NigeT

Fresh atf fluid and filter appears to have completely cured the CLK which is now shifting better than it ever has, no clunking, no slippage, perfect. Tracking now way out & some suspension clunking but that’s a doddle to sort compared to new gearbox.

Christ look where they put the air intake. wouldn't take much of a puddle to ingest water.  Seems the insurance paid out on it 

Poor bugger, feel sympathy for this one.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2183893565285190/

omg, beige, orange interior, ULEZ exempt Shuttleworth spec Ambassador not too far from me
Want 
EDIT
A quick Google of the reg plate and found it was the one on these very pages last January but had been off the road since the 90s at that point.  @Motown went to look at it but it had a hole in the floor and crispy rear arches and seller wanted £875 
 

Christ knows what his intentions were with this... 
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/720314310170770/?ref=browse_tab&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

Good Grief..... An Austin Ambassador Y Reg....
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235456979419?itmmeta=01HR0NF2681TWM0ZZ5M8HSFER5&hash=item36d25461db:g:rBQAAOSwWgdl45ft

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1044628499941987/

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/227206607150808/

Fresh atf fluid and filter appears to have completely cured the CLK which is now shifting better than it ever has, no clunking, no slippage, perfect. Tracking now way out & some suspension clunking but that’s a doddle to sort compared to new gearbox.

@lisbon_road Thank you for the gifts, top bloke, I owe you a cuppa.

Your tool works great, I can now fit the water pump etc in the vice and the pulley doesn't budge.

However, my fat adjustable spanner will no longer fit in the available space between the locking tool and the clutch.

I've made up a cardboard template, the locking nut is definitely 32mm.

As @Rightnider advised, this is the right tool for the job. A tenner from Amazon, should be with me next week.

More soon.

Another day spent in the garage but I am making good progress.
I started by coating the exposed areas along the nearside front and rear arches and along the sill.



I gave the spare wheel well and the fuel tank a lick of paint where surface corrosion had taken hold.

The windscreen posts looked nasty but turns out there was nothing to worry about.
Offside first, I scraped off the plebs to find completely solid metal underneath.

I lifted the windscreen seal with the plastic mixer that comes with P38 Isopon, which is ironic as the repair didn't need any filler.

I will sort out the cosmetics once the paint has fully dried.

Exactly the same situation on the other side.



I prepared and sprayed the black bulkhead panel that will soon be almost completely concealed by the battery.

Before removing the cam cover, I marked up the ignition leads. It took 30 seconds and could prevent an embarrassing situation come reassembly.
 
The cam and valve-gear look very clean.

Nothing to see here, certainly no sludge.

I degreased the cam cover with paraffin.

And painted the rusty bits with a high temp black gloss paint. Shame most of the cam cover will be covered up by the air filter housing.

Speaking of which, the air filter housing lid looks awful with this repair.

So I ripped it off. The repair patch was hiding a nasty hole.

Does anyone have one of these?


I put the paint and spray cans down and spent a bit of time tidying up the engine bay, specifically the inner wings and slam panel. The engine bay is remarkably free from rust. The more I look at this car, the more I believe that the mileage is genuine.

Take a look at the front wing to slam panel seams, they are factory fresh. I don't think this car has even been involved in a significant accident. 


I've ordered more aerosol blue paint and a king size bottle of T-Cut. You know what's coming next.
More next week.
 
 

Fresh atf fluid and filter appears to have completely cured the CLK which is now shifting better than it ever has, no clunking, no slippage, perfect. Tracking now way out & some suspension clunking but that’s a doddle to sort compared to new gearbox.

Fresh atf fluid and filter appears to have completely cured the CLK which is now shifting better than it ever has, no clunking, no slippage, perfect. Tracking now way out & some suspension clunking but that’s a doddle to sort compared to new gearbox.

