Common Faults with W208 CLK 230K???

[rallye_turtle]

Hi Guys,

I'm new to this forum so I guess its a chance to say HI!!!, and to ask a couple of questions. I'm in the process of looking for a W208 CLK 230K sport. I Went to see one last night which was on an R plate, with 86K, FSH, it seems to be good, everything seems to work, no warning lights etc and seems to drive fine, appart from a slight delay when starting of as i had to press the accelerator down about 2" before the car would start to move (would this just be a throttle cable adjustment issue). Kickdown seems to work at full throttle.

Just wondered if there are any common faults with this model at that kind of mileage (86K), ie, head gasket, timing chains, gearbox. Also, the one concern I have is the supercharger, do these have to be rebuilt at all, as I had a Golf rallye previously which was supercharged and i had to have that rebuilt every 30K miles .

Any help would be very much appreciated.


Cheers


Wayne

 

[jamesmc]

The throttle is fly by wire.. steel cable to a certain point then converted to an electrical impulse and fed into the ECU.
The couple of inches of pedal travel you mention in more likely by MB design than being (say) slack. It is fairly well documented (in discussions) about the long pedal travel to reaction time, when compared to other makes.

The supercharger is pretty bullet proof and doesn't come up often as a failure as far as I am aware. To the best of my knowledge the one fitted to my car (90k miles) is original and know of one other member that has now passed 200,000 miles on his W208 without having to replace the supercharger. I am aware of this because we swap info on the cars as they came off the line at around the same time. He's had the car from new.

You should check for oil on/around the MAF. On the W208 the MAF is located in the inlet air pipework (inline) after the air intercooler.
Facing the radiator you will see the pipework coming up from the right. The MAF is the item with a cable plugged into it. It's held in place by clips.
If this does show signs of oil then it will NOT be a sign of Supercharger failure but could be a sign that the lower part oil breather system nozzles are blocked. Not a costly fix on parts but labour may cost you about 4hrs, if you do not DIY, and you may also have to replace the MAF (circa GBP £150 from Bosch). Don't be tempted to replace the MAF with a cheap eBay version.. it will not last.
For more on the MAF (with pictures) read:
How to Stop MAF oil contamination

Wear and tear items.
With any car on 90k miles you will have things like ball joints to deal with.
Brake discs, Pads etc.
The steering damper may need replacing every 90k miles or so. (Not expensive and an easy enough DIY fit should you have the knowledge)

The passenger seat sensor pad may fail (as it did on my car recently), producing an SRS warning light, but again not an expensive item to buy and DIY also. Entails pulling the seat out/apart though.
Read:
How to resolve SRS warning light fault (W208)

Anyway, that's a bit of input from me. I'm sure others may add some more.

 

[rallye_turtle]

Wow, cheers James, thats was a good little insight into so probs with the clk, much appreciated. I have read here and other forums about the MAF and some of the issues that it can cause like sluggish acceleration, autobox gearchange. Its comforting to know that some of these issues can be dealt with quite cheaply, and luckily for me I'm ok at DIY mechanics, so dont mind getting my hands dirty. The car in question seems to be an honest example, appart from a few blemishes in the paint and a couple of small rust scabs on the front wheel arch, which I have managed to haggle the price down a few hundred quid.

Anybody else got any other suggestions to this topic?

Cheers again James

 

[sweeper]

i have a C230k, 160000miles and the engine is sweet as is the gearbox, biggest concern by far i would say is rust, i have had a couple of other problems; a small oil leak from front crank pulley, leaking a/c condensor (corroded along bottom edge) and water ingress into the fuse box-relay plate that caused some odd problems like horn going off on own, i also had a rear window winder cable brake. all in all you don't quite get the reliability you might expect but you may get rust you don't expect, but it has a fantastic engine and drive train and mine still gives that solid feel to it gives good mpg and superb performance.

 

[jamesmc]

Anybody else got any other suggestions to this topic?

Cheers again James

Let us know how you get on.... there are a couple of us that pass on info as and when we have to deal with problems. Needless to say the car is quite well put together so we don't get to send too much to each other ;

 

[BlackC55]

I am seeing some worn camber and castor bushes on the front more and more on the 208, 202 and 210 that essentially have a similar suspension design.

Lower front ball joints are a fave as well as broken springs and the occasional roll bar bush.

The 111 engine with a supercharger suffers with exhaust manifold crack's and exhaust manifold gasket leak's. Listen out when starting as you can hear a loud ticking noise from it.

Fog lamp looms corrode at the connector and cause all sorts of fog lamp issues.

The diffs leak (most MB's do) and the rear lower arm outer bush also suffers with wear.

Exhaust's corrode at the joints but are generally VERY good.

The breather problem is very common. Its well worth doing if it has not been done before as it will prevent further problems.

Other than the above its a cracking car and I would own one myself, no problem

 

[rallye_turtle]

Cheers for your input guys!!

