rieger

About two weeks ago my car at sounded louder than usual especially when I was on the gas and getting off of the gas pedal so I bought it in for the advisors to hear the noise. Like usual they say they hear nothing unusual so I then ask them to get the master mechanic to come and hear the noise and he agreed that it sounded much louder than a diesel car which was unusual. He agreed to check the engine out and he notified me that the rocker arms had to replaced along with the camshaft because the shaft was all scored(spelling?).
My question is, is this normal with only 85000km(not miles), and what might have caused this? The did say it was metal fatigue but does this mean that there was improper lubrication in the engine or are there a bad batch of rocker arms and camshafts?

Clinton Horn

My first guess would be inadequate lubrication (low oil pressure). Sometimes unusual wear is caused by a plugged oil gallery (path) and one would expect this to affect one rocker / cam lobe. If this is a dual cam set up, that hardly seams plausible. In case you are wondering, the idiot light that is now employed in most cars (as opposed to a gage) shows adequate pressure at IDLE. Since operating pressure at speed is considerably higher, there would be no alarm posted as long as the pump can put a few pounds out. I don't blame you for wanting an explanation.

vettdvr

Your profile doesn't say which engine or car.? But for any engine to wear out the cam that fast is a problem. It could have been a defective roller in the tappet. OR improper lubrication. Cams are hard on lubricants. If you are using the correct MB oils this should not have happened. Lubrication is one potential cause. If the lobe is damaged completely around I would suspect lubrication. If it is only damaged on the toe I would look at the valve train for sticky valves.(you did replace the rocker). So Rocker could also cause this problem. Hopefully it is corrected and you can drive on. ?? did they pull the engine for the cam work? Is it a dual cam? Did they inspect the other cam, if dual ?

rieger

It is a E500, the only thing they told me was it sounded like the rocker arms need to be replaced so they took out the rocker arms they could see that the camshaft was also scored and it too was replaced. All my maintenance is done at MB corporate dealerships so if it is a lubrication problem than I don't know what happened.
The good news is that I still had six months left on my extended warranty so they covered it since I service the car only at MB and nowhere else that they can blame the problem on. The did say it was metal fatigue which means what?

vettdvr

The did say it was metal fatigue which means what?

Metal fatigue is normally from frequent flexing of the material below it's flex limit on a high frequency. This could be due to an incorrect mix on the foundry steel making. The cam might have been incorrect material or not heat treated correctly to prevent the damage.

gisham

i have to quit reading these post

mine has a nice tick as well-

vettdvr

Some valve train tick is normal in these cars. Ours has had it since new especially on start up. So if you use the correct oil and frequency you should be ok.

oldtahoe87

about 4 months ago i had my rocker arm and cam shaft replaced because the rocker arm was broken and now wen i start my car (2006 E350) i get a tikking noise, sound for about 2-5 seconds then it stops. The car runs good, can anyone tell me whats going on??? Thanks in advance.

vettdvr

Sounds like hydraulic lifter leak down due to valve being open and spring pressure causing some oil to leak out. It probably pumps back up after start then auto adjust. Probably won't last but another 100000+ miles or more.

Don't worry be happy.

oldtahoe87

what do you mean wont last??? can this be fixed or should i just leave it alone, the car has 119000 miles. is this why my rocker arm broke ? Thanks for your help

vettdvr

If it is just lifter leak down it should last the life of the engine. Mine has 122,000+ on it and has had a ticking after overnight parking since I bought it in 03, and it still ticks very lightly.

relinuca

My '09 E350 has a slight but discernible clicking sound at idle (only). The dealer and I have traced the source to the "purge" valve (relay?) located on the driver's side in the engine compartment behind the headlight housing.

I'm told this is typical, but it sure sounds like a bad lifter from days gone by.

relinuca

furukawa63

i have a 2007 e 63 amg with 180000 kilomters on it .
everything was running fine until a couple of days ago when I started to here lifter noises from the engine. I went to the dealership and they opened up my engine to tell me that my camshaft was the problem . is this possible ?
how can it be a camshaft? I can understand if it is the lifters but really .....
has anyone heard of something like this ?

vettdvr

Incorrect metals, improper oil and dirty oil can cause these issues.

furukawa63

i change my oil every 5000 kilometers , also I change my oil filter every 10000 kilometers . I use 0w-40 but is this the right oil ?
they are fixing my ride right now but since I am on a tight budget I will only be fixing the camshaft . is there anything else thatni should change ?
your opinion is very much needed .

vettdvr

You didn't say what brand oil. Does it meet MB spec for your engine in the owners manual. The camshaft and lifters run together and wear in. You didn't say if they were replacing the camfollower lifters. They are expensive.

If you have the water pump off you might consider a new one if they don't double charge labor and you have 100000 miles on the existing one.

furukawa63

i use mobile one synthetic oil. they told me that they are changing the camshaft only but they are charging me $1800 .
I don't mind the $ 1800 but since I do not have any warranty and I use my car everyday to work , I hope it doesn't break down anymore .
by the way I just had my idle pulley replaced and also I just had all my brake pads and rotor done about to weeks ago .
it has been a very expensive month for me.

HaroldStewar

This could be due to an incorrect mix on the foundry steel making

vettdvr

I pay yours if you pay mine. Mine is for my airplane. One radio is $5000.