M271 Leaking Cam Sensors
#26
MBWorld Fanatic!
This where, biching about every little thing while under warranty pays off.
I'm pretty sure, I've had most of the common issues pre-addressed in my car.
At some point, I need to review all the service thats been done.
I do recall, I think they may have replaced that harness.
I'm pretty sure, I've had most of the common issues pre-addressed in my car.
At some point, I need to review all the service thats been done.
I do recall, I think they may have replaced that harness.
#27
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Nuevo México
Posts: 511
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2005 C230K Sport Sedan, 6 speed manual
I went ahead and installed the wiring adapters myself last week. My sensors are not leaking, so I cannot claim it under warranty. Still, if I can spend a little money now to prevent a huge repair later, I will just consider it preventative maintenance.
Thank you to those of you who posted the part numbers and the procedure.
#28
can the harness be purchased anywhere else besides MB? I checked my wife's 05 a few weeks ago after reading about this and they were clean as a whistle. the car has about 49,xxx on it, but i'd rather prevent the problem if it decides to rear it's head.
#30
Newbie
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2003 C230 Sport 1.8
2x 271-150-27-33 - Isolating wire
2x 271-051-01-77 - Cam sensor
The problem with the TSB is that it only references certain engine builds. Mine is 740 and the TSB only referenced 744 (or vice versa, I forget), yet ALL M271 use the same cam sensor, I had the parts department check other VINs to see if there was an updated part #.
So ALL M271 will eventually see this failure.
2x 271-051-01-77 - Cam sensor
The problem with the TSB is that it only references certain engine builds. Mine is 740 and the TSB only referenced 744 (or vice versa, I forget), yet ALL M271 use the same cam sensor, I had the parts department check other VINs to see if there was an updated part #.
So ALL M271 will eventually see this failure.
#31
MBWorld Fanatic!
I just went to the dealer to get the isolating wires because my SA said my engine wasn't affected by th leaking cam sensors. I get the first sensor connector off and sure enough, it has engine oil in it! I am going to have the two sensors, isolating wires (getting reimbursed for the ones I purchased at $58 a piece) installed next week. What esle should I have checked? I am still under warranty for another 350 miles.
#33
MBWorld Fanatic!
Definately do this guys. I thought I just had the secondary cat go out on me a while back if you guys remember. Turned out to be oil in the wiring harness. Got it replaced with a month left on my 5 yr/100K warranty, but they couldn't guarantee me that it was solved and wouldn't re-appear. Stumbled onto this thread today and now I will definately look into whether or not these extensions were installed. In addition, on a side note, next week I shall be sending out some ATF for a glycol test just to be safe. Sad we have to drive the cars and be paranoid. I will dig up my invoice for that repair so I can verify the part #'s they changed and perhaps add any new information to this thread. Good luck to those of you still in warranty and hoping it gets taken care of before it expires.
#34
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Redding, California
Posts: 488
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
AMG GTS
Ahhh!! =(. So tonight I ran down to check on the cam sensors (after another week of driving) before heading off to the dealership tomorrow and now...they're leaking. There was very minor oil seepage...only on one cam sensor and it was no more than 2 drops. If this is the case...should I even bother replacing the cam sensor or still continue to just install the extensions since the new cam sensor would leak again? As long as the oil doesn't reach the other electrical components around it...what effect would the oil have on the cam sensor connector?
Also, the people who have replaced the "cam sensor"....is that the actual cam sensor or the connector to it? I am kind of confused between the two.
Also, the people who have replaced the "cam sensor"....is that the actual cam sensor or the connector to it? I am kind of confused between the two.
#35
Almost a Member!
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2005 C-230 Sport Sedan
it is different engine same issue, this problem first appeared on 111.xxx engines, then also occured on 271.xxx, the cam sensors are the same, only difference is the 111 engine has one cam adjuster and 271 has 2
#36
Ahhh!! =(. So tonight I ran down to check on the cam sensors (after another week of driving) before heading off to the dealership tomorrow and now...they're leaking. There was very minor oil seepage...only on one cam sensor and it was no more than 2 drops. If this is the case...should I even bother replacing the cam sensor or still continue to just install the extensions since the new cam sensor would leak again? As long as the oil doesn't reach the other electrical components around it...what effect would the oil have on the cam sensor connector?
