I give up

Has anyone worked out why it is not uncommon to hear of 2001/2002 motors breaking after doing pulley/ECU & header modifications yet? I have read all the threads on the multi-piece cam as being the chief suspect, but I can't seem to understand how I keep breaking pistons? I personally know of 1 owner with far more modifications than me who runs his 2003 car on AVGAS and a shot of 70 nitrous oxide. He is turning out 350kw on the rear wheels whereas I am only doing 270kw, yet he has never had a problem. I have now destoyed my second motor and still cannot find the culprit. The problem always manifests itself as a misfire which gets progessively worse over time.
My original 2001 motor with 135 000km had a chunk torn out of piston #3 from the compression ring all the way to the oil ring. My second motor, which was taken from a late model 2002, has destroyed piston #4. Hopefully I can salvage my 2002 engine block and get it re-bored, but this is now way beyond expensive plus there is no guarantee that I won't blow my next rebuild again. Please help.

mikekuriger

running lean. bad tuning. low fuel pressure. too much spark advance. bad gas. clogged injectors/fuel filter. MAF/MAP sensor bad. vacuum leaks. excessive blowby.

Newzchspy

+1, ^^^ although the ONLY C32 engine I know of that was trashed was Temjins??

loudandheard

If you think it's cams, I would see about sourcing the latest part number for them. Here's a thread I started because I had concerns of what's happening to you. https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c...2002-c32s.html I think this mainly occurred in 2001-2002 engines, because there is a new camshaft part number. You should be able to find it in the thread I posted. Let us know what happens. I'm curious to see if I should change mine, considering it's a 2002. Good Luck

I give up

Thanks for the advice. It was your thread about the early model cams that got us thinking, hence I had heads reconditioned and cam lobes re-aligned and welded into place. I still suspect it is the cams, but the strange thing is I have never had any valve damage in both cases. The ECU has also never thrown any codes except to say that the cylinders in question were misfiring shortly before their demise. We have checked out the MAF and replaced everything electrical that could have been causing the problem, but so far everything checks out. As far as fuel is concerned I have run 95 octane from the same fuel station religiously over the last 2 years. I must admit we have not looked at the cars fuel pump or filter - which I will look at tomorrow first thing.
By coincedence last year, the exact same time my car was in the workshop with its original engine damage, another 2001 C32 came in with its engine destroyed - no suspects were ever found and like me the owner managed to source a second engine which, 3 weeks after being fitted, pushed an exhaust valve through the cylinder head.
I will keep you informed on my progress so hopefully no one else needs to experience this painfull process.

430

My suggestion would be to look at the motor when the misfire first begins vs. continuing to drive it while the problem gets worse.

Good luck.

I give up

We still cannot find the culprit that has led to the destruction of 2 motors in my C32 so I am thinking of patching it up and trading it in on a used E55 AMG. From what I have read I can do the same modifications to the E55 that I did on my C32 (pulley, airfilters, headers and full exhaust & ECU) which should result in a beast of a car. My only question is will I have similiar problems with the 55 that I encountered with my 32? My 32 was a 2001 model so it has had quite a few problems. As previously mentioned I have had 2 x blown motors, replaced engine and gearbox mounts twice, replaced a valeo radiator, done a complete overhaul of the heads, replaced the front doorlocks, wheel bearings, both the air mixing motors behind the dashboard still need to be done, not to mention how many spark plugs, front brake pads and sets of rear tyres I have been through. I have found an accident free 2004 E55 AMG with 101 000km on the clock going for a good price - will this car cost as much as my C32 to run in terms of replacing broken parts? My C32 has been the most fun I have ever had with a car and it's going to be difficult to part with, but it is too unreliable and too expensive to repair and if I don't get rid of it soon I am sure the IC and gearbox are just waiting to pack up next.

mikekuriger

The E55 has problems of it's own, especially modded. But it's a fun car and worth the effort IMO

I give up

My motor is hopefully coming out today and once the bottom end is disassembled we can see exactly how bad the damage is. I spoke to a friend who builds Alfa GTA motors and he reckons that when my heads went for a rebuild they skimmed too much off them causing the compression ratio to be altered slightly which then caused detonation and piston damage. Just a theory as we have been through every possible cause and cannot isolate the problem yet. Any comments?

sknight

Damn. Sad to see such problems even with AMG. I am in the hunt for a second car, and an idea for one of these, or a C30 CGI came up, just out of curiosity. Guess I'll stay away...

I give up

I think I may have given you the wrong impression. Bang for your buck you will not find anything close to a C32 AMG. The modification potential with these cars is huge, but you must remember that when you modify any car you are putting extra stress on it that it was not originally designed for. While the C32 has a proven track record of being able to handle 450-500 hp plus, things can ocassionally break. My advice is too stay away from high mileage 2001/2002 models as the 2003/2004 models seem to give very few problems. I personally know someone who runs 350kw (that's well over 500 hp at the motor) through his rear wheels at the dragstrip with all the mods you can think of plus the aid of nitrous oxide and uses his car as a daily driver and has yet to experience any problems. I think my particular car is just a dog, but when it runs properly it destroys most things on the road.

aussie e55

why not cc cly. heads to check compression.

I give up

I mentioned it to my technician today and apparently the heads have markings on them that let you know much you can take off when skimming and mine are clearly visible so bang goes that idea. I can't believe we cannot find the culprit. The heads are back at Mercedes engineering today for the second time in 6 months to double check the cam lobes, valves, springs, rocker arms, etc. They are still under guarantee so I am hoping they are the problem as this second rebuild is going to cost another fortune.

reflex92

450-500hp+......I haven't seen any 500rwhp+ c32's....was Jerry's that fast?

Gramma_Benz

MAybe his friend has Jakes car...??

I give up

The 450-500 + hp I am refering to is on the motor, not rear wheels. My friends C32 can only hit 448 hp on the wheels with nitrous. My figures are fairly rough as I am having to convert from rear wheel kilowatts into horsepower and then compensating for drivetrain loss.

I give up

After a long and painfull wait I got the bad news this morning. Engine # 2 is dead. Piston # 4 is badly pitted and piston # 5 has the skirt broken off it. The corresponding fuel injectors are both leaking and are more than likely the cause of the damage. I am waiting to see if the engine block can be saved or if I am looking at a 3.5L or 3.7L rebuild. Either way it's going to cost too much. I am thoroughly depressed and can't believe this happened twice! The car will have to be sold as I have spent $14200-00 on it so far and this excludes the cost to rebuild the second engine. The best part is that I still owe the bank 2 more years of finance payments for it.
It sucks to be me right now.

AMGSC

I feel bad for you because I had to replace an entire short-block myself on my own dime.

Good luck and just move on to another car.

I give up

Thanks for the sympathy. I bought my C32 because it was an affordable AMG after owning a W124 C180 and a W203 C180, but I fear my time with Mercedes is over as I frequently hear of horror stories with repair bills. I am looking at a Chevy SS Lumina (the Australian one) as I know of a few owners who have shipped out a bolt on twin turbo kit and the car goes like hell. Second hand with low mileage we are talking under $30 000.00 and the turbo kit shipped $7500.00. It is a simple big V8 with a manual 6 speed gearbox and ESP is either 'on' or 'off'. Yes it lacks any sophistication, cornering and braking ability - but I want to get back to basics and just have a car that puts a smile on my face without always being in the workshop and costing me a fortune.