The Parable of the AMG Engine and the Poorly Written Service Manual

"AMGtech - now with more recalls!" (amgtech) 08/28/2020 at 14:00 • Filed to: None

23

60

I’ve got the day off thanks to working last Saturday so I figured it would be as good a time as any to regale you all with this story from a few months ago (December- January!) , and with Shane Moore’s recent GLA45 experience somewhat fresh in your minds. Buckle up kiddos, you’re in for a ride.

Not the car in question, because when do I take pictures of fully assembled cars?

The day started out as any winter day in the PNW, cold, wet, and grey. But little did I know that I was about to meet someone that would haunt me for months to come. It was a tale as old as time. Boy meets car. Boy falls in love with car. Boy buys car without a pre-purchase inspection. Now, I’m no spring chicken, so this immediately raised my heckles. But these cars have been very solid so that was probably just me being Abe Simpson.

Enough about me, you’re not here for that. You’re here for the car. Well, it was as if fate and ol’ Murphy were working overtime. The boy was complaining that his new love was being lazy, fighting him, not the car she was when he met her. Normally, I’d say people change over time, but this wasn’t people and it had only been a week. Some say I’ve got a way with stuff like this, so they asked me to see if there was anything I could do. Well, we had a chat, that ride and me, and it turned out the boy was right. She was fighting! But not like he said. Turns out, she was sick and fighting to live! She wanted to be with him, she was trying! But they didn’t exactly speak the same language. That’s fine, it would come in time. Love is stronger than any language barrier.

Well, we got down to talking, that lady and me, and what I learned was that she couldn’t breathe like she used to. But she didn’t know why. Her air filter was new, and she wasn’t that old. She was just barely limping along, running more like an old Harley on gas-turned-varnish. That is to say, she had a dead misfire on two cylinders.

So, like any good mechanic would do in this situation, I ran some tests. And, well, the prognosis wasn’t good. Lung capacity was about half what it should’ve been in two holes, and lower than normal on the other two . That meant it was time for endoscopy. Gentle as I could, I took a little look around, and what I found was not promising. Her insides was looking bad. But there was still hope.

Gold-colored build up like a hooker snorting gold dust. You might even say that’s fitting for a German performance car. Couldn’t tell what that was, all I knew was that it wasn’t right. Then there was the matter of burnt valve seats, the probable cause of the improper breathing. One thing was certain, this lady was n’t going to make it if we didn’t get her to surgery, pronto.

As many of us know, a boy in love will do just about anything to keep the one he loves, so the decision for him to do the surgery was of course a no-brainer. Not only that, but he didn’t go through chasing her (paying a butt-load of money to buy it) to end up with a big paperweight. So I dove in and got my hands dirty. Don’t worry, I put her under first so she wouldn’t feel anything.

Now, let’s take a step back for a second, build up the dramatic tension some if you will. When I first got to talking to this gal, checking out her vitals and what not, I found something interesting. Something that shouldn’t have been there. At first it seemed innocuous enough, like someone had been in there before and routed some wires in the wrong place. But then I looked closer and realized those wires weren’t even supposed to be there at all. Traced ‘em back, and found they went into a larger harness, and that harness was draped all over like some big parasite. It tapped into a bunch of sensors. Eventually, I found where all those wires came from. It was some unknown black box with no markings on it. Some of you might be wondering what it meant, but you’re a smart bunch so I’m sure some of you have figured it out. Well, it was some cheap piggyback tuner that I found out was commonly sold by all the shadiest, fly-by-night online “tuning” houses, but not sold by a single one with a halfway decent reputation.

This girl here knew it was a bad idea to put garbage like that inside her body, but she said her ex made her do it. Gaslighted her into thinking it would make him love her again, or more, or who knows what. So she did it, afraid of what might happen if he left her, afraid of being alone. She said after a while, she forgot about it and never thought to tell the new boy. He didn’t care though, he didn’t love her for whatever extra pomp that black box was supposed to provide.

But now, her history was coming back to haunt her. Turns out that black box was laced with some bad software. Things weren’t right. Running too lean and hot, timing all outta whack. And that’s why those valves were burnt.