The joyous* and fruitful*conversation with the  mechanic  technician at the dealership awaits you. I hope its something simple like a failed coolant cap seal, as an issue as fundamental as that on a brand new vehicle is not acceptable.

It is amazing what clean oil can do.
Our 50k mile 2016 Range Rover had a clonk on moving off with lock on and I suspected a bush but feared the transfer case. I had a Land Rover specialist look for the fault and no fault found. I asked another Land Rover specialist to look for it as it was very noticeable and always there. They said change the transfer case oil, Bingo clonk gone. 

Great result.

Fresh atf fluid and filter appears to have completely cured the CLK which is now shifting better than it ever has, no clunking, no slippage, perfect. Tracking now way out & some suspension clunking but that’s a doddle to sort compared to new gearbox.

Fresh atf fluid and filter appears to have completely cured the CLK which is now shifting better than it ever has, no clunking, no slippage, perfect. Tracking now way out & some suspension clunking but that’s a doddle to sort compared to new gearbox.

Fresh atf fluid and filter appears to have completely cured the CLK which is now shifting better than it ever has, no clunking, no slippage, perfect. Tracking now way out & some suspension clunking but that’s a doddle to sort compared to new gearbox.

Fresh atf fluid and filter appears to have completely cured the CLK which is now shifting better than it ever has, no clunking, no slippage, perfect. Tracking now way out & some suspension clunking but that’s a doddle to sort compared to new gearbox.

After an effortless 430 miles yesterday the CLK encountered this on the A217, roads in Surrey getting to African levels of shitness these days. Transmission instantly started slipping and (sounded like) drivetrain clunking ensued before I limped back final couple of miles to my olds. After leaving to cool down clunking now seems to have subsided but trans isn't shifting quite right. Bought ATF and new trans filter & gasket arriving tomorrow, fluid is light brown so maybe change will improve things, will be interesting to see in pan. No trans codes at all flagged on obd. Odds of getting compensation from the turnips at Reigate and Banstead council? Imagine extremely low. Replacing a 722.6 on driveway could be up there with Ferrari clutch for pain in the arse factor. 

They are part of the valve body that sits above the pan. Anecdotally yesterday I took mum´s Twingo for its MOT and garage was working on a Mercedes that had suffered both collapsed suspension and failed transmission immediately after driving over another glorious Surrey pothole. Solenoids will probably be my next port of call if fluid change doesn´t improve things. Could be that trans had got too hot after 430 mile drive with old ATF, ergo suddenly doing a wobbly. Interior of box has a number of circular clutch plates that wear over time which could also be an issue - tempted to try that Liqui Moly ATF additive which might help on the slippage front. At 174k this trans definitely has more life behind it than ahead but I want the car to at least get to moon mileage before I think of pensioning it off!

Thinking the CLK's gearbox was goosed from yesterday's pothole nightmare (#grumpythread) I couldn't resist dropping the oil pan. Very happy to see no chunks of broken gearbox nor filings. Fluid was pretty rank (though I'd dropped pan for fluid change 40,000 miles ago without draining TC). Pan rusty so sanded it down + kurust and a lick of paint. New filter arriving tomorrow & fingers crossed new fluid does the job. Also checked for OBD codes on my basic reader and there was nothing transmission related - am I correct in thinking these cars generally throw up an engine light if something's amiss in the trans?

Thinking the CLK's gearbox was goosed from yesterday's pothole nightmare (#grumpythread) I couldn't resist dropping the oil pan. Very happy to see no chunks of broken gearbox nor filings. Fluid was pretty rank (though I'd dropped pan for fluid change 40,000 miles ago without draining TC). Pan rusty so sanded it down + kurust and a lick of paint. New filter arriving tomorrow & fingers crossed new fluid does the job. Also checked for OBD codes on my basic reader and there was nothing transmission related - am I correct in thinking these cars generally throw up an engine light if something's amiss in the trans?

Thanks. Definitely not in limp home mode though as could still tiptronic through the gears.....