Problems with 1999 C230 Kompressor-HELP
 

I'm new to this forum. I need sound advice. I have a 1999 C230 Kompressor with 92K miles. I got a new head gasket last March 2008. The day after I got my car back, I had to return it because of the slight vehicle shaking when the car is on idle. And for me, it's most of the time since I drive on side streets. I've brought it back to my mechanic three times (which he kept at least 1 week at a time) and still the car has the same shaking problem. He swore that the car is fixed everytime I get it back. So finally, I gave up going to him, since he hasn't solve the car problem. I eventually went and paid $84 to get a diagnostic test at the MB dealer. And here are the following codes they found:
00110 Intake air temp sensor incomponent B2/5
P1519 Variable camshaft timing malfunction
Performed compression test on all cyl. Good 1:170 2:170 3:175 4:175 PSI
Sparkplugs Good
Checked found intermittent misfire on all cyl.
The dealer is asking $1700 for repair. Can anyone please tell me what to do. To top it off here are the recommended work that supposedly the car needs since it is close to 100K miles:
Motor mounts and Trans mounts
Flex Disc
Rear Brake Pads
Power steering shock
Trans service
Filter fuel
Will it be worth it to do all of the above work, or should I just move on and get another car? I do love this car that's why it's so hard to let go. How long will this car last me if I do all the work? How much more money will I have to spend in maintenance as my mileage increases? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Help! Thanks for reading my post.

From what you wrote I am unable to tell what the $1700 is going to buy you. The temperature sender can't be more than a few bucks and you can do that yourself. It is a matter of removing the old one and installing the new one. No issues with leaks or the like if it was the coolant temperature sensor.

The camshaft timing is another story. No idea how that works or what the problem is to make it not work. Could be a few dollars.

All the other stuff is necessary, normal maintenance that you should do regularly. It is only a real burden when it is allowed to pile up like that. Much of it is again a do it yourself job. If you are not used to, or don't want to work on the car yourself, it still shouldn't be that expensive. The parts are not that bad. If the estimate is $1700 for everything, including fixing the camshaft timing and the sensor, you may not be getting a bad deal. Of course the more you do the lower the final cost will be.

I believe your vibration issue is the engine and transmission mounts - bum mounts get stiff as they collapse and don't attenuate as much and may actually increase their natural frequency high enough to start to coincide with the forcing frequencies of the engine at idle. Means the mounts do the wrong thing.

Good luck. If you like the car, keep it. There is no way a new car will cost you less than $1700 more than the car you have, unless you buy something significantly less substantial. Jim

Problems with 1999 C230 Kompressor-HELP
 

Thanks Jim for your insight. The $1700 quote from the dealer is just for the 2 codes that they found (engine timing, misfire). Do you think changing the mounts will fix the "vehicle shaking?" Your input will help me in what to do next. Do you know where I can get an official repair manual for my car? I have no experience in doing any car work. Can you suggest a good, trusted shop where I can bring my car to here in Southern California? I really appreciate your help.

Hey Jim,
It looks like you have owned a lot of MB cars. Do you think my car can last another 100K miles if I get all the recommended work done?

First, if your car has the compression figures you cited above there is nothing serious wrong with it. It shows someone changed the oil regularly and the guts of the engine are in basically like new conditions. Why did you have the head gasket replaced? And, is there an offensive message that blocks the dash instruments saying "Check Engine" or any other warning? I would think misfiring and a bum camshaft timing device would generate a "check engine light" or CEL warning.

Your car does have a few added complexities that, when they go wrong, can be expensive to fix. If you are willing to keep the car until it really wears out, you will be faced with these decisions periodically. But there is no reason if the rest of the car is wearing well, and you like the car, why you should try to replace it merely because it requires maintenance. All cars eventually require some big dollar maintenance, especially if you are paying a dealer to do the work. Given reasonable care it should last more than another hundred thousand miles.

Another member on the board will hopefully be more familiar with your area and can recommend a shop. I am in CT and have spent little time in Southern California. I joined the MBClub Of America a long time ago. My dealership gives me 25% off on parts, and up to 20% off on labor based on my membership. I work on the cars I own myself for routine stuff, so I buy a lot of parts. The membership fee is paid back every year with my first significant purchase, which is usually oil. Yes, I buy my oil from the dealer because the 25% number gets it down to close to his bulk buy price, which I have never seen offered by any competitor, anywhere. So, if you end up using the dealer, make sure he gives you a break for being an MB CLub of America member. If not, find another dealer - it is not a mandatory discount.

So, the first thing I would do is ask for a detailed explanation of what the $1700 buys you. They have a list of parts and an estimate for the hours, so they know what makes up the $1700. Get it, then post it here and we will "talk."

That sensor has to be less than $50 and it can't take more than a few minutes to replace. The misfiring is likely a distributor cap, rotor, maybe a set of wires and spark plugs (you said they were ok, but how did they determine that if they were misfiring?). I would check he air cleaner too. Takes maybe an hour or an hour and a half to replace all that stuff and the cost is probably less than $170 for parts.

Check the "Buy Parts" link in the site logo at the top of the page - it is the third tab from the left on the bottom row. Navigate to your car and find your parts, and write down the prices. I checked and did not see the air temperature sensor. Call Phil (phone number is on one of the next pages after you click the link) and ask him for a price. I have found Phil to be a very good and reliable source of parts, and they come very quickly.