Well, I got in there, made sure the bottom end was happy. But I couldn’t find any sign of that gold-looking stuff. Eventually figured out that was just a trick of camera and light from the endoscope playing off of some carbon build up. In reality, there was nothing abnormal about those pistons. The valves were another story, but those are easy enough, with the right equipment.

I didn’t have the right equipment, so I called up my trusty ol’ machine shop and asked them to take a look and see what they could do. They obliged of course. Took real good care of her too. When they were finished with that head, she looked good as new!

At that point I did what I do best, or, adequately at least, and stitched her back up. But it was after that that the story got real interesting.

Went to fire her up and she let out a holler like you’ve never heard before. She was not happy! “Ow ow ow ow ow ow” real fast, but never really got going under her own power. Then there was a loud pop and she was out. She tried, but she wouldn’t get started, and she sounded off, you know? What had I done? Was timing off? Was that the sound of pistons hitting valves?

After some digging, and rechecking, it turned out that my hunch was right. Timing was off. WAY off. Pistons had hit the valves. But that didn’t make any sense. I followed the service manual perfectly. I’ve replaced pistons in dozens of the non-AMG version of this used in the 205 C-class. I knew what I was doing. Be that as it may, I had to fix what I had apparently done.

So I went about doing just that. That’s when I realized what had happened. The timing marks according to the service manual were wrong. But it was only apparent with the engine mounted in the car.

Do you see the ‘OT’ mark at about the 8 o’clock position on the crank pulley? And the mark on the timing cover it lines up with? That’s how timing is supposed to be set up on this engine. But the service manual says the mark on the timing case is at the 12 o’clock position, which is what I used initially . And there is a mark there that looks exactly like what a timing mark should look like. You can’t see the 12 o’clock mark with the engine in the car, but it’s much more visible than the 8 o’clock mark with the engine out.

I put the effort in and corrected the timing to see if she would run. Amazingly, she did, and she ran well. But she kept on complaining that her timing was off, that is to say, she was setting cam adjustment faults. I did everything I could to fix that; swapping sensors, testing wiring, performing adaptation procedures and software updates, but nothing worked. She just wasn’t right. She was running smooth as ever on all cylinders, but she just couldn’t sprint without complaining about it.

What’s a guy to do in that situation? I did the only thing I could think of and called up her mother (Mercedes) . Told her she done fucked up, that she didn’t know how to take care of her own child. Ooh boy did that piss her off. She wasn’t having none of it. All I wanted was for her to admit fault and fix the service manual. That’s it. But she responded saying it wasn’t her fault and that “the document was basically prepared correctly”. Which was horse shit and I damn well knew it. So I gave her more proof, photographic evidence, and got her son involved (Mercedes field technical specialist). He agreed with me. Basically said mom was a narcissistic bitch and said it was her responsibility.

The old lady finally started coming around and getting over herself. So she had me go back in for surgery again to see what was all damaged. Pulled the engine back out and took the head back off. Found all the intake valves were sightly bent, and the guides now had too much play, and the cam adjuster was dead inside. Surprisingly, the pistons all looked fine aside from some very slight cosmetic marks, basically just carbon rubbed off.

This cylinder head doesn’t have guides that can just be replaced, so that meant it needed to be replaced. But that was a problem. You can’t get a cylinder head for these, new or reman, from Mercedes. The only way to get a head, was to get a new engine.

So that’s what we did. And Mercedes paid for it! All because they screwed up the service manual. Moral of the story: check for TDC manually, if you're going to tune do it right, and don’t trust engineers.

The best part? The boy and his new love lived happily ever after.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:06

4

Did Seat Safety Switch change their name and write their own version of The Fault In Our Stars?

That was quite the read.

bob and john > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:08

1

holy jesus what a w ild  ride....

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 08/28/2020 at 14:09

0

I’m going to take that as a compliment

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:12

8

At that point I think a new engine that he’s not on the hook for was the best case scenario as that troubleshooting does not sound cheap. I like the way  you’ve written this. Very entertaining to read. This is good Oppo!

WilliamsSW > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:12

1

This is some great Oppo!

Spasoje > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:15

1

Great read!

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:15

2

Timing marks?

