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Recently just purchased (2 weeks ago) a 2013 Mercedes e350 4 matic from a dealership with only 93k miles on it, I am the 4th owner and the car is in nice shape with only minor damage shown on the car fax. Before purchasing it I had taken it to my mechanic for a safety check and also to get his opinion before buying it. I end up buying it and the day after I purchased it I had heard a noise in the engine. The best way i can describe the sound is that it sounds like when you put a deck card on your bike and let it hit the spokes as you rode around on your bike. It only last about 5-7 seconds after the car has sat for a bit. I ended up taking it to the mechanic to check it out and doing so i had him change the oil just for good measure. Upon him doing so he had informed me that there were metal shavings in the oil filter which means it had to be in the oil. Also he stated that the oil filter is brand new and someone probably changed it recently (possibly from the dealer?). He also said that the oil was a weird shiny color as if there was water in the oil because of how it looked. He told me he thinks it possibly be the cam shafts that are broken and throwing metal into the oil. I have the oil filter that has the metal shavings in it. Any idea what this can be and what are my options as of right now? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I'm not seeing a terminal engine problem from your photo... that's not to say there isn't one. Hard to say based on your description. Let your mechanic figure it out. Of the bat, I'd think tensioner if it sounds like cards in spokes. As far as recourse... that's state dependent.
The mechanic thinks its the cam shafts or possible timing belt has a lot of tension on it. Regardless I contacted my lender along with the dealership I have gone through and they said for me to drop it off and they’ll take a look at it. But to me that seems almost idiotic or repetitive as they missed it the first time seeing as there was a brand new oil filter in it and these things don’t happen overnight or in the 2 weeks that I have owned it for.
Seems your car is in need of a specialist who can diagnose the extent of repairs needed to fix your distribution.
If you don't want to pay for duplicate work, seek a qualified indy Benz shop, not a Firestone store. You'll likely develop a relationship with that special shop.
The minimum is going to be secondary chain tensioners and the missing check-valves if applicable.
Plus luck of the draw extras:
VVT Phasers: 2 or 4 pcs
timing chain kits with guides
leaking VVT solenoids and sensors(camshafts: 100k is a bit too early)....
This engine issue may come as a bit of a surprise to you... but this is sort of a "standard repair".
A definite cake-walk for a season shop and only a midsize bite on your wallet.
While there, consider replacing tranny fluid for good measure to prevent your next tall bill.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; May 26, 2021 at 04:25 PM.
2016 E350 4Matic wagon, 2019 Ford Expedition, 2019 Chevy Bolt EV
To me, that just sounds like lifters until the oil pressure comes up, nearly all engines do this when they've been sitting a few days and all the oil has drained down to the bottom of the pan
To me, that just sounds like lifters until the oil pressure comes up, nearly all engines do this when they've been sitting a few days and all the oil has drained down to the bottom of the pan
what about the metal found in the filter along with the discolored oil?
Not sure if you think this is a low mile car or not with this comment. That is a lot of miles and right in the sweet spot of when lots of unattended issues pop up. Do you have a full service history (VMI) ?, since you bought from a dealer. They should be able to supply you with that to see just what kind of service this car was accustomed to. You could send the oil to Blackstone for analysis.
Yeah, leaking down lifter or possibly timing chain tensioner. My wife's ML350 has the same engine and sounds just like that for the first few seconds after start-up. I'm not concerned about it
Not sure if you think this is a low mile car or not with this comment. That is a lot of miles and right in the sweet spot of when lots of unattended issues pop up. Do you have a full service history (VMI) ?, since you bought from a dealer. They should be able to supply you with that to see just what kind of service this car was accustomed to. You could send the oil to Blackstone for analysis.
No, meant to say it has less miles than it should for its year. Really more concerned with the metal shavings within the oil and oil filter. Thought the sound could be a contributing factor to why there was metal shavings.
Not sure if you think this is a low mile car or not with this comment. That is a lot of miles and right in the sweet spot of when lots of unattended issues pop up. Do you have a full service history (VMI) ?, since you bought from a dealer. They should be able to supply you with that to see just what kind of service this car was accustomed to. You could send the oil to Blackstone for analysis.
Also I don’t have a sample of oil the mechanic was too slow to act by the time it popped in his head to do so. I do have the oil filter but do you know if they would be able to get enough of an oil sample from that?
the oil sample you really want is whatever was in the engine BEFORE that filter was installed.
I don’t think that’s even possible seeing as the dealership most likely changed the oil and installed that new oil filter. I had oil change done and installed new oil and oil filter 2 weeks after owning the vehicle.
Di you have any CPO dealer coverage?? This music did not start yesterday. Your car got resold instead of repaired.
Try not to have many hands in your engine if you want to call on the dealer goodwill.
Didn’t buy a warranty with it, as the car sounded perfectly fine when I had checked it out at the dealership. Granted now thinking back they drove that car to me and I had never really started it up. My buddy thinks that the dealer mechanics probably saw it and ran it up the chain. They realized they lost money and decided to sell sell sell.
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