Hi,

I just bought a '04 C320 4Matic with 73K miles for $13K. I think I over-paid considering the Valve Cover gaskets are leaking, CD Changer wasn't working, Alarm wasn't working, Front Axle (drivers side) CV joint boot is torn, etc.

I 'd like to request your feedback on the following items -

ITEM 1 - The boot on the CV joint of Front axle is torn and needs to be replaced. Does the entire axle (drivers side) need to be replaced? I don't think I can handle this job. How many hours of labor is involved in replacing the drivers side axle? Any suggestions?

ITEM 2 - The Alarm Siren doesn't make any noise. I did search on the forum. I searched for the siren behind the wheel liner (both front and rear of the passenger side front wheel). It's not there. EPC diagram kind of indicates the siren is located in the engine compartment. I don't see it... Is it possible the Siren is located under the wipers? Yes, my car has button to disable the alarm when being towed. When I enable to alarm with the remote and I open one of the door (via opened window), I don't see the lights flash, I don't hear alarm siren. However, I DO SEE the red LED flash on the TOW button above the radio. That leads me to believe the Siren is dead. Then, why aren't the lights flashing? I did check the fuses 8, 9, 41.

Your feedback is appreciated...

Here is the picture from EPC showing the location of Alarm Siren... I looked everywhere... I have not found the alarm siren...

It looks like you are just needing a CV boot clamp, it's probably the #160 from the diagram.

Sorry I don't know anything about the alarm.

Good luck with the fixes.

BeepBeep, thanks for your feedback.
Boot clamp is on the axle. Boot is cut and is leaking the grease. It looks like the boot was torn some time ago. Previous owner didn't take care of it because they were going to sell the car anyway.

I suspect your car does not have the alarm fitted but do not understand why the kill button is fitted.

Regarding that CV joint. Take the car to a CV rebuild shop & get them to strip & clean the joint, inspect, regrease & reboot if necessary. If the joint is damaged they can rebuid it. It all depends how long it's run with no grease or crap in the grease.

if you live in a big city there should be a shop that rebuilds cv joints check thye phonebook

mine was $300.00 canadian including removal and install

Glyn, the DATACARD on EPC shows the following 2 items for my car -
551- ANTI-THEFT/ANTI-BREAK-IN WARNING SYSTEM
763- RADIO REMOTE CONTROL W/PANIC SWITCH (315...)

From those 2 items, I would think the alarm siren is installed on my car...
any other suggestions?

Glyn, Contact, BeepBeep, I have an update on the CV joint issue -
I took the car to the local "CV Joint experts". The mechanic test drove the car (straight, right circles, left circles) no noises were heard. He wanted to know if there is a knock-knock noise. Since there were no noises, he said that he will repack the grease in to the joint and put a new boot. I will be taking the car tomorrow for doing this. If the boot is all it is needed, then I feel relieved. I was afraid the entire axle may need to be replaced.

I am still searching for the Alarm Siren :-) Man, they really hid that siren.

pcy, I'm glad to hear the CV joint issue seem to be a simple fix. It should be apparent anyway if there is something wrong with it while driving.

Good luck on the alarm issue fix.

as said at the beginning of the thread, the CD changer wasn't working. I took it apart. I saw that two (out of three) motors weren't rotating when the cartridge is inserted. I tapped those two motors hard with fingers. To my pleasant surprise, those 2 motors started working and then the CD was picked up by the arm and started playing. In the process of putting all parts back together, I cut one of the ribbon cables at the corner (one connection was lost). I went to Radioshack and got some thin wires and soldered individual wire for the broken connection. CD changer works fine now.

On to the Alarm Siren... where are you hiding... I will catch you soon or later...

lol. If I were you, I would enjoy driving the car more than worrying about the alarm or siren.

Good job on the CD changer fix.

i'm glad these fixes arent costing a arm and a leg. Sounded like the car just needed a little love and the previous owner didn't really give it any.

Indeed. You don't want to see how the air filters and the cabin filter were...
Previous owner didn't do any maintenance for the past 1 year, or longer.

I don't like driving the car with all these problems.
Leaking valve covers, various other oil leaks didn't bother me because I know that I can handle those. CV joint scared me because I know for sure I can't handle that job.

Once I take care of these things (listed above), I will replace the trans fluid and filter. I already ordered trans fluid, filter, and pan gasket.

Here is the picture of the CD changer... the two motors I was referring to above are circled in red. The bottom motor's function is to grab the selected CD from the cartrige, and the other motor's function is to move the track with the laser to the desired track/song. Both motors just froze and started working with a 'hit on the head'.

No other ideas. It should be under the passenger side fender shroud.

Good news on the CD stacker & CV joint.

UPDATE on the CV Joint -
As scheduled, I took the car to the CV Joint specialist, they removed the axle, removed the old boot, cleaned the joint, packed grease, put on a new boot and reassembled everything in one and half hour while I watched and took pictures. I was lucky the joint was not damaged.

Important note for future readers - you will need to go to the repair place as soon as the boot is torn. If you wait until the noise is heard, then the joint will need to be replaced.

I replaced the Valve Cover gaskets on my '04 C320 4Matic. I cleaned up the breathing chambers, replaced the oil filler neck gasket. I wish I had a set of (12) spark plugs - without the valve covers, there was ready access to the plugs.

These engines are built like a tank.

I am pretty sure I read somewhere that all USDM W203s have the alarm.

The M112 does seem a robust engine but was twin-spark REALLY necessary? I was reading an archived review on the 2006 C350 Sport Sedan a few days back and they said the 3.2L M112 was used for 9 consecutive years without a single change before being retired. Reliability and durability a given, what was impressive in 1996 was no longer in 2005.

Twinspark on the V6, V8, V12 engines was an expensive way of achieving LEV (low emissions vehicle) status at the time & along with Alfa was ahead of the time. They blow incredibly clean exhausts. Better electronic control, sensors, fuel, 3 way Cats etc in Europe made this achievable with single plugs in the quadcam, 4 valve versions of the 3 engines.

On crap fuel a twinspark will still blow a cleaner exhaust. With Euro, 4, 5, 6 fuels this is no longer an issue. Fuel & engine design work in tandem on emissions improvement.

UPDATE on the alarm siren -
Incidentally, the batteries in the remote failed when I tried to unlock the car with remote couple of days ago. I removed the blade key and opened the door... next thing I hear a loud siren from my car. I quickly opened the hood and tried to hear where the noise is coming from. It was difficult to pinpoint where the noise was coming from because it was very loud and the car is parked next to my work building. I shut the alarm off after 30 seconds by placing the key in the ignition. So, I know for a fact my car has the siren. Yesterday, when I went to MB dealer (for parts), I asked the parts guy, he looked up in the EPC and said look around the battery area... he acknowledged that they put siren in different location even for the same year model depending on where/which month it was manufactured. The location shown in EPC is just a 'general viscinity'.

QUESTION: For BOTH of my cars ('07 C280 and '04 C320), why is the alarm does not sound when I press the "panic" button on the remote?

Please note that the alarm does make noise when I press "panic" button on my 98 ML320.

well for the Canadian market it was an option