Just wanted to collect some thoughts, some similar experiences or comments on this situation I'm currently in before I seek help from the dealers.

2 months ago, I brought my 98 CLK 230K to the paint and body shop to have minor paint restoration and detailing done. I also had the AMG skirts I got from vipclk32 installed the work was completed after 2 months but before I took it home, I had some preventive maintenance things done e.g. changed sparkplugs, wires, coils and fuel filter. There was really nothing wrong with the CLK except some minor engine idling shudders that goes away shortly after a few kilometers drive.

I noticed that the fuel registered empty on the fuel gauge with the empty warning light on for the last 2 months so I decided to take it for a drive to fill the tank up with petrol (highest grade) before taking it home. Upon re-starting, I was surprised to see that the fuel gauge registered empty again with the empty warning light on! WTF?!? I just filled it up!?! So I drove it around a few blocks hoping that the fuel tank float just got stuck after 2 months of having low petrol level in the tank. Successfully, the fuel gauge suddenly registered FULL after a few kilometers drive.

However, just a few kilometers away from home, the engine started to sputter, shudder and lost power, speed and was hesitant to accelerate when gas pedal was stepped on. It felt like I either lost electricity, have bad plugs/wires or not enough petrol was being supplied to the injectors. The CLK engine died 3 times on decelarations specially when the AC was on. Luckily I was able to re-start it everytime it died and was able to arrive home safely after several pull overs.

Upon exiting the vehicle inside my home garage, I smelled what I recognize as fumes / strong smell of petrol which I discovered heavily leaking underneath the vehicle coming from the fuel filter area. I could not get a clear view of where exactly from the fuel filter area the leak was coming from because the car was too low for me to fit underneath it. All I know is when the engine is started and running, the fuel starts leaking continuously. I noticed that shutting down the engine would stop the leaking after a few seconds.

I'm considering having the CLK towed to the dealers within the week but before I do so, I just need to get some ideas of what I might be facing here.

Q's:
1. Is this serious?
2. Is the shuddering and sputtering and loss of power to accelerate related to the leaking fuel?
3. Is it most likely a clogged fuel line in spite of the new fuel filter?
4. Is the shrudding and sputtering issue caused possibly by a pressure loss in the fuel line due to possible loose or untightened hose clamps?
5. Is it possible that sediments in the low leveled fuel tank got into the fuel line or injectors or charcoal canister or something else caused this problem?

Oh by the way, no error lights or check engine while the C is on or running with this leaking + shrudding problem.

Any ideas, similar or exact experiences are appreciated before I face the music with the dealers :-) Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to put all possible causes on the table. TIA!

 

I would guess that the new filter wasn't installed correctly or something was damaged during the install. As for the shuddering, it's probably from the lack of fuel caused by the leak. These are just guesses, though. I would start by tracking down and fixing the leak and then go from there.

 

Thanks. I'm gonna be doing the filter first before I have it towed. Wish me luck :-) I will post pictures and update you all on the outcome Cheers!

 

Sounds like a bad install or a defective filter. Either way it's a simple diagnosis and possibly a cheap repair. Here's how I changed mine - http://marcusfitzhugh.com/CLK/DIY/clkfuelfilter.html

 

Thanks for all the responses. I was able to bring the C to te dealers after I tightened the leaking fuel line attached to the fuel filter. Yes it was an oversight of the one who installed the filter.

Unfortunately te shuderring is still there :-( the dealers plugged in their machine and found out 2 things: fuel sending unit is defective and all four cylinders are misfiring. The mechanic said the problem is "bad fuel" or contaminated fuel. I argued that it felt like an electrical failure but he said - if it were an elwctrical misfire it wouldnt be all 4 cylinders. They also informed me that all my sparkplugs have been damaged by this bad fuel thing because the fuel flooded the sparkplug chambers. So, they will be taking down my gas tank and draining it fully in the next few days (maybe after the Christmas holidays), replacing my sparkplugs, replacing my fuel aensing unit. So far, thats it.

Does this sound all logical or crap? Honestly, i dont know. This is the first time i encountered contaminated fuel prognosis. They said this happens commonly on european cars and not on the japanese ones which are common in asian countries.

 

I am wondering if you followed the direction from Marcus. That would have saved your money if it was just the fuel filter problem. Otherwise, you'll be confused with those smartmouth mechanics at the stealership. The last sentence of your last paragraph sounds very fishy.

 

Yes i did. Tons of thanks to MarcusF for that excellent DIY on the fuel filter!

Yes i thought so too. They said that euro cars are more sensitive to fuel than our japanese ones. Oh well, i hope they dont get too creative on how to jack up the cause and cost of my problem :-(

 

I think I get what they mean. Most Japanese cars run 87 octane gasoline, which is the cheapest quality of gasoline. Most of high performance cars would need to run with 92 or higher octane.

I used to run 92 octane (even I put with 100 octane) in my 1991 VW Golf, even the Golf's manual requires 87 octane. I notice the improvement with 92 over 87 for my Golf, so I sticked 92 for good. There is no pinging sound from the engine, so it has no problem.

 

Just got word from the dealer service manager that 2 fuel sending units and my fuel pump are busted :-( i hope it stops there.

 

Thanks for all the posts guys. The information was much appreciated. I just want to update the thread and provide information with what happened with my C with the dealer.

They found the gasoline/petrol contaminated which resulted to damaging the following parts:

- 2 Fuel Floaters
- 1 Pressure regulator
- 1 Fuel Filter
- 1 Fuel Strainer
- 1 Fuel Pump
- 4 Spark Plugs (Burnt)

All of these cost me roughly US$950 (US$700 for parts and US$250 for service /labor).

The shuderring. misfiring, vibration and all of complains I have previously posted are all gone. The engine now runs fine, smoothly and very quietly like it was new again.

 

Thanks, man. I need to know those kinds of stuffs.