I'm gonna need help here with something I am dealing with on my m157 CLS63 with 102k miles

car has been great until about a week ago

I started getting error codes P0017 and P0018

the only symptom I experienced was the car cranking a little longer on startup

I took the car to my trusted indy mechanic as it is out of warranty now, and after a few days he came back with the news he believes my timing chain is stretched and just a little off
he says the timing chain is not making any noise but he believes its just off enough to throw a code

I trust his diagnosis but I need some more opinons from anyone else that has seen this. Everyone else with similar scenarios have much different symptoms than mine so i'm confused if this is really what it is
Needless to say its a very long and expensive repair so I dont want to do it unless Im sure thats what it is. My mechanic has also suggested I could get it diagnosed at MB and find out for sure. Has anyone else dealt with this? can you confirm this is what it is? is this a job an indy mechanic can tackle? he is saying labor would be about 20 hours or so for repair... sounds really bad need to weigh my options.

 

Crank Position Sensor??? This will cause sluggish starting every time when acting up. I have not heard of a timing chain stretching issue on these cars, but maybe I missed it. Your Indy might be guessing a bit here.

 

crankshaft positoin sensor was the only one I did not know how to check myself. so I dont doubt it could be that. also my mechanic saying i could bring it to MB for second diagnosis also implies that hes not 100% sure either. Hes a guru with M113k and other mercedes but he hasnt worked on many m157

 

 

im thinking thats the move as of right now.

if it is true

and i do have to have this engine out job done... im definitely considering doing some upgrades while the engine is out

 

If it did happen to be a stretched timing chain (doubtful), I think that can be replaced without pulling the motor. Radiator and fans and such only need to be pulled. Not certain on these particular motors installed in a CLS though.

And a "Thank You" for Peter and I got nothing? hahahaha Just messin with ya.

Cheers

 

I hope thats the case lol but yeah youre definitely right haha I appreciate your contributions you deserve a thank you

 

 

Currently trying to do my own research. does anyone know if the Crankshaft position sensor is the same or different from the Crankshaft hall sensor?

 

 

 

I have located the part and part number its about $40 but I have no idea where its located on the engine and cannot find anything online. do you know where it is for your car? that'll at least give me an idea if I can do it or should take it to the shop

 

It might not help, but I believe on my 2000 E55 it was actually on the flywheel side of the motor. I'm sure someone knows here and will chime in soon.

 

Most likely your CPS any misfire codes or rough idle or excessive rattle on start up? If it is a stretched timing chain I believe we may be seeing more of these especially in the early M157's that don't have the revised camchain tensioner and guides. Overtime repeated cold starts and no initial oil circulation to this area could be causing the chain to stretch, I'm no mechanic but kind of makes sense.

 

no misfire codes or rattle or rough idle. I have heard a lot about timing chain issues for m157 but everyone else reports noise from the timing chain on startup. i have never experienced that and my mechanic confirmed theres no noise. also everyone else with timing chain issues has a plethora of other codes along with it and several symptoms. only symptom ive noticed is the additonal crank to start so thats why I have doubts. If it is timing chain. it sucks but i'll deal with it. just want to make sure I dont waste time or money if that wasnt the cause. mine is a 12 so perhaps I don't have the updated tensioner. that might be an upgrade i should do if the timing chain really is stretched

 

Start by replacing your CPS I've replaced that on a couple of my Mercedes over the years including my E55 all usually around 100k miles with similar codes and symptoms as you're having. If your timing chain was stretched like you said there would probably be way more issues and codes.

 

Crank sensor isn't the problem. Don't put an off brand $40 crank sensor in your car please. If your guy isn't certain then find a new shop who is. These cars aren't rocket science, but finding qualified people to fix them is getting harder by the day. 157 timing chain isn't a job for someone who isn't familiar with the platform

 

 

 

Hey, we have the same problem on our 2nd CLS63S - the cranking takes sometimes around 5 seconds. The diagnostic code is P001785 which means "camshaft position is off to the crankshaft". I suspect my colleague who drives the car, revs it every day when stationary (I know - stupid but he can't help himself) and made this "damage" by putting the engine under pressure without real oil pressure so the valve position got off because they couldn't close like they normally would (theory).

Let me know how it goes with your car.

I hope this helps.

 

Check this thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ease-help.html

 

You might give the following a try.

About 8 years ago when I had 10 years on my E55 at that time, I could not get the engine to fire while at a store parking lot. I called my Indy and he said to take a couple of water bottles and pour them in the general location that agrees with the picture of the sensor above. He said gunk can just build up around the CPS and cause the issue. So I went and bought a couple of 12 ouncers and tried it. And BOOM, it fired up! And, it actually never came back either. Now I'm not sure if this will work on a W212, but I don't think it will do any damage to try it.

 

You can R&R the crank position sensor... Outside that, your guy is more than likely correct.

 

I am very appreciative of this picture it helps alot althogh I have still not been able to see/locate it from the top I'll have to get under and take a look but thnak you for the picture

 

I'll keep you posted on my findings, gonna start with the CPS sensor first as it is the cheapest fix and if it does not go away I will get a diagnostic and tell you my findings. but I would have the colleague refrain from driving it while its having these symptoms. although seemingly not serious, there is a guy here who has catastrophic engine failure that began with our symptoms.so although we may not be at that point its important to take it seriously for now