Closing in on deal for '15 C300. Wrist Pin issues?
#1
Closing in on deal for '15 C300. Wrist Pin issues?
Hey everyone, I am leaving the BMW family. I found a beautiful C300 with 25k miles that is being shipped to Florida from Washington State. Should be here in 3 weeks.
Being a 2015 model, I am concerned about the wrist pins. It was mechanically inspected and does not have any of the noises associated with wrist pin issues. I was on vacation in Seattle when I found it so I heard and saw the car in person.
Anyway, I ran the vin on a few websites that show the delivery date(?) of April 29th, 2015, and I know that some engines before April 20th are affected. Is there a way a know for sure if this vehicle is affected by the wrist pin issue? The VIN is listed below if anyone wants to run it to see. Like I said, I'm a BMW guy so this is my first dive into the world of MB.
55SWF4JB0FU070722
Being a 2015 model, I am concerned about the wrist pins. It was mechanically inspected and does not have any of the noises associated with wrist pin issues. I was on vacation in Seattle when I found it so I heard and saw the car in person.
Anyway, I ran the vin on a few websites that show the delivery date(?) of April 29th, 2015, and I know that some engines before April 20th are affected. Is there a way a know for sure if this vehicle is affected by the wrist pin issue? The VIN is listed below if anyone wants to run it to see. Like I said, I'm a BMW guy so this is my first dive into the world of MB.
55SWF4JB0FU070722
#7
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 438
Likes: 11
From: Columbus, GA
'18 GLC 300 4M/Air Suspension
I got rid of my '15 over a year ago (and will be ordering an '18), but from what I recall there was a noticeable ticking noise (from the engine) when the engine was cold. It happened when decelerating from about 20/25 mph, and only for about the first 60-90 seconds.
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#8
I got rid of my '15 over a year ago (and will be ordering an '18), but from what I recall there was a noticeable ticking noise (from the engine) when the engine was cold. It happened when decelerating from about 20/25 mph, and only for about the first 60-90 seconds.
Last edited by Sam Manuel; 08-29-2017 at 07:12 PM.
#9
Super Member
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 789
Likes: 47
From: Eastern Massachusetts
2021 E450, 2020 C43, 2015 C300, 2007 C280
Don'T Do It!
No! No! No! Walk away from it! The car is a "good deal", only because other buyers have been scared off by the wrist pin problem. Those same savvy buyers are going be out there still when you try to sell it later. The dealers will certainly know about it when you trade it in. Early production MY2015 cars also had many defects of assembly. See the list buried in my first previous comment (plus some additions that other owners reported. However these were all cosmetic, meaning you can see them. You will find better cars.
New wrist pins did not start going into production engines until April 20th. So your engine definitely has The Dreaded Wrist Pin Problem (successor to the The Dreaded Balance Shaft Gear problem that affected certain V6 and V8 engines into MY 2007). You cannot be sure without the ENGINE number. To obtain the engine number from the VIN, you have to have access to the MB Electronic Parts Catalog. Contrary to what I wrote below, the wrist pin problem was a DESIGN problem by the vaunted German engineers. It was not due to improper manufacture or assembly by so-called inferior American workers. It affected engines made in Germany as well. My C300 has a German-built engine.
If left unrepaired, the problem will cause premature wear in the cylinder walls. The problem often does not show up immediately. However, I stopped paying attention to this issue in 12/15. So all the owners involved in the discussion at that point had cars less 17 months old. But no one (not even MB, which has said nothing other than the service bulletin) can say at what mileage an engine can be considered safe from suffering the consequences of this defect.
The link back to my second comment is to the main discussion thread for the wrist pin problem. This thread is "new C300 with Engine noise". The link back to my first comment is to the much shorter thread "Engine Rattling".
