CEL...white smoke, car running very rough

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Sep 8, 2015 | 09:02 AM
  #1  
Fairly certain that I'm the latest broken head bolts lottery winner. Happened Saturday evening as I approached my driveway. Had it towed to the dealership last night.

I've put approximately 18,000 miles on the car over the 11 months I've owned my 2009 C63 (currently has 47,000 miles). It was purchased with one year of CPO warranty and I purchased another year for belt and suspenders.

I'll let the group know how things progress. Anything I should be aware of outside of replacing cylinder head gaskets, head bolts (upgraded bolts), lifter hydraulic tappets, and all other listed gaskets?

Thanks,

Rob
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Sep 8, 2015 | 09:08 AM
  #2  
Has anyone had success with the dealership using ARP studs in place of the new MB head bolts? I'm happy to pay for them, but something tells me that won't install non-MB parts though.
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Sep 8, 2015 | 09:26 AM
  #3  
You don't need studs on a stock engine. Revised bolts are fine. Dealers around here won't touch after market stuff.
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Sep 8, 2015 | 09:29 AM
  #4  
Thanks Merc, I appreciate your involvement on the forum. I don't post much, but certainly have read many of your insightful posts.
Reply 0
Sep 8, 2015 | 09:32 AM
  #5  
Sounds like the bolt may actually of broken off. If that's the case you will need a new head and cams too.
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Sep 8, 2015 | 09:54 AM
  #6  
Great - thanks again, Merc!
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Sep 8, 2015 | 11:51 AM
  #7  
Just heard from the dealership. I was told that the fuel injector for cylinder 6 was leaking and caused the left side of the cat to clog. This was the reason the car was running very rough and misfiring.

Any thoughts?
Reply 0
Sep 8, 2015 | 01:40 PM
  #8  
If that's the case it'll be much cheaper to fix. Seems plausible too. Bad cats lead to all kinds of misfires and such.
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Sep 8, 2015 | 02:07 PM
  #9  
Thanks Purple Heart!
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Sep 8, 2015 | 02:48 PM
  #10  
Might be an easy fix.. but if you need replacement cats.. go get a loan.. or be independently wealthy
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Sep 8, 2015 | 03:30 PM
  #11  
Quote: Might be an easy fix.. but if you need replacement cats.. go get a loan.. or be independently wealthy
They wouldn't be covered under the CPO warranty?
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Sep 8, 2015 | 03:37 PM
  #12  
They might be, not sure. There is also a separate warranty for emissions components. I'm not sure what the exact details are though.
Reply 0
Sep 22, 2015 | 10:12 AM
  #13  
Update:

The dealership installed a new injector on cylinder 6 and replaced the left cat under the CPO warranty.

Fast forward to this past Saturday. I drove to Ocean City, MD with a few friends to play golf. As I approached the course, check engine light came on and an incredible amount of white smoke (much, much more than with the initial failure) billowed out of the exhaust. No coolant light with initial failure or this one.

So I rent a car from a local car rental agency and have my car towed to MB of Salisbury, MD...both of which are 2.5 hours from my house. It's good to be me right now.

To add insult to injury, the wind shifted as I got out of my car some 200 yards from the clubhouse and the smoke made its way directly toward a bunch of folks who were near the clubhouse.
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Sep 22, 2015 | 10:14 AM
  #14  
Needless to say, I'm falling *out* of love with this car.
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Sep 22, 2015 | 11:19 AM
  #15  
fix it, and dump it. seriously. i don't know how people hang on to cars that are problematic
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Sep 22, 2015 | 11:36 AM
  #16  
It still has 13 months of CPO warranty that would transfer to a new owner. I'm giving this serious thought.
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Sep 22, 2015 | 12:07 PM
  #17  
my 09 did this. had like 4 or 5 stuck fuel injectors it eventually hydrolocked the engine. luckily the starter motor isn't strong enough to bend parts. got head bolts replaced out of them as they had to take the heads off to inspect for damage.
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Sep 22, 2015 | 12:40 PM
  #18  
Just heard from MB of Salisbury. Engine scope shows that cylinder 6 piston is cracked. Wait, isn't that the cylinder with the leaky fuel injector? It sure is. Salisbury called Hunt Valley and Hunt Valley isn't accepting responsibility. That's laughable. My attorney is going to have fun with this if I have to come out of pocket.

Service manager at Salisbury is going to through appropriate approvals, but this a complete teardown...possibly new motor.
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Sep 22, 2015 | 06:49 PM
  #19  
CEL...white smoke, car running very rough
Wow! Glad that you have the CPO warranty to cover this mess! Keep us posted and gl
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Sep 23, 2015 | 11:04 PM
  #20  
Right you may have won the lucky ticket
Glad you still have some warranty left. GL.
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Sep 24, 2015 | 03:59 PM
  #21  
Thx guys. I'll update the thread as information comes in.
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Sep 30, 2015 | 12:22 PM
  #22  
I spoke with the service manager at MB of Salisbury. He informed me that appropriate approvals have been obtained to provide a new motor. Not just a short block, but full long block. All covered under CPO warranty. I felt this issue would be covered under warranty, but have to admit I'm particularly pleased about the decision to provide a new long block. I'll get full details on the extent of the damage and post the results tomorrow. My experience with MB of Salisbury has been very good thus far. The service manager was very transparent and instilled a lot of confidence that the dealership would do the right thing.
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Sep 30, 2015 | 06:36 PM
  #23  
Nice outcome. Can't be at all unhappy with that.
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Sep 30, 2015 | 08:23 PM
  #24  
No doubt, thx man.
Reply 0
Oct 1, 2015 | 01:37 AM
  #25  
That's great news!
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