Those are things you can do with a little encouragement and a manual. These are all parts that come out as whole pieces and the new ones are identical and go back as whole pieces. Some are held in with screws others are threaded and a few are merely snapped into place. A dealer will charge you about another $150 to do those. A good independent will be substantially less. Unless there is another underlying problem. Your dealer has a "plan" for your 1700 dollars. From what they told you I cannot figure it out.

The camshaft business is outside my experience. It is likely either a failed electromechanical part (expensive) or an issue that starts with the bad sensor (free once the sensor is working again), or something in between (very expensive to free, like plugging a connection back in).

As these cars age, rubber parts and plastic tubes crack and abrade due to heat, exposure to oil, and vibration. Some of them are sensor lines for vacuum that is transmitted via these lines from specific places to other devices that use the vacuum to change inputs to control actuators or directly move things. Vacuum issues typically show up as hard starting, no starting or really poor running.

Your car also has a supercharger. This makes it fun to drive, but it eats gas if you are into it all the time, and they require maintenance. I believe yours is belt driven. As a minimum your drive belt needs to be examined.

The other maintenance items are good recommendations if they have not been done recently. The bulk of the items are not complicated, but they do require some familiarity with tools and how to use them. The engine and transmission mounts isolate the normal drive line vibration from the structure of the car. When they age they get stiff and collapse. This physically drops the engine in the engine bay by an inch or so and is visually apparent if you measure the mount height (no collapse, not likely a mount issue). This typically closes the spacing of the suspended parts to the stationary parts and can result in contact, forming a "sound short" where the engine or drive train vibration is directly transmitted to the car's structure. Typically a very noticeable increase in noise and vibration. New mounts deal with this very effectively. You need a couple of jacks, jack stands, drop lights and a few tools to get the old ones out and the new ones in. Do a search on engine mount replacement. Read some of the other posts and see if it something you want to do. It will be much cleaner inside your engine bay compared to those Diesels. Changing mounts will make a big difference.

The rest of the items are all things I would do myself, with the possible exception of the transmission service. You can search on each of the topics, read some posts and see if it is something you want to get involved with or not.

Good luck, Jim

Take your car to Mr. MB Motors in Tarzana, CA.

It might sound a little far to drive from Glendale to Tarzana, but I drive all the way from the San Gabriel Valley.

He has been an enormous help to a large number of us here on the ShopForum.

Read this thread:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/california-southwest-us-az-nv/144503-mr-mb-motors-tarzana-ca.html?highlight=enrique

Enrique is legendary here and spoken very highly of in all cases. I would say you can't get a better recommendation. I seem to recall someone driving their car from Salt Lake City to his shop, just because of his reputation. I have no idea where his shop is relative to your home, but like suginami suggested, the drive may well be worth it.

Enrique should also be able to give you an assessment of the general condition of your car and help you decide if it is a "keeper" or not. I drive cars until they can't be fixed anymore so I don't see why you wouldn't tackle that list over time if not in one chunk. A new equivalent car is going to cost you more in finance charges every year than maintenance on a good example of the W202 chassis. The basic chassis you have is a very solid car. Everyone has opinions, but it seems the later cars have all suffered from the rapid increase in the number of models MB put into production. Poorer engineering and poorer quality control. The W202 is simpler and seems more rugged than the cars that have replaced it. Too early to tell on the latest C.

Jim

All of you have wonderful advice. I will definitely check out the shop in Tarzana. Thank you so much. I will call them today. I'll let you know what happened. Thanks again. Have a nice weekend!

You mean PCDave. He lives in Park City, Utah, and has Enrique work on his 300SD.

There is also a guy who has his S600 flat-bedded down from Wyoming or Montana. The owner apparently doesn't trust the dealer.

I think his shop closes at around noon on Saturday.

Tell him your buddies from the ShopForum sent you. ;)

Please let us know how you do in Tarzana, I live close to Glendale and have been quite surprised by the cost of parts at Cal Star. I have been even more surprised by the apparent lack of MBZ knowledge at the local "European Shops" ...I inquired about having a local shop do a water pump job on my 190E 2.6 .....I left laughing when they told me I needed to replace my timing "belt" at the same time and quoted 1500.00 or so.

Long story, made short, I fixed it myself over a weekend and could not find any damage on the non-existent timing belt . My cost was about $200.00 total. BTY--- there is no timing belt in my car. Its a chain!
The local shops in Glendale, CA don't have the best reputation. Buyer be ware.

HI Guys,
Jim, I don't have "Check Engine" light on at all. The spark plugs and wire sets were replaced. I had to replace the head gasket because there was this white smoke coming out of the pipe one day, it scared me to death. After that, this slight rough idle occured.

I drove to Tarzana today (very far, traffic bad), and yes the shop is closed. I should have checked the forum for your postings. However, I found a place near my house, Glendale German Motors, specializing in MB. He seems to be reasonable, has 35 yrs of experience. I have an appointment for Tues. next week. I will try this shop for now unless anyone of you out there had a bad experience with this shop.

Wish me luck...

I would reverse your logic. I have never heard anyone get the endorsements over as many years on any automobile forum as Enrique. Just seems to me that if you don't hear any positive responses from the board for the back-up mechanic you found, I would go through the trouble to contact Enrique and make an appointment. Jim

Jim, I will follow the advice given to me, thanks. I'm calling Enrique first thing tomorrow. I just posted asking if anyone knows what time his shop opens. I feel that I definitely found a wonderful forum...... Thanks you all....:)

I believe his shop opens at 8:00 a.m.