New wrist pins did not start going into production engines until April 20th. So your engine definitely has The Dreaded Wrist Pin Problem (successor to the The Dreaded Balance Shaft Gear problem that affected certain V6 and V8 engines into MY 2007). You cannot be sure without the ENGINE number. To obtain the engine number from the VIN, you have to have access to the MB Electronic Parts Catalog. Contrary to what I wrote below, the wrist pin problem was a DESIGN problem by the vaunted German engineers. It was not due to improper manufacture or assembly by so-called inferior American workers. It affected engines made in Germany as well. My C300 has a German-built engine.
If left unrepaired, the problem will cause premature wear in the cylinder walls. The problem often does not show up immediately. However, I stopped paying attention to this issue in 12/15. So all the owners involved in the discussion at that point had cars less 17 months old. But no one (not even MB, which has said nothing other than the service bulletin) can say at what mileage an engine can be considered safe from suffering the consequences of this defect.
The link back to my second comment is to the main discussion thread for the wrist pin problem. This thread is "new C300 with Engine noise". The link back to my first comment is to the much shorter thread "Engine Rattling".
I took my C300 4MATIC to the dealer today for five(!) small items, plus not satisfied with the way Steering Assist does not really follow the lanes or the car ahead. (A list will follow this more important discussion.)
When I got home, i got a call from one of the service coordinators telling that when the mechanic drove the car to listen for the wind noise above the driver's window, he also the heard a ticking sound that I had been hearing for the last month. However, I had heard it only upon a cold start. I would hear it briefly while cruising or accelerating, but would go away when I was off the throttle. Then it seemed to go away. The mechanic heard it when the car was well warmed up. My C300 was delivered in the first week of 02/15, and it has 5,000 miles.
The service coordinator said they will replace the connecting rods (!) and estimated it will take two weeks. They will get the parts within 24 hours, and I assume they will start tearing down the engine engine without waiting for the parts. I had already read your posts, so i asked if the problem had anything to do with the wrist pins. He said it might, but he was not the mechanic.
In addition to the wind noise* and the Steering Assist problem, the small problems I had included:
- gap in the molding between the top of the windshield and the headliner,
- gap in a molding on the front edge of the front door on the passenger side,
- gas filler flap sticks out at the top and has uneven gaps top and bottom, plus it tends to stick shut so that it takes multiple pokes to open,
- the sunglasses holder in the overhead console flops down, instead of gliding down smoothly. [Clarification: it wouldn't stay shut.]
[Also, many other owners reported:
-wrinkles in the sunroof sunshade or in the headliner around the sunroof,
-MBTEX oozing so much exudate that it sometimes formed swirl patterns on the seats! (This was a problem when a cold overnight was followed by a warm day. In the unlikely event this has not been fixed, this should not be problem in Florida.)
-and, especially, misaligned rear quarter panel, taillights, and trunk trim.]
[*Many owners reported the wind noise problem in the driver side front door. This required replacement of the window with double-layer acoustic glass and/or special seals. If the edge of the glass is stepped, the glass has been replaced.]
....
When I got home, i got a call from one of the service coordinators telling that when the mechanic drove the car to listen for the wind noise above the driver's window, he also the heard a ticking sound that I had been hearing for the last month. However, I had heard it only upon a cold start. I would hear it briefly while cruising or accelerating, but would go away when I was off the throttle. Then it seemed to go away. The mechanic heard it when the car was well warmed up. My C300 was delivered in the first week of 02/15, and it has 5,000 miles.
The service coordinator said they will replace the connecting rods (!) and estimated it will take two weeks. They will get the parts within 24 hours, and I assume they will start tearing down the engine engine without waiting for the parts. I had already read your posts, so i asked if the problem had anything to do with the wrist pins. He said it might, but he was not the mechanic.
In addition to the wind noise* and the Steering Assist problem, the small problems I had included:
- gap in the molding between the top of the windshield and the headliner,
- gap in a molding on the front edge of the front door on the passenger side,
- gas filler flap sticks out at the top and has uneven gaps top and bottom, plus it tends to stick shut so that it takes multiple pokes to open,
- the sunglasses holder in the overhead console flops down, instead of gliding down smoothly. [Clarification: it wouldn't stay shut.]
