yup it's that time again for some fun fun diagnosis with a W202 C36AMG I found at the auction.

1997 model C36 AMG

I don't think there are many options to add to that so I'll skip it.

odo reads 155,xxxkm

the car starts very easily, idles very normally, no smoke. Engine check light is on.

The engine will not rev pass 3000RPM without showing major choking / hestitation. There is no smoke coming out of the tail pipe. Drives normal if you drive it below 2000RPM (easy enough with a C36)

all warning lights other than Engine check lights come on at ON position and off once the car is actually started. Coolant is in good shape no vanilla gunk no odd smells in the crankcase whatsoever.

what is a likely culprit? OVP would have had the engine shut before I could get it running, when my W202 C220 ran like that one of my sparkplug cable boots were shot and the spark just misses the plugs when revved hard. I fixed that with a replacement set of wires.

The C36 is rare, exotic in Mercedes fans hearts (first ever AMG Mercedes collabro - I bet it'll go up in price later as a classic) and at auction it probably will be sold at a very reasonable price.

My C220 that I loved but sold came from the same auction yard so it's by no means shady. And I would like a C36 in my stable very much.

If worst comes to worst, how much does it cost to rebuild an AMG 3.6 straight 6 engine? I'll keep that figure in mind when I bid on it tomorrow.

thanks for your advices and tips.

I bet it'll go up in price later as a classic

ah no that's not my motivtion but it's a good basis to think that the depreciation curve is more or less flattened to more normal ranges now since it 1) IS an AMG and 2) IS the one and only first child between AMG and Mercedes officially.

much like the E500 doesn't depreciate anymore because it's the one and only Porsche Benz collaboration production sedan it's a piece of history.

I just like W202 and C36 is like the most desired choice before there was C43. I reckon 6 cylinder maintenance would be easier than 8 anyway.

I don't have a Bosch scan tool though so the price of an actual engine rebuild might be a good ballpark figure to start thinking about. These cars still fetch like 16 - 20K on the market last I checked.

oh btw, is the C36 AMG among the batch of cars that have general electrical issues like disintegrating main harness and such?

problem with this is that it's a 1997 car and it does not have OBDII plug (not until 1998 for Mercedes as far as I know?) and so it only has the Bosch diagnostic cluster under the hood - which is not what exactly you call a "common tool" 9 out of 10 mechanic's shop wouldn't have one (those that aren't specialized in Mercedes, at the very least) and so between today and tomorrow I wouldn't have any way to plug any tool into it. It's not going to work in time that's the issue.

So I'll ballpark its market value minus the AMG engine and set my upper bound safe.

I'm not too worried about the bidding I did bid a C220 at like 1/3 the market value at that awesome auction site. All went well, drove that for a long time, loved the car and sold it for exactly how much I paid for it.

and now I'm going back for more W202 action. Only now I'm choosing between a 1997 C36AMG and a 1999 C230 Kompressor..... If no one heard about this weird symptom particular to the C36 before the auction goes ahead I might just end up with the C230K coz that car drives and revs just like a fine Mercedes should. Less of a headache for me.

But I do want a C36 if that's at all possible, for a lil resto-mod project and if it's a common problem I'd like to hear from you gurus.

Thanks for your time.

^ ya if I can drive it out of the lot and get the codes scanned I would, but the situation does not allow.... the cars are not licensed and are not allowed to be driven off the lot.

Originally Posted by hk20000 problem with this is that it's a 1997 car and it does not have OBDII plug (not until 1998 for Mercedes as far as I know?) and so it only has the Bosch diagnostic cluster under the hood -

Originally Posted by hk20000 [LEFT]problem with this is that it's a 1997 car and it does not have OBDII plug (not until 1998 for Mercedes as far as I know?)

Originally Posted by hk20000 These cars still fetch like 16 - 20K on the market last I checked.

hmmm there's a local C36 sold at 18K just the past week... CDN is almost 1:1 to USD now... CDN used car market is a strange little something something.

Vancouver has the most expensive second hand car market of the whole North America.... If it's local it's going to fetch money - because we have moderate climate (always between -10C to +25C, rarely over or under this range) so paint, engine and interior tend to ...... well not wear out at all. My C36 is a local car bought from a dealership only about 20 minutes away from home, back in 1997.

