jhandel

So I have a 2002 C230 Coupe, that has been in (under warrenty) about 4 times now for verious nicknacks and front suspension issues.. I noticed the car was kinda "soft" off the line and at low rpms in first and second, SO on my last trip in for warrenty work (bad defroster on the rear window), I mentioned it to my Service advisor. The Master Machanic there found two issues with my Engine (both being handled under warrenty).

1) Oil Leak (no specifics yet, but not to bad because I never noticed it on my drive way)
2) CAM Adjusters need to be replaced, which has lead to the whole top of my engine being disassembiled (NO DISASSEMBLE - Johnny 5).

So after that long introduction, Here is the question.

My car ends its warrenty on Monday (June 26th is 4 years from its first owner buying it). Is the CAM Adjuster & Oil leak issue a sign that I should get out of the vehical to avoid facing BIG bills dealing with a "failing" engine (maybe get a SLK280 or C350) . OR is the C230's 2.3l bullet proof (for the most part) and the CAM and Oil issues are an annomoly so I should be good for many years of insain driving fun.

Thanks for the info.
Josh Handel

PS: What is a Cam Adjuster anyways? I know what a CAM is, I mean I'm not ignorant about engines, but never heard of a CAM adjuster.

patrick_y

I suggest this; talk to the mechanic himself, not your service advisor, the actual mechanic and ask his opinion. The service advisor will probably say "I'll make sure it's fixed good for you" and he probably barely has a clue to what's being done to the car. The service advisor (mine is paid on commission) also enjoys a commission if you bring the car in. He gets paid by Mercedes Corporate if you bring it in under warranty, or he gets paid by you if you bring it in and foot the bill.

Thus, talk to the mechanic and ask what your chances are. If he says anything that gives you doubt, start looking to trade it in.

I try to keep my cars to the very end; I plan to keep my car to well over 100k miles. However, you do have to always be ready if you're the unlucky sucker who gets the one unlucky car that wasn't built quite right at the factory.

Buellwinkle

That's a tough little engine, must have come from a tractor. That engine was used in one way or another for at least 15 years. I don't think this would be normal wear, specially since you have less than 50K miles (to be under warranty) so it should be fine. If you only had a 2002 in 4 times for warranty work then consider yourself lucky, I did that the first month. The reason you don't notice oil leaks is because the belly pan catches a lot of it before it ends up on your garage floor.

patrick_y

Yes, the 230 engine with the supercharger has been used by Mercedes in various applications in many countries for nearly 15 years.

However, I'm not sure if it's the same engine. Because the previous 230 engine was actually a supercharged 2.3 liter engine. Ours are supercharged 1.8 liters.

They're tough engines. Still, I don't push my luck with mine. Most of the time in high mileage cars, the transmission is what breaks, not the engine.

drexappeal

Patrick, buellwinkle used to own a 2002 with the m111 and jhandel's car is a 2002 coupe, so buellwinkle's reply was right on point.

patrick_y

Oh, that's right! I forgot that even the W203 still used that engine. I was under the impression that when they switched to W203, they switched to the 1.8 liter.

That's right! My mistake. Yes, THAT's the engine that lasts forever and ever like the energizer bunny. I hope my engine lasts that long as well.

Thanks Drex. You ever going to make a trip up here? I've got a friend from West Covina that comes up every two weeks. Put 10k miles on a car he's had for 4 months.

drexappeal

patrick, hopefully sometime soon. Just depends. I go up to Sacramento every now and then (to visit family), but I rarely get to go up to the bay. I'm hoping to make it up to CarLab sometime soon, but with my schedule right now and ish goin' on every weekend, it's really difficult to plan a roadtrip.

I'll let all you bay area peeps know, if I plan to be up there anytime in the near future.

jhandel

Thanks for the info guys. I will make sure I talk to the actual machanic that did the work.. Especially sence he just saw the insides of my engine :-)..

As for the 4 times I have taken the car in for warrenty.. Well I got it off lease so that 4 times is in about 14 months, not 4 years :-(..

Also, what does a CAM Adjuster do anywas?

Thanks again for your input.
Josh

mbz4810

another point to mention... The "oil Leak" could be a BS things that the dealer does.....

I took mine in under warranty for other repair and get calls from service advisor about "oil leak" and they always find a way to bill MBUSA for it.

SO your car might not have any oil leak at all...

Another point, Oil leak could be from any of the other component in the engine, power steering / break(hopefully not)...... or just sloppy work on previous services.

GOOD luck

OOOO.. BUY extended warranty if you don't want to deal with the headache.

jhandel

So the official list of issues that were resolved is :

1) Remove and Replace Cam Magnet and Wiring Harness (because the Cam Magnet was leaking)

2) Remove and Replace Cam Shaft Timing Adjuster (because it wasn't advancing properly when the engine was under load which was why I was getting sluggish performance.

So I have today (6/23) and tomarrow to decide on weather or not to spend 3200 bucks on a 4 year /100,000 total miles warrenty..

Right now I am leaning towards yes. But that may put a hamper in my modding the car :-(.. (was looking to get a ASP Pulley and maybe, down the road new exaust system, ie headers, cats and muffler; and eventually a chip)... So to Mod or to have "sound mind", I believe that is now my question... Maybe I should have just traded it in and gotten the used 2002 C32 with a 100000 warrenty on it.. Then I wouldn't need to mod it AND it would be fast as all Get-out! (they want 33k for it though :-( )

Josh

Josh Handel

jhandel

This is too funny.. I got a call to day from my service advisor.. He asked if I could bring the car BACK in to double check the torque on the Cam bolts! His reason "the machanic thinks they could loosen a bit after being run the first time".

Ok call me crazy but I though the reason you torqued bolts to specification was so that they Wouldn't back off/loosen and they would compress the seals with out destroying them or the threads the bolts are going into.

So is this normal on engine work or do I have an "over" appriciation for the Manufacturing/torquing process?'