[Also, many other owners reported:
-wrinkles in the sunroof sunshade or in the headliner around the sunroof,
-MBTEX oozing so much exudate that it sometimes formed swirl patterns on the seats! (This was a problem when a cold overnight was followed by a warm day. In the unlikely event this has not been fixed, this should not be problem in Florida.)
-and, especially, misaligned rear quarter panel, taillights, and trunk trim.]
[*Many owners reported the wind noise problem in the driver side front door. This required replacement of the window with double-layer acoustic glass and/or special seals. If the edge of the glass is stepped, the glass has been replaced.]
....
This is what my C300 sounded like [refers to another owner's description of his engine's sound]. When the weather turned cold in early Nov., I heard it on starting cold for a few days. When the car warmed up, I no longer heard it. Then the weather turned warm again, and I didn't hear it at all. (My hearing is still very good.) Like yours, my C300 was delivered in early Feb. 2015. It has a little over 5000 miles.
When I took my C300 4MATIC into my dealer to see about several small items, the service foreman and I took the car out on the local expressway to check on wind noise. To the immense credit of my dealer, the foreman heard a faint rattle in the engine. I had heard it only when starting cold. The car had to have the PISTONS replaced! I lost the use of it from Nov. 12 until Dec. 8. (almost a month). The problem is actually a manufacturing defect in the wrist pins. [I found out later it is a DESIGN defect!] If left unrepaired, it causes premature wear in the cylinder walls.
MASSC300 has found a reference to the MB tech bulletin for this, but the bulletin itself is behind various paywalls. The summary explains the problem. The bulletin is:
(The defective parts are in engines made before April 20, 2015. [This is the correct information, as corrected on 01/03/05. See note below.])
[Note added 01-03-15: see the comment by deafcon at https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...il#post6612605. So that readers do not have go to deafcon's comment, here is the operative sentence, "Any M274 built at the Infiniti plant in Dechard before serial number ~43000, or built in Germany before roughly serial ~400000 could develop the problem. New wrist pins went into production engines starting April 20th.]
....
When I took my C300 4MATIC into my dealer to see about several small items, the service foreman and I took the car out on the local expressway to check on wind noise. To the immense credit of my dealer, the foreman heard a faint rattle in the engine. I had heard it only when starting cold. The car had to have the PISTONS replaced! I lost the use of it from Nov. 12 until Dec. 8. (almost a month). The problem is actually a manufacturing defect in the wrist pins. [I found out later it is a DESIGN defect!] If left unrepaired, it causes premature wear in the cylinder walls.
MASSC300 has found a reference to the MB tech bulletin for this, but the bulletin itself is behind various paywalls. The summary explains the problem. The bulletin is:
TSB #LI03-10P060916
NHTSA ID #10058545
Date Announced: JULY 01 2015
Summary: XENTRY (DAIMLER): DUE TO UNFAVORABLE TOLERANCE OF PISTON WRIST PIN, RESULTING IN KNOCKING, CLATTERING/RATTLING NOISES, CAUSING AN ENLARGE END FLOAT CONNECTING ROD IN PISTON, FROM CRANK ASSEMBLY OF ENGINE WHEN COLD.
...NHTSA ID #10058545
Date Announced: JULY 01 2015
Summary: XENTRY (DAIMLER): DUE TO UNFAVORABLE TOLERANCE OF PISTON WRIST PIN, RESULTING IN KNOCKING, CLATTERING/RATTLING NOISES, CAUSING AN ENLARGE END FLOAT CONNECTING ROD IN PISTON, FROM CRANK ASSEMBLY OF ENGINE WHEN COLD.
(The defective parts are in engines made before April 20, 2015. [This is the correct information, as corrected on 01/03/05. See note below.])
[Note added 01-03-15: see the comment by deafcon at https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...il#post6612605. So that readers do not have go to deafcon's comment, here is the operative sentence, "Any M274 built at the Infiniti plant in Dechard before serial number ~43000, or built in Germany before roughly serial ~400000 could develop the problem. New wrist pins went into production engines starting April 20th.]
