Salvage yard engine running bad/noisy/smoking

[Matt Brandsema]

So I just finished putting an engine into a 2003 Mercedes E320. The engine came from a salvage yard which was bought on ebay.

When I start it up, it is REALLY noisy. As in, the noise seems to be coming from inside the engine. It also is smoking a lot and running REALLY bad. I am not sure why this is happening. Can anyone give any insight into what I should look for?

Thanks

Topic

[college man]

Glad you figured out the smoke issue.

[Matt Brandsema]

UPDATE: So the car was running GREAT (Still noisy though) for over an hour. I turn it off, then start it back up and it stalls and throws a crankshaft position sensor code, but I then started up and ran fine. Went out for a drive, and was driving it hard, it stalled after around 15 minutes or so and would NOT start up. It once again threw a crank shaft position sensor code. (I think it was P0335?)

I still had the salvage yard sensor on it, so I swapped it out with known good one. Nothing. Then I looked inside the hole to see if the reluctor ring was in good shape. Seemed a bit rusty, but I don’t think that would effect the operation of the sensor would it?

I then buzzed out the wiring from the sensor to the connector on the main computer, and the wiring was in good shape. I checked for spark, and it seemed very erratic, clearly telling me it is having timing trouble. I once again did a compression test on one of the cylinders to see if the chain had maybe jumped a tooth or something and messed up the timing. It has great compression.

So I am literally out of options as to why it is doing this. Why would it run great for awhile then stall? I can’t think of anything else that would cause the. I then scanned the computer again and got P0335 again, P0206, and P0412. Which are an injector circuit failure, and a secondary air injection failure. So now I am leading to maybe the engine-to-body ground? Or Some sort of grounding issue?

[Matt Brandsema]

Okay I am seriously confused. I keep clearing the codes and it keeps throwing p0335, crankshaft position sensor. I have literally checked everything that has to do with that sensor!

[college man]

If you have a scan tool. read live data when cranking
the car. You should read at least 300 rpm.if not either
crank sensor faulty or signal not being picked up.Also
check the reluctor wheel for damage.

http://www.obd-codes.com/p0335

[Matt Brandsema]

Reluctor wheel looks fine. I cannot read live data, but I CAN read freeze frame data from when the code was set. The RPM at the time of the code was around 420ish if memory serves. Which tells me that it must be working.

I actually called Mercedes and asked them what I should do, they told me to put a genuine Mercedes part on it, and that the crank sensors are a common problem for that car. They also said I should bring it to them since the issue could be due to the computer of the car. (Since everything else checks out)

I don’t know though, they could just want the money and that is why they are saying this.

[college man]

I would try the OE crank sensor.

[Bill]

I’m not sure where the PCM is in that car but do ya think it’s possible that it got water into it when the engine took the gulp of water?

Just a thought.

[Matt Brandsema]

The guy decided to bring it to the dealership, he doesn’t want to go out on a limb and buy a $150 sensor from Mercedes. He also said he is tapped out for money right now and wont be able to get it to the dealership for another month or so.

The computer is located in the upper right hand corner of the engine compartment (drivers side) all the way up top. I don’t think it would be possible for water to get into it by riving through it. But hey have been surprised before.

I will keep you guys updated if anything changes.

[Matt Brandsema]

I got my hands on a scan tool that can read live data. (This thing is awesome!)

When I crank the engine, it is VERY erratic. Jumping between 130 and 500. I compared the graph with cranking my honda (I unplugged the coil packs so it wouldn’t start) and it had a VERY stable graph, hovering around 230 RPM.

It sure looks like the sensor is bad, but I just can’t believe that the sensor that worked before would suddenly die, and a replacement would also not work, as well as the one that was already in the engine when I got it. I buzzed out the wiring with a multimeter and it checked out, do you think I should physically inspect the entire wiring from sensor to module?

[dreamer2355]

What type of crank sensor is it?

Do you have access to a labs cope?

Some vehicles have more than one crank sensor too.

[Matt Brandsema]

It is a Hall Effect type sensor. I do not have access to a lab scope, but the scanner I have can display a graph of the RPM vs time. This is why I can see that it is so erratic compared to my Honda.

Also, I am fairly certain this vehicle only has one crank sensor.

[Author]

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