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Timing Chain Replacement, 2005 C230

Old Mar 9, 2020 | 04:52 PM
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2005 C230
Timing Chain Replacement, 2005 C230

I just took a 2005 Kompressor C230 as partial trade, i took the car for a drive and liked it so much i decided to keep it.

There are no maintenance records, although the carfax just says 'Serviced" on many of the line items at intervals. The car has about $190,000 KM's or about 118,000 miles. It Looks like the car was owned by an older woman, she was the only owner. I haven't really looked at the Tranny/ Engine in great detail but if there are any issues or evidence the fluid has never been changed i might resell the car as i need this to be reliable for the wife. Im pulling the pan this weekend and changing the fluid, my plan is to change it three times over a few days so to get everything out of the torque converter than pull the pan and change the gasket and filter.. At any rate i talked to a Shop ,apparently the mechanic has been working on MB cars for over 40 years, he said unless the timing chain is making a rattle when you start it up not to bother replacing it. The car drives great and has no noticeable noise at startup. That being said im might consider changing it myself since the shop wants $1500 to $2000 as a rough ball park.

If i understand the procedure for the timing chain correctly, it goes like this:
1. Remove serpentine belt, alternator and chain tensioner
2. Remove head cover and cam cover
3. Install two wrenches on the cams and tie the wrenches together so they dont spin
4. Cut chain with the aftermarket MB tool
5. Use MB chain tooth connector or strong string to connect new chain to existing chain.
6. Have a helper spin the crank to feed in the new chain, while i feed in the new chain and try and prevent either chain from spinning the cam gears up top.
7. Lineup cam gears as close as possible on the marks and use the tool to connect the new chain together
8. Reinstall cam cover and head cover
9. Reinstall new chain tensioner
10.Spin engine by hand to see if everything is smooth and nothing is binding
11.Re-install serpentine belt, ensure the timing pulley is still set to zero. Why would the pulley move in the first place?

Am i missing anything? I've never done a timing chain or belt before but sounds pretty straight forward and maybe half a Saturdays worth of work. The trick is making sure the two cam gears are on their marks so the engine doesn't implode.

Is there a way to adjust the cam gears after the chain is installed? It seems like it would be hard to line them up perfectly while also trying to crimp the chain.

Last edited by trivium91; Mar 9, 2020 at 05:18 PM.
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Old Mar 10, 2020 | 08:35 PM
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2005 C230 Sport Sedan-6 Speed Manual
You will find a relevant discussion here
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Old Mar 11, 2020 | 09:39 PM
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2005 C230
What about the rails though? The kit I bought comes with rails. I’m actually going to pay my mechanic to do it...his book time says 4.1 hours although I’m not sure if that includes changing the rails which from what I understand means removing the head. Also there is another chain in the kit...oil pump chain I think.

Last edited by trivium91; Mar 11, 2020 at 09:53 PM.
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Old Mar 27, 2020 | 05:08 PM
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2004 c230k
You will only be able to change the left rail (exhaust/tensioner side) and if you count the one on top as a rail. The other rail requires the cylinder head and front timing cover removed. You won’t have to remove the oil pan to get the front cover off. But it’s easier just pulling the motor. The other chain and rail is for the balance shafts.
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Old Jul 29, 2021 | 11:56 AM
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2005 benz c230 kompressor
timing chain

Originally Posted by trivium91
I just took a 2005 Kompressor C230 as partial trade, i took the car for a drive and liked it so much i decided to keep it.

There are no maintenance records, although the carfax just says 'Serviced" on many of the line items at intervals. The car has about $190,000 KM's or about 118,000 miles. It Looks like the car was owned by an older woman, she was the only owner. I haven't really looked at the Tranny/ Engine in great detail but if there are any issues or evidence the fluid has never been changed i might resell the car as i need this to be reliable for the wife. Im pulling the pan this weekend and changing the fluid, my plan is to change it three times over a few days so to get everything out of the torque converter than pull the pan and change the gasket and filter.. At any rate i talked to a Shop ,apparently the mechanic has been working on MB cars for over 40 years, he said unless the timing chain is making a rattle when you start it up not to bother replacing it. The car drives great and has no noticeable noise at startup. That being said im might consider changing it myself since the shop wants $1500 to $2000 as a rough ball park.

If i understand the procedure for the timing chain correctly, it goes like this:
1. Remove serpentine belt, alternator and chain tensioner
2. Remove head cover and cam cover
3. Install two wrenches on the cams and tie the wrenches together so they dont spin
4. Cut chain with the aftermarket MB tool
5. Use MB chain tooth connector or strong string to connect new chain to existing chain.
6. Have a helper spin the crank to feed in the new chain, while i feed in the new chain and try and prevent either chain from spinning the cam gears up top.
7. Lineup cam gears as close as possible on the marks and use the tool to connect the new chain together
8. Reinstall cam cover and head cover
9. Reinstall new chain tensioner
10.Spin engine by hand to see if everything is smooth and nothing is binding
11.Re-install serpentine belt, ensure the timing pulley is still set to zero. Why would the pulley move in the first place?

Am i missing anything? I've never done a timing chain or belt before but sounds pretty straight forward and maybe half a Saturdays worth of work. The trick is making sure the two cam gears are on their marks so the engine doesn't implode.

Is there a way to adjust the cam gears after the chain is installed? It seems like it would be hard to line them up perfectly while also trying to crimp the chain.
Hi there I just like to know if there are any videos or instruction manuals. or parts blow out charts showing how to change the chain and sprockets
of timing chain system of a 2005 benz c230 kompressor, I would really appreciate it if there was.
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