You know it’s a unique situation when the ‘cheaper’ way to fix your 6×6 is to buy an ML63 AMG for parts.
It’s kind of wild to think that the newest Mercedes 6×6 is now 10 years old. But its true–produced between 2013 and 2015, this wild Mercedes sparked imagination and reinvigorated the G-wagon. Not like the G-Wagen needed a shot in the arm, but having AMG, 4×4 and other neat editions of the truck was nice for those of us who couldn’t quite stretch the cash for a half-million dollar ride.
But you can buy one cheap if you’re OK with spinning a wrench or two. Or three, or forty. YouTuber Ruan Schneider picked up a 6×6 project after it had sat unused and essentially abandoned for 6 years. The cause? A unique situation that seems minor, but caused total havoc within the engine.
That small little crack in the crankshaft is the big problem. Spinning at several thousand RPM, that crack acted like a saw tooth, tearing apart seals, spinning bearings and causing engine-ending chaos. Unfortunately, the original M156 motor turned into a very expensive paperweight.
It makes sense now why this truck was parked for a number of years. But the big problem is the cost to get this fixed. At the dealership, the price is exactly as expensive as you’d think, too. Schneider had a quote of $56,000 dollars.
Yikes.
But if only the engine is wrong, why not just get a good used engine? That’s exactly what Schneider did, buying a crashed ML63 AMG. A few ancillary parts are different between the two rigs, but the basic M156 block is the same.
And since the ML63 was able to donate some other parts to project cars, it was an easy justification. One thing not mentioned is if there’s any Brabus differences on the engine internals between the two engines.
So, this abandoned 6×6 will get a new life. Its going to take a lot of effort to get everything hooked back up, but guaranteed it’ll be done far cheaper than the huge dealer quote. So use this as your motivation to get your project moving. If someone can do a DIY fix on a 6×6, you can get that 190E running.
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