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Hey Glyn: Heard today that my Harness is full of oil and the cost will be R30 000 to be fixed up. So far what i have read in the forum is good and well. What cost am i looking at for trying DIY, buying the sensors, pigtails (Whatever that means) Im driving a 2003 C180 compressor (W203) Where would i find a downloadable workshop manual. Im totally stupid in this, but clever enough to realise that MB is ripping me off.
As long as you can read and comprehend complete sentences, you can follow this manual to fix pretty much anything.
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Originally Posted by RvR76
Hey Glyn: Heard today that my Harness is full of oil and the cost will be R30 000 to be fixed up. So far what i have read in the forum is good and well. What cost am i looking at for trying DIY, buying the sensors, pigtails (Whatever that means) Im driving a 2003 C180 compressor (W203) Where would i find a downloadable workshop manual. Im totally stupid in this, but clever enough to realise that MB is ripping me off.
Benz is ripping you off because they had a recall in some parts of the world on leaking cam magnet assemblies.
There is a thread by Ichibans where he removed the harness. Gave it an alcohol bath & reinstalled it. Alternatively you can buy a new harness. Ask Sandown motors for a price.
If it were my car I would raise merry hell with MBSA. They know this is a problem. Threaten to go to Derreck Watts at Carte Blanche.
Hi i have a c180 2002 w203 m111 engine 1998cc auto Esate Would this or the 99722 work on cars in the Uk as I will be visiting friends in the USA California and theresis a store round the corner from her!
Just to add a little more info to this old thread - the round part circled in red by Shizo (second red circle in Shizo's original post on page 1) is called the cam armature which is held on by a 'torque to yield' or 'stretch' bolt. Without getting too technical it is important that this bolt be replaced as the original is weakened by the factory 'stretch' and if not replaced might snap off, rendering a relatively easy fix into an expensive nightmare . The torque for a new bolt is performed in two stages - (1) initially torque to 5 nm and (2) tighten a further 90 degrees. Also, MB does not approve of RTV sealants but have their own very expensive brand. I guess they fear blobs of silicone may block up the oil ways.
To compare cost of components, we Aussie bleeders are being screwed big time by MB with parts sourced locally:
I know I could get parts cheaper on internet but needed them straight away. Anything sent from overseas can get caught up in customs for weeks.
I have owned this car since new (2002) so I know there was never a recall by MB to fix it. The car has only travelled 35,000km to date and the oil leak only started recently ( I have another daily drive). Luckily the oil leaked out of the cam magnet plug down the front on the engine rather than into the harness.
This bit of poor engineering must be a big money spinner for MB as successive models still suffer problems with cam magnet leaks and actuator rattles. Nice car to drive but it may be my last MB.
Last edited by mercfreaks; 11-20-2015 at 05:36 PM.
Reason: The wrong photo has been inserted in mercfreaks post summary
Just to add a little more info to this old thread - the round part circled in red by Shizo is called the cam armature which is held on by a 'torque to yield' or 'stretch' bolt. Without getting too technical it is important that this bolt be replaced as the original is weakened by the factory 'stretch' and if not replaced might snap off, rendering a relatively easy fix into an expensive nightmare . The torque for a new bolt is performed in two stages - (1) initially torque to 5 nm and (2) tighten a further 90 degrees. Also, MB does not approve of RTV sealants but have their own very expensive brand. I guess they fear blobs a silicone may block up the oil ways.
To compare cost of components, we Aussie bleeders are being screwed big time by MB with parts sourced locally:
I know I could get parts cheaper on internet but needed them straight away. Anything sent from overseas can get caught up in customs for weeks.
I have owned this car since new (2002) so I know there was never a recall by MB to fix it. The car has only travelled 35,000km to date and the oil leak only started recently ( I have another daily drive). Luckily the oil leaked out of the cam magnet plug down the front on the engine rather than into the harness.
This bit of poor engineering must be a big money spinner for MB as successive models still suffer problems with cam magnet leaks and actuator rattles. Nice car to drive but it may be my last MB.
I'm very confused. 2002 C230K (coupe) M111 I do believe, I'm having a misfire and the wire harness has oil in the plug that goes directly into the sensor. I'm gonna replace the sensor but what about the wire so it doesn't happen again? Anyone know?
I think you are referring to the 'starter line' that is in the list of parts in my previous post. You should fit the starter line even with a new sensor because it will most likely leak again. I've read elsewhere new sensors are good for about 40K. The starter line is MB's aftermarket fix and I doubt that they have redesigned the sensor to stop it leaking.
Last edited by mercfreaks; 10-15-2015 at 09:29 AM.
I have the M111 engine with the cam sensor oil leak problem.
The car runs fine but the oil leak makes such a mess of an otherwise clean motor. I initially unbolted the sensor and resealed it at the interface with the cylinder head, but it continued to leak...because that isn't where the fault was.
The sensor itself is a coil housed between 2 pressed metal cups, riveted together and sealed at 2 levels by rubber rings.
Replacing the sensor sorts out the problem, but its costly ...and unnecessary IMHO since it can be fixed.
I removed the sensor after busting out the central plug / grommet
I then ground and punched out the 3 rivets that hold the 2 cups together. The coil, cups and damaged rubber seals came apart easily.