....
#10
Hey everyone, I am leaving the BMW family. I found a beautiful C300 with 25k miles that is being shipped to Florida from Washington State. Should be here in 3 weeks.
Being a 2015 model, I am concerned about the wrist pins. It was mechanically inspected and does not have any of the noises associated with wrist pin issues. I was on vacation in Seattle when I found it so I heard and saw the car in person.
Anyway, I ran the vin on a few websites that show the delivery date(?) of April 29th, 2015, and I know that some engines before April 20th are affected. Is there a way a know for sure if this vehicle is affected by the wrist pin issue? The VIN is listed below if anyone wants to run it to see. Like I said, I'm a BMW guy so this is my first dive into the world of MB.
55SWF4JB0FU070722
Being a 2015 model, I am concerned about the wrist pins. It was mechanically inspected and does not have any of the noises associated with wrist pin issues. I was on vacation in Seattle when I found it so I heard and saw the car in person.
Anyway, I ran the vin on a few websites that show the delivery date(?) of April 29th, 2015, and I know that some engines before April 20th are affected. Is there a way a know for sure if this vehicle is affected by the wrist pin issue? The VIN is listed below if anyone wants to run it to see. Like I said, I'm a BMW guy so this is my first dive into the world of MB.
55SWF4JB0FU070722
#11
No! No! No! Walk away from it! The car is a "good deal", only because other buyers have been scared off by the wrist pin problem. Those same savvy buyers are going be out there still when you try to sell it later. The dealers will certainly know about it when you trade it in. Early production MY2015 cars also had many defects of assembly. See the list buried in my first previous comment (plus some additions that other owners reported. However these were all cosmetic, meaning you can see them. You will find better cars.
New wrist pins did not start going into production engines until April 20th. So your engine definitely has The Dreaded Wrist Pin Problem (successor to the The Dreaded Balance Shaft Gear problem that affected certain V6 and V8 engines into MY 2007). You cannot be sure without the ENGINE number. To obtain the engine number from the VIN, you have to have access to the MB Electronic Parts Catalog. Contrary to what I wrote below, the wrist pin problem was a DESIGN problem by the vaunted German engineers. It was not due to improper manufacture or assembly by so-called inferior American workers. It affected engines made in Germany as well. My C300 has a German-built engine.
If left unrepaired, the problem will cause premature wear in the cylinder walls. The problem often does not show up immediately. However, I stopped paying attention to this issue in 12/15. So all the owners involved in the discussion at that point had cars less 17 months old. But no one (not even MB, which has said nothing other than the service bulletin) can say at what mileage an engine can be considered safe from suffering the consequences of this defect.
The link back to my second comment is to the main discussion thread for the wrist pin problem. This thread is "new C300 with Engine noise". The link back to my first comment is to the much shorter thread "Engine Rattling".
New wrist pins did not start going into production engines until April 20th. So your engine definitely has The Dreaded Wrist Pin Problem (successor to the The Dreaded Balance Shaft Gear problem that affected certain V6 and V8 engines into MY 2007). You cannot be sure without the ENGINE number. To obtain the engine number from the VIN, you have to have access to the MB Electronic Parts Catalog. Contrary to what I wrote below, the wrist pin problem was a DESIGN problem by the vaunted German engineers. It was not due to improper manufacture or assembly by so-called inferior American workers. It affected engines made in Germany as well. My C300 has a German-built engine.
If left unrepaired, the problem will cause premature wear in the cylinder walls. The problem often does not show up immediately. However, I stopped paying attention to this issue in 12/15. So all the owners involved in the discussion at that point had cars less 17 months old. But no one (not even MB, which has said nothing other than the service bulletin) can say at what mileage an engine can be considered safe from suffering the consequences of this defect.
