Hi, I think you need to change the whole camshaft adjuster gears sprockets, tensioner and timing chain itself. I had to get the whole done job done on my car. The timing chain was jumping because of sprockets. You can find the whole kit very cheap online on ebay at the following link.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-T...​​

 

Do not confuse M271 worn cam sprockets with M272 V6 Balance shaft sprocket wear which is an engine out procedure.

 

What terrific work by Johnand and Glyn M Ruck. Their work continues for almost a decade, which took me a few hours to read and digest.

I turn to you both and others for some answers.

Has anyone noticed the balance shaft getting worse after installing the new magnets (2720510177)? Having read this thread it seems that the magnets loosen the tollerances. If so doesn't that make the chain wiggle more? If so wouldn't the wiggling cause more wear? I read in this thread there are people who changed the magnets in 2009 so would like to know if after a few years the balance shaft wore out (faster)?


So I'm tempted to change the magnets but don't want to create a problem where one doesn't exist.

If it ends up being the cam shaft sensor (planning ahead), is the Bosch sensor recommended (at $25 versus $225 at dealer)?
https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/534...or-0232103114/


What are the symptoms of a failing balance shaft gear? (besides p1208 and 1200) Does the car stall or hesitate or not start or engine doesn't start?

With almost 200k, my 272 engine hasn't ever stalled nor exibited any engine wear signs (that I can tell) except the current p0016 and 0017 codes. So am I clear of the gear wear problem?

 

Sorry, Been travelling. Changing magnets will have no influence on balance shaft sprocket wear. If you have a 0016 & 0017 together you almost certainly have worn sprockets. Suggest you have a boroscope inspection done.

Good luck

 

Thanks Hyvu, PurpleS500 and Glyn for your suggestions.

I ended up getting magnets in there to try. No luck. So it must be what you wrote Glyn.

I'm not ready to plunk thousands on this right now.

Is there any harm in driving it with the gear problem? Are there symptoms that are gear specific?

 

Hello everyone and great thread!
I am selling my truck and needed a temporary car to drive, '06 R171 SLK350, Signature Order, 7G-Tronic that our family has owned since brand new, now at 144K+ miles it's been sitting in the driveway at the farm for over a year now so instead of letting it rot I took it from my mom, the original owner. I will be refurbishing most of it for her and returning it when my brand new truck arrives.
Check engine light on, pulling a P0015 & P0355 but still feels like it runs and drives fine.
I decided it needed preventative maintenance and repairs so just ordered a bunch of parts to throw at it.
4-magents + 4 harnesses
Ignition coils
both cam sensors
6 spark plugs
Mobil1 Oil + filter
Upper Rad hose (rats on farm chewed the overflow hose but isn't busted yet)

Said what the heck, let's just do EVERYTHING! Thanks for an awesome posting with tons of info. I got to revive it!

 

Hello,
i also have a 2007 C230 and i also replaced the 4 magnets 2 years ago, and today i had a check engine light with a P0012 and P0021
could you please tell me what you did eventually because i'm so confused right now.

 

Thanks for this excellent post. I replaced all 4 on my w209 07 clk. you definitely need a 1/4" simple wrench, no way around it. I have a super low profile ratcheting wrench, and even that was too thick for that last bolt. Go get a small 1/4" wrench and you can do the job yourself. (And maybe another 1/4" ratcheting wrench for convenience). I removed the (crankshaft?) sensors that were slightly in the way as well. They are held in with just 1 bolt each.

I bought cam solenoid kit from fcpeuro. It was cheapest there and also came with the gaskets you would need in case you do remove the oil cooler.

But like others, I just worked around it. My only advice is to jam a wad of paper towel underneath the soilenoids, in case you drop any bolts\screws. And have a magnetic picker upper as a fail safe. And take your time. Slower is faster. Just work slowly and dont drop the screws, and it will be finished in no time. Talk radio is good company for this type of work.

 

I believe that the magnets are a band-aid: They simply widen the position detection tolerances. If the timing has wandered outside those, you need to go deeper. See above posts.

