SLK/R170: SLK 230 1998 - Mass Air Flow replaced but same loss of power one month later.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
1998 Mercedes SLK 230
SLK 230 1998 - Mass Air Flow replaced but same loss of power one month later.
Hi there,
Any advice, opinions are appreciated as i know very little about cars!.
Had a nice 1998 SLK 230 for just over 2 months now. Just before I bought it, the AA inspected it and advised ''lacked power'' but thought that was due to the car not been driven for a while.
Anyway i went ahead and bought the car, and slowly but surely the lack of power got worse and worse to the point it was dangerous. Through a friend of a friend, I took the car to the highly respected T W Neale Mercedes Specialist in Wolverhampton, West Mids who advised that he had to drain a litre and a half of oil and the Mass Air Flow was contaminated and therefore replaced. This cost around £480. Well that was about 3 or 4 weeks ago and yesterday driving back from London to the Midlands, at 70mph the car completely lost power and I had to pull over to the hard shoulder which was pretty hairy. After a while and a few stop starts, the car eventually got moving and I prayed that at 40mph in the slow lane I could do the remaining part of the journey and survive getting home which thank goodness i did.
Enough rambling on, i've left Tony Neale (Merc Specialist) a call to see what he can do for me but its the exact same symptoms before, so Im not sure what happens now. I cant afford £500 a month to keep replacing the Mass Air Flow!!.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks Jim
Any advice, opinions are appreciated as i know very little about cars!.
Had a nice 1998 SLK 230 for just over 2 months now. Just before I bought it, the AA inspected it and advised ''lacked power'' but thought that was due to the car not been driven for a while.
Anyway i went ahead and bought the car, and slowly but surely the lack of power got worse and worse to the point it was dangerous. Through a friend of a friend, I took the car to the highly respected T W Neale Mercedes Specialist in Wolverhampton, West Mids who advised that he had to drain a litre and a half of oil and the Mass Air Flow was contaminated and therefore replaced. This cost around £480. Well that was about 3 or 4 weeks ago and yesterday driving back from London to the Midlands, at 70mph the car completely lost power and I had to pull over to the hard shoulder which was pretty hairy. After a while and a few stop starts, the car eventually got moving and I prayed that at 40mph in the slow lane I could do the remaining part of the journey and survive getting home which thank goodness i did.
Enough rambling on, i've left Tony Neale (Merc Specialist) a call to see what he can do for me but its the exact same symptoms before, so Im not sure what happens now. I cant afford £500 a month to keep replacing the Mass Air Flow!!.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks Jim
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,761
Likes: 4
From: North Carolina
98 Black C43 , 12’ ML 350 Blutec
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,784
Likes: 84
From: SCV SoCal
2002 CLK430
Before purchasing the car, it sounds like you did the right thing and have it inspected. Unfortunately, the *highly skilled technician* who inspected the car neglected to notice the oil level was 50 ounces above full. U.S. spec cars have an oil level sensor. When overfull, the dash lights up like Times Square on New Year’s. If your car has an oil level sensor, and it didn’t trigger a message, the sensor may be broken.
When an engine has too much oil, the crankshaft counterweights can hit the oil. As the crank splashes through the oil, the oil foams. Aside from aerated - foamy oil causing the oil pressure to drop to dangerous levels (dangerous as in the crank, rods and cams are devouring the bearings), the air throughout the engine becomes an oily mist. That mist is sucked through the PCV, back into the intake – where it can foul the plugs, kill the O2 sensor, and ruin the catalytic converters.
The good news is, the oil pressure couldn’t have dropped too low or a CE light would have illuminated (the CE light does work, right?). That probably means you only need to check/change the plugs and inspect/change the primary O2 sensors. If the O2 sensors are original, they’re dead anyway. If the cat is dead, that will be evident when you have your next smog check.
When an engine has too much oil, the crankshaft counterweights can hit the oil. As the crank splashes through the oil, the oil foams. Aside from aerated - foamy oil causing the oil pressure to drop to dangerous levels (dangerous as in the crank, rods and cams are devouring the bearings), the air throughout the engine becomes an oily mist. That mist is sucked through the PCV, back into the intake – where it can foul the plugs, kill the O2 sensor, and ruin the catalytic converters.
The good news is, the oil pressure couldn’t have dropped too low or a CE light would have illuminated (the CE light does work, right?). That probably means you only need to check/change the plugs and inspect/change the primary O2 sensors. If the O2 sensors are original, they’re dead anyway. If the cat is dead, that will be evident when you have your next smog check.
