Carsy

In a nut shell.

If litres of oil are leaking in the engine bay I think the owner would have noticed if he were not blind or could not smell.

A litre of oil goes a long way making a mess under the bonnet ( hood).

All engines have their external oil leaking weaknesses & experience tells where they are likely to be & they should be repaired before other damage occurs.

We wait with bated breath for "Coppertops" inspection report & hope that the "Loose Cannon" can be lashed down safely before any harm is done to any deckhands .

I reckon the engine is burning it not loosing it & 3L between oil changes is not too bad when considering the cars mileage.

Glyn M Ruck

Thanks Midnight. I know you have been down this road!

Glyn M Ruck

OP - You might find this thread interesting. One of many threads on the cam magnet leak problem.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...m+sensor+leaks

Glyn M Ruck

Vacuum pump location:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...placement.html

amanonfire

You'd think so, yet with how many have been bitten by the leaking cam sensors your statement is great in theory, bad in practice. If the isolation wires aren't installed most of the oil ends up in the underbody panel unnoticed. You can almost pour a full litre of oil into the area where it says "bolts" and it won't spill out. Good design to protect garage floors , bad that it masks problems for a long time.



The vacuum pump leaks down the back of the engine along the firewall. If you search you'll find many discover the vacuum pump leak from the bottom up cause its not visible with the hood up, and most mistook the leak for somewhere else until the leaking vacuum pump was made common knowledge.

There's one less leaking vacuum pump today in Vancouver. Hopefully the OP's leak is as easy to fix. If it is the vacuum pump OP, order one from the US. They are < $200 in the US, vs $350 at a Canadian stealership or just order the gaskets and hopefully don't strip a screw opening it up like the individual I met today . Then again, I don't know what I'm talking about obviously.

Glyn M Ruck

Your problem has always been that you think you are the only one who knows what you are talking about & see life in black & white. You also carry around a large log on your shoulder.

This problem at the present mileage could equally be a rear or front crank seal etc.

Cut out the stiring. JC has as much right to be here as you do and has helped many on the board.

amanonfire

That chip would be a lot smaller if this engine didn't have the common problems I've listed - which no-one else bothered to mention in this thread. In this case I'll take it as a compliment to be alone in my knowledge, and these documented common problems being black and white not grey.

Agreed, it could even be just a bad crush washer as I've also suggested. The shop that did his last oil change could just be incompetent. His oil consumption at this mileage is not normal, anyone saying otherwise is giving bad advice.

Who's JC? Hopefully not the Honda kid spewing insults. Everyone has the right to give bad advice and wrong opinions, they don't have the right to spew insults when someone points out it is bad.

LILBENZ230

JC = Carsy

I have an M271 with 132,500 miles. It does not use even 1L in 13,000 miles. I wouldn't think at 118k miles like the OP that it would need 3L of oil in half that time. Something is definitely wrong.

Interesting to see the arguments about whether or not oil shows up on the floor of a garage. I have had an oil leak due to improperly installed O-Ring, and it did drip oil all over the floor without losing even half a litre.

SeaCoupe

Whoa there cowboy, wouldn't want you dislocating your shoulder because of all the patting you do on your back!

C230 Sport Coup

Sometimes the 'smileys' say it best.
I don't even see the thread author (Is that what an 'OP' is? Original poster?) anymore. He split.

I understand Anon's frustration over the expensive repairs, and unhelpful attitude of MB that resulted in a large repair bill but hey, chill everyone. 2 mods having to get involved in an oil change thread is unprecedented! he he.

I would only point out that after an oil change, check the level, and look at the invoice to see how much oil they put in in the FIRST PLACE. Last time I had my oil changed by someone else, ie Beschoff in San Jose, it was a $90 special and I got it for free with a coupon.
As soon as I left the dealer, I went for a drive in the hills, and checked the oil, it was already low! Checked the invoice, they only put 5 quarts in, I had to add 2 freakin' quarts!
Since I got it for free, I didn't bother going back to complain. I just topped it up.
Point being, if the engine wasn't topped up in the 1st place, it's going to appear to use more oil than it really is. Other dealer oil changes often only were 6 quarts, and 7 is required, though I think technically on mine it's 7.5, but I put 7 and it's right at the top.

Also, the way the engine is designed, at least on the M111, it feeds the crankcase vent back into the supercharger, so the damn thing is literally sucking oil into the engine and burning it. This makes quite a mess of the intercooler etc. and can require it be cleaned periodically. The ASP pulley exacerbates the situation on the M111.

I have used an oil catch to help with this, and about 2-4 oz of oil had to be drained out every thousand miles or miles from the crankcase vent. I took it off for smog inspection, never got around to putting it back yet.

