Guys

I am buying a 1997 C230 with 170k (4 cylenders). The car is in pretty good shape except that when you put it in gear and drive it is kind of a slow starter. It is kind of sluggish in the beginning ( moves but slowly)for about 1-2 seconds but then it is fine. you feel that it doesnt have ebough power in the beginning but then it runs okay. The guy who owns it says it is the camshaft sensor that needs to be replaced and then it will be fine. when the car is running (after the initial 2 seconds) its pretty good and feels good.

Do you think he is right ? should i go for it and not worry ..its a steal for the price he wants for it


Thanks a lot

 

1997 has OBD2 and if the cps was bad then it would show the check engine light on.Put a scanner on it and see if there any codes, some codes are pending and haven't lit the CEL yet.But lets say he's right. Unplug them and see if the car runs better. You can run without them and the car should run pretty close to normal. More likely it could be the MAF, unplug that and see if it works fine. These 2 sensors can be safely removed and the car should run fine. The ECU will use a fixed set of mappings to compensate for the missing sensors. Also, a hesitation could also be a vacuum leak.

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll try to unplug the sensors and see if the symptoms get better. As it stands, I know several things from your response and other postings on this forum - The Mass Air Flow sensor is a likely culprit - I did not know you could unplug it. Also the cam shaft sensor can be unplugged to see if things respond a little quicker. As it sits right now, it starts fine, runs fine, accelerates fine (shortly after the hesitation off the line) and the check engine light is on. I haven't plugged an ODB2 reader into it yet, but I may not have to afterall. The initial hesitation is what concerns me. When the hood is up, I goose the throttle with my hand and it boggs and then runs, like it is running lean. After that, even going 65 mph, it seems to run fine. If these details give you a better picture of the situation, maybe you can help me narrow down the source of the problem. Thanks again, McFly.

 

With these cars, an OBD2 scanner for under$100can be a lifesaver. These scanners work on just about all cars made after 1996 and in a car your like yours, you'll save thousands in repairs if you can isolate the problem yourself. They sell them at Autozone, Pep Boys and Kragen. Here's the one available at Kragen, $69

http://www.partsamerica.com/productd...egoryCode=3389

 

Hi

I bought an 1997 S 420 and the check engine light went on.

Code said Cam shaft sensor. Is it on the back of the engine by driver side. Will a bosch replacemnt work?

Thanks
Dominic