catmandoob

Hello all again, this all started with me tracking down an oil leak on driver side today finally after putting it off for a good long few months, and yes I come once again looking for some outside opinions on my cam lobe inspection. I don't think they are drastic but I don't think they are fine either. I do apologize as I didn't get the best of pics and didn't realize it until I had buttoned it all back up. Only got driver side today but will do passenger side this weekend and see what they look like, oddly passenger side is hardest for me to get yet everyone else says its the easiest.





Those bottom exhaust are the ones that worry me a smidge, I have the ina buckets already so I do plan on changing them out but now I wonder if I should just wait and find a way to scrounge up some camshafts.

Anyway, had to replace my cam adjuster gasket which I have to give a shout out to you MBWorld guys again, used search and saw where many chased that down as a valve cover leak as well haha, shortened my search for sure




I hit a deer with it, minor damage thank goodness, just a fender and bumper cover, but since then I'm trying to catch up on some TLC that I've been meaning to get to while I wait on the body shop. Sadly it seems everything is happening all at once, next will be power steering pump as it started it's dreadful whine now as well as my wonderful LTH installer I come to find out only used 4 bolts on each side so I have a nice huge exhaust leak right at the gasket on driver side now, lesson for sure because I went with VRP headers and a VRP friends shop, not gonna lie have grumbled about it ever since and it's taken a little over a year but all that poor work is catching up.

Just reinforces what many echo here, if anyone reads this don't short change yourself long term by saving a few hundred upfront. And it reinforces why I do as much of my own work as I can, hate to say it but I for the life of me I can't find a decent honest mechanic ugh.

On a plus side it looks like someone has been in there and pulled camshafts out once by the markings on the caps? Maybe cam phaser on driver side replaced before as it's way quiet and I tried the Tasos check and neither cam phaser moved, was pleasantly surprised, but don't think I'll be that lucky on passenger side, wish me luck guys!!

skullbox15

Not bad. I just had mine overhauled with new lifters and adjuster plates, seals, and new idler pulleys. Amazing how quiet the idle is now. My camshafts look a tiny bit better than yours from what I can tell. Mine is a 2014 with 73k miles.

I have a good indy shop they just take forever to do the work. I was going to comment on the markings from your caps. Someone was definitely in there before.

I had trouble with the drivers side valve cover. There isn't any room in the C-class to deal with the wiring harness. I kinked the gasket the first time I did. What a pain. E-class users have a real luxury with the added inch or two.

catmandoob

Thanks for the input, do appreciate, I had a buddy that specializes on Subies but works on everything from 50's to now look at exhaust pic cam lobes and doesn't understand how I'm not getting any codes.

Divided on how to handle this, ill be first to admit my expertise dies once the engines cracked open haha 😆

AMGSPY

Not an expert, but I've looked at a bunch of cams over the years and I don't see a problem with yours. Looks like slight normal wear to me.

roadkillrob

I don't see you mention miles which makes a diff. I have also seen a bunch and I have no idea why your buddy would think anything on those cams would set a code, they have very minor wear, from what I have seen normal wear on these engines for anything 30k or more, if you have like 80k that is very minimal. These cams when they really wear get very abrasive and will eat through a bucket until the top of the bucket comes apart and that still won't set an engine code a lot of times. The cam adjuster will set codes, the cam would have to almost have to break or wear down to nothing and open the valve so little that you get a misfire or something, but that little wear will never set a code.

Tell us your miles but looks normal to me if you are over 30 or 40k miles looks great if a lot more miles. What you really need to be concerned about isn't the wear on the cams as much as the damage they will do to the buckets once they wear and start to eat the lifter bucket up. Cams I wouldn't touch, buckets you may want to inspect and if you have it apart for other reasons cheap and easy to replace the buckets with the new coated ones.

skullbox15

I went with the coated ones as well. If you are going to do anything, I'd leave the cams, change the buckets and replace the adjuster plates with the ones from 63 motorsports while you have the cams out. Replace all the seals too.

catmandoob

Awesome opinions gentlemen, and Rob I did forget to mention mileage in this thread. So I have 130k miles on the odometer.

I think my buddy Alex is knowledgeable and he mentioned that it would throw a code and the reason he was surprised it wasnt is the vvt in other cars are so sensitive but since mercedes has these as a wear item so to speak i wonder if a bit of tolerance is built it, with that much wear cylinder 8 has to be firing different from the rest comparatively speaking. I mean it is a good bit more wear than any of the rest. I know it would amount to just a mm of difference in the valves variance when open but could lose a horse or two maybe.

And I've seen other threads when the cam did eat the bucket as mentioned and I guess that's why I was worried, I don't want to put new buckets in and then a year from now they be destroyed because I overlooked the cams.

i have since i bought the car been pretty strict on 5k mile oil changes tops usually, I trust your and blkrkt and others like Vega word on mb's oil change interval being too long for this engine. I know some even do 3k oil changes, I haven't been that **** yet but I may start.

Again, I do appreciate the input of opinions and I realize it's ultimately what I'm comfortable with for what I'll do but I know many many of you have had this platform for a while and have seen the good and the bad on how the m156 camlobes look with wear. Just the opinion of comparing to lower mileage m156 engines gives me peice of mind a bit.

On one hand since all the rest of the lobes look very reasonable aside from that cylinder 8 exhaust cam I feel its good for another good few thousand miles as well. I guess its more normal to see that wear on this platform compared to others maybe.

And apologize for the slightly long winded response.

roadkillrob

8 has a little wear but for 130k really not bad at all, probably many 10's of thousands of miles left in them, just worth monitoring when they wear enough they stop spinning the bucket and then it will start to dig a grove into the bucket and wear the lobe and bucket more quickly once that starts you will need a cam then.