Hi folks....I have a 2005 c230k 90k, miles. I was detecting a slight rattle from the front of the engine. Last night I parked the car with no issues....this morning the car wouldn't start. My initial thought was battery, but that is fine. I had the car towed to a local European specialist garage and he ruled out the fuel pump but tomorrow is going to take the valve cover off and take a look inside. he suspects the timing chain slipped. Yikes. My question....can the timing chain slip on start up? If so, could I have spared from too much damage to the engine? Thanks!

 

How exactly did it behave in the morning?
Did it crank but then stop, did you hear any weird sounds?
It might be something else still (e.g. https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-starting.html, or the starter, etc)

If the chain slipped on start up, you have probably bent the valves and are looking for a head rebuild.

 

Thanks, VVF. It did not start...it tried, but spluttered and didn't catch. I tried again and it sounded like a whirring / slight knocking noise and a backfire (which really confused me). Where it normally shows "S" or "C" was blank.

 

Timing chain jumped time....pistons & block ok, but bent valves. It appears the main culprit was the worn down sprockets causing the chain to jump. Only 90K on the engine & regularly serviced so pretty surprising failure for a MB. I never noticed a recall on that part. Anyway, at least the engine is salvagable.

 

Seems common on the M272 V6 Balance Shaft...again about 5k in damage and no recall or good will help given. I have never read of the M271 I4 chewing up sprockets...just stretching poorly engineered/used single chains...Wow...

 

I think I heard somewhere that a stretched chain/ failed tensioner can lead to worn guides and sprockets.

 

This is not the first instance of a M271 jumping time and finding worn sprockets. I believe VVF is correct that a stretching chain wears the sprockets.

How much are you looking at in repairs? Stuff like this makes me sort of happy that I moved on from my C230. But at least I did find my way back to Mercedes, albeit I did take a scenic route.

 

$4500...expensive, but I feared the engine was beyond repair so I'm kind of relieved...

 

$4500 would have bought another engine.. but sometimes, the devil you know..

 

So how do you like the E so far, Lilbenz (now Big'rbenz I guess ) Nice choice.

 

It's fantastic. The best of old and new Mercedes. Thanks for asking!

 

Maybe, if I could find one. They can be tough to find these days. Like you say...better the devil you know

 

is there a cure ?

i heard these engines are s** to begin with so it's most likely done
is there an update?

 

I don't think the engines are s*** to begin with. I'm impressed with the low end torque mine has. They should have used a duplex chain for the timing chain but from what I understand, regular maintenance (i.e. oil changes) are the key to extending the life of the chain. Checking it periodically, wouldn't be a bad idea. At the first sign of a rattle in the front of the engine, have it checked and replace the chain if necessary.

If yours should jump time, it will mean extensive work (the head, valves, pistons and likely the connecting rods should be examined). Given how old these cars are, it may not be worth it fix it. Having lived with three Mercedes C230s over the last twelve years (it seems like longer!), and I still consider the body style to be very handsome but I don't view it as a mechanical wonder or a budding valuable classic and I'd get rid of it as best I could should that happen to me.

 

were they all four cylinder engines? what about a V6 ? from 2006 C230
are those any good ?

 

Yes. I had one of those. The V6 is very smooth. It's a bit stupid because it is a 90° V6 - they apparently took a V8 and chopped two cylinders off. In spite of the inherent balance issues with a 90° V6, the balance shaft it has is VERY effective. And there is the potential problem. The sprocket for the balance shaft was made of sintered steel (steel filings formed into the sprocket with heat and pressure). I am to understand that the AMG version of that engine used a solid steel sprocket (of course!). The sintered steel isn't the problem though but there was a run of those engines where the sprocket was not heat treated properly and they fail. Mine did. Mercedes knows which ones are at risk and I think they can and will tell you however I do not assert that because a lister here told me that mine fell into that group and I don't know where he got that information. I presume Mercedes but I don't know for sure.. They are not all guaranteed to fail but I wouldn't take the chance. Mercedes was sued over this and the settlement they agreed to was to subsidize a portion of the cost of fixing the sprocket for a select group of owners. I'm hazy on the details. I don't know if it is covered by a recall, if the sprocket has to actually fail for them to help you, or what the eventual cost would be should you be in the group, but the select group of owners are people who have religiously taken their car in to a stealer for all maintenance and that it is up to date. If you qualify for those two things (the prerequisite for having it fixed and your car was maintained by the stealer) Mercedes will pay a portion (not all) of the repair costs. IIRC, if you hadn't been religious about MB maintenance I think they still would subsidize your repair but to a much lesser extent. Again going by memory, the cost for the good guys was over $7000 after their subsidy. When mine went out, a local indy shop gave us an estimate of $6000 to repair it.

The $6000 included a new intake manifold that was also broken (Mercedes' $7000 estimate did not included a new intake manifold). That brings us to another problem with the V6 is that there are paddles in the intake manifold that help meter the air to the different cylinders to enhance economy. They are made of plastic (that type of manifold is not unusual and oddly that the paddles are made of plastic is also not unusual! I would have expected Mercedes to go the extra yard (not even a mile) to make it more durable! To my knowledge, all of that type of V6 engine has the plastic paddles.

It was my wife's car and as you can imagine, after a very short conversation with her, we sold the car to a wholesale operation.

So, ask me which engine is s***! As offended as I am that MB didn't choose a duplex timing chain on my car and my daughter's car (I would have gotten her a Honda or Toyota but she was adamant that her car be German), I would take one of those supercharged 1800cc motors over a V6 every day!