigerant...so like the thing I posted yeah, its a $3,200 job.
You're famous for dramatically understating repairs on German cars and dramatically overstating them for Lexus cars lol
Read what I said again, I said that soon you will be able to order without the housing as kits get made for those cars.
I also told you how much I can get one for. I do not undersell it at all, if it takes people longer it's a literal skill issue.
AC and coolant.......one gets recovered before the job and you pull van on it for 30-40 min before refilling and the other gets vac filled and finish bleed after. Big woop.
Lets play a game. How long did the below pictures take me to accomplish? The rear drive shaft bolts all fought me severely as did the drivers side axle bolt, all required oxy/act torch heat to remove. Book time is 31.4 hours to do....
Engine was removed, front end put back and car turned into a roller while I rebuilt the engine. I didn't cut anything or just take a saw to any parts. How long did it take me from driving the car inside and then rolling it back out to get it done?
You can see in the background of the pictures the cars various parts and front end etc and I have 3 witnesses as to how long it took.
Let's see what the answers are.
Last edited by Striker223; Jan 26, 2026 at 04:12 PM.
If only these weren’t so heavy… the V8 back is great but these have a serious weight problem even the ICE ones.
I do like the way these look in general, that being said.
Well with a hellcat engine and mild mods you are going to have AWD 1000+ HP monsters even if porky as hell. If the transfer cases can take it these will be very fast on the streets light to light etc
Literally takes minutes to get the bumper off or into service position if you have ever done it before. For an S-class it's about 1.5-2.5 hours to fully remove the entire cooling pack/front end.