Even at 11K on ebay I still paid a good 2 thousand less than that. So it's no problem really even to use it as a daily driver and watch the price slide down like any other car that you'd buy anywhere else, and I get to drive an AMG with some history significance and outfitted with lots of meat under the hood.

sounds like a banging deal to me.

Anyway so I drove the car for a whole day, with like 5 hours actually just sitting on that driver's seat and roll in the miles in the city and on freeway making random pulls with people in their funny looking sports cars trying to pass "just another C class" after I switched the MAS to the new unit. One is for the new car joy and two for that i want to verify the accuracy of Mercedes dealers' call to "replace water pump and t-stat" from its purchase inspection. I haven't seen any coolant leak or temperature creeps for all those hours I rolled by so I would think that's just M-B trying to cover their asses when they are evaluating a pre-owned car that has done 155 thousand KMs running on its original water pump assy.

No problems popping up so far, in fact, I turned off ASR and did a few donuts and caught that on tape.... Still not missing a beat.

and over the few hours of driving the Check Engine Light finally did enough run cycles and decides to say bye-bye to me. Which is awesome news that means the ECU isn't seeing any fault ready-state codes anymore with the new MAS.

Changed the plugs too while I did the MAS and again the Boschs in the engine looks like it hasn't been changed for the past 10 years (like my previous C220) so out went the Bosch and in went the Nippon Denso (I would not buy another Bosch plug even if you put a gun at my head) Iridium 0.4mm core plugs. The engine totally takes off from the nice fresh set of plugs.

At such a price there are obviously something bound to go wrong. There is an over-2000 dollar but unknown amount claim on it from a rear end collision. So the trunk gap on the left is narrower than the symmetrical gap on the right.... But otherwise I'm quite stumped as to why Subaru would rather sell me this car at 9K + taxes when they would otherwise easily ask 17 - 22K on their lot having the car "reconditioned"

The car needs a new wiper arm gearbox assy as the original one has cracked and if I turn on the wiper the motor pops out of its broken mount like jack in the box and onto the windscreen saying "surprise!!" to me at like 100mph and the wiper does not return anymore. I swear I almost had a heart attack when the motor just jumped onto the windscreen like a salmon fresh out of the water.

The car also developed an exhaust leak under the passenger footwell..... Which isn't all that common for AMG exhaust systems..... I will have to have the car jacked up and check it out from underneath (for various....things) when the exhaust shop welds up the exhaust....wherever that leak is from.

Then, the car has a stinky ventilation system that needs cleaning right away....it smells like mold and it's hella disgusting.

otherwise I'm delighted to report that, hk20000 has walked into a dealer and has came out ahead of the game! Not something many can claim to have done!

Also a 1997 C36 is awesome in that even amongst C36s it's the one and only year that received the 5 speed automatic instead of 4 speeds.... And the total number imported into North America is also the least amongst all C36s of all years.

I feel like I just stepped on treasure while strolling in the park. Lucky me.

And WOW C36 is like a totally different beast than a base model C220 I once had and treasured! I'm totally blown away by its performance!

Pictures to come when the sun rises.

Originally Posted by hk20000 yup it's that time again for some fun fun diagnosis with a W202 C36AMG I found at the auction. 1997 model C36 AMG I don't think there are many options to add to that so I'll skip it. odo reads 155,xxxkm the car starts very easily, idles very normally, no smoke. Engine check light is on. The engine will not rev pass 3000RPM without showing major choking / hestitation. There is no smoke coming out of the tail pipe. Drives normal if you drive it below 2000RPM (easy enough with a C36) all warning lights other than Engine check lights come on at ON position and off once the car is actually started. Coolant is in good shape no vanilla gunk no odd smells in the crankcase whatsoever. what is a likely culprit? OVP would have had the engine shut before I could get it running, when my W202 C220 ran like that one of my sparkplug cable boots were shot and the spark just misses the plugs when revved hard. I fixed that with a replacement set of wires. The C36 is rare, exotic in Mercedes fans hearts (first ever AMG Mercedes collabro - I bet it'll go up in price later as a classic) and at auction it probably will be sold at a very reasonable price. My C220 that I loved but sold came from the same auction yard so it's by no means shady. And I would like a C36 in my stable very much. If worst comes to worst, how much does it cost to rebuild an AMG 3.6 straight 6 engine? I'll keep that figure in mind when I bid on it tomorrow. thanks for your advices and tips.