DennisW212

Hi benz friends Im going to the dealer for the steering rack bolts replacement. I am going to mention a noise/ Rattle on the engine occasionally during start I dont know if this is still covered under warranty. I have 2013 E class sport. M276 motor. With 52k miles on it. I am the 3rd owner of this vehicle.

KEY08

The steering rack bolt repair is covered under warranty no matter how out of warranty you are. Is that your question? Unless you have an extended warranty you will more than likely pay for any other repairs or diagnosis ( i.e., investigating engine noises)

diesel_dan

MB will cover the steering rack bolts, but seem to be tightening up on that as to where the car was sold (originally), if it was near the ocean or rust belt, they'll cover. I tried to get ours done while it was in for the tensioner update, and even though it spent its 1st 3 years near the coast in SoCal, and had light corrosion on aluminum parts to prove that out, they refused to do that work. On the tensioner update: We have an extended warranty, so while it is a Service Campaign, MB won't eat the costs and charged most if not all of it to the warranty Co. If you have a dealer you have used regularly, they will likely help you/get MB to help, if it is out of pocket.

Some DIY folks are just doing the upper cam drive chain tensioners, but our dealer did all three (lower drive intermediate chain tensioner too). The symptoms are rattle on cold start and rough running initially. The fix is the later tensioners that were in the M157 plus check valves to prevent bleed down of oil from the tensioners. Some cars will only require the latter as I believe the tensioners first were swapped into production followed by the check valves. MB considers this problem to be more a customer satisfaction issue rather than something that affects longevity or performance. I prefer not to take the chance - our car can sit for days and cold starts are now as smooth as silk...

Good luck and hope MB steps up to help you with it.

DennisW212

Thanks Guys I don't have extended warranty, the steering rack bolts for sure is warranty, but the rattle noise is what I'm worried about. The noise can be heard even the engine is warm thanks so much for some info, I have an appt tomorrow at the dealer.

diesel_dan

How long have you owned the car? The Direct Injection makes a ticking noise, you likely know the difference. The leak down in the chain tensioners will happen hot also, but usually only after it has sat for awhile. Can you say if that is when it makes the noise hot? Ours I never noticed it hot, it was after sitting for a couple days in the garage - I do know that it came on slowly - didn't do it for the first few years we owned the car...

Fingers crossed you only need the check valves installed. But even if it is tensioners too, ask if they can just do the upper ones only (for the cam tensioners), when I was researching this quite a few folks solved most of the problem by just doing those, engine in car - not sure but I think the motor needs to come out to do the lower one. My engine had to come out to do the wiring harness replacement, so I think that's why the dealer went ahead and did all 3...

Good luck!

DennisW212

Thanks diesel_dan I bought my E class about a year and half ago, the ticking sound from the DI is different from what Im hearing, on cold start the noise is there and it goes away after 4 seconds , Its funny bec not all the time the rattle noise can be heard. sometimes you wont even heard when the engine is cold, I have a feeling that the tensioner might be leaking oil and sometime its not. Actually today I was at the dealer and I mention about the rattle noise, and the service advisor told me its not covered under warranty anymore, lol I said its ok just do the Bolts for the steering, I will take care of the noise, They not willing to shoulder the cost of that. what I will do is replacing the upper tensioner on both side and leave the bottom and I will start from there, I found a video of replacing both upper Tensioner, I was a former Tech at Lexus for 10 Years and we don't have these chain noises on those engine that built by Toyota, That's why I'm so surprise that Mercedes has this kind of issue on low milage engine, this is my First Mercedes that I Bought. . thanks again for your advice I love this car, My W212 is the last 4 head eyes headlight that I really like compare to the new single headlight,, to me its more classy and elegant IMHO

diesel_dan

Dennis: DON'T forget the check valves! Depending on your engine's build timing, you might already have the newer tensioners. You might just need the check valves and problem solved! There are some good you tube videos on doing the upper tensioners and check valves, in car...
Best of luck!

DennisW212

Thanks so much another question, Are those cam magnets solenoid can cause some rattle noise too?

DennisW212

HI guys, can anybody help me to find the procedure if I can take both Chain tensioners at ones or one at a time thanks, M276 motor