The link back to my second comment is to the main discussion thread for the wrist pin problem. This thread is "new C300 with Engine noise". The link back to my first comment is to the much shorter thread "Engine Rattling".
There was a manufacturing run of wrist pins that were not tight enough tolerance. When compared with pistons/rods that also can be on the high side of tolerance, you can get excessive clearances and a rattle noise until they warm up slightly. That's it. The repair kit is new complete piston/rod assemblies, rings and all.
It's not a "design" defect, as the design didn't change. The supplier (mercedes doesn't build the parts in house) was sending parts with just a little too much tolerance, it was found out and corrected after a certain point. Any engine before then, if it has the noise, will get a new piston kit. There is no engine wear, cylinder damage, etc. It's not a quick replacement but it's fairly simple, takes about 2 days for an experienced tech assuming the parts are available, little more on a 4-matic car as there's more in the way to remove the engine.
Don't try to scare people because you don't understand what's going on and are afraid.
The following 4 users liked this post by ItalianJoe1:
The following users liked this post:
crothberg (01-25-2022)
#13
You say all this very dramatic stuff, but there's little substance to it.
There was a manufacturing run of wrist pins that were not tight enough tolerance. When compared with pistons/rods that also can be on the high side of tolerance, you can get excessive clearances and a rattle noise until they warm up slightly. That's it. The repair kit is new complete piston/rod assemblies, rings and all.
It's not a "design" defect, as the design didn't change. The supplier (mercedes doesn't build the parts in house) was sending parts with just a little too much tolerance, it was found out and corrected after a certain point. Any engine before then, if it has the noise, will get a new piston kit. There is no engine wear, cylinder damage, etc. It's not a quick replacement but it's fairly simple, takes about 2 days for an experienced tech assuming the parts are available, little more on a 4-matic car as there's more in the way to remove the engine.
Don't try to scare people because you don't understand what's going on and are afraid.
There was a manufacturing run of wrist pins that were not tight enough tolerance. When compared with pistons/rods that also can be on the high side of tolerance, you can get excessive clearances and a rattle noise until they warm up slightly. That's it. The repair kit is new complete piston/rod assemblies, rings and all.
It's not a "design" defect, as the design didn't change. The supplier (mercedes doesn't build the parts in house) was sending parts with just a little too much tolerance, it was found out and corrected after a certain point. Any engine before then, if it has the noise, will get a new piston kit. There is no engine wear, cylinder damage, etc. It's not a quick replacement but it's fairly simple, takes about 2 days for an experienced tech assuming the parts are available, little more on a 4-matic car as there's more in the way to remove the engine.
Don't try to scare people because you don't understand what's going on and are afraid.
#14
Super Member
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 789
Likes: 47
From: Eastern Massachusetts
2021 E450, 2020 C43, 2015 C300, 2007 C280
Finally, some information
You say all this very dramatic stuff, but there's little substance to it.
There was a manufacturing run of wrist pins that were not tight enough tolerance. When compared with pistons/rods that also can be on the high side of tolerance, you can get excessive clearances and a rattle noise until they warm up slightly. That's it. The repair kit is new complete piston/rod assemblies, rings and all.
It's not a "design" defect, as the design didn't change. The supplier (mercedes doesn't build the parts in house) was sending parts with just a little too much tolerance, it was found out and corrected after a certain point. Any engine before then, if it has the noise, will get a new piston kit. There is no engine wear, cylinder damage, etc. It's not a quick replacement but it's fairly simple, takes about 2 days for an experienced tech assuming the parts are available, little more on a 4-matic car as there's more in the way to remove the engine.
Don't try to scare people because you don't understand what's going on and are afraid.
There was a manufacturing run of wrist pins that were not tight enough tolerance. When compared with pistons/rods that also can be on the high side of tolerance, you can get excessive clearances and a rattle noise until they warm up slightly. That's it. The repair kit is new complete piston/rod assemblies, rings and all.
