Discussion
I had my first breakdown for about 25 years today and unfortunately it was in the much hated (by half our family) Merc! I was bombing along the local Wimborne to Cranborne road, which is a great sinewy piece of B road in Dorset, when a yellow light came on and the power died. After I coasted to a halt, the car would not start. An hour later it duly started for the RAC man but after he followed me for 5 miles, It died again. The RAC man who has owned a CLK, thinks it is probably a Crankshaft sensor as apparently failure of this component makes the car die but it can start again once the engine has cooled. Based on my description does this sound right? Any ideas what it will cost?
Anyway, this is the second unscheduled trip to the garage in 8 weeks since owning the car and I feel it will be enough for my wife to get her way, with the car being sold. I do see her point. Older cars like this are brilliant value for money, in terms of what you get for the purchase price, but the electronics are the weak point and considering this is was bought as a low mileage toy, I cant go on if its going to need a couple of hundred pounds thrown at it every other month. I know people will say that any used car has issues, but what will it be next? If you aren't mechanically minded I think cars like this are a risk, certainly compared with my other toy, an MX-5. I guess this is one reason why this era Merc (and other luxury cars of that era)are so cheap to buy. Live and learn as they say. Its a shame really because I absolutely love driving this car.
Anyway, this is the second unscheduled trip to the garage in 8 weeks since owning the car and I feel it will be enough for my wife to get her way, with the car being sold. I do see her point. Older cars like this are brilliant value for money, in terms of what you get for the purchase price, but the electronics are the weak point and considering this is was bought as a low mileage toy, I cant go on if its going to need a couple of hundred pounds thrown at it every other month. I know people will say that any used car has issues, but what will it be next? If you aren't mechanically minded I think cars like this are a risk, certainly compared with my other toy, an MX-5. I guess this is one reason why this era Merc (and other luxury cars of that era)are so cheap to buy. Live and learn as they say. Its a shame really because I absolutely love driving this car.
Edited by greenarrow on Monday 30th May 15:16
Edited by greenarrow on Monday 30th May 15:51
ZX10R NIN said:
Normally it'll say the crank & cam sensor aren't talking to each other £140.00 inc parts by the way this is an issue on most modern cars a bit like the air mass sensor that dies on modern motors.
I'm hoping it is just a sensor...the scary thing is the way the car just dies...an air mass meter doesn't tend to do that, the car just doesn't run properly. Also, being fairly new to an auto, I forgot to leave it in "N" and put it in "P" meaning I couldn't budge it. Pretty hairy when you lose all power and have to try and drift to a safe place on a derestricted winding B road which doesn't have any pavements!Scary indeed. It's this type of incident that destroys trust in a car, especially when it compromises the safety of your family.
I hope you find a suitable outcome, but I guess you'll need to fix the car anyway before you sell.
Good luck, and I hope this hasn't put you right off classic (old banger) motoring!
I hope you find a suitable outcome, but I guess you'll need to fix the car anyway before you sell.
Good luck, and I hope this hasn't put you right off classic (old banger) motoring!
Hey, you paid less than two grand for it! Sod's law said there'd be one or two issues to sort. The V8 in it is a magnificent engine. If the car isn't rusty (which it will be if a 99-01 car), get a Merc specialist to give it a full once-over and see what their view is on it. Don't take if to a main dealer...they'll naturally pick holes in it to the nth degree.
Sounds like a crank sensor. Mine went in my '55 - unfortunately I got shafted by Merc, who charged me £250 to replace it as it gave out on their ramp during an MOT! I was planning to buy one and fit it myself, it's not too difficult, but needs the right tools - it's tucked down the back of the engine bay.
It's a very common problem.
About £40 for the part (£120 from Merc!)
Does sound like the crankshaft position sensor. Mine went on the '32 after about 70k miles and 10 years.
Luckily I managed to get mobilo service out to fix it which took all of 5 mins, it did seem quite straightforward if you have the tools. Part cost £100 with no labour.
As mentioned you may be able to get it cheaper elsewhere, unfortunately I wasn't in a position to negotiate
Luckily I managed to get mobilo service out to fix it which took all of 5 mins, it did seem quite straightforward if you have the tools. Part cost £100 with no labour.
As mentioned you may be able to get it cheaper elsewhere, unfortunately I wasn't in a position to negotiate
rubystone said:
Hey, you paid less than two grand for it! Sod's law said there'd be one or two issues to sort. The V8 in it is a magnificent engine. If the car isn't rusty (which it will be if a 99-01 car), get a Merc specialist to give it a full once-over and see what their view is on it. Don't take if to a main dealer...they'll naturally pick holes in it to the nth degree.