So POINT BEING, there's lots of reasons you could need oil. My car burned more oil when new than later, and I use about 2 quarts between 10K mile oil changes at 185K miles.
But thats 6 months to a year of driving, seems reasonable.

And yes, as pointed out you definately want to see if you have had the cam sensors replaced and the
wiring dongle added. I was lucky it was added when I took it in at one point under warranty, but not until like 80K miles. It was listed on the invoice as a 'magnet'.
I couldn't figure out what that was until later when I read the threads.

Unfortunately 2003 M271 has lots of issues.

copper7op

Ok, so I took a quick photo or 2

http://db.tt/3YKJ4sm1

So do these look right? Or do i need to replace them? I see no oil here?? I'm going to see if I can drop that skid plate tonight. I saw liquid, but I'd just driven home through some puddles....

copper7op

Also, I found the slip. They only charged me for 5L, and I know it takes 7/7.2L, so that was my first issue. Having said that, it did take a while for the light to come on. I decided NOT to add another L of oil and see what happens. 100km on it yesterday and the message didnt come on.

I'll be doing the ignition Diagnostic thing to see where my actual oil level sits at tonight

Glyn M Ruck

Well you certainly don't have oil pouring out of the cam magnets. Please pull both of those plugs & look for oil. Sometimes it wicks straight down the harness to the O2 sensors.

copper7op

The the connectors to the Cam Sensors themselves? Alright.

C230 Sport Coup

Ha, you were 2L short the minute you drove out of the shop.
There's your problem.
But did notice, no dongles on your cam sensors, you'll want to get those.
Cheap insurance in case of a leak.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes!

amanonfire

The M271 takes 6, most add 5-5.5 since you don't want the oil level too high message.

That would explain the first low message. Lots of shops get the level wrong cause there's no dipstick, that's why knowing how to use diagnostic menu is golden. OP, I make sure the reading is between 5.2 and 5.7L on a flat surface. Those seemed to be the boundaries of setting the oil level message off.

As a certain someone said, Canada did not have a recall to add the isolation wires, and as others have confirmed, this level of oil usage is typical of leaking cam sensors.

OP, pop off one of the connectors and shove your finger or rag in it. If it comes out oily you'll need to get under the car, remove the lower body panel. If it is coated in oil you'll need to check the O2 sensor connectors for oil. If they are coated then there's lots of information in the thread Glynn linked to help you either clean everything, or replace the harness.

Boom vang

Perhaps why I found an oily mess inside my wideband silencer?

I am not too sure about the leaking cam actuators (again people, these are not sensors but rather electro magnets that actuate the cam to the different lobes) While they do have a habit of leaking I think we are talking about ml not L and would not explain using up that much oil. I did have a major leak from the actuator when the service department did not install the o-ring properly for my exhaust bank under warranty and that did use up about a litre of oil but it was easy to see because it was EVERYWHERE! and one could smell the burning mess.

amanonfire

Rather than thinking, read the thread about these cam magnets leaking. Many only discover it because they get a low oil level message, in which case we're talking at least a L, not mLs.

Considering the mileage on the OP's car, I would not be surprised if the leak is indeed the cam magnets as they usually fail much earlier - yet we will only know once the OP checks them. If they are dry, he's a lucky owner and should buy the isolation wires to be safe.

guntherx2000

I checked both my dealer and online to see if there is a recall for my vehicle on the cam sensors. both indicate there are no "open" recalls. I looked and do not see the isolation harness that is discussed in many threads. Does this mean the recall wasn't performed? Is it even a recall or just a TSB that MB performs for free?
My issues are high oil consumption, CE codes for CAT system not working up to standards, and reduced fuel mileage. This is on a 2003 C230 Kompressor with SC not turbo. I have not seen any leaks and I perform all service work.

slammer111

Time to bump this thread. Wondering how other members with M271 engines are faring in this department.

I seem to be burning 1L every 2500km or so, despite currently having no known leaks in the engine. Just topped it up and am watching the levels again.

KevinH2000

I have been monitoring my oil consumption too. Here's some data for your consideration:

Oil and Filter Change - 171,916 miles/276,671 kilometers
Add 0.4 liters of oil - 174,635 miles/281,047 kilometers
Add 0.4 liters of oil - 175,576 miles/282,562 kilometers

That is 0.8 liters in 3660 miles/5890 kilometers. It seems I am using one liter of oil per 4575 miles/7362 kilometers.

I may have been slightly over the 5.5 liters mark when I last changed the oil and my actual consumption may be slightly higher.

For comparison purposes - my wife's 2005 Highlander with about 250,000 miles driven uses almost no oil between oil change intervals of 5000 miles.