It's not a "design" defect, as the design didn't change. The supplier (mercedes doesn't build the parts in house) was sending parts with just a little too much tolerance, it was found out and corrected after a certain point. Any engine before then, if it has the noise, will get a new piston kit. There is no engine wear, cylinder damage, etc. It's not a quick replacement but it's fairly simple, takes about 2 days for an experienced tech assuming the parts are available, little more on a 4-matic car as there's more in the way to remove the engine.
Don't try to scare people because you don't understand what's going on and are afraid.
I saw a single comment over on "new C300 with Engine noise" which said the fault was a design defect. I repeated it several times and invited others to correct me. (MBWorld commenters seldom need an invitation to make a correction.) So I continued to go with that until now. MBUSA could have ended all of this speculation and much of the owner anxiety with just a little transparency. But MBUSA simply does not do that.
I don't doubt your statement that the repair takes two days. However, I lost the use of my car from Nov. 12 until Dec. 8. Ten days of that was waiting for parts from Germany. (Too bad my dealer didn't know it would take so long before I left my car.) There may have been several cars ahead of me too. The shop foreman did say that they already had plenty of experience.
#15
Thank you for the information. You are the first MB technician who has shed any light on this subject of maximum importance to all too many owners.
I saw a single comment over on "new C300 with Engine noise" which said the fault was a design defect. I repeated it several times and invited others to correct me. (MBWorld commenters seldom need an invitation to make a correction.) So I continued to go with that until now. MBUSA could have ended all of this speculation and much of the owner anxiety with just a little transparency. But MBUSA simply does not do that.
I don't doubt your statement that the repair takes two days. However, I lost the use of my car from Nov. 12 until Dec. 8. Ten days of that was waiting for parts from Germany. (Too bad my dealer didn't know it would take so long before I left my car.) There may have been several cars ahead of me too. The shop foreman did say that they already had plenty of experience.
I saw a single comment over on "new C300 with Engine noise" which said the fault was a design defect. I repeated it several times and invited others to correct me. (MBWorld commenters seldom need an invitation to make a correction.) So I continued to go with that until now. MBUSA could have ended all of this speculation and much of the owner anxiety with just a little transparency. But MBUSA simply does not do that.
I don't doubt your statement that the repair takes two days. However, I lost the use of my car from Nov. 12 until Dec. 8. Ten days of that was waiting for parts from Germany. (Too bad my dealer didn't know it would take so long before I left my car.) There may have been several cars ahead of me too. The shop foreman did say that they already had plenty of experience.
#16
Super Member
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 789
Likes: 47
From: Eastern Massachusetts
2021 E450, 2020 C43, 2015 C300, 2007 C280
No, there was none. But the noise indicating a problem had begun only about 3-4 weeks before I took it in. (I was taking it in A LOT, for the non-engine problems I listed.)
#17
I'm assuming the long term damage is unknown, but it's comforting to know that from what Joe described, it's pretty much mainly a noise issue. At least that's what I gathered from it.
#18
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 438
Likes: 11
From: Columbus, GA
'18 GLC 300 4M/Air Suspension
The car never ran right after that and I dumped it.
But I am going to buy an '18...so not turned off on Mercedes.
#19
My repair went severely wrong. The Columbus, GA dealer took about 3 weeks to do the repair (from what I recall). During the repair a tool broke off within the engine and they had to remove the engine and send it to a machine shop.
The car never ran right after that and I dumped it.
But I am going to buy an '18...so not turned off on Mercedes.
The car never ran right after that and I dumped it.
But I am going to buy an '18...so not turned off on Mercedes.
#22
Thank you for the information. You are the first MB technician who has shed any light on this subject of maximum importance to all too many owners.
I saw a single comment over on "new C300 with Engine noise" which said the fault was a design defect. I repeated it several times and invited others to correct me. (MBWorld commenters seldom need an invitation to make a correction.) So I continued to go with that until now. MBUSA could have ended all of this speculation and much of the owner anxiety with just a little transparency. But MBUSA simply does not do that.
