Just had a major fault sorted out on my C32

[whestworld]

Hi All

I have had some major issues with my C32 and will take you through them and what was done to rectify them. Before talking the car to George Fraser I changed the intercooler pump to a Johnson type as mine failed and it felt like I was running on 155BHP

Back in Nov 2010 I had a major service done by George Fraser in London.
I asked him to list the issues with the car so I could then go through them one-by-one and say YES or NO depending on cost and 'is it really needed'

1. Front suspension arms plus bushes needed replacing - common problem
2. Valeo coolant radiator changed for a new one 'Just in case'. Better be safe than sorry!
3. Engine oil and transmission oil changed incl B-Service
4. He did ask about the classic 'knocking' noise with regards to the air con system and I said 'forget it'...I'll live with it.
5. Gearbox module changed because the gearbox used to go into 2nd regularly - fault mode!
6. George bought up the fact that my ECU was faulty and was causing the main engine fan to switch on-off by it self regardless of temperature.

That was pretty much it.


Fast forward to Apr 2011.

I was loosing quite a lot of coolant, my main engine fan was now constantly ON and the car was generally 'rough idling' intermittantly.
The coolant issue was weird as I could not find any signs of a leak as I has no puddles and it was pressure tested twice with no fault found!
It came to the point that one morning I got to work then 1/2 hour later tried to start the car and NOTHING - it was mis-firing

1. The ECU was changed along with a new loom. The sparkplugs were changed as the car was running so RICH it damaged the plugs...my mpg was about 12mpg on a normal run - for months.
2. A few rubber pipes had also be changed.

Got the car back, WOW...what performance!!! EXCELLENT and 6 miles later the Engine managment light comes on. I got home and the next day tried to start the car and MIS-FIRING

George Fraser collected the car and 3 days later called to tell me that the intercooler has failed and is leaking coolant into the intake manifolds. I went to see the car and YES, the intake manifolds were GUNKY as well as the 'air sensor' and you could see coolant on top of the valves. This is where the coolant was going and why I could not see puddles.

While the car is waiting for the intercooler (£930 inc VAT) George is cleaning the manifolds out and associated parts that have come into contact with the coolant and shouldn't have. I've also asked to look at the LONG belt that drives the aircon and other stuff as changing it now maybe the best thing to do while it's in pieces.

So...

I've had a new intercoolant radiator - precautionary replacement (£250)
ECU - last one was playing up (£1560) - not so common, but known.
Intercooler - leaking and a known problem with the C32 (£930)
Front suspension arms - known problem causing knocking (£80 ish)
All sorts of rubber breather hoses and sensors ( £££)

I'm actually really pleased as I know that when I get it back it'll feel like a new car.

These faults are common to the C32 so try and keep on top of them before they get worse.

regards

James

 

[jonathanc]

Hi James

Sounds like you've had a bit of bad luck, especially the ECU.
The intercooler /chargecooler leaking is a known issue but from what I can make out appears to be due to not using the correct MB coolant - do you know if yours had the correct coolant when the chargecooler failed? If not make sure that it is flushed and refilled with the correct coolant, might prevent it happening again.
Hope you get it back soon and you get some trouble free motoring!

Cheers

 

[whestworld]

Hi Thanks.

Yes the ECU was bad luck and not a common problem.

The car has only ever had Merc coolant installed. It gets flushed at least once a year - I like it that way, but the intercooler problem is a mechanical breakdown problem which is age related not coolant related. I have 2 friends in the USA who have suffered the same on their 02 C32. Both using Merc approved coolant only and both had failed intercooler at approx 60000 miles - like mine! coincidence...I don't think so! Because it has happened to so many of us, I guess it MUST be age related on that part.

regards James

 

[jonathanc]

Hi

Interesting that all your intercoolers failed at similar mileage. According to some posts on MBWorld, Code3 suggest the failures are due to the additional water pressure that results from using the Johnson CM30 pump. This I guess is a logical theory, did the other guys that suffered from failures have Johnson pumps as well? As a C32 owner I am dreading this happening but currently I have a standard pump, when it fails it may make sense to stick to the original part as it may prevent intercooler failure later. Perhaps I should start a survey over on MBworld to see if this theory stands up.

I am also intrigued by your ECU failure, could the poor running not be caused by the lambda sensors picking up the by products of burnt coolant? Did they verify that the ECU was at fault?

Regards