I recently changed the oil and now the engine taps as if the lifters are low. It does it for seconds and quits. When driven for numerous highway miles it quits. THe next morning on start it does it again. I used synthetic oil. Help!!!

 

Did you use Mobil 1 0w-40 as recommended. I suspect not.
What's the current morning "start up" ambient temp in your location? 0 deg C or below?

The tapping occurs till oil gets up to the cam followers.
More viscose oil grades than recommended (i.e. 10w-30) exacerbate this issue.
The 0w bit is the winter viscosity i.e. acts as a 0 grade at low temps. 40 at high temps.

Additives in the recommended oil (Mobil1) assist in reducing this issue,.

However Mobil 1 0w-40 may not totally resolve the problem...but feel confident v that it will assist however.

IF the correct oil has been used then it is possible that you have a blocked / misplaced oil feed to a cam follower.

Stuart

 

DEJA-VU. I had this problem and still have it from time to time. I have consulted 3 different mechanics (MB mechanics of course) on this issue. One even pulled the left side valve cover off to inspect the oil passages. These little plastic passages have been known to break off. All of my passages were intact but the valve cover gasket was replaced. That $ucked to say the least.

I studied this forum and Benzworld to figure out what was going on. Apparently as snanceki says above, oil has a bit to do with it. My engine only ticks for a few seconds in the AM when cold. It ticks longer when I haven't started it for a while and when it is very, very cold outside. I have learned to live with it. The recommended oil weights are 0W-40 or 5W-40. This can be somewhat misleading if you whip out the owner's manual. The Mercedes Oil Weight insert that came in my owner's manual gives a full spread on all weights and what climates to use them in. Recommended weights are discussed throughout all of the forums. Many folks will swear that different brands make their engine "run better" or are superior for various reasons. Hmm....

The fact of the matter is that your W210 chassis engine is designed to run on either non-synthetic or synthetic oil. The choice is yours. The more important piece of this puzzle is change frequency. The oil is the lifeblood of your vehicle. Find a comfortable change intervaland stick with it. Please, please, please ignore (and reset to make it go away) the built in FSS computer on your display. It defaults to a 10K mile change interval and is nothing more than a count-down device. It does not "sample" the oil to determine when it is ripe for the changing. You can read a dozen more threads about this very thing. I hate this system and was really disappointed in Mercedes for allowing such a thing. Change your filter every time too.

Ok, back to the noise... it is indeed the lifters making that clickety-clack ticking sound. It goes away when they get hit with the oil from the pan. Tell us some of the following info so that we can chime in on this problem:
1. Mileage
2. How long have you owned it? How many miles have you owned it for?
3. Were you changing the oil according to the FSS computer on the odometer display?
4. What weight of oil were you using?
5. What was your oil change interval?
6. Is it worse when it's cold? Worse after long periods of non-use?

Don't sweat this problem too much. After about 50K miles it hasn't slowed me down and it happens nearly every time I start my car if the engine is cold.[8D]

 

1st post

I went tonight and looked at a 2002 320 AWD, private owner, 116,000 miles. Car is flawless. If you didnt know it you would think the car had 10,000 mikes on it. Drove perfect. Problem is that I hear a faint tap/knock on the drivers side. In park you cannot hear it. you can rev it up and everything and you hear nothing. In gear you can hear it. If you put it in gear and power brake it, a little,you can hear it. But if you give it more gas while power braking, it goes away. The guy said that if I am really interested (which I am) that he will take it to the MB dealer and have them look at it. He volunteered to take it, I didnt ask him. He has all the paper work for the car and it has been dealer serviced. He is the second owner. I can get it for $9,500

Any thoughts on the noise?

 

@ Brihvac.

Welcome.

Noises are difficult to assess from a distance.
However, I suspect that this is indicative of something (e.g. exhaust heat shield or similar) touching when the engine mounts have torque applied.

You make no mention whether this noise is cyclical or random, and if so what frequency. Go with the owner to the MB dealer and request you listen from underneath with engine running (and in gear!!) when the vehicle is on a lift.

This post was previously discussing a regular "Tick" related to engine speed when starting from cold.

 

I agree that the oil type recommendation in 1998 was during the change over from pre synthetic to synthetic.

However, Synthetic + additives is SUPERIOR to anything that went before.

This noise is nothing to worry about.
It is however annoying and not really in keeping with the image of the vehicle.
Its just simple lack of oil at the camshaft during cold start up.

This COULD be because the plastic feeds have been damaged / misfitted / etc BUT more than likely, and especially if the noise disappears after a minute or so, all is OK.

Using Mobil 1 0w-40 should help but will most likely not entirely eliminate the problem.

ASSYST is a "little" more sophisticated than you suggest since it also takes into account parameters like time.
I would have expected temp, or some other parameter directly linked, to be taken into account but cannot be sure about this.

In principle it is a "countdown" timer but is useful as a reminder. better than my memory! It gives advance warning of service required etc BEFORE you go over the recommended mileage.
It will for instance tell you to change the oil after 2 years even if the mileage is below 10000 miles.

It is important that the 10000 mile change interval as recommended by MB and the ASSYST system, is used in conjunction with "extended life" (i.e. Synthetic) oils AND extended life filters!!

 

Snanceki,
I acknowledge your diagnosis of the ticking sound. I agree with you 100%, particularly that it is not in keeping with the image of the vehicle. The only bit of comfort that I can give to GLOFTON who created this thread is to do what he can without spending a ton of money on the issue. I have had this same condition for over 50K miles now and have not had any issues with the motor. I occasionally jump on the throttle and routinely rev the engine as I accelerate on the interstate every day. No issues. Oh, don't forget about the average of 28+ MPG in mixed driving.

