Balance shaft issue

[chrisf-1]

Hi again everyone I have been looking with interest at a 2007 SLK 350 and am very worried about buying one that is likely to suffer with the balance shaft issues on early models so I have got the engine number and would like someone to tell me if it is one of those affected, the number is 27296330578184 so any info would be very welcome before I take the plunge and return to the fold many thanks Chris

 

[BTB 500]

It's in the second category, where the (four) adjustment solenoids can cause the EML to come on. Have a read here:

The Complete M272 Engine Thread | Engine

Following on from my Complete M271 Engine thread please feel free to add resources to this thread for the M272 Engine. Mercedes-Benz M272 engine Mainly from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia but added to: Technical brief: 76 pages...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

 

[Eddy77]

Definite thumbs up

Power delivery is seamless if you leave it to its own mind, or you can paddle shift if you want to get the most fun. All in all an excellent device that makes the older boxes seem dated. Try it, I don't think it will disappoint.

Hi again everyone I have been looking with interest at a 2007 SLK 350 and am very worried about buying one that is likely to suffer with the balance shaft issues on early models so I have got the engine number and would like someone to tell me if it is one of those affected, the number is 27296330578184 so any info would be very welcome before I take the plunge and return to the fold many thanks Chris

As long as you are outside the first category, there’s nothing much to worry about. I have a CLK 350 in a 2008 car and my engine is well outside the danger zone. The engine is lovely. Sounds great over 4,000 rpm. I’m a huge fan of it. I’ve had my 350 for over five years and it’s been faultless. A great engine as long as you avoid the balance shaft issue.

 

[clk208]

As long as you are outside the first category, there’s nothing much to worry about. I have a CLK 350 in a 2008 car and my engine is well outside the danger zone. The engine is lovely. Sounds great over 4,000 rpm. I’m a huge fan of it. I’ve had my 350 for over five years and it’s been faultless. A great engine as long as you avoid the balance shaft issue.

+1. Coming up to 9 years with my CLS350 CGI petrol and the engine is absolutely glorious.

 

[slade1]

My CLK M272 motor is 15 years old, no rattles on start, silky smooth and frequent short trips.
How many actually fail? nobody knows, less than 1%?

 

[Eddy77]

I seem to recall that if you are in the danger zone of engine numbers around 10-15% failure rate, based on the US where they bought many more than is brits and there was a class action law suit against MB. I forget now but when I bought my CLK in 2014 ish I was sufficiently concerned by the stats to find one with an engine well outside the affected range. I did a lot of research at the time and that was my conclusion.

 

[slade1]

Thanks Eddy77 10-15% is quite high,have to be optimistic 85-90% don't fail.

 

[horatio]

The only indicator would be how many replacement parts MB have sold but that wouldn’t account for scrapped cars or those that had engine swaps etc.

Regular oil changes, pamper it from cold & forget. Might never happen!

You could check for tiny metal particles in the oil but surely by then the EML would pop up?

 

[BTB 500]

For 'at risk' cars I imagine the chance of a problem occurring increases with mileage (age), as the value of the vehicle decreases. I wonder what the current cost of a 'category 2' repair (replacing the four solenoids) is?

 

[clk208]

For 'at risk' cars I imagine the chance of a problem occurring increases with mileage (age), as the value of the vehicle decreases. I wonder what the current cost of a 'category 2' repair (replacing the four solenoids) is?

Solenoids were about £30 each and hardly any labour time when I had 2 of them whilst the car was in warranty in 2012 due to an engine light. No trouble since.

 

[RHCLK]

Solenoids were about £30 each and hardly any labour time when I had 2 of them whilst the car was in warranty in 2012 due to an engine light. No trouble since.

My 2006 clk350 , had the issue with the shaft ! It had done 98k and someone had taken the EML out or blacked it off when I bought it , obviously I noticed that not !
I took the engine out and replace the balance shaft last year along with the cam sensors and timing chain , i got a kit with all the parts including gaskets for around £400
The engine was running well and didn’t really notice any noises , because the EML is disabled I used a oOBD to check the ecu , the codes it had said cam position was out .
When I took out the old shaft it had NO teeth it was completely smooth we’re they should have been ,

not a difficult repair but engine out to get to the rear of the shaft to remove the retaining bolt .

 

[slade1]

RHCLK Thats interesting, I believe a good indie charges around £2-2 1/2K to fix. I would appear your had the problem when you got it hence the disconnected EML. My CLK is serviced/MOT every regardless of mileage, usually 3.5 - 4K hope my indie will pick up any potential problems when plugged into STAR.