 

Hey so I have a Mercedes c230 sport and I have 3 codes that are showing up and my car is running really rough and has major loss of power. I have a cylinder 2 misfire, a knock sensor code, and p0020 camshaft position sensor bank 2 open circuit code. I believe it to be bad bad wiring in the VVT system Causing the misfire and therefor causing the knock sensor to trip. Please let me know if anyone has a solution for this or knows how I check the VVT or OCV wiring. Thanks

 

My husband found a online parts store called rockauto.com. They have great quality parts very reasonably priced. I ordered 4 sensors with shipping (to Texas) for a little over $90. Just FYI (:

 

Yeah I got a P0015 and at the same time a P0118 (like yours but temp too high so I need a sensor and a cooling change) simultaneously after I replaced my Crankshaft Sensor on my 2007 ML350 yesterday.
My engine aggregate (out of the VIN range for the balance shaft issue - maybe) is:

M - engine: 272967 30 509034 272.967
M272 E35 V6 GASOLINE ENGINE
M272 E35 GA - Automatic : 722906 00 964394 722.906 W 7 C 700 (
NICHT FUER / NOT FOR VAN/G-CLASS) 7-SPEED А W7C700

Ordered 4 new mags via FCP as here in Canada via Napa they are $100 a piece vs all 4 shipped for $200 CDN all in.
Will wait and see what happens upon replacement.
My ML has 170K miles (US origin vehicle) 222k kms on the changed gauge cluster (perhaps that could be wrong however as I think the cluster holds the miles etc and might need a sync to the ECU to correctly show real mileage?) on it so if there was a balance shaft issue it should have happened a long time ago or was done before I bought it.
Deep breath and crossing my digits.

EDIT: Thanks to the fine couple of folks here who made this post and offered a poop ton of assistance.
I read the entire thread last night and this morning...it was a thrilling novel filled with heartache and promise lol.

 

Anyone know any possibilities of what could be wrong if I got the code P0025 B Camshaft Position-Timing over-Retarded bank 2. And the code P0300 Random/Multiple cylinder misfire detected. It all came on at the same time and started running horrible. It’s brand new factory plugs in there also.
anyone know what the problem could be?

 

Hi all.
I have little problem with my car. I have W204 C280 with M272 3.0.
Now in winter, sometimes after cold start, the CEL came ON still for like 3 days than it dissapears and after 3 days it reapeats...
Codes I have are:
0060 (P0015)
0064 (P0025)
2385 - Bank 1 Ehaust retarded during cold start
2389 - same for bank 2
1204 (P0019)
Not long ago I tried to solve this problem by replacing timing chain, balance shafts, etc... just proper timing chain exchange. Magnets was replaced 11 monts ago, so we left them. Could sensors be the problem, or the magnets (they are quite new)?????
Thanks

 

Hello. I had this and associated (P0015, P0024, P0025, P0012 etc.) codes for 8 months or so.

It seems these (maligned unfairly IMO) engines are very, very particular about their oil system. Any deviance from exact spec. Starts a grumble in the valve timing.

Firstly check the oil level. If it is too far from the mid-way point on the dipstick it will not supply the camshaft with the correct amount of oil at the right moment. Too much is almost worse than too little with this engine. Also do not skimp on oil changes. If in any doubt change the oil pronto. If the camshaft actuator(s) go bad it’s an engine out job and monetary pain.

Another ‘don’t skimp’ are the o-rings. They are one time fit part as they flatten and no longer hold a proper seal once re-fitted. New every single time.

Assuming the vehicle hasn’t still got the defective camshaft adjuster magnets, and/or doesn’t fall in to the dreaded defective idler group, this procedure might be a quick and easy fix for your motor too.

1. Remove all sensors and camshaft adjuster magnets. This can be done without removing oil cooler or power steering reservoir easily using an E8 spanner and some dexterity, but you will more than likely drop the nut in to the engine bay so have a magnet handy.

2. Wipe them clean and REMOVE OLD O-RINGS.

3. Thoroughly clean Camshaft adjuster magnets inside but DO NOT get any fluid in or on the electrical side. The magnet operates with only the smallest amount of current so any contamination has the ability to impede the proper function. I used WD-40 with the straw fitted; stuck it over the little drain/pressure hole and give it a good soak. let it sit for a few minutes. Then you must drain it really well. I found that by using a can of compressed air, again with the straw attached, i could expel almost all of the wd-40 and any contaminants with it. Repeat this until the liquid is absolutely clear. Leave to drain and dry inverted on some kitchen towel.

