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good morning, wanted to make a post on here regarding lifter and cam failure. the other day I was getting ready to leave for a car event and when I started my c63 it had lifter tick. hadn't driven it in 2 days but that shouldn't be a problem. I've been reading some other threads and people are suggesting to check out the sensors and timing. I was planning to open it up myself and check out the lifters and see if there is any camshaft damage. below I attached some of the recent maintenance I have done. anyone have any suggestions on what else to check or go about doing things?
Last edited by asdbkjasbh; Apr 27, 2026 at 10:12 AM.
Before you open it up, check the easy stuff first. A timing chain tensioner can lose pressure and make a similar tick after sitting. If the noise quiets down after a few seconds of running, that’s likely it. Also double-check your oil filter. The M156 is picky, so make sure you used the correct fleece Mann filter and that the plastic cage inside the housing isn’t cracked. If the tick stays constant, pull the valve covers and look at the intake cam lobes on cylinders 5 and 6, those are usually the first to go. You’re checking for scoring, a flattened lobe, or a lifter that’s collapsed and mushroomed. If the cam is wiped, don’t bother just swapping a lifter, it’ll eat itself again. If it’s clean and just a bad lifter, you might’ve caught it early.
I let it sit for 2 mins to see if it would die down as it warmed up but that was not the case. most likely going to be lifters and checking the cams. thank you for the insight
UPDATE: great news, I called my local Mercedes shop that has done all this work and he said to take it on a small drive and see how it does. when I started it today after it sitting for a few days it is perfectly fine. will continue to monitor codes and things of that nature but it seemed to just have been a little finicky.
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