Help with C230 engine noise... looking to buy the car
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Joined: Jan 2007
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Help with C230 engine noise... looking to buy the car
Hey all.
I am looking at a 2005 Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor with the 1.8L 4 cylinder supercharged engine. The car has 62,000 miles on it.
The 1 major item I noticed was a constant pulley or belt squeak coming from the engine from start-up to shut-down. In the car I can't really hear it but out of the car and upon opening the hood it is very noticeable. I isolated it to a pulley or belt right behind the hood latch at the front of the car. Just want to be sure it isn't a water pump or bearings going bad or something with the supercharger......
Also --- Anything else I should check or be aware of on the vehicle?
I can supply Vin if needed....
Thanks for any help or ideas/ opinions....
TJ
I am looking at a 2005 Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor with the 1.8L 4 cylinder supercharged engine. The car has 62,000 miles on it.
The 1 major item I noticed was a constant pulley or belt squeak coming from the engine from start-up to shut-down. In the car I can't really hear it but out of the car and upon opening the hood it is very noticeable. I isolated it to a pulley or belt right behind the hood latch at the front of the car. Just want to be sure it isn't a water pump or bearings going bad or something with the supercharger......
Also --- Anything else I should check or be aware of on the vehicle?
I can supply Vin if needed....
Thanks for any help or ideas/ opinions....
TJ
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 262
Likes: 34
From: Houston, TX
'05 S430, '05 S600
Hello and welcome to the forum! Take the VIN and call your nearest MB dealership and ask if there are any open "campaigns" (MB speak for "recall") on this vehicle. There are two major ones of concern here which one is a vacuum hose (referred to around the forum as the $12 hose), and the leaking cam adjuster magnets. On the latter one the dealer was supposed to install wire extensions on the connections to the cam magnets in order to provide enough slack to allow to make a loop and secure the wiring hence preventing the gravity-draining of the leaking oil into the rest of the engine wiring which would result in multiple component failure, including the ECU.
Don't be scared...lol! I know what I just said may sound scary but @ 62k miles, the car should be in pretty good shape. So when you talk to the dealer they say that there are no open campaigns on this car then that means that all this recall stuff has already been done and you don't have to worry about them.
Now, every car made out there, no matter who makes it ends up having a list of typical issues... It's kinda nature-of-the-beast type of deal. On these cars the idler pulley and the belt tensioner are known "weak" parts and they need to be replaced every so often. Normally you replaced the idler pulley ($20 online), the tensioner pulley assembly ($90 online), and the serpentine belt ($30 online) and you move on. This "noise" you hear is letting you know that you need to address this but it will not leave you stranded, and for me would not be a deal breaker. That being said, it is up to you to do your homework and make the decision.
The car is a good car, fairly easy to work on if you're somewhat technically inclined, and there are volumes of knowledge and help available on here. Good luck with your decision!
Oh and BTW, the engine in that car is the M271, in case you want to search on here and do more research. The 2005 production cars have the final improvements of that generation engine (this is the last year of that engine in that chassis), which include the revised head (to solve an earlier design problem), revised timing chain, don't have the Valeo radiator problem that you will come across here, etc. All in all, this is the year to get if you're looking at this car. It is the first year that MB face-lifted the car and interior (AMG sports package became standard on the C230 only), and the last year of the M271 engine (Kompressor) which has great power and gas mileage) so the choice is yours!
Don't be scared...lol! I know what I just said may sound scary but @ 62k miles, the car should be in pretty good shape. So when you talk to the dealer they say that there are no open campaigns on this car then that means that all this recall stuff has already been done and you don't have to worry about them.
Now, every car made out there, no matter who makes it ends up having a list of typical issues... It's kinda nature-of-the-beast type of deal. On these cars the idler pulley and the belt tensioner are known "weak" parts and they need to be replaced every so often. Normally you replaced the idler pulley ($20 online), the tensioner pulley assembly ($90 online), and the serpentine belt ($30 online) and you move on. This "noise" you hear is letting you know that you need to address this but it will not leave you stranded, and for me would not be a deal breaker. That being said, it is up to you to do your homework and make the decision.
The car is a good car, fairly easy to work on if you're somewhat technically inclined, and there are volumes of knowledge and help available on here. Good luck with your decision!
Oh and BTW, the engine in that car is the M271, in case you want to search on here and do more research. The 2005 production cars have the final improvements of that generation engine (this is the last year of that engine in that chassis), which include the revised head (to solve an earlier design problem), revised timing chain, don't have the Valeo radiator problem that you will come across here, etc. All in all, this is the year to get if you're looking at this car. It is the first year that MB face-lifted the car and interior (AMG sports package became standard on the C230 only), and the last year of the M271 engine (Kompressor) which has great power and gas mileage) so the choice is yours!