BMW: Hold my beer. *deletes marks* Now go buy the special tool set.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 08/28/2020 at 14:16

5

Thanks! He was still on the hook for the original head work as originally quoted, but nothing else.

DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:17

3

Dis is good oppo. I Laughed, cried and learned something new. What else could I guy ask for??

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 08/28/2020 at 14:19

0

Timing marks for the timing chain and camshafts. Not like ignition timing.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By 08/28/2020 at 14:20

3

I would probably ask for ice cream.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:20

0

BMW was nice enough to leave the tdc mark for the crank, but you were on your own otherwise afaik.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:21

2

Still can’t be cheap, but a brand new engine with install labor covered is nothing to sneeze at.

Longtime Lurker > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:22

1

This is some master level writing here. 

DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:24

0

Oh man, this shop next to us as a mint Oreo ice cream that is out of this world when its 110+ outside  

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 08/28/2020 at 14:27

0

I’ve head some BMW's require a voltmeter to properly set timing.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 08/28/2020 at 14:27

2

Unfortunately I can't remember what any of this cost, for the customer or Mercedes. But the engine was a lot cheaper than expected.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Longtime Lurker 08/28/2020 at 14:28

0

Thanks!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By 08/28/2020 at 14:28

0

I expect you to send me some for entertaining you for 5 minutes.

gettingoldercarguy > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:28

0

Nice story. What piggyback was used?

vondon302 > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:29

1

Great read!

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:29

0

Is it not a standard procedure to turn it over by hand with no plugs in before firing it anymore?

Also, what piggyback was it? So it can be avoided.

DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:30

0

I can always get behind payments in ice cream

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > gettingoldercarguy 08/28/2020 at 14:31

2

Unknown china bullshit. There were literally no markings anywhere on it that would give me something to search off of. No stamped numbers, no stickers, no nothing. But it connected in line between just about every sensor on the engine. It was just a black aluminum box with a heat sink on one side.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/28/2020 at 14:33

1

I did. A lot. There was no contact until oil pressure built up and cam advance kicked in. By hand it felt perfect.

No idea what it was, see my reply to someone else with more detail.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By 08/28/2020 at 14:33

0

Great. I'll expect it here for dessert tonight.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:34

1

Oh, duh. That makes sense. I forgot VVT was a thing.

fintail > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:35

3

Fun read, at least it wasn’t totally a factory defect/design flaw.

I never could grasp wanting to put a tuning black box on an expensive late model car, Russian roulette.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:35

1

What kind of animal would put something like that on a $53k car...

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > fintail 08/28/2020 at 14:40

1

Other similar boxes I find online claimed like 15-20hp. Big deal. You won't even feel that on this engine. Why risk it?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/28/2020 at 14:41

1

I don't think animals are that dumb.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:45

0

Could be. I accidentally slipped the chain when r&ring the valve and upper timing covers, partially because no special tensioner tool and partially because no previous experience so didn’t know to zip tie it in place after the covers came off if you didn't have the special tool . Like a dummy I put my hand on the cam sprocket while leaning over to look at something, heard a couple of clicks and knew I had made a boo boo. Chickened out and towed it to a pro for retiming and reassembly. 1k later it was back in action. Lessons learned.

Shane Moore > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 14:49

0

Very entertaining, thanks for taking the time to share.

I have another question, the GLA45 I drove did not have the heat blanket on the underside of the hood. Is that normal or another flag?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 08/28/2020 at 14:53

2

Admitting defeat is often cheaper than forging ahead.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Shane Moore 08/28/2020 at 14:55

0

You know, I'm not sure actually. Non-AMG's don't have it, it's possible that it was added at some point, or removed, during production. I'll pay attention the next time I work on some of these.

Tripper > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 15:04

1

Man that must be such a neat part of the job, just breaking out a brand new engine straight from Mercedes. 

OPPOsaurus WRX > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 15:05

0

i was too busy to read that so I put it in a text-speech site.  I think that made it even better.  I had to check to make sure I had pasted the right thing in.  Good WOrk.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 15:14

1

Yeah it would have been a shame to spend all of that money on powder coating and gaskets just to err and watch it eat itself. Though in the end it was a shame to spend all of that money regardless.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > OPPOsaurus WRX 08/28/2020 at 15:18

0

That’s an awesome idea! In my head it was like an old western narrator type thing.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 15:25

1

Wow, what a roller coaster ride. In the end that was the best outcome.

hillrat > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 15:28

0

So did you pull the head from the new engine and keep the rest for parts or did this dude humbug up on a new engine?