Funny you say that, one of my neighbours is the master tech at Mercedes Benz Poole and his honest opinion is that "its a nice car which has obviously been looked after..." As for rust, sure there are a few bubbles but it really is very rust free compared with most.I guess this incident has just cost me faith in the car....its not nice when your engine dies and you have to negotiate a safe spot to stop on a fairly dangerous B Road....
Also, I can't help thinking it was me that triggered it. I was leaning fairly heavily into an S Bend and wondered if the ASR had activated - however, the second time the car died, it was on a straight bit of road and I was only doing 40....
Of course it could just be coincidence but you know what its like when you hoof an older car; you wonder if it has protested because it isn't used to that treatment and hasn't been driven that hard for years! Not that a V8 is ever stressed really!
As others have said this sounds like crank sensor. I had exactly your symptoms on my CLK430 some years back.
Crank sensors are best described as consumable.
An indi fixed it for about £100 if I recall. You can do it yourself but it's a bit of a fiddle at the back iof the block..
Incidentally it is possible to move the lever from park to neutral even if the engine has failed. Again if I recall you have to insert a pencil around the slot by lever an push down on a peg. It's a while since I've done this and others may recall better
Good luck
Tim
Crank sensors are best described as consumable.
An indi fixed it for about £100 if I recall. You can do it yourself but it's a bit of a fiddle at the back iof the block..
Incidentally it is possible to move the lever from park to neutral even if the engine has failed. Again if I recall you have to insert a pencil around the slot by lever an push down on a peg. It's a while since I've done this and others may recall better
Good luck
Tim
tiggerjaguar said:
As others have said this sounds like crank sensor. I had exactly your symptoms on my CLK430 some years back.
Crank sensors are best described as consumable.
An indi fixed it for about £100 if I recall. You can do it yourself but it's a bit of a fiddle at the back iof the block..
Incidentally it is possible to move the lever from park to neutral even if the engine has failed. Again if I recall you have to insert a pencil around the slot by lever an push down on a peg. It's a while since I've done this and others may recall better
Good luck
Tim
Yes indeed it was the crank sensor and the cost of diagnosis, part and labour £163 at my independent.Crank sensors are best described as consumable.
An indi fixed it for about £100 if I recall. You can do it yourself but it's a bit of a fiddle at the back iof the block..
Incidentally it is possible to move the lever from park to neutral even if the engine has failed. Again if I recall you have to insert a pencil around the slot by lever an push down on a peg. It's a while since I've done this and others may recall better
Good luck
Tim
Out of interest, was your 430 a generally reliable car, or did it throw up electrical gremlins and other bills every 4-6 weeks or so?! I only ask because I am seriously thinking of moving the car on before it starts emptying my wallet even more!
My 430 was a convertible and I did about 50k miles in 4 years. Crank sensor aside I didn't have any drive chain issues. Went like stink when I wanted to. Used rear tyres quite quickly but I bought part worns.
I had it serviced when it needed it.
I sold for two reasons, fuel consumption ( went to a diesel e280. - great car) and the overwhelming concern that something would fail. The hood began to play up and the drivers seat motor went . I understand that this is now an MOT fail. No other real issues
My car is still going according to DVLA records and has done another 30k in the last 5 years.
Basically it was reliable and comfortable
I sold the e280 and went to an e350 convertible. Very quick, reasonable economy but the ride is a bit hard.
Tim
I had it serviced when it needed it.
I sold for two reasons, fuel consumption ( went to a diesel e280. - great car) and the overwhelming concern that something would fail. The hood began to play up and the drivers seat motor went . I understand that this is now an MOT fail. No other real issues
My car is still going according to DVLA records and has done another 30k in the last 5 years.
Basically it was reliable and comfortable
I sold the e280 and went to an e350 convertible. Very quick, reasonable economy but the ride is a bit hard.
Tim
Interestingly the driver seat motor on my car isn't working properly either. It doesn't move forward when it tilts...
An opportunity presented itself for me on the newly rebuilt A338 Bournemouth Spur Road this morning, to open the taps and the CLK is more impressive in the higher gears to TBH than it is up to the legal limit. A brief squirt on a traffic free straight had me at, cough ** almost twice the legal limit before having to back off for upcoming traffic...That reduced the average MPG on my 12 mile commute down to 20.6 MPG.
But yes having suffered one breakdown and knowing there are a few things not working on the car, I am a little scared of it now, in terms of "what the heck will go wrong next!" Which is a shame because I think its a very cheap and under-rated car, not to mention a rare one. Haven't seen another 430 yet. Corners fairly flatly and would certainly pull away from your typical 330CI/Golf GTI type car in a burn up of that I am sure!
