JK325es

I'm nearly at my limits with this car. I have spent a lot of time and money in the last month and new problems arise. Why? this is really stupid.


My car suffered from hesitation, severe shaking with the A/C running and the typical shutter in the morning. I decided to take April 15th and replace everything possible I have wanted done on the car since last year. I took nearly half the engine apart replacing the following:


1-Replaced all crankcase breather hoses including the hose under the supercharger. I found the plastic connector valve had fully separated and the hoses under the supercharger were totally disconnected. P.S the service campaign on this was performed in 2010.
2-Replaced all rubber gaskets for the throttle body and air intake manifold and O-rings on fuel injectors. This is part of the crank case breather kit. Note one the lower intake manifold bolts was totally loose, I could loosen it by hand. Idiot MB service tech obviously overlooked tightening this bolt down way back when I had the crankcase hose replaced under service camp.
3-Cleaned the throttle plate very very carefully with throttle cleaner.
4-While I had most half the engine dismantled I replaced the two engine mounts and the transmission mount (ALL PARTS WERE CORTECO PARTS). Followed instructions and torque specs to the letter.
5-Replaced serpentine belt, idler pulley and tensioner pulley.


Put everything back together and really took my time working on all this. The car was in my garage for about 26 hours including my sleep time and a 6 pack of beer was consumed over the time I took to complete this job.


Moment of truth the car ran like a dream. The car sounded and drove like a new car. Granted this care has 138,000 miles on it. I couldn't be more pleased. Wished I had done all this work long before.


Point of my post.
1) Over the last week or so I have notice a bit of vibrations which feel like they are either from the transmission or driveline related. It is not constant only at about 25-30mph once and awhile. I will be replacing my flex disks with in the next few weeks and checking the new mount. The transmission mount was very very easy to replace, everything lined up and I tightened everything down to spec. Can't be the trans mount in my opinion.


2) In the last month my car developed a harsh oscillating and clicking noise at the front of the engine. I ended up having a new alternator replaced. Note this is my third alternator since I purchased the car. Problem is some of the oscillating noise is still present. It almost sounds like it is coming from the power steering pump area. I have no steering whine, the level at both warm and cold check looks perfect, there is no foaming or leaks. Just sounds like the pump might be going bad? Anyone have to replace this thing before or is it known to go bad like the alternator?
-Also noticed my water pump looks like it my have a tiny tiny bitt of play. Nothing at all serious or even really noticeable. I'm inclined to pay the dealer to replace it just for piece of mind.


-I plan on removing the belt this weekend and testing all the pulleys for noise and the water pump for any play.


Really surprised how I have nearly replaced every moving accessory at the front of this engine at 135k miles. I almost feel like replacing the ac compressor just for the heck of it. Hell I have even been looking at used superchargers on Ebay and my pick one up for a rebuild and have it ported out since Im sure my SC is bound to develop issues also.


Other things-Some moron replaced my cabin airfilter over the battery with a cheap paper filter. What happened was a piece of long thin plastic around the edge of the filter fell off and wedged itself in between the spinning blower motor and the housing making a dreadful knocking noise with the fan on. I was nearly ready to pull apart the entire dash thinking something broke regarding the stepper motor. Logic kicked in and I looked at the motor and noticed a white piece of plastic in there. removed and the blower runs just fine.


To add insult to injury my passenger window started making a crunching sound so I need to have the window regulator/motor replaced.


Nail in coffin - both my driver and passenger side door pulls broke right after the regulator issue. Ordered these on ebay however that was the last straw.


Any advise regarding the power steering pump would be greatly appreciated. I'm leaning to replace it however I really don't want to. If it sounds like **** when I take the belt off and check it I probably will have it replaced.

samaritrey

That honestly doesn't sound that bad compared to other stories I have read. Since you have a m271 if you haven't don't the timing chain yet you better get that done very soon.
Let us know how it goes once you have run the car with the belt off and tested all the accessories.

Curious what brand of alternator you were using as you should have not had that many fail in such a short time. My Valeo lasted just under 200k before it gave up on me the morning after a 3,000mile road trip lol

mrdiego

Yes I would say the same "timing chain " did it 5 weeks ago and a transmission service and motor mounts and my kompressor is so much fun again!!!
Wanted transmission service done a year ago but they told me u don't open the transmission.
Shifts better and sounds better , new timing chain took care of many things, more power less noise

JK325es

I have really been planning on doing the timing chain service very very soon. I would like to get the most out of this car and feel the timing chain is just a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. What are the typical costs to have this done. I spoke to my indy about this issue and he was inclined to tell me these cars have very strong timing chains? He also stated if you are replacing the chain it is common the teeth on the cam sprockets wear down and these should be replaced at the same time. He needs to obviously visually inspect this to make sure. I feel with the mileage I'm at I just want it done.

mrdiego

I changed the timing chain with 160k miles on motor and the cam sprocket looked good.
Just got a OM chain on eBay for 50$ and pulled it in with the old chain attached to it ,
Works great and much more power / fuel economy

Preet

hi do you have any steps or tips on changing the timing chain?

mrdiego

I have to look when I get home , I looked it up in Internet is really not that hard , if u got some basic skills .
Where do u live ??

Preet

Thanks i am in Canada, Ontario

JK325es

I was able to solve the problem on my own with no help from the stealer dealer or my indy. My problems developed shortly after the motor mounts and transmission mount were replaced on 4/15/2015. All three mounts (two motor mounts) (one transmission mount) were replaced with OEM Corteco products. After 2weeks of totally smooth running the car started to have vibrations not constant only at about 25-30mph paired with a noticeable oscillating noise in the cabin and clicking noise periodically when coming to a stop.


I had no idea what it could be and started to take the steps in my research to start throwing more $$$$ at my car. Started my research to source a remanufactured driveshaft, thinking about replacing the water pump. Even thought maybe it was the supercharger due to the constant oscillating noise when the car was not moving.


I decided to look at the tranny mount under the car and noticed it appeared totally collapsed? Not a chance? Not after 2 weeks? Well since the Corteco mount came as part of a three piece set I decided to go to the dealer and purchase a brand new Mercedes Benz mount since the price is not that bad. So today 4th of July weekend I raised the car up and followed several resources to support the transmission and replaced my brand new tranny mount with a Genuine Mercedes Mount. Presto, drove the car and all the problems are gone. I'm so very happy as I can now use my money on more important work on this car instead of tracking down lame vibrations and noises. Attached are the pictures of the tranny mount I removed which was new as of 4/15/2015.




Brand new mount removed after it failed in 2 weeks.




Strange the bad mount support arms are completely off center and stuck in this position.




Mount is new but appears basically collapsed




Brand new Genuine Mercedes Mount Solved all vibration in drivetrain, oscillating and clunking noises.

mtnman82

You guys who've done your timing chain - how are you crimping the master link? That's the only thing that's kept me from doing it myself and I can't find the tool anywhere...