Went and saw another CLK 230k last night but it was a 2000 so 3 years younger than the one I mentioned above and 20K less miles, but to be honest I could'nt spot that much of a difference in the way of condition, appart from the R reg one having a few rust scabs. i have noticed however a lot of the CLK's seem to have issues with the illumination around the ventilation knobs, they seem to go on or off or just dont come on at all.

It is frustrating knowing that a prestige car brand can produce cars that rust easily. I've owned a porsche and a couple of audi's before and they're bodies were galvanised for rust prevention.

Anyway, I'm feeling inclined to go for the R reg CLK, compared with the others I've seen, it seems a good honest example, and everything works including the remote boot release and the auto sliding seat for rear entrance, it even has two keys and the original flat master key (whats that for??) . Hopefully will pick it up this monday. Will keep you guys posted on my findings.


cheers again

wayne

 

[vijilants]

I am seeing some worn camber and castor bushes on the front more and more on the 208, 202 and 210 that essentially have a similar suspension design.

Lower front ball joints are a fave as well as broken springs and the occasional roll bar bush.

The 111 engine with a supercharger suffers with exhaust manifold crack's and exhaust manifold gasket leak's. Listen out when starting as you can hear a loud ticking noise from it.

Fog lamp looms corrode at the connector and cause all sorts of fog lamp issues.

The diffs leak (most MB's do) and the rear lower arm outer bush also suffers with wear.

Exhaust's corrode at the joints but are generally VERY good.

The breather problem is very common. Its well worth doing if it has not been done before as it will prevent further problems.

Other than the above its a cracking car and I would own one myself, no problem

Hi Olly

Re the breather problem, I guess this would also apply to my 1999 C230K ?

If so, what do I need to buy to get this sorted out ?

Thanks

 

[vijilants]

Cheers for your input guys!!

Went and saw another CLK 230k last night but it was a 2000 so 3 years younger than the one I mentioned above and 20K less miles, but to be honest I could'nt spot that much of a difference in the way of condition, appart from the R reg one having a few rust scabs. i have noticed however a lot of the CLK's seem to have issues with the illumination around the ventilation knobs, they seem to go on or off or just dont come on at all.

It is frustrating knowing that a prestige car brand can produce cars that rust easily. I've owned a porsche and a couple of audi's before and they're bodies were galvanised for rust prevention.

Anyway, I'm feeling inclined to go for the R reg CLK, compared with the others I've seen, it seems a good honest example, and everything works including the remote boot release and the auto sliding seat for rear entrance, it even has two keys and the original flat master key (whats that for??) . Hopefully will pick it up this monday. Will keep you guys posted on my findings.


cheers again

wayne

Basically the newer car, if it has a FSH will be more likely to be covered by MB if you have corrosion problems. Decent bodywork is not that cheap nowadays.

 

[jamesmc]

Hi Olly

Re the breather problem, I guess this would also apply to my 1999 C230K ?

If so, what do I need to buy to get this sorted out ?

Thanks

Sorry I'm not Olly but this may help.

Read the text and follow the link below. Part numbers and how to do the job are all mentioned.

You should check for oil on/around the MAF. On the W208 the MAF is located in the inlet air pipework (inline) after the air intercooler.
Facing the radiator you will see the pipework coming up from the right. The MAF is the item with a cable plugged into it. It's held in place by clips.
If this does show signs of oil then it will NOT be a sign of Supercharger failure but could be a sign that the lower part oil breather system nozzles are blocked. Not a costly fix on parts but labour may cost you about 4hrs, if you do not DIY, and you may also have to replace the MAF (circa GBP £150 from Bosch). Don't be tempted to replace the MAF with a cheap eBay version.. it will not last.
For more on the MAF (with pictures) read:
How to Stop MAF oil contamination

On this engine type MAF oil contamination is generally known to be caused by the lower part breather system being blocked. The repair entails removal of the inlet manifold (as the main item) and cleaning or replacement of a couple of brass nozzles plus renewal of associated narrow bore tubing, a T piece etc. It's all cheap on parts but time consuming on labour.
Even so with a car approaching 90,000 miles or beyond, I would do the repair by way of preventative maintenance and as suggested by BlackC55
The link above will explain more.

 

[tudu]

appart from a slight delay when starting of as i had to press the accelerator down about 2" before the car would start to move (would this just be a throttle cable adjustment issue). Kickdown seems to work at full throttle.

If you decide to buy, sprintbooster will take care of the lag. Its probably the best investment you can make in improving kickdown.

 

[gbjeppm]

Don't forget that there was a facelift on the W208 in 1999ish, facelift models have the steering wheel controls and indicators in the wing mirrors.

Personally I would make sure that you get the facelift if you are seeing both in your price range.

 

[rallye_turtle]

Just thought I’d let you guys know that I took the plunge and bought the CLK mentioned at the start of this topic. I have to say that I’m very pleased with it so far, it is the total opposite to what I had before which was a MK2 Golf Rallye. I’ll be posting some photos of my new purchase within the next few days.

