Engine Question - not VX

[yal^]

Thank you, Joe.
I am not really sure if this engine is sleeved. I keep asking questions, but the answers are quite vague. I was trying to look for this engine schematics, to see what I am dealing with and no avail.

Doesn't carbon buildup mean that the engine is burning oil?
And if it's so severe that the second time around they decided to rebuild the engine, shouldn't have they done it in a first place? [I know, that one is more rhetorical question]

VehiGAZ, I have not spoken to the dealer yet, but I feel like I got cheated a bit. When I was buying this car, they asked me at the desk if I want it certified. It was strange to me at the time but I couldn't understand why it bugs me.
They cashed in extra $800 and waved me goodbye. I was reading yesterday on dealer's site that "Factory Certified" means it goes through rigorous inspection before it's sold. It shouldn't be sold if there is a slight chance of something wrong with it.
Ever since I got it I put in it nothing but top quality gas - as much as you can trust it is top quality. I know how I treat my cars, and I know I wouldn't feed it garbage. Therefore I know it wasn't me mistreating it. You see where I am heading? There is no way that carbon buildup became so severe over the 6 months I had it, that it needs an engine rebuild. Especially that my first visit to the dealer took a bit over five days for them to "fix" it. I was also informed that they run an engine cleaner on a half a tank of gas to make sure things are working fine.

Forgive me. The more I think about it the more upset I get.
This is my daily driver. I drive a lot. Now I don't trust it anymore.
And I am upset with the dealer too. They've had my and my family's business for last 10 years. Very disappointing.

[thedutchguy]

What's the condition of the supercharger of your benz?
I haven't heard much about top end rebuilts over here, but a lot about reconditioning the supercharger.
Rebuilt cilinder heads aren't that expensive as well.
Check out these guys:
http://cgi.benl.ebay.be/Zylinderkopf...QQcmdZViewItem

[Joe_Black]

Carbon build-up is caused by poor quality fuel, and the United States has the poorest quality fuel (gasoling and diesel) on the entire planet. I take that back, Mexico has the worst fuel and we're the second worst.

Here's some info on carbon build-up that BMW was having an issue with on their E-series cars (courtesy BMWCCA):

Carbon Buildup was a common problem for the E28 535 caused by
poor fuel quality. Many BMW's experienced rough idle due to carbon buildup
while still under warranty. It is recommended you use premium gas at least
once in every 4 fill-ups. The premium gas contains more detergents to remove
the carbon deposits from injectors and gum/varnish buildup on valves. That
said however, some Oil Companies add no additional detergents to their
regular or premium fuel products... Ask your fuel company for information.

BMW North America undertook an engine campaign to pay for the removal of the inlet
exhaust and sand blasting to the back of the valves with crushed Walnut Shells.

Note that this issue was exclusive to North American cars, and the rest of the BMW fleet using the same engine had no issues.

In any case, there are some additives that can be used to help reduce build-up. I'm generally not a big propronent of "miracle juice" found at your local parts counter, but have been using LiquiMoly products in my diesels with great success. They have a product called "Ventil Sauber" specifically for carbon valve build-up in gas engines and I've received very positive feedback among various applications. You can sometimes get great pricing on eBay for their products if your local NAPA or auto supplier can't get it for you. LiquiMoly Web Site.

Good luck and just remember some engines are more susceptible to fuel quality than others, even among the same type. Especially vehicles with forced induction since the compression charge is higher.

[mbeach]

http://www.mercedes-benz-usa.com/c_class.php

That's all I'll say about mercedes-benz (not Capitalized on purpose).

[VehiGAZ]

I think my buddy was one of the posters on that page! Yeah - very poor quality in the C-class. Jeez, I had an early-in-its-first-model-year 1984 190E that was crappy, but not THAT crappy!

Here's something on fuel quality that I came across in Car & Driver recently:

http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html

[yal^]

Thx guys.
I think I will rationalize any sudden moves later.
I will keep my eyes open, but I am leaning towards BMW 330ix more and more...
For now I'll just sit tight and see how it works out. If it doesn't, my little kompressor is gone.