Also, the people who have replaced the "cam sensor"....is that the actual cam sensor or the connector to it? I am kind of confused between the two.
Also, the people who have replaced the "cam sensor"....is that the actual cam sensor or the connector to it? I am kind of confused between the two.
The oil in the connector will only look like a few drops cause it leaks slowly. You have to check other connectors to see how far it has spread. The worst offender is the O2 sensors, yet the one to be afraid of is the ECU since its the most pricey part to replace. Check the ECU connector (the furthest one back, there are 2 connectors ontop of the ECU. STF for pics of where they are).
The sensor leaks into the connector, the fix is to replace:
the cam sensors
add the isolation wires between the sensor and the engine harness.
I suppose you could just order the isolation wires, yet do you really want an oil leak in your engine bay? Instead of leaking into the engine harness, it'll drip onto the v-belt and splatter everywhere.
#37
Many times a product's manufacturing (cam sensor in this case) is tweaked without changing the part number. So I cannot agree with your statement that all will see this failure. I assume they identified the manufacturing dates of the parts and identified the vin numbers that might have the bad Cam sensors. But that is just MHO...
Better safe than sorry.
#38
MBWorld Fanatic!
I think the $58 price you got was for the pair of cable adpaters (271-150-27-33). They list for 28.50 and trademotion has them for $22.23. The cam sensors are also cheap (271-051-01-77), $37.50 each list price or $29.25 discounted.
#39
MBWorld Fanatic!
I would show you the invoice but I don't have a scanner. $58 each at FletcherJones Imports in Las Vegas; unfortunately the only MB dealer in town. I tried to look up online for cheaper part but search with part number wouldn't work for me. Anyways, going to the dealer on Monday to have the sensors and wires installed. Hopefully nothing more bad has happened.
#40
MBWorld Fanatic!
Fletcher Jones is just one of many dealers that inflates their prices way beyond list price. Sometimes, knowning what list price is you can negotiate to list and if they don't, I've walked away and say nevermind, I can get online for half that price. Just do a google on trademotion mercedes, the first one that comes up is a dealer in Ft Lauderdale. While their discounts are minor, when you compare them against what some dealers are charging, it's a true bargain. I know I can go to Hoehn in Carlsbad, CA and pay list and it's on my way to my office so I typically buy from them. You can't reward dealers that rob customers by buying from them, it's just wrong. Same with my local Ford dealer, they also inflate prices way beyond list price.
#42
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2005 C230 Sport Sedan w/Automatic
Okay, I'm a little confused. I looked at the pictures of the fixes for slammer111 and carson357. The wires looked like they're attached differently in the shots. Was one done incorrectly?
slammer111
carson357
Thanks,
Leif W.
slammer111
carson357
Thanks,
Leif W.
#43
Its just tie-wraps, the techs that installed chose to tie-wrap them differently. Mine are tie-wrapped differently than both of those.
#44
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2005 C230 Sport Sedan w/Automatic
#45
This is not an obscure problem the dealer will not know about, its becoming a common issue.
I do not think the FSB has been posted, I only saw it at the dealer when I was told it did not apply to my engine. I hope MB fixes the FSB to include all engine builds of the M271, installation of the isolation cables is only done if the engine build is on the FSB.
slammer111 as indicated had to request the cables be installed, since his engine build wasn't on the FSB. There's 20+ engine builds for the M271.
#46
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2005 C230 Sport Sedan w/Automatic
Just go into the dealer, most will have seen enough by now to know what you're talking about when you say "oil in cam sensor connector".
This is not an obscure problem the dealer will not know about, its becoming a common issue.
I do not think the FSB has been posted, I only saw it at the dealer when I was told it did not apply to my engine. I hope MB fixes the FSB to include all engine builds of the M271, installation of the isolation cables is only done if the engine build is on the FSB.
slammer111 as indicated had to request the cables be installed, since his engine build wasn't on the FSB. There's 20+ engine builds for the M271.
This is not an obscure problem the dealer will not know about, its becoming a common issue.
