If you haven't fired it, I would make sure everything is clean (and undamaged) and reuse the gaskets and bolts.

 

I did consider that, however after doing some research and asking some of my coworkers that have more experience than me I've decided I don't want to risk it the head bolts are torque to yield, with the sequence being 10nm 30nm then 90 degrees, and 90 degrees again.

I really dont want to risk them snapping, or not holding the head on tight enough. the gaskets are designed so that once they've been crushed that is how they seal, and by undoing the clamping on the gasket you risk them not sealing correctly. the bolts and gaskets are cheap enough and far enough in that I really don't want to take the risk. the really expensive bit that I'll be waiting for is new guides, and I'm really only wanting to replace those because I don't know how this engine was treated before and they have some small cracks, if I hadnt forgotten them in the first place I probably wouldn't be, but since I have it all apart anyway I figure I might as well do what I can, so that I don't have to later on

 

YMMV, but I have had no trouble with either of these in this circumstance.

 

that's fair like I said though I just really don't want to risk it. once I have the car running I really just want to be able to enjoy it and have the piece of mind that itll work correctly, and I think if I reused parts I'd always be worried about something going wrong.

 

Spend the money now, or drive a possible grenade. Better safe than sorry, in my opinion.

 

I agree as I have been penny wise and pound foolish in the past.

 

I get paid Monday (20/13/25) and that is when I will be buying the rest of the parts, hopefully. I really want to drive the car a little before it snows, so I'm hoping that I don't mess up and don't forget anything. I'm buying new timing chain guides, a chain, and a tensioner. as well as new exhaust manifold bolts and studs, from autohausAZ. those parts will run me around 358.

I will also be getting the new head gaskets, bolts, a power steering pump res (I broke the old one taking it off), and the timing cover rubber seals (which I did realize I needed until I had already order everything else the last time). all of that will be from rock auto for about 146.

I'm doing the chain and guides because the old ones are kind of cracked, I think it would be okay to run them, but as I said before I really want this to be reliable as much as it can be. as for the exhaust studs, some of those broke when the manifolds came off, so I figured I should just replace all of them. oh, and while I'm thinking about it, I had the exhaust manifolds welded together buy my gf's dad for 50 bucks, so not bad.

for those who don't know, the exhaust manifold from the v8 doesn't route the correct way so to do this swap you have to cut the front two ports from the v8, and the rear 2 from the v6 and weld the outer shell together. also, one thing that keeps me up at night is the rear most exhaust hanger, at one point the car was in Wyoming, and I had some family tow it out to me. the uncle who loaded it unto his trailer didn't see the tow hook and thought the exhaust hanger would be a good spot to attach the straps to. of course this was a bad idea and somewhere along the way the hanger tore off the car, and now idk what to do. for context the engine trans and exhaust were not in the car at that point, but still its very frustrating.

 

You might be able to get a replacement from a salvage yard ore bay. Try this place: LKQ parts

 

Finally got the V8 put all thee way back together this last weekend, with surprisingly little drama, the front cover oil pans and valve cover went on easy, and I got the wire harness and accessories routed as well. next weekend I plan on getting the engine into the car.

I'm currently holding the transmission up with a two by four and a ratchet strap. I'm a little nervous that putting the engine in will be difficult. mostly because I've never done this, this way. with the transmission still in the car I worry that I'm going to struggle getting the trans to mount up straight with the engine, so if you have any advice please let me know. I did remove the radiator from the car, which honestly I should have done when I pulled the V8 as when I separated it from the trans it swung forward and impacted the radiator. I check that it didn't have any major leaks by plugging all but one hole and filling it with water, I'm happy to say that it does not have any leaks. I also flushed it out after checking by just running some hose water through it for a few minutes. with the radiator out I took the time to mount my aftermarket cooling fan. its honestly bigger than I was expecting so I really hope it fits okay, I did have to move the horns and the lines that are up there a little bit, but I think itll be okay.

