Lots of parts were not available from Chrysler from day one, they ordered the part from the local Mercedes dealership, stuck a Chrysler label on it which carried the Chrysler part number on it and then sold it to you at a greatly increased price.
These days you go to the Mercedes dealer for your part, it has their part number on it most likely. You may have to convince them you have SLK32/320.

 

That's exactly why I order the M-B part from an M-B parts site. Local M-B dealer's parts counter is run by a jerk!

 

You're welcome. And thank you. I forgot about the airbag. I guess I should check and see if mine was done.

 

No no no. You just can't let this discussion about parts go. Parts were very available and super cheap at first, especially the Mercedes parts. People who owned Mercedes would even buy the transmission connector from Chrysler dealerships because they were so cheap compared to Mercedes. They didn't just stick a Chrysler label on them, they were the same company for a while. After Mercedes got rid of Chrysler the prices of parts increased. Any parts they have in stock which is not very much are higher than ever.

Some day you will have to show me this imaginary shelf where all these Crossfire parts are that fit all these others cars. You don't have to convince the Mercedes dealership that you have a SLK320, you just have to give them the part number and pay. Some of the parts were used on other Mercedes cars not just the SLK320. I am starting to see some Mercedes parts that fit Crossfires are being discontinued so it is going to be harder in the future to get parts.

 

Here's the link t the Chrysler Customer Care Website where you can status: CLICK

 

Thanks! I guess it has been done. Good to know!

 

If your airbag was not fixed, eventually, they will contact you thru state records. I get a postcard at least twice a month from Chrysler telling me I should take mine to a dealer for an airbag fix. If you just bought the car, give them a few months to track you down - they WILL track you down!!!

Keep in mind that the 'free' airbag fix may cost you up to $2000, as they may tell you they "found something that needs fixing that is not under warranty - and we can't release the car without fixing it due to liability".
It's happened to others on this forum. Taking one of these cars to a Chrysler dealer is about the dumbest thing you can do.

As to this 'airbag danger', I've had two effected airbags deploy on me since 2015. All I got was cuts from flying shrapnel - to my knees both times, oddly enough. I'll take my chances since I've been thru two collisions already. (One time was an 05 Crossfire, one was a rental vehicle for work. Both had Takata airbags.) A better resolution for you would be to deploy the airbag yourself, clean the dust up, and replace the cover on the wheel and go without the damn airbag. As I said, both times, my only (minor) injuries were from the damn airbag!

Take a look at my siglines below...

 

I do. All newbs do that, it's not the fault of the person - its a sign of successful indoctrination. The industry teaches consumers to ONLY go to a dealer, they must beat this drum in order to keep the dealers alive.

Fact is, markup on new cars is not what it once was. By employing $15 an hour "technicians" and charging outrageous rates, dealers are now making their money dishonestly thru the service department - and the manufacturers are working hard to make sure this scheme works for their dealers. Take a look at our lousy, inaccurate and incomplete service manual - they force you to take the car to a dealer, where the "technician" can call the factory tech support center for help. (Of course, this does not work with the Crossfire, as the tech support chain has been disbanded due to the breakup of Diamler/Chrysler.)

Fortunately, we have developed quite a community of knowledge-sharing, trial and error and ingenuity; we can support these cars far better than any dealer out there.

And yes, I said it - Dealers are generally dishonest. I do not make that statement lightly. I also assert that they exploit their service department employees on a daily basis.

 

Keep in mind I was channeling you when I wrote that post. lol Dealerships are generally dishonest especially when a woman goes for service, they make up stuff like crazy such as imaginary oil leaks etc. Dealerships also make a killing in the parts department, the markup is insane and most of them won't even sell you parts at the list price which in itself is at least 50% markup. Not only is our service manual horrible so are the parts diagrams and the owner's manual is not accurate either. Where I live the dealership has a technician that is trained on the Crossfire (been there over 12 years) but now they apparently charge $199 an hour plus charges for imaginary shop supplies and a separate fee to store your receipt!

 

Maybe the airbag saved you from more serious injuries. I think you are possibly putting lives at risk promoting the disabling of the air bags, it is also illegal to do this in most states or provinces.

 

No, it didn't save me from anything. The collisions were not all that severe, but the sensor in the front was hit both times , so BOOM, off went the airbag.

I do not believe it is illegal to disable the airbags, I do think it is illegal to SELL THE CAR in this condition, tho.

 

Just do it tell your insurance company that you disabled your airbags. After an accident and the bags did not go off the adjuster may just look into it a bit further.

 

Okay, I have everything ready to be reassembled. One thing I would like to know though. Is it safe to run the car minus the air cleaner? I wanted to see if I could tell if there were any obvious leaks and with the air cleaner on I can't really see that well.

 

The car will not run well without the air cleaner on it. Leaks should only be small and would take days to appear. You could put it on and look after a short drive, it comes off easily enough.

 

Good idea. Thanks!

 

Good advice.

 

Well, all back together. I just need to clean up the air cleaner and duct work. One other question before I continue. Do I need to put thread tape on the fuel line fitting I had to disconnect?



It looks like there was some on there previously.

 

I wouldn't use thread tape. I would use a liquid thread sealant instead - maybe a Thread Locker product.. If the fuel line fitting is a tapered thread, a thread sealant may not be needed.

 

In the best thread we have, where this is discussed, no one mentions any tape or sealant. I know that I didn't use any such product and after five years, my gas line is not leaking.

I posted this many posts ago, here it is again:
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...over-leak.html

 

Is that a sticky?