04 C230K Supercharger Replacement at 26K
 

Just had the supercharger on my wife's 04 C230K replaced at 26K miles. Fortunately, still under warranty and the whole replacement was covered. Only symptom of trouble was constant grinding sound -- bearings, I'm guessing. From what I've read, 26K seems very early for the unit to go out. I've seen various posts about the particular model of Eaton supercharger that this car uses and whether or not I need to check the oil level. The car has the 1.8L "230" engine. Anyone know which Eaton model we have and if I need to be checking oil?

Thanks,

John

I'd be shocked if that turbo wasn't feed by a high pressure oil line coming off the engine.

Are you using the proper Mobil 1? 0w40 or 5w40?

It's not a turbo, it's a supercharger aka Kompressor. AFAIK, it has it's own sealed oil supply and is not fed by the engine. The grinding noise could have been clutch or the eaton, but the dealer would replace both I assume. I have read several posts about people changing the oil in the supercharger, but haven't seen a procedure anywhere.

That is way too early for an SC to fail. Who knows though, it could have been something simple and the dealer just decided to rip off MB for the cost of an SC. I believe your car uses the M45 model of SC. There is an oil fill port you can check. You can buy Eaton SC oil for a lot less than if you go to the dealer. Many people use the stuff from GM because it is the same as what MB relabels. With that said, you should not have to add oil on a regular basis unless you have a problem.

I stand corrected.

Could the grinding sound have been a vibration? I ask because if you go to www.mbwholesaleparts.com and use the archive ( in the Startech link ) there is a service bulletin concerning a partial load vent hose. The repair requires removing the supercharger ( not replacing ).

I should have wrote Startuned Magazine link

Thank you!
 

Thanks for all the replies. I looked at the service bulletin and I'm pretty sure my issue was unrelated -- but another thing I will make sure to have checked out! The noise I had was definitely coming from the supercharger itself. I put a stethoscope up to it and the grinding noise sounded like someone dragging a suitcase across asphalt.

John

Some Part Details Just in Case
 

In case others run into a similar issue, here are the part numbers for what the dealer replaced:

A271-090-27-80 -- Turbocharger
That's the part name even though it's a supercharger.
Has a sticker on it that has the MB part number and also says "Eaton 327491"
Dealer had price listed as $1400, but I think this was their warranty cost, not retail.

A271-141-10-80 Gasket, metal
A271-141-11-80 Gasket, metal
A271-141-12-80 Gasket, metal

Best,

John

Some of those darn things just start to rattle for no reason.
I have replaced that M271 supercharger with as little as 40 miles and
as high as 120k. They are sealed and there is no service for
them. "Lubed for life".
The earlier M111 cars (202 / 170) had fill ports on their blowers
that you could check and top off.
The p/n for the kompressor oil is #000 989 62 01.
The AMG blowers use Mobil Jet oil.