JD203

Just wanted to share this depressing moment with all of you. I need a new engine for my 05 C230K. it's in the shop right now, valves are bent and bottom end has gone to **** from timing chain/sprocket problem. Sprocket teeth chewed out, and no resistance when trying to turn crankshaft by hand. i hope no one here goes through the same **** i'm going through right now. any help, ideas, plans, options, input, etc would be deeply appreciated. i'm definitely the dumbest and most neglectful mb owner in the world right period. btw, if u can't already tell, i'm a total newb, yes i know NOTHING. but i've got heart and dreams for my w203 just like everyone else in this forum does. thanks n peace.

Peydidy

big repairs suck, sorry about that and hope the damage isn't to bad. good luck

JD203

thanks peydidy. yea the damage is definitely bad. i'm gonna need a new engine. sick ride man.

Peydidy

Thanks, are you going to replace the engine or part out and buy a new car?

WaveyKat

get a C32 Engine in there :-)..

JD203

i just found out today man, so i'm pretty much still in the shock phase. i really don't know what to do. i want to replace the engine. can't part it out, still on a car loan.

JD203

haha, ryt? i don't even know where to begin to get a replacement.

Peydidy

Did you take it to an indy or dealer? and wow that sucks how your on a loan also, but hey if you decided to part out I will take your shift knob

ncmudbug

Man, that stinks! You might try http://car-part.com/ for a used engine. That gets you in touch with a lot of salvage yards. They have become a very high-tech business since I started working on cars (when it was rare that you found a yard that didn't use a hot wrench). Just plug in your information and you'll get a long list of available engines. They can also filter for distance from you. I did a search on 2005 C230K engines and found several. Most less than $4K.

I found these:
55,000 miles $2350 Stockton, CA
58,000 miles $2300 Houston, TX (90 day warranty)


Good luck!

JD203

no not at the stealership. my car's with ted at romtech in lake bluff, IL. they specialize in european cars. very good guy, and great reputation.

if i ever part out with it, which i don't think is gonna happen, i'm sorry peydiddy but i can't save the shift knob for u. i'm gonna need it for myself so i can hit my head with it everytime i remember my F up.

JD203

yea thanks for the link ncmudbug. i checked that out along with other salvage yards, and yea it hurts n it's gonna hurt some more i'm pretty sure. i can already feel it; my world crumbling down.

ncmudbug

Chin up. It could always be worse. You have choices. Not the ones you want, but you have some none the less. That's important. Sit down with as little emotion as possible and try to decide what you want and what you can afford, then do the best choice in that intersection. The sooner you make that choice and act on it, the sooner you'll feel better.

Keep us informed!

JD203

thank u everyone for replying. this forum is helping me in so many ways. good karma to everyone!!!

any M271 engine, regardless of the year, will fit my car right?

JD203

yes mudbug, u rock man!!! well, here's where i'm at so far...

yes, i do need an engine, and i think that's what i'm gonna do. u won't happen to have the link or contact number for the 2 engines u listed do u? so, i guess i'm on the search for a used engine.

i have enough saved up for the whole expense, but it's all going to my friend's bank account, because we both made a deal in november of last year for me to buy his sportbike before april of 2012. the deal is still on, and i'll be broke after i do this. so, naturally, i'll have to sell the bike right away to get my beloved car fixed. the bike's a 2007 suzuki gsx-r 750 btw.

anyway, i'll definitely keep u all informed. so far, this is where i'm at. thanks again ncmudbug. ur a saint!

ncmudbug

Hey JD203,
Everybody ends up in a crappy situation from time to time. Believe me, you'll live through it!

Here is the info from the engines I listed above (I found them on car-part.com BTW, so you might want to see what else they have listed):
Stockton Auto Dismantlers 1-800-235-8733 Stock #05109
Ronda Auto Parts 1-713-541-6800 Stock #E101 sales@RondaAutoParts.com

Both are Part Grade A. As I said before, the one from Ronda (Houston, TX) has a warranty and the note says "NICE ENG". That would probably be my first pick all things being equal, plus it's closer to you. It sounds like you're a bit strapped for cash, but you still might want to check some nicer engines. Who knows, you might luck out and get a real nice engine upgrade out of the deal. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what options make sense, but there are people on this board who do. You may even want to PM Glyn Ruck because if anybody knows, he would!

After doing some more looking, there are some without prices but have very low miles (one seems to be 4K miles old!) that are probably worth a look. I would check them out on my own, if I were you. You might find a better one than the ones I listed.

I've haven't bought anything from a salvage yard for a long so I don't know if there are some "inside" way to do a deal like this long distance. You might ask if there is some industry wide insurance that the engine you get will be as described. I assume they are all kept in-doors, but you might want to ask that, too. Maybe what kind of crash the car was in... Any history they can tell you. I'm not sure how much they know, but it doesn't hurt to ask. What sort of shipping arrangements can they make? Insurance? I assume they will handle crating and everything. What recourse do you have if you are totally unsatisfied when you (your indy) get it? Like I say, this is a much more mature business than it used to be so I don't think you need to worry about getting ripped off, but you should try to cover all the bases. They'll probably expect you to.

Don't keep us in suspense! Let us know what you do.

Peydidy

Just out of curiosity if he was to buy a engine from a salvage yard that is not close to him how would shipping it work? I don't think UPS or a any shipping company would ship an engine right? I have always wondered that actually. One way or another don't let it get to you so badly, of course it f****** sucks but hey its just a car. Don't beat your self up to hard about it, Im sure the engine swap out wont be to harsh, and you have a form full of great people to help you along the way. The best of luck to you

ncmudbug

Sure you can ship engines - you use a trucking company. I don't know if you can still do it but when I was racing, I used to ship MG Midget engine blocks via the bus!

LILBENZ230

What do you mean by you're the "most neglectful" MB owner? And you talk of messing up. What led to this problem? How many miles does the car have?

Posts like this reinforce my feelings that it might be time to start looking for something else to replace my 2005.

derecklouthood

Seriously Lilbenz... I'm reading this post and I too have the 05'. It breaks my heart to read this about the OP's car... Keep your chin up as everyone says, I don't think however you could blame yourself about this problems...

Not like you forgot oil or something... Hopefully you find a nice cheap engine

KillerPancake

JD, how many miles on your car?

kluvsbenz

Damn that sucks. Ok now move forward in your plan to right your ship, er car. I know this forum will push you in the right direction. Good luck

LILBENZ230

I posted this in another thread but it is worth repeating. RMEuropean has the M271 timing chain for sale for $52 and and the tensioner for $77. It may be worth paying now to replace the chain if you have a higher mileage M271. It will certainly be cheaper than this scenario.

samaritrey

+1 very good idea

amanonfire

Replacing the engine is a 10hr labour job if done by an independent that knows what they are doing. Very little has to be removed to pull the engine straight up out of the engine bay. Hell you don't even have to remove the hood or rad.

Before the new engine goes in make sure they do the upper and lower vacuum hoses, they are so much easier to do with the engine out of the car.

I just hope you caught it before the head gasket blew and dumped coolant and oil into the header. If not, you'll need a new header cause the cat will be ruined so add another $500 for a used one.

Ask me how I know all this

Glyn M Ruck

Are you sure this car needs a new engine?

e.g. https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ine-apart.html