4. Replace all the Viton o-rings as per spec. Camshaft adjuster magnets: 44mm x 2mm, Camshaft Hall Sensor: 17mm x 2mm

It may take 20 or so miles for things to ‘settle down’. After that, delete the codes and see if they come back up.

Total cost: £8



3

 

Since I’ve got experience with having to replace the cam on my 2008 S550, I can tell it could be all of the things you all have shared. Initially it starts out as something small and yes, the car still runs smooth, but ultimately it all points to the cam shaft and the chain…timing. That’s the reason for the sensor or sensors. I can tell you that replacing both the cam and the chain is quite expensive. However, years ago when this happened to me and I learned I had to get this done, I began searching through the different blogs on Mercedes’ and found an article with some much valuable information. The article alerted me to the fact that because I had been a Mercedes’ owner I could get this special discount. Here’s the crazy thing Mercedes’ knows about this but unless you use the correct term you will never get the discount. While I can’t recall the phrase or term I cam tell you that it saved me a little over $2k. Unfortunately for me I had to pay out of pocket but the fact that I received this special price was priceless because my warranty had expired by 14 miles by the time I returned from Florida, which is where I was when I experienced the initial problem. I could tell as I punched the accelerator on my car to get around this truck that put me in a compromising situation that something happened. I could feel it. Light went out later that day but came back on the next day. Then it started flickering and then would go solid. Did this the whole time the wife and I were on vacation. I kept praying for the engine not to brake down. And oh, it ran fine. But by the time I returned to Augusta I could tell it was something serious. In the end, I got it fixed but the code can be misleading. That’s why I’m sharing this because I still get this code from time to time and I’ve had to replace the ignition coils and spark plugs. Obviously, these are lesser cost. Perhaps it’s not that misleading because they all are connected so the best advise is to take it to the Mercedes’ dealership so you can get the right diagnosis and get it repaired so you don’t have to keep going back for something else. While I love my car and have had it for a long time and it still looks good and drives great especially on the long stretch up north or back down south, that’s the only complaint I have with it. Not sure how this is with the newer models. I would love to hear from someone who has a 2012 to 2015 with over 100k miles and no cam shaft issues. Notice I said camshaft and not the code. It’s intentional. The code is connected to the camshaft and the belt. In the end ad long as you have a warranty you shouldn’t worry, and if your warranty is about to expire look into getting an extended warranty. That’s what I did for my wife’s GL450 as a lesson learned. I also have a 2005 SL with under 100k miles. Love Mercedes’ cars but as all of you know, the maintenance is the part we have to stay on top of. Enjoy the ride and stay safe.

 

Hi! I’ve been read the whole thread from the beggining and not found the fix for me.
I got the P0012 CEL on my cls 350CGI m272 235000km
My car after a couple of km get into some of safe mode and have no power. When i stop to 0km car got vibrations. I change the magnet on the passanger site and the CEL returns i also change the cam sensor.
Previous owner change the balanse shaft and timing chains like 15k km ago.
Plug and wires to the magnet looks suspiciously to me cuz its looks different than others 3 magnets, maybe someone replace that. I check the voltage and its looks good. The voltage on the wires are 8,5v like the other 3 magnets.
So what is the next step when i replace magnet and the CEL P0012 returns?
Also when the car comes into that vibrations shows CEL P0300

 

vkamil; Perhaps you have oil getting to the ECU via the wires? I'd unplug the wire harness from it and check. Not sure how many cars/engines have this oil in the harness issue, but lots of people on the forums I usually surf do.
Oil gets to the plug on the ECU first, and can upset readings and what not with trons flowing where they shouldn't. Over time it can work its way into the ECU, which I'd imagine could be cleaned and still work, but hard to say with electronics.
It can also be expensive because the standard fix is to replace the wiring harness. I had oil in the wires myself, but not in the ECU. I sucked the oil out because no way I'm paying to fix something like that:
https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...ml#post8771425

 

Solenoids worked for me, as did the 1/4-in wrench trick for the E8 bolts. So grateful to contributors here 🙏

 

He didn’t check to see what they were as I brought my vehicle in for the blower motor to be changed but I was able to record them from the scanner .

Codes !!

 

got these codes but no lights on the dash are on