When I start my engine especially when it's cold I seem to hear what I consider to be excessive valve lash. Any ideas diyalldata.com has no info? P.S. I've never taken her above 3500 RPM.

 

There's your problem!
Drive that thing!
Get the oil flowing!

Miles on car?

 

I don't hear any lashing while driving, anyone else have any inputs?

 

Ist Question? Are you using Mobil 0w40 oil as recommended?

If not, that may be your problem.

And, you really should get the rev's up.

What is your reservation about not revving it above 3500 rpm?

I had my car in storage in the winter for 6 months. (It's cold in Idaho), and I had a ticking at start-up which disappeared as soon as I used it.

My guess is that you need the correct oil....

BTW, when did you have the oil and filter changed?

Bruce

 

Brucero,
I do run Mobil 0W-40 and the original oil filter which if bought at NAPA is the one for the SRT. I change it every 5000 miles. I was sitting at an airport a few months ago and spoke with a mercedes mechanic who said something about the mercedes engine in the crossfire having the same problems as the clk 320 engine with cracking of oil lines to the lifters but I haven't been able to find engine diagrams for this engine. I did run sea foam in the engine oil 1.5 ounces for each quart of oil and the ticking went down dramatically. The sea foam tech's said it's compatible with all engine oils and that they recomend running it all year round since it absorbes water due to condensation in colder temperatures. It's not an additive since it's an oil distillate. It does remove all varnish and absorbes water due to hot engines becomming cold especially in winter conditions. I own a 2005 limited roadster with 82000 miles. It's my daily driver.

Thanx for your response,

In Crossfire Brotherhood

 

Do you leave the Sea Foam in there? I usually add a can, drive 50 miles then change oil and filter. I would try that and see if the motor sounds different. Also if you take a piece of hose up to your ear and listen around your motor, you will hear how clicky and loud these injectors are. They sound alot like loose tappets, which we have none. Old school hydraulic lifters and roller rockers.

 

Before putting sea foam in the engine I had a rather long talk with the tech from sea foam He said that 1.5 ounces per quart of oil and to run it all the time. It cleans the varnish formed by the heat and oil, it absorbs condensation, and will retain the impurities it captures so at the next oil change it removes it as the oil comes out. I also put a can in the gas once a month as directed to clean the injectors. The ticking is the injectors Thanks.

 

Keeping your engine under 3500 rpm is asking for trouble. such as excessive carbon and varnish build up. I even bet the life of your Cats will be reduced. If you were to go out and really let the engine work hard like flat out for a mile, you will get a rotten egg smell which is from your Cats. You need to clean the engine out by running it the way it was designed and you won't need any sea foam. Also Mercedes doesn't actually recommend 0 weight oil anymore. I would recommend 10 wieght which is what I believe MB now recomends, 10w will quiet your lifters a bit.

 

There's sulfur in fuel additives; your engine isn't burning it completely and your catalytic converter is storing it and then releasing it as hydrogen sulfide when you add load to the engine and force more air through. That's what causes the rotten egg smell.

Try switching gas stations, or fuel grades; then try a thorough tune-up: replace the spark plugs, plug wires, fuel and air filters, and oxygen sensor, and clean the fuel injectors.

If that doesn't do it, replace your converter.

I'll check into what MB reccommends for the CLK 320 which is the engine in the Limited CF. Thanks and I'll try to run it but I'm in NY not TX so I'm cinda limited to streches of roads with police hiding around every turn.

 

LOL! I don't have the sulfer smell. I only smelled it once and that was before I bought the car and road tested it without the salesman with me. thanks for the chemistry lesson. getting the cats nice and hot seems to keep things clean for me. BTW, I have 81,000 miles with no problems ever. (ok I have 10K on the engine) but never had an issue with the old engine either.

 

Tuna scores again!
Happy to help.

 

We don't have the old fashion lifter but we do have something very similar. we have hydraulic lash pads that do the same thing as lifters.

 

Thanks, good to know.

 

There is sulfur in gasoline period, Canada allows more of it in gasoline than the US. Different gas companies have variations in the percentage of sulfur in their fuel. Crude oil has different amounts of sulfur in it depending on the source.
Your thorough tune up is expensive and a waste of money when done before the specified mileage or time unless a known problem exists and then only the faulty component(s) should be changed.
Changing fuel grades is limited to premium grade only and some stations only have one grade of it in their tanks.
You say you never run your engine over 3,500 and then tell us out cats are not up to temperature, if anyones cats are cold it's yours.
Replacing a converter can get expensive and need only to be done as a last resort.
What would you expect a Sea Foam tech to tell you except to use his product, I put his expertise alongside the mechanics you have spoken to and take their advise with a pinch of salt.
I suspect you have been reading a generic shop manual as well.
I would add nothing to my oil and gas as per the Crossfire manual instructions. If it's not in the oil and gas you do not need it in my opinion.
STP, Sea Foam and the like are generally a waste of money.
This shows how the hydraulic lifters work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lorANZ1Tptw

 

I figured out that I have two ticking problems. One is when the engine is cold or sat overnight (yet to be resolved) and usually goes away (for the most part) after the engine has warmed slightly up. The other that I have resolved happened when I got off of the highway when the car was fully warmed up and turned out to be bad catalytic converters. I got my cats changed out at 78,000 miles, just 2,000 miles shy of the federal warranty and if I had not just parts would have been about $3,500. It fixed half of the noise. I am convinced that the other half is poor oil circulation.