An opportunity presented itself for me on the newly rebuilt A338 Bournemouth Spur Road this morning, to open the taps and the CLK is more impressive in the higher gears to TBH than it is up to the legal limit. A brief squirt on a traffic free straight had me at, cough ** almost twice the legal limit before having to back off for upcoming traffic...That reduced the average MPG on my 12 mile commute down to 20.6 MPG.
But yes having suffered one breakdown and knowing there are a few things not working on the car, I am a little scared of it now, in terms of "what the heck will go wrong next!" Which is a shame because I think its a very cheap and under-rated car, not to mention a rare one. Haven't seen another 430 yet. Corners fairly flatly and would certainly pull away from your typical 330CI/Golf GTI type car in a burn up of that I am sure!
I sold my SLK and bought a CLK. I think it was one of the most enjoyable cars to drive I've had. I could really lean it into corners. It was great.
I've got a problem with my back and declutching is a major problem and with 6 speeds it was often a nightmare. So I had to get rid of it.
I bought another SLK, automatic, but now wish I'd gone for another CLK.
A very underrated car. Four seats for adults, and a boot able to take all their luggage. I ran three rugby forwards and all their gear to and from a match about 90 miles away. All reckoned the car was comfortable.
I've got a problem with my back and declutching is a major problem and with 6 speeds it was often a nightmare. So I had to get rid of it.
I bought another SLK, automatic, but now wish I'd gone for another CLK.
A very underrated car. Four seats for adults, and a boot able to take all their luggage. I ran three rugby forwards and all their gear to and from a match about 90 miles away. All reckoned the car was comfortable.
Derek Smith said:
I sold my SLK and bought a CLK. I think it was one of the most enjoyable cars to drive I've had. I could really lean it into corners. It was great.
I've got a problem with my back and declutching is a major problem and with 6 speeds it was often a nightmare. So I had to get rid of it.
I bought another SLK, automatic, but now wish I'd gone for another CLK.
A very underrated car. Four seats for adults, and a boot able to take all their luggage. I ran three rugby forwards and all their gear to and from a match about 90 miles away. All reckoned the car was comfortable.
That's great feedback to hear...was yours a 98-02 (C208) CLK or the later one?I've got a problem with my back and declutching is a major problem and with 6 speeds it was often a nightmare. So I had to get rid of it.
I bought another SLK, automatic, but now wish I'd gone for another CLK.
A very underrated car. Four seats for adults, and a boot able to take all their luggage. I ran three rugby forwards and all their gear to and from a match about 90 miles away. All reckoned the car was comfortable.
The handling has actually been one of the nicest surprises. When I first got it, with that big V8 up front it felt a bit ponderous compared with my nimble Mazdas, but the first drives on A/B Roads showed how well it could corner. I remember that when this model came out, it was THE coupe to have and sold out for the first year (this was before the Audi TT). I think its just the stigma that all Mercs of the late 90s have due to quality issues that means it isn't regarded now. I'd have one over a similar era 3 series no doubt about it.
greenarrow said:
That's great feedback to hear...was yours a 98-02 (C208) CLK or the later one?
The handling has actually been one of the nicest surprises. When I first got it, with that big V8 up front it felt a bit ponderous compared with my nimble Mazdas, but the first drives on A/B Roads showed how well it could corner. I remember that when this model came out, it was THE coupe to have and sold out for the first year (this was before the Audi TT). I think its just the stigma that all Mercs of the late 90s have due to quality issues that means it isn't regarded now. I'd have one over a similar era 3 series no doubt about it.
Mine was a 2006 209 with the lack of a B post. Great to drive with all windows down. The quality issues didn't seem to affect the CLK to any great extent. When I was looking I found only a bit of surface rust and then on just one or two. The one I bought was immaculate both inside and out. The only criticism I had of it was the sheer size, but then I liked the room and the large boot. The handling has actually been one of the nicest surprises. When I first got it, with that big V8 up front it felt a bit ponderous compared with my nimble Mazdas, but the first drives on A/B Roads showed how well it could corner. I remember that when this model came out, it was THE coupe to have and sold out for the first year (this was before the Audi TT). I think its just the stigma that all Mercs of the late 90s have due to quality issues that means it isn't regarded now. I'd have one over a similar era 3 series no doubt about it.
I reckon the criticism of the 6-speed box was a bit unjust. My car had 40K on it when I bought it and the box was a delight. Perhaps the testers were marking new ones and mine had worn in a bit.
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