I do not think the FSB has been posted, I only saw it at the dealer when I was told it did not apply to my engine. I hope MB fixes the FSB to include all engine builds of the M271, installation of the isolation cables is only done if the engine build is on the FSB.
slammer111 as indicated had to request the cables be installed, since his engine build wasn't on the FSB. There's 20+ engine builds for the M271.
Leif W.
#47
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 122
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2009 JK Unlimited Detonator Yellow
anyone forsee this as a future campaign issue??
mine isnt bad now, but id prefer not to dip into the extended warranty and pay anything if it may be covered in the future
mine isnt bad now, but id prefer not to dip into the extended warranty and pay anything if it may be covered in the future
#48
You can wait till it leaks, and unless you check these every month, you won't notice till you like a L/qt of oil or your O2 sensors are fouled. By then, that 1L/qt of oil will have leaked into all the sensors and the ECU.
The repair is to replace the engine harness and O2 sensors IF NEEDED. Thus if everything appears to run fine after replacing the engine harness, they only clean the connectors of the sensors and ECU.
The oil remains in the sensors and ECU, and further down the road who knows what problems you'll encounter.
So you can cheap out on $60 and wait till oil is in a ton of sensors and the ECU, that MB won't replace, or you can spend $60 and 10 mins of your time and insure yourself against any problem.
If you bought the extended warranty for $2-3K, another $60 for peace-of-mind cannot hurt.
If that didn't work, think of it this way. If they do leak, and you're not checking it, the O2 sensors will slowly degrade their output causing the engine to run rich. Your gas mileage will increase and you'll probably spend that $60 on extra fuel costs and topping up on leaking oil.
Anyways, do as you wish, yet from someone who's suffered huge problems out of warranty due to this, I think you're taking an unnecessary risk
#49
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 122
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2009 JK Unlimited Detonator Yellow
No. MB has known about this on the M111 for years and not fixed it.
You can wait till it leaks, and unless you check these every month, you won't notice till you like a L/qt of oil or your O2 sensors are fouled. By then, that 1L/qt of oil will have leaked into all the sensors and the ECU.
The repair is to replace the engine harness and O2 sensors IF NEEDED. Thus if everything appears to run fine after replacing the engine harness, they only clean the connectors of the sensors and ECU.
The oil remains in the sensors and ECU, and further down the road who knows what problems you'll encounter.
So you can cheap out on $60 and wait till oil is in a ton of sensors and the ECU, that MB won't replace, or you can spend $60 and 10 mins of your time and insure yourself against any problem.
If you bought the extended warranty for $2-3K, another $60 for peace-of-mind cannot hurt.
If that didn't work, think of it this way. If they do leak, and you're not checking it, the O2 sensors will slowly degrade their output causing the engine to run rich. Your gas mileage will increase and you'll probably spend that $60 on extra fuel costs and topping up on leaking oil.
Anyways, do as you wish, yet from someone who's suffered huge problems out of warranty due to this, I think you're taking an unnecessary risk
You can wait till it leaks, and unless you check these every month, you won't notice till you like a L/qt of oil or your O2 sensors are fouled. By then, that 1L/qt of oil will have leaked into all the sensors and the ECU.
The repair is to replace the engine harness and O2 sensors IF NEEDED. Thus if everything appears to run fine after replacing the engine harness, they only clean the connectors of the sensors and ECU.
The oil remains in the sensors and ECU, and further down the road who knows what problems you'll encounter.
So you can cheap out on $60 and wait till oil is in a ton of sensors and the ECU, that MB won't replace, or you can spend $60 and 10 mins of your time and insure yourself against any problem.
If you bought the extended warranty for $2-3K, another $60 for peace-of-mind cannot hurt.
If that didn't work, think of it this way. If they do leak, and you're not checking it, the O2 sensors will slowly degrade their output causing the engine to run rich. Your gas mileage will increase and you'll probably spend that $60 on extra fuel costs and topping up on leaking oil.
Anyways, do as you wish, yet from someone who's suffered huge problems out of warranty due to this, I think you're taking an unnecessary risk
i just wondered if MB was eventually going to cover this..
#50
MBWorld Fanatic!
Only if enough people bring it up to the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. Report it on their website http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/