I don't doubt your statement that the repair takes two days. However, I lost the use of my car from Nov. 12 until Dec. 8. Ten days of that was waiting for parts from Germany. (Too bad my dealer didn't know it would take so long before I left my car.) There may have been several cars ahead of me too. The shop foreman did say that they already had plenty of experience.
I saw a single comment over on "new C300 with Engine noise" which said the fault was a design defect. I repeated it several times and invited others to correct me. (MBWorld commenters seldom need an invitation to make a correction.) So I continued to go with that until now. MBUSA could have ended all of this speculation and much of the owner anxiety with just a little transparency. But MBUSA simply does not do that.
I don't doubt your statement that the repair takes two days. However, I lost the use of my car from Nov. 12 until Dec. 8. Ten days of that was waiting for parts from Germany. (Too bad my dealer didn't know it would take so long before I left my car.) There may have been several cars ahead of me too. The shop foreman did say that they already had plenty of experience.
I can post the bulletins for the wristpin repairs but it's not too detailed, just says if there's the noise, how to narrow it down to the piston issue, and then to replace the piston kit.
Def unfortunate that you were without your car for 4 weeks, hopefully you at least were driving their car (loaner) for that time.
Bear in mind, it's absolutely not in the shops interest to keep the car any longer than necessary, but if you do a major repair, any quality tech is going to want to ensure it's done right and double check his work. I like to at least run the car, let it sit overnight, then perform a drive cycle like a customer would, start the car cold, go somewhere, restart the car hot, come back, let it sit, then double-check everything again. For me, I take a great deal of pride in my work and I try to treat customers how I would want to be treated, I don't want anything I've done to be a reason the car comes back. Sadly, due to the pay structure and culture at dealerships, many techs do not think this way as it's not profitable.
The following 2 users liked this post by ItalianJoe1:
gfmohn (09-05-2017),
Ron P Baker (03-13-2022)
#23
I try to help out on here when I can, and yes, there's very little "good" info available to the general public and far too much hear-say passed off as truth.
I can post the bulletins for the wristpin repairs but it's not too detailed, just says if there's the noise, how to narrow it down to the piston issue, and then to replace the piston kit.
Def unfortunate that you were without your car for 4 weeks, hopefully you at least were driving their car (loaner) for that time.
Bear in mind, it's absolutely not in the shops interest to keep the car any longer than necessary, but if you do a major repair, any quality tech is going to want to ensure it's done right and double check his work. I like to at least run the car, let it sit overnight, then perform a drive cycle like a customer would, start the car cold, go somewhere, restart the car hot, come back, let it sit, then double-check everything again. For me, I take a great deal of pride in my work and I try to treat customers how I would want to be treated, I don't want anything I've done to be a reason the car comes back. Sadly, due to the pay structure and culture at dealerships, many techs do not think this way as it's not profitable.
I can post the bulletins for the wristpin repairs but it's not too detailed, just says if there's the noise, how to narrow it down to the piston issue, and then to replace the piston kit.
Def unfortunate that you were without your car for 4 weeks, hopefully you at least were driving their car (loaner) for that time.
Bear in mind, it's absolutely not in the shops interest to keep the car any longer than necessary, but if you do a major repair, any quality tech is going to want to ensure it's done right and double check his work. I like to at least run the car, let it sit overnight, then perform a drive cycle like a customer would, start the car cold, go somewhere, restart the car hot, come back, let it sit, then double-check everything again. For me, I take a great deal of pride in my work and I try to treat customers how I would want to be treated, I don't want anything I've done to be a reason the car comes back. Sadly, due to the pay structure and culture at dealerships, many techs do not think this way as it's not profitable.
#24
A properly done repair (contingent on the quality of the tech, sadly) will have no negative effects. You get new bearings and rings too, so the engine should be closer to new than it was before for sure.
#25
On the bright side, it seems like a large portion of the C300s that had this pin issue, have already been fixed. For a while we were doing them fairly often, I think I did the last one we've done at my shop and it was a while ago, haven't seen once since.