The seals are not available as components so I just put good rings of Loctite Ultra Grey where the seals sit and pressed it all together. It fitted nicely with a good hand squeeze.
replacing the rivets was not necessary...they are 5mm away from the 3 bolts that attach the sensor to the head, and are merely there to keep the sensor intact before its installed onto the head...a production necessity rather than a mechanical one.
I let it dry for a day, replaced the central grommet with a new one and the car was good to go.
Total cost...under $10 for the plug and sealer.
Its working just fine 3 months down the line.
I have the M111 engine with the cam sensor oil leak problem.
The car runs fine but the oil leak makes such a mess of an otherwise clean motor. I initially unbolted the sensor and resealed it at the interface with the cylinder head, but it continued to leak...because that isn't where the fault was.
The sensor itself is a coil housed between 2 pressed metal cups, riveted together and sealed at 2 levels by rubber rings.
Replacing the sensor sorts out the problem, but its costly ...and unnecessary IMHO since it can be fixed.
I removed the sensor after busting out the central plug / grommet
I then ground and punched out the 3 rivets that hold the 2 cups together. The coil, cups and damaged rubber seals came apart easily.
The seals are not available as components so I just put good rings of Loctite Ultra Grey where the seals sit and pressed it all together. It fitted nicely with a good hand squeeze.
replacing the rivets was not necessary...they are 5mm away from the 3 bolts that attach the sensor to the head, and are merely there to keep the sensor intact before its installed onto the head...a production necessity rather than a mechanical one.
I let it dry for a day, replaced the central grommet with a new one and the car was good to go.
Total cost...under $10 for the plug and sealer.
Its working just fine 3 months down the line.
Hi
It has been a while since this was posted.
Can I please know how your fix held/holding up?
I too have the same issue, (2002 C180) and I also don't like throwing money on parts like an idiot which would keep on failing.
Judging by the amount of silicone used in Durman's pic above, it may be likely that there's now blobs of silicone floating around in the oil galleries as well. Not good.
In many of these cars, oil leaked not only from the sensor interface with the cylinder head, it also leaked at the plug (brown plug in Durman's pic) and wicked up the line to the computer with many having to be replaced.
I take it that Durman also reused the armature bolt which is "stretched" on first install at factory. After first stretch it should be renewed because it has been weakened. If that snaps off on second install (or when driving) it will be $$$$BIG to have removed as the cam shaft will need to be completely removed from engine.
After "throwing money on parts like an idiot" I have had 50,000 oil leak free miles. Not too bad for approx. US$200 for new genuine MB parts and peace of mind.
Mercfreaks...don't make assumptions...I did not go wild with the Loctite so the globs of silicone are more in your eyes than in my engine. And what armature bolts are you talking about? Nothing removed so nothing stretched. Perhaps just keep your conjecturing and postulating to yourself if you have nothing useful to add but to criticize the honest and sensible efforts of other people.
I posted this repair to help others, in return for being helped many times with other issues.
Kuseetha...4 years down the line and its all still great and perfectly sealed. The car is in daily use and runs just fine.
Durman, great, thanks so much. I should attempt this soon. If you have any more pics taken of this procedure by any chance, would be glad to see them.
Mercfreaks, if there is an aftermarket part that wouldn't leak, I would go for it, so that it stays fixed.
I wouldn't have peace of mind knowing the new merc part too would fail any time and fry the ECU.
Kuseetha...sorry but I don't have any more pics. Give it a shot...Its pretty straight forward. Just make sure you have a new grommet to replace the one you have to punch out.
If you didn't remove the armature, I gather you drilled out the rivets, separated cam sensor and applied silicone without removing cam adjuster completely from engine to work on it. That would be a hard way to reseal it. No wonder there is so much silicone in your pic.
Last edited by mercfreaks; 08-28-2020 at 01:05 AM.
Kuseetha, just remember this part and internal seals are almost twenty years old and subject to a lot of heat. It was the seal at the plug that allowed oil to wick up the wire harness to the ECU, not the seal between the cam adjuster and the cylinder head. MB introduced an aftermarket "Starter Line" to stop the oil wicking up the wire harness Part No. 271-150-27-33 which attaches to the plug on the cam adjuster and is good insurance.
It appears some cam magnets on this model leaked and others haven't. I know other owners with over 300k miles who have had no trouble with their cam magnets which puts paid to the theory that they all fail. I believe it was just a bad batch manufactured around 2002. Units fitted to later models were manufactured better. But if the $10 fix suits you, that's fine. It really depends on the condition and value of your car.
All of the information you need can be found in this thread. You might begin with Shizo's original post on page 1 which started this thread.
Last edited by mercfreaks; 08-28-2020 at 01:21 AM.
HI, I managed to stop the leakage from happening. I cleaned the connector thoroughly.
I then applied silicon sealant to the base of the cam magnet connector, as shown in the photos.
This has prevented any oil from leaking out for over 2 years now..
07-31-2012, 10:06 PM
. The torque for a new bolt is performed in two stages - (1) initially torque to 5 nm and (2) tighten a further 90 degrees. Also, MB does not approve of RTV sealants but have their own very expensive brand. I guess they fear blobs of silicone may block up the oil ways. 
I should attempt this soon. If you have any more pics taken of this procedure by any chance, would be glad to see them.