Yesterday I decided to go over the car with a fine tooth comb to see if I could find any issues or problems that have been mentioned about this particular model on the forums. Below is what I discovered:-

Interior:-

- Illumination around fan knob goes on/off randomly.
- Strange clicking noise coming from under passenger glove box when fan switch is set to zero.
- AC doesn’t work when temp knobs are turned to coldest setting, checked AC compressor pulley which doesn’t seem to engage. Any ideas as to what might cause this????
- Sometimes all the illumination for the ventilation controls goes out completely, when this happens the fan stops completely until the illumination comes on again after tapping the front panel.
- Kickdown switch seems to be a bit stiff, when trying to kickdown I do have to press the accelerator really hard for the switch to klick. Can the switch be cleaned, and is it supposed to be that stiff. (Was quite impressed with the kickdown response though)

Engine:-

- Oil leaking from camshaft position sensor making the connector oily. Have checked the ECU and there doesn’t appear to be any oil there (as I’ve heard that the oil can travel down the loom). Does the camshaft sensor need to be replaced as a whole or is there a rubber seal underneath which can just be replaced, the car does idle fine.

Apart from the above everything appears to be good. Would much appreciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction for fixing the above, I would consider myself as quite a competent DIY mechanic so am not too worried about ripping things out.

Cheers guys

 

[un1l]

I recently just bought a CLK 230K like yourself, mine is a 99 facelift.
I have the same problem with my heater switch, it is the bulb behind the controls.
This can be accessed by pulling the fan knob delicately and you can access the bulb from behind there.

 

[Will]

I'd say the most common cause of the A/C compressor not engaging when the A/C is on would be low system pressure, normally caused by a leak. Just to be certain, when the EC light is lit, the air con is turned off, and vice versa (ie, no light should show when you want the A/C to be functioning)

Most common place where they leak is from the condensor, this sits in front of the main engine radiator and will have a pair of electric fans in front of it.

On my W202 (which shares most mechanical parts with the 208 CLK), there was a load of debris behind the fans which had caused the condensor to rot through and lose the gas.

Replacement is fairly straightforward if this is the case. You could remove the fans to check if the condensor is damaged, that's a fairly easy check

Will

 

[BlackC55]

Hi Olly

Re the breather problem, I guess this would also apply to my 1999 C230K ?

If so, what do I need to buy to get this sorted out ?

Thanks

There is a kit of stuff that you need. Give me your chassis number and I will quote you.

 

[rallye_turtle]

cheers for the quick response guys.

will: The EC switch was off when checking the AC and had no affect. I read somewhere that if the gas has leaked then the EC button should remain lit permanently, but not sure of the validity of this. Will inspect the condensor for damage. I presume I will need to remove the front bumper for this.

un1l: hope you're enjoying it. the light thing didnt bother me at first but now it just bugs me when driving at night and I feel daft banging the panel to get the light on especially when there are mates in the car and also cos its a Merc LOL!! will try and remove the know and replace.

Cheers

 

[C240Sport97]

my CLK's condenser had to be replaced

I'd say the most common cause of the A/C compressor not engaging when the A/C is on would be low system pressure, normally caused by a leak. Just to be certain, when the EC light is lit, the air con is turned off, and vice versa (ie, no light should show when you want the A/C to be functioning)

Most common place where they leak is from the condensor, this sits in front of the main engine radiator and will have a pair of electric fans in front of it.

On my W202 (which shares most mechanical parts with the 208 CLK), there was a load of debris behind the fans which had caused the condensor to rot through and lose the gas.

Replacement is fairly straightforward if this is the case. You could remove the fans to check if the condensor is damaged, that's a fairly easy check

Will

 

[jamesmc]

Engine:-

- Oil leaking from camshaft position sensor making the connector oily. Have checked the ECU and there doesn’t appear to be any oil there (as I’ve heard that the oil can travel down the loom). Does the camshaft sensor need to be replaced as a whole or is there a rubber seal underneath which can just be replaced, the car does idle fine.

If the problem is as shown in the attached image then the solution was to replace the camshaft timing magnet as a unit. Basically what you can see in the middle of the picture with the loom connected. It has the (improved as far as I am aware) connector built into it which I believe is what causes the original problem.



Disconnect the wiring connector, remove the three allen bolts, remove the old magnet and install the new unit by reverse procedure.
I used an instant 'oil proof' gasket solution on the face of the new magnet before bolting it back on.

Since carrying out the above the area has had no further leaks and as you can imagine looks a lot cleaner than that now!
The item was not overly expensive which was a pleasant surprise.

 

[rallye_turtle]

If the problem is as shown in the attached image then the solution was to replace the camshaft timing magnet as a unit. Basically what you can see in the middle of the picture with the loom connected. It has the (improved as far as I am aware) connector built into it which I believe is what causes the original problem.

View attachment 10035

Disconnect the wiring connector, remove the three allen bolts, remove the old magnet and install the new unit by reverse procedure.
I used an instant 'oil proof' gasket solution on the face of the new magnet before bolting it back on.

Since carrying out the above the area has had no further leaks and as you can imagine looks a lot cleaner than that now!
The item was not overly expensive which was a pleasant surprise.

Thats the culprit mate, yeah have the exact same problem. Thanx for the reply on this, glad to know its not too big a job to sort out.