Diegob

First off let me start by saying I have been reading posts on this site for a few months and havwe found them to be very informative. I purchased a 2008 C300 6 Speed Manual Artic White, AMG Wheels P1 on May 23rd. I loved the car until last weekend. I started the car and noticed a loud pinging sound coming from the motor. At first I though it may have been due to a cold engine start. I drove the car about 10 miles and the sound began to get louder, as though the engine was lacking in oil. I checked the oil level and it seemed okay. I began to worry and called roadside assistance. To ther credit they showed up to my house in 25 minutes. The tech also believed the engine may be lacking oil, he checked it and confirned it was fine. He told me that the sound was definatley an internal engine problem. Are you kidding me at 900 miles. My 2003 Honda has 70000 miles and has never needed as much as a bulb replaced. Anyway the car has been in the shop for 3 days now. It turns out it was a bad lifter, they need the remove the cam and replace the lifter. Can this cause future engine failure? Has anyone else had this problem. I hope to get my car back by tomorrow so I can a least have it for the holiday weekend.

chilledbenz

I'm not an engine expert, but I'm going to say everything should be fine since you caught it before it did any real damage. If you have ever watched Nascar you would know that those engines are turning at higher rpm than your Benz would ever see and they can lose a lifter and continue on at 200mph...but not for long. Soon as that lifter breaks and falls down into the engine its all she wrote..parts would be flying everywhere ha ha. So its a good thing you stopped when you did.

mac911

I've read on here before people asking for a little extended warranty add-on from the dealer or Mercedes Benz USA, when such significant drivetrain work is done sooooo early on.

Diegob

well got my car back today, the service advisor told me they had to take out the entire cam to change the lifter, so far so good. I guess time will tell. The car is leased so I'm not too worried about warranty issues.

nyca

is this a lease? if not, think about a trade in soon after the warranty expires. or better yet, write your dealer and MBUSA and ask for a free extended warranty given what has happened to you.

the issue is - the techs in the service departments don't do this kind of work much, if at all.

Diegob

That's what I was thinking. The service advisor made it sound like this was the first c300 engine they had ever taken apart and reassembled. On start up yesterday the belts made a slight noise as if they were not properly tightented, this car is really driving me crazy.

RLE

You sure aren't.

A noisy lifter cannot break and "fall into the engine". To change a V-6 MB lifter, the cam always has to be removed and it's a routine repair and is certainly no reason to extend the warranty.

And I thought NASCAR engines use pushrods. I visited the Penske and Earnhardt NASCAR shops just last week in Charlotte NC and maybe should have asked.

chilledbenz

Indeed they do...but I was thinking of the intake/exhaust valve breaking anyways and not a lifter. Had a brain lapse...things confuse you when you get old ha ha. At any rate it sounds like it was best to shut it down and have it flat bedded in anyway.

keith100

I think your right about the pushrods, tho NASCAR does have several levels of sophistication. Some events still require carburettors!

And,to the OP, no, a collapsed lifter just means one lifter is not adjusting itself and therefor not not opening the valve fully. Not perfect on a new car, but at least you didn't get "they all do that sir". MB seems to have putit right.

.

jrct9454

Good grief....

One of the reasons that NASCAR is a joke among real car people is that, yes, all of the engines are pushrod V-8s that really belong in pickup trucks, and they ALL use carburetors ALL of the time. What they do SOME of the time, to keep them close and the crashes coming frequently [that's what the audience wants] is to impose a restrictive device on the carb to reduce air flow, and keep power down. These so-called "restrictor plate" races make you wince on restarts, waiting for something awful to happen.

The other giggle is to see these otherwise identical cars running around with stickers on the front to make them "look like" FWD Camrys and Fusions and Malibus. This actually used to be stock car racing, way back when....

Anyway, I have to agree that I don't see the replacement of a noisy lifter as a big deal.

Diegob

Well I drove about 300 miles over the holiday weekend, and so far it feels fine. Let's hope that's the last unscheduled visit to the MB service department.

narky

And the cars only go around in circles.