2011 C Class Coupe - Timing Chain

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jasonc

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2020
Messages
18
Location
Bradford
Car
2011 C Class Coupe M271
I am being quoted £1500-£2k for a timing chain issue and £250 for 2 new front wheel speed sensors. The story below;

My M271 1.8 car started rattling on the front offside. I noticed it was a coil spring that was broken. My Indy in Pudsey recommended replacing springs in pairs so I just paid £350 for the job. Shortly driving the car for what must be 8 miles locally the ABS inoperative warning and run flat inoperative warning came on. Later the engine management light came on just as I got the car home.

A quick OBD review from a cheap Nexpeak reader showed P0340 Camshaft sensor. I couldn't read the ABS detail as the OBD reader was just an engine/emissions reader.

My Indy kindly plugged it into STAR and told me the common issue with M271 is timing chain and depending on the damage, maybe camshaft adjusters/guides. They also related the ABS to a new ABS sensor needed (weird as this happened shortly after the spring fix, hummmm).

Anyway, I'm being told to expect to pay £250 for the ABS sensors, £1500-2k for the timing chain (£600-700) for chain but what else is in there and 8+ hr job.

I've just valued the car at 63k mileage and 61 plate(2011) and it comes to £6500-7k. It needs 4 new tyres shortly which I think will be £450+ and the service B in November for maybe £350.

I have noticed some good posts on the timing chain in other posts but I'm tempted to do the ABS sensors myself but wanted honest input if I should even attempt to do the timing chain or just get it into the Indy for £1500 ish.

I could just buy a icarsoft V2.0, fix the sensors and pay for the chain or part ex for a £9.8k car at Mercedes?
 
I think you would need a proper diagnosis, 63K seems very low but it is an issue on these engines.

I could be wrong but I beleive its possible to remove the rocker cover / timing chain cover for a proper inspection.

The chain went slack on my om651 C250Cdi and on inspection it was found to have stretched in a few places. On the M271 I think the issue lies with the cam sprockets.

Others no doubt will add more detail and hopefully help. Fingers crossed its not the chain.
 
If the car rattles but drives normally, then there's no damage (yet) to the valves, because bent valves will cause a noticeable reduction in power. That said, the car should absolutely not be driven with a rattling chain, because it could jump a tooth at any time and wreck the engine.

The timing gear on the old Kompressor M271 engines did go pop at around the 100,000 miles mark, the later Turbo variants had a modified timing gear that was less likely to fail, but when it did, it failed much earlier... go figure.

And keep in mind that a proper job will consist of complete new timing gear, including two new camshaft sprocket wheels, new timing chain, tensioner, and guide. The garage may be tempted to do a botch job and just do the minimum to fix the rattle, but I would vote against it.
 
Thanks for the feedback. The rattle goes almost immediately after 3 seconds at start-up. Noticeably the starter takes probably 6-7 turns than the usual 2-3 before. Drives very smooth but when idling the odd shudder but I think the car has always done that to be honest.

I'm readying myself for a large job to be honest. The car is the petrol 1.8 Turbo but I'm not sure what that means in terms of timing gear.

Even though the Indy has started the quote at £1500, I'll opt for the remove the timing chain cover and tell me the damage, good advice and was where I was heading.
 
Thanks for the feedback. The rattle goes almost immediately after 3 seconds at start-up. Noticeably the starter takes probably 6-7 turns than the usual 2-3 before. Drives very smooth but when idling the odd shudder but I think the car has always done that to be honest.

I'm readying myself for a large job to be honest. The car is the petrol 1.8 Turbo but I'm not sure what that means in terms of timing gear.

Even though the Indy has started the quote at £1500, I'll opt for the remove the timing chain cover and tell me the damage, good advice and was where I was heading.

If the rattle is only at startup, then try Wynns Valve Lifter Treatment first. If the rattle goes away, it wasn't the timing gear. But given that it's the M271 engine, it is still worth lifting the cam cover and inspecting the timing gear, unrelated.
 
I get the P0340 code and engine mgt light though even after clearing it with the OBD reader. Usually after driving for a short distance.
 
Had an M271 engine d c180 Kompressor and was good at 60k when I sold it.... These chains are a pot of luck , usually bust by 100k , some cars have more than that and n original chains.

Get a second opinion somewhere else just to be sure.

My neighbor was made to believe his 2006 bimmer was a scrapper because the timing chain is rattling....and they told him that his timing chain was at the back of the engine , they wanted 3k to fix.
Turned out after we checked the vin that his engine was the older one with timing chain at the front and they dont really fail , it was something else rattling somewhere... He is still driving it .
 
I'm going to drop in that Wynns Valve Lifter Treatment but also get it in next week and ask them to lift the cover to have a look.