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 15:29

1

I have to admit that once I set the timing 90 degrees off and bent all 6 exhaust valves on one of my old Datsun 240Z’s. It was a high compression E31 head to....

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > hillrat 08/28/2020 at 15:32

1

He got a complete new longblock. The old one was sent back to Mercedes. Customer only paid for the originally quoted head work.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 08/28/2020 at 15:35

0

Ouch. It happens. We often grab others to double  check our timing in my shop. Just to be safe.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 15:38

1

If we would have hand rotated it before starting... we would have discovered the issue. That being said I can strip the carbs and headers off off a Z in record time. 

gettingoldercarguy > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 15:57

0

I love it when people’s cheapness really shows through.

In an old business I had a customer who was trying to do some grand things to their cat, but you could spot cheap knockoff stuff all over the car. Notably the bbs lm wheels, when I asked him about them he said “No, these are knockoffs, bbs charges too much and they’re bankrupt.” They are expensive, they weren’t bankrupt at the time.

A few month’s later he had to dial back his plans as his well paying it job was outsourced to India. He complained about them saving money but not getting the same quality employee.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > gettingoldercarguy 08/28/2020 at 16:17

1

I believe that is referred to as 'leopards ate my face' and I love those those stories more than I probably should.

CompactLuxuryFan > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 16:31

0

Could not think of a better outcome for that second-hand buyer! And good on you for sticking to your guns and  coming out of a possibly nasty work situation right side up. Stories like this contribute to the “not the kind of car you buy used” reputation the 45 AMGs have in my mind. 

gettingoldercarguy > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/28/2020 at 16:35

0

Credit surfers

gettingoldercarguy > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 16:38

1

TIL

shop-teacher > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 16:56

0

This is the best Oppo in a LONG time!

gettingoldercarguy > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 17:05

0

https://www.chiptuning.com/en/mercedes-benz/gla-klasse-x156-2013/amg-gla-45-4-matic-156-952-381ps-280kw-1991ccm/powercontrol.html

fintail > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 18:11

1

It’s a compulsion among some, I think.

I’ve never done more on any MB engine than add an aftermarket air filter (W202 C43), then removed it as I worried about it fouling the MAF. I did remove the resonator on the W210 E55 and put in an X-pipe, which may not have added anything but made it just loud enough - not really loud, but not so silent.  Otherwise, stock.   Then again, most cars I’ve had aren’t intended to be modified and there’s little to be gained.

DipodomysDeserti > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 20:27

1

Bro, I totally feel the extra 1/2 horsepower from my K&N drop in.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > CompactLuxuryFan 08/28/2020 at 21:44

0

Yeah for sure! But if you find a reasonably well maintained, unmodified 45, they're really quite reliable. I see absolutely no reason not to buy one used. They're even easy to work on aside from the trans service and rear diff service.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > gettingoldercarguy 08/28/2020 at 21:45

0

Not that. Much more generic looking. The main electrical connectors on it was like half purple.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > fintail 08/28/2020 at 21:47

1

I’ve definitely thought about that same exhaust mod on mine. But then the thought of losing value when I sell it overcame the urge. Only mod is poly control arm bushings. Modifying German cars takes a ton of money to do correctly, and even then it can be a crapshoot.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DipodomysDeserti 08/28/2020 at 21:48

1

Just throw on a few oppo stickers for that extra power!

fintail > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 22:15

1

I actually kept my old resonator and included it when I sold the car - buyer didn’t care though. Easy to return to stock, no harm done.

I remember considering something like those bushings, I remember getting a clunk on speed bumps and the like, but I think I replaced with stock ones, might have even been a warranty claim (the aftermarket warranty I bought for that car more than paid for itself).     I am more of a stock person anyway, especially appearance-wise.  You’ll never see me putting aftermarket wheels or electronics in an old MB.

OPPOsaurus WRX > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/28/2020 at 22:20

1

Yeah this was a weird cyborg