What I want to voice my opinion on is the FSS system. You call it the Assyst system. I have read several threads on this very site which tell of this system and how it is not that well designed. It does indeed serve as a reminder. However, I don't think that non-synthetic oil or even most synthetic oils should be run at 10K miles+ intervals. I push my syn oil to about 7K miles before it gets changed. When I bought the car my intervals were far shorter as I was "purging" the sludge that the previous 3 owners had built up. Again, I don't knock the FSS system for its service as a reminder. I do not however approve of the FSS as a true indicator of when oil has reached it's full service life. At this point, I welcome more folks to chime in on the FSS topic though I do hope someone can contribute to the ticking sound dilemma.

What a great site for info![sm=groupwave.gif]

 

Hi Scuddog.

MB would not recommend 10k service intervals unless they were happy (and had test result evidence to back up the position).

USA seems to have a mania for checking and altering wheel alignment and changing oil and plugs.

I have to put this one down to culture and that in the USA gas and oil have been sufficiently low priced that excessive changing has gone basically unchallenged.

In Europe, where gas / oil prices are so much higher, changing has been discouraged on grounds of reducing Cost of Ownership and also Eco grounds.

I believe that you guys are about to come in line with Europe on matters of the Environment (which means smaller cars, removal of waste, recycling etc etc)

Watch this space and listen to what your President Elect has to say. Interesting times.

Stuart

 

[sm=ts.gif]Stu,
Times are changing indeed. Hybrid sales were up this year, the SUV market tanked and Americans drove less than they have since the sixties. Though I am a Nuclear Submarine Officer by trade, I can't get into much of a debate about what oil change interval is the best. I go on a combination of self-research and sage advice from old Mercedes mechanics who have been working on these machines for decades. Several years ago there was an expose about the recommended oil change intervals from the big three auto manufacturers here in the states. Apparently the government mandated first year cost of ownership pushed many manufacturers to extend their oil change intervals so that the first year cost of ownership could be kept somewhat low, despite the fact that the engineers at those companies heartily agreed that they did not recommend those extended intervals. Of course, on the other side of the fence you have massive companies like Jiffy Lube who claim that your car will blow up if you don't change the oil after 3K miles. Marketing.

Can't say I'm too warm on your statement concerning America coming in line with Europe on the environment. I lived in your wonderful U.K. for a year in the 90s. What a great time. Sure, the cars are smaller. Ours are shrinking. Europe favors diesels. (Gaining popularity in the U.S. though most European diesels are too "dirty" for our EPA regs.) The U.K. burns its trash while the U.S. puts it in landfills. Both countries recycle and this is a good thing. In closing I want to let you and everyone else in Europe know... I do support the President Elect though I did not vote for him. I hope that we pull thru this financial disaster which has spread thru the globe. I've got his back on many issues. However, the first time that he slips up or fails to do something, I will make as much noise as many of the jackasses who jumped on Bush for even the very slightest thing.

Interesting times indeed. GLOFTON, change your oil at a good interval with the recommended weight. Spend a small amount of money now to save headaches and dollars later.

What a start to the day. Who needs coffee?!?!!?

 

Hi All,
Just to spice things up a bit.
.
I don't like Diesels and the advantages (except at very low speed / idle) are IMHO over rated.
In the UK where the government has taxed Dielsel to a point where it is more expensive than petrol, any mileage advantages are almost cancelled out.
Now France where Diesel is considerably less than Petrol is a different matter.
Worst still manufacturers are cashing in on the Leming instinct.
Everybody is going Diesel because of company car tax advantages
.
IMHO a much better solution is to run an older car which doesn't attract the same taxation hit, even if it is petrol.

IMHO Hybrids are an expensive waste of time since they divert development resources from the real goal. Basically a dead end street.

Top Gear, a UK motoring programme with a large following (if you have heard of it in the States) poked fun at the Hybrid by doing a somewhat imprecise "economy run" between a Hybrid and a petrol M3 or similar BMW, around a race track at circa 60mph average lap speed. The BMW was considerably more efficient!!

Of course this was just in jest but when you look at highway gas improvement there is precious little advantage. Town driving is of course a different matter but the manufacturers don't tell you is the whole story.
How much more energy was consumed to make the Hybrid vs the conventional engine etc etc. in the manufacturing process. i.e. Selective arguments.
Of course there are some advantages but they are not the step change in emissions that is required to combat Global Warming ,if indeed you are convinced that this is as a result of man. Not going to show my hand on that one.

The same with electric cars.
Great!
No tailpipe emissions but anybody who thinks this is the real answer is uninformed. What about the emissions at the power plant unless you are 100% Nuclear or 100% Green renewable solutions.
Generating heat to make steam to generate electricity is a less efficient process (+ of course transmission losses) than the i.e. engine where fuel is burnt directly.
The most likely answer is fuel cell / electric motor.
Even then you have to consider where the Hydrogen comes from!
Feasible but the infrastructure costs will be the issue and will there be enough "precious/exotic" metals to make all those electric motors?

The only real answer...and this will get you all going...will be shared (not privately owned), auto guided city cars backed up by intercity trains. When you wish to go somewhere you phone for a City car that arrives under its own steam (LOL!) where and when you need it. No parking problems, no maintenance problems etc etc.

Well I guess that will raise a response amongst you True Blood Americans that hold large engine, high polluting, auto ownership as a fundamental right.

Have a great New Year (Credit Crunch permitting!)
Stuart