HELP! C63 running on 4 cylinders
 

Morning guys
new to this forum, and looking for some wise owls for advice!
so here is what's happened to my 2010 c63 facelift. 35,000 miles.
I bought the car last Wednesday (02/11/16) from a car trader in Birmingham, his eBay account goes by the name of trade2trade1. I went up & properly inspected the car, checked coolant for oil, dipstick all tyres etc. Car was fine driving home to plymouth. Used 3/4 of a tank to get home and another tank just driving around the next day having abit of fun listening to the exhaust note.
Saturday morning comes and I go to start the beast up and she was running extremely rough with an Engine management light on. So I took her to my local merc specialist and the diagnosed it with one side of the engine'a cylinders not in sync/misfiring and lots of error codes. the garage said it's potentially best case the timing chain... the garage has said the car has been attacked previously because there are missing and replaced bolts that aren't Mercedes.(so it tells them this problem has been there before) I have also contacted the seller who immediately after telling him about the problem got very defensive and slightly offensive to me over the phone, telling me not to contact him again. I have gone to citizens advice and have taken photos of his eBay page and feedback from other vehicles he's sold, he also gave me a private receipt for the car, when clearly he trades with vehicles... so I have sent a letter quoting consumer rights act 2015 and using my short term rights I've asked for a full refund of the car... I have fault codes from the garage attached.

apologies about the essay, Thanks for taking the time to read - Luke

Did they replace the headbolts? Almost sounds like the cam phasers are misaligned on that side.

There's no evidence of the headbolts being done previously, I did ask and the trader/seller didn't have any records either...
Cheers - Luke

spot on or phasers have failed

Okay I'll suggest that to the garage.. just want my girl back now ��

probably the cams, i had to get mine adjusted around 70,000 KM

You bought a used car without an inspection???

If they're not making that nasty startup noise I doubt they have failed.

The torque spec on the phaser bolts changed at some point. Maybe they started to come loose throwing the timing off. All guess work right now.

I may be an owl... but a wise one I am probably not. ;) Like others have suggested it looks like a problem with camshaft timing, but based on the amount of data here it is impossible to further narrow it down. It could be something as simple as a camshaft position sensor or more complex like the VVT system (which I gather is what Jasonoff meant by cam phasers - the M156 timing is hydraulically controlled via electronic solenoids and the ME). You're not going to know until you tear into the motor, which someone has apparently already done but didn't fix it right. I am hoping it's not going to be an expensive repair. Good luck.

There's only one bolt through the center and a washer between the adjuster and the cam which is rough enough to prevent slippage. See https://www.mbca.org/star-article/ma...ne-refinements for an overview and what's involved in adjusting the cams. Yes, it is possible that the bolt has come loose, but as Jason said, it's all just guesswork until you open her up.

Hoofing, thanks for the input men. Will suggest a few of these to the garage maybe get a few juices flowing. I had an inspection booked for Monday with my local merc specialist.it went wrong before the inspection. I did attach the error codes to my original post I think, not sure if you guys can see them tho?

No


it's a 4-banger now.


0_0


Lol. Yes we can see them.


Good luck.

Damn man you just need to jet this car and get your money back.
Seriously, why do you need this hassle/expense? There are lots of other cars out there. This guy sold you a bucket of bolts and you just need to squeeze his head til it pops.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and yes, IMHO a PPI by a third-party shop with expertise in the particualr brand / model is a must when buying a used vehicle... but I suspect it's a bit too late for that. I agree 100% though - if the OP can take the car back and get his money refunded, it is by far the cheapest course of action. Missing and/or partially replaced bolts would have been enough to make me run away, not just walk. If one of the cams is completely off timing-wise (which is what it looks like), it may be pretty costly to fix - and that's assumign there is no secondary damage to valves, pistons and the cylinder head.

Once you've taken the heads off though, you'll end up replacing the faulty head bolts... and while you're in there you should also replace the valve buckets (lifters) with the updated SLS versions. A car with 35K miles and a *properly* serviced M156 motor with updated internals does have appeal from a reliability perspective and long-term ownership cost.

Yeah I'm gunning to get my money back, as much as I love the car there is definitely a better one out there for me. Trading standards are now involved and I have a lot of confidence in them. They're showing me photos of where I picked the car up from, where several others cars are being stored. Can't wait to get a decent one the two days I spent driving it were probably the best of my life hahaha! Thanks for all the input chaps, really appreciate the support. Will keep you guysbupdate on the situation, and if anyone has a black c63 facelift for sale around £21,500 please let me know ;)

Hi
 

Hiya I’ve just come across your message about a car you bought from trade2trade1 in Birmingham... I myself have been in contact with them as I’m interested in a car they have for sale on eBay.. and I’m looking for some advice, preferably from someone like yourself who has had dealings with them, they have asked for a deposit, via bank transfer, for a vehicle which won’t be ready untill 7 days? Is this a normal procedure?
thanks

Do not buy a car from these cowboys, they are not traders they are posing as traders. Will 110% be a dodgy car, I wish I never bought this car. Please look for a different one. I promise you it’s more hassle then it’s worth!!

Regards - Luke

Thanks for getting back to me sorry to hear u had problems but it’s made my desision..!
thanks again

Good luck Luke. I hope you get your money back soon, and you get yourself a perfect 63.

Poor Luke :(

Are you still having issues with the car? Too many bad people out there :(

Trade2trade1 beware dodgy cowbows
 

These guys are dodgy
They contacted me after I lost an Ebay auction with them to say he had almost identical car but better with no cat damage. 2012 VW touran top spec. Sent me pictures we agreed price then we travelled 200 miles.
When we got there he met us half hour late by a shop on a high street. He parked on yellow lines and wanted me to look at it there, I told him to move it down a side road.
I could tell straight away the wings were a different shade of white and been repaired even with bits trapped in the bad respray it was tatty with some rust around a couple of wheel arches. He said he had not noticed these things and if he did he would of told me before I arranged to go up. To add the Engine did not sound good.
Took me less than a minute to make my mind up and walk away. He started get defensive then aggressive when I told him he had wasted my time and money. He then said he would help me find a better car now he knew what I was after! He then drove off redlining the car!
Not happy as wasted a day travelling, £40 fuel, £20 HPI, £20 insurance cancellation fee.
Bloody cowboys, AVOID