I still need to figure out what I'm going to do for an intake, if I could afford it I'd love to get the need wings cold air intake, as I like the way it looks and It would solve the issue of not having a better solution, but I'm broke. I do have a cone filter you would use for a CAI but its smaller that the elbow piece, so if I use it I'd have to put something together, which if I do go that route I think I'll make a temporary pvc intake, that runs similarly to the needs wings CAI.

the other issue that I'm still stumped on is what I'll do about the exhaust mount that's broken. it's definitely not something I can easy buy or replaced, as its not supposed be removed, and I definitely do not want to use any kind of strap or screw set up, I want it to look good. so I'm still debating what to do there.

I did buy a transmission service kit from needs wings that I am planning on using, however my dipstick is broken. I think there's supposed to be a small black plastic piece on the end that I imagine would have the measurements on it, but mine is missing that. I'm thinking though that if its long enough I should still be able to check the fluid level, considering that the spec is a sheet that correlates the temperature the amount of the dipstick that's covered in millimeters. so my assumption is, if I get it to temp and dip the stick, I can then read the temp with a scan tool, and measure the level on the stick to check. correct me if that's wrong, but I think it should work. that's all for now, hopefully my next update will be that the car is running, and even though the weather is concerning good in Colorado for this time of year, I am grateful that if I can get it running. I can drive it.

 

Just a suggestion: break up your replies into sections, so it isn't a wall of text.

With an automatic, getting the engine back in with the transmission in place isn't terrible. Much harder with a manual, but not impossible.

As for the airbox, a regular MB V8 airbox will work, and yes, the hood will close with it.

 

how do I break up my replies like that? I feel like my understanding about this site and its tools is very vague. so any advice helps. I've been looking for a V8 air box, but I've been having a hard time finding one, it seems like whenever I look I can only find the decorative part. I also am missing the hoses that go from the air box to the back of the radiator, which is why I was considering a CAI

 

Just hit the Return/Enter key periodically to break the wall of text into some paragraphs.

The airboxes are easy. We have more than a dozen on the shelf. Can help you there. As for the hoses, also easy. Use the stock Crossfire ones, and they will sort of fit inside the openings of the V8 box. Not perfect, but cheap and effective, and will look decent.

 

I understand and that definitely looks better, when I have time I'll go through the other posts I've made on this thread and fix those.

how much are those V8 air boxes, and how would I go about acquiring one? I like the way they tidy up the engine bay so that differently something id be interested in. for the hoses, when I bought the car they were missing, I found out from a friend of the previous owner that he had the drive belt snap and it damaged them, so he just threw them away. is there anywhere online that I could find those?

 

I haven't looked, but I bet they are on eBay. I will look for some stock ones. How about $50+ the ride for a V8 airbox? I just need to find a box for one.

 

that sounds like a good deal, do you want to DM me for my number so we can iron out the details?

 

so i am in the process of doing this step on a recommendation that i needed to swap out my pans and pump. I just purchase the pump and looks like i still have an issue with mounting the pump as its off by 1/4 hole size. The oil pump from thre crossfire nor the one from EBay will mount correctly. Can you direct me to the right pump please? My engine came out of a 2006 CLK 55AMG.

Thank you

rex

original pump

1/4 - 1/2 hole off. NFG

crossfire pump and E bay purchased pump. Same mounting patorn different sprocket

 

why are you swapping the pan and the pump? I'm genuinely curious because I didn't need to with mine. at least I don't think I did. that pan looked the same as the v6 and everything fit, my engine came out of a 2002 E55 AMG. so I don't fully understand the need

 

I was told that it’s needed for my engine choice. CLK55 AMG

 

oh okay, I'm guessing they had different pan options depending on the vehicle they were in? do you have a picture of the V8 pan compared to the one you're swapping it for? I really want to see what the difference is.

 

I’ll show case all the 3 set ups. Original crossfire, CLK55 and the Hybrid S430/crossfire combo.