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I'm looking to buy a 2005 C230K with 140k miles. Any things I should take a closer look at? I've never owned a force inducted vehicle before, so I'm very clueless about the supercharger on this car. What are the life span of these S/C? What kind of maintenance do S/C required? Any help/info/advice is appreciated.
Well by 2005 the w203 was a reliable choice. I would first look into its maintenance history as that will be a very important aspect of a car with 140k on it. The transmission should have pad dropped/filter change every 39k miles and if it has not been done more than 1 or 2 times that would concern me. The engine needs to of had approved oil such as Mobil one 0-w40 European blend or another Mercedes benz approved oil changed every 10,000 miles. As for the SC I don't know much about its service life but I don't hear of failure that often but do know that you can change the fluid in it so if you were to buy the car that would be a good thing to do. The only concern besides the high miles would be the timing chain which is a known weak point and would probably need to be changed if it hasn't already while not to expensive in parts labor can be a few hundred dollars if you can't DIY. If the chain wears and jumps a tooth it will destroy the top of the engine and be a very very expensive mistake.
Overall the w203 is a good car but honestly with 140,000 miles they can start to get expensive fast as It will probably need new shocks by now as well as lots of maintenance if it has not been taken care of properly. So unless you have the money to spend in maintaining a high mileage MB I would run but if you are not buying this car with every cent you have then once its maintenance is caught up it should go for a lot longer.
Last edited by samaritrey; 05-24-2014 at 01:15 PM.
To avoid timing chain problems you should maintain your engine properly and have the engine oil changed at recommended intervals. Using premium quality engine oils and oil filters will also help. In a well-maintained engine a timing chain can last up to 300,000 miles and even longer.
To avoid timing chain problems you should maintain your engine properly and have the engine oil changed at recommended intervals. Using premium quality engine oils and oil filters will also help. In a well-maintained engine a timing chain can last up to 300,000 miles and even longer.
Well in a perfect world you are right but that engine has a single chain that is known to stretch around 100,000 miles even with perfect maintenance and then the car jumps a tooth and needs some crazy expensive engine work.
The m112 and m272 have dual chains and don't suffer from this issue but the m272 has its own issues.
Last edited by samaritrey; 05-24-2014 at 01:14 PM.
2019 C300 Wagon; '75 Triumph TR6; previous: 2004 C230 6spd sold after 17 years of driving
Originally Posted by samaritrey
Well in a perfect world you are right but that engine has a single chain that is known to stretch around 100,000 miles even with perfect maintenance and then the car jumps a tooth and needs some crazy expensive engine work.
The m112 and m271 have dual chains and don't suffer from this issue but the m272 has its own issues.
C230 Sport Coup + 2006 W164 ML350 + 99 Ford Escort (What the heck, it gets 38 mpg!)
M111 has dual row chain, no problems so far @ 214K.
Old thread from July, ha! So did the guy buy the car?
That being said Trey was off on a few things, no need to flush every 39K
miles on a 5 speed, that's the revised interval for a 7 speed.
5 speeds were listed as 'sealed for life'. Personally I didn't do mine till
120K miles, and again at 180K and still going just fine, though I believe now, it's recommended
for a filter and drain and drop pan every 60K. Full flush is only "required" when fluid is contaminated,
but we've all learned now how to change it full despite not having a drain plug for the torque converter. Yes, would have been better if I'd done it sooner.
Eaton gives the SC's a 100K life span, and states that some can last longer and some not as long.
It's good to consider as such, and plan to replace it every 100K or so miles with a rebuilt or new if you are lucky enough to find one inexpensively like I did. Bought new for 600, sold old one for 250.
Last edited by C230 Sport Coup; 05-22-2014 at 09:19 AM.
M111 has dual row chain, no problems so far @ 214K.
Old thread from July, ha! So did the guy buy the car?
That being said Trey was off on a few things, no need to flush every 39K
miles on a 5 speed, that's the revised interval for a 7 speed.
5 speeds were listed as 'sealed for life'. Personally I didn't do mine till
120K miles, and again at 180K and still going just fine, though I believe now, it's recommended
for a filter and drain and drop pan every 60K. Full flush is only "required" when fluid is contaminated,
but we've all learned now how to change it full despite not having a drain plug for the torque converter. Yes, would have been better if I'd done it sooner.
Eaton gives the SC's a 100K life span, and states that some can last longer and some not as long.
It's good to consider as such, and plan to replace it every 100K or so miles with a rebuilt or new if you are lucky enough to find one inexpensively like I did. Bought new for 600, sold old one for 250.
I thought that even the five speed was now being recommended for 39k intervals? I did misspeak I meant pan drops every 39K not flush.
I thought that even the five speed was now being recommended for 39k intervals? I did misspeak I meant pan drops every 39K not flush.
I believe you are correct that even the old 722.6 is now a 39k change interval, though that transmission seems like a tough unit. I didn't change mine until 100,000 and then again at 120,000. When I got rid of my C230K at 146,000 the transmission had never missed a beat. Really the only expensive issue that it ever had was a bad A/C Compressor. It's the damned timing chain issue that would make me advise against buying one of these cars nowadays.
Hi Guys MB family Just somebody can tell to me, wrong or not ? I have about one year nice condition MB C230K kompressor . Car has 127k mileage , i was thing to replace all timing chain
-long kit ,i bought FEBI-Bilstein brand from net . My mechanic start do work and when he took out top parts from engine-he call to me and show chain and all plastic guides-rail looks in perfect condition, he told start car without serpentine belt and runs quiet and smooth engine. He told not need to replace timing chain and tensioner kit yet . I will just replace mobil-1 0-40 full synthetic oil with filter and Bosh original spark plugs. Thanks.
Hi Guys MB family Just somebody can tell to me, wrong or not ? I have about one year nice condition MB C230K kompressor . Car has 127k mileage , i was thing to replace all timing chain
-long kit ,i bought FEBI-Bilstein brand from net . My mechanic start do work and when he took out top parts from engine-he call to me and show chain and all plastic guides-rail looks in perfect condition, he told start car without serpentine belt and runs quiet and smooth engine. He told not need to replace timing chain and tensioner kit yet . I will just replace mobil-1 0-40 full synthetic oil with filter and Bosh original spark plugs. Thanks.
My C 230K 2005
Off topic: Hello fellow New Jerseyian! Nice car. We also share the last 3 letters in the license plate!
So post is super old but I’m just looking around for info on these timing chains. I have a clk230k with 266,500 miles ! Just got the thing here in Southern Washington USA and it’s got to be a UK car or something because we didn’t get these with M111 or 5 speed manual. It’s definitely in need of some sorting but my biggest concern is the light rattle but after reading its probably the supercharger? The car seems well maintained but I’ll need to dive deeper. Let me know if anyone has experience with this m111 engine over 300k miles
07-07-2013, 04:44 PM
Just somebody can tell to me, wrong or not ? I have about one year nice condition MB C230K kompressor . Car has 127k mileage , i was thing to replace all timing chain
Thanks .
