Mercedes Benz C180 Timing Chain/Engine Problem

[NewMerc2019]

Hi,

This is my first post regarding my first Mercedes

My car is a C180, year 2010 with about 70k on the clock. One day I was driving it and it suddenly had the engine lights on and lost all power completely.
AA came, looked at it, said it lost compression, could be a timing chain issue. The AA guy recommended me to go to a Mercedes specialist garage rather than any garage as this could involve major engine work.
As a merc newbie, I do not know any Mercedes specialist garage where I live (Ilford, London). So I went online and called a few. Got an appointment at one.
AA then towed the car to that garage on an agreed date.

Now, the garage had a look at the car. The mechanic said timing chain is loose and camshaft sprockets are worn. And I will need to pay £400 for a full diagnostics as possibly there could be further damage.

I've been told by the garage that total cost could be £2000-2500 or £4000 if I need another engine!
This is a hell of a lot more than I expected to pay. I am now in a catch-22. The value of the car itself is just around £4500 (Cat N).

I need help and advice on what to do? Pay up and fix it (with the risk of having to change engine worst case scenario) or sell as spares/repairs and buy another car? If I do sell as spares/repairs, what would be a ballpark figure for that?

Could you also recommend any affordable Mercedes garage please?

Thank you.

NewMerc

 

[markjay]

Welcome.

This is a very common issue on the M271 engine.

That said, £400 does sound too low.

If there's no damage to valves or pistons, then replacing the two canshaft sprocket wheels, timing chain, tensioner, and guides should cost around £1,200-1,500 parts and labour.

If there's piston/valve damage, the cost will be higher.

 

[markjay]

Sorry, I misread, £400 was the estimate for diagnosis, not repair?

As per my previous post, a repair would be obviously cheaper than a new (recon) engine.

As long as the issue is only with the timing gear and there's no further damage to valve and pistons, then the engine can be repaired for well under £2,000 (at an MB specialist).

Other members on here might be able to recommend a reputable MB specialist in your area - if the garage you took the car to isn't an MB specialist, that is.

But in this case please make sure to have the car transported by a recovery lorry etc, and do not start the engine - not even in order to drive the car up the lorry ramp.

 

[W1ghty]

Hi,

This is my first post regarding my first Mercedes

My car is a C180, year 2010 with about 70k on the clock. One day I was driving it and it suddenly had the engine lights on and lost all power completely.
AA came, looked at it, said it lost compression, could be a timing chain issue. The AA guy recommended me to go to a Mercedes specialist garage rather than any garage as this could involve major engine work.
As a merc newbie, I do not know any Mercedes specialist garage where I live (Ilford, London). So I went online and called a few. Got an appointment at one.
AA then towed the car to that garage on an agreed date.

Now, the garage had a look at the car. The mechanic said timing chain is loose and camshaft sprockets are worn. And I will need to pay £400 for a full diagnostics as possibly there could be further damage.

I've been told by the garage that total cost could be £2000-2500 or £4000 if I need another engine!
This is a hell of a lot more than I expected to pay. I am now in a catch-22. The value of the car itself is just around £4500 (Cat N).

I need help and advice on what to do? Pay up and fix it (with the risk of having to change engine worst case scenario) or sell as spares/repairs and buy another car? If I do sell as spares/repairs, what would be a ballpark figure for that?

Could you also recommend any affordable Mercedes garage please?

Thank you.

NewMerc

Which Indy have you been recommended to

 

[NewMerc2019]

Which Indy have you been recommended to

GemTech in Romford..

 

[NewMerc2019]

t

Sorry, I misread, £400 was the estimate for diagnosis, not repair?

As per my previous post, a repair would be obviously cheaper than a new (recon) engine.

As long as the issue is only with the timing gear and there's no further damage to valve and pistons, then the engine can be repaired for well under £2,000 (at an MB specialist).

Other members on here might be able to recommend a reputable MB specialist in your area - if the garage you took the car to isn't an MB specialist, that is.

But in this case please make sure to have the car transported by a recovery lorry etc, and do not start the engine - not even in order to drive the car up the lorry ramp.

Thanks for the advice. I did not know where to find an MB specialist. I just went on Google to find some local MB Specialist, or those who advertise themselves as MB Specialist.

 

[markjay]

GemTech in Romford..

Google search shows that they are MB specialists, so this should be fine.

Sadly every MB specialist would have seen quite a few M271 engines with failed timing gear, so they should know exactly what needs to be done.

 

[markjay]

On a more positive note....

Early M271 engines failed at around 100,000 miles when the camshaft sprockets suffered premature excessive wear, causing the chain to slip. The remedy was to replace the entire timing gear, including camshaft sprocket wheels, chain, tensioner and guides. The cost - parts and labour - is as per my previous post betweem £1,200 and £1,500.

However, later engines failed in a slightly different way. The hydraulic tensioner failed at relatively low mileage (some as early as 40,000 miles), causing the chain to slip. In this case, it is possible that the camshaft sprocket wheels are not actually worn and may not need replacing, reducing the overall repair costs.

Also, on the earlier engines the chain slip over the worn camshaft sprockets was severe and repeated with every turn of the engine (e.g. when trying to start the engine), which very quickly resulted in valve-to-piston contact and serious engine damage.

On the later engines, the sprockets where still fine, and the chain slip was minimal, so the engine could actually run for a while before serious damage occurred.

Your car being a 2010 model seems to fall into the latter category. If this is the case, and assuming that the garage gave their estimate before actually removing the camshaft cover and inspecting the condition of the sprocket wheels, you might just get away with not replacing the sprockets and the bill will go down.