I called Mercedes direct, aside all the 'humm very unique situation , never heard of this before' I politely told them about the numerous highlights on the web and they said take it to a dealer at £144 for the diagnosis. So kind of them. My Indy looked for free but still I want to see the photos when the cover is lifted next week to see what the situation is.
 
I have just warmed up the engine and added Wynns Valve Lifter and will try it later and possibly take it on a small run.

I just purchased a iCarSoft MB v2.0 and diagnosed the front left ABS sensor as faulty. I did try to clear the ABS warning light by going into the ESP menu and clearing the fault but the ABS light isn't clearing. Is that because the ABS sensor is throwing the fault and I'll need to replace the sensor first? The MB v2.0 is a waste of time if I can't clear the ABS light even after changing the sensor.

There is definitely noice when starting from cold for a few seconds so it looks like this does need to timing chain replacement.

I ran the engine for a good 10+ minutes and the camshaft position sensor didn't come on. Maybe that will come on when I drive it. Sounds smooth when idling with no rattling although it you can feel the odd blip/stutter but that's very small and not constant.

The codes from the iCarsoft when parked on the drive are: C003100(current), D409(Historic), C327100(Historic),C41500(current)

btw, when plugging into the car OBD from cold with nothing activated the battery was 11.73v. Rises to 14.7 ish when running. Do you think a weak battery would cause sensor issues or even weak starting. It turns over more than it used to do before starting.
 
also noticed the ECO stop/start light isn't on anymore. Used to be selectable On-Green and Off-Not lit. Its permanently not lit and can't be selected and turned on, when pressing it nothing happens.
 
also noticed the ECO stop/start light isn't on anymore. Used to be selectable On-Green and Off-Not lit. Its permanently not lit and can't be selected and turned on, when pressing it nothing happens.

The most likely cause for that is a weak main battery, or weak accessory battery.
 
The most likely cause for that is a weak main battery, or weak accessory battery.
Thanks Markjay I looked in the boot and see the aux battery so will get a multimeter and try it after the car sits. I'm not sure where the main battery is, I'm told its in the from under a cover so will take a look later today to find it.
 
Thanks Markjay I looked in the boot and see the aux battery so will get a multimeter and try it after the car sits. I'm not sure where the main battery is, I'm told its in the from under a cover so will take a look later today to find it.
A multimeter won't help..... you need a load drop tester. The multimeter will simply measure voltage, but won't show the state of the battery.
 
Mmmm yes I just saw that looking at YouTube videos. I did the battery diag option on the dashboard at it was showing 11.7v before starting.

The battery voltage has peaked at 15.1v on a cheaper OBD meter whilst the engine was running. On the iCarsoft it was circa 14.7v when running. Dropped to 7.43v as it was starting. When engine running putting zircon, heated seats etc the battery voltage is relatively steady at 14.7
 
Mmmm yes I just saw that looking at YouTube videos. I did the battery diag option on the dashboard at it was showing 11.7v before starting.

The battery voltage has peaked at 15.1v on a cheaper OBD meter whilst the engine was running. On the iCarsoft it was circa 14.7v when running. Dropped to 7.43v as it was starting. When engine running putting zircon, heated seats etc the battery voltage is relatively steady at 14.7

With the engine running, you are no longer measuring the battery voltage, instead you are now measuring the alternator output, which is not what you are interested in. Battery testing should always be done with the engine switched off.
 
Yes sure. My summary was just highlighting that the alternator must be working but I guess based on the age of the car one or both of the batteries is duff. I read the aux battery is charged via the master , do you know if this right? I may just pop to Halfords for a battery test.
 
Timing chain replaced , gearing, guides, tensioner etc and car runs perfect.

I got the replaced parts to check. The chain had slipped and moved two sprockets so my timing was out and car not running well. I questioned with the Indy if it really needed gearing changes but he was upfront at the start and asked would I risk new chain and tensioner and not slightly worn gearing.

Anyway the noise was certainly the chain/gearing and it was so bad it was bringing up camshaft sensor warning message and car was lumpy.

He also replaced a near side abs speed sensor which reset my ABS warning and my Eco stop/start started working again.

Car is now starting really nicely , back to a nice smooth runner and needs to last a good few more years to get my moneys worth.

Annoyed with Mercedes that a chain/tensioner at 63k would need to be replaced on what would have been a £40k car new
 
Consider yourself very lucky. In 9 out of 10 times, a slipped tooth on the M271 would cause valve-to-piston contact resulting in terminal engine damage (and, in many cases, also the scrapping of the car). With the new timing gear in place, the car should provide you with years of trouble-free motoring.
 
Yes I acted within a week of the noise, stopped driving the car and luckily had AA cover via my bank who shipped the car to the Indy from my driveway without starting it again
 

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