OM651 diesel engine

moj91

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W213 E400d-T, W204 C250CDI-T, W220 S320CDI (AMG Kit), W168 A170CDI, W210&W124 OM606...
Is this happening to any and all variants of this engine.. 200, 220, 250 etc?

Any tell tales to look for before a major failure/things to do to lower the risk of it happening?

How much does this work cost from you indies, assuming the timing isn't knocked out...?

Thanks
 

star

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Yes it can but we tend to set aside one man to do these type of jobs. We sent the 50k mile car to mb as it was only just out of warranty and had only been worked on by them, £320 +vat later, no goodwill. :( so it's going to be back with us.

Customer has been offers a goodwill gesture of -20% towards the cost of a new engine and fitting. :( Its still going to cost him over £10K if he decides to go that route. I expect to see it with us very soon.


The sign of chain wear is a rattle on start up especially after and oil and filter change.
 

moj91

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W213 E400d-T, W204 C250CDI-T, W220 S320CDI (AMG Kit), W168 A170CDI, W210&W124 OM606...
That is disgusting! Only 50k as well... got me rather worried now...

There must be ALOT of this generation engine out there though?? Surely if this starts happening left right and centre across the range, MB will have to do a recall if enough people start complaining??!
 

Daybreak Express

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Sprinter 2500 144" high roof/2014/OM642 (V-6)
Greetings (from the U.S.). I actually found out about this forum-and this thread-by way of a stateside Sprinter forum. I had ordered a 2014 Sprinter Crew van (144" high roof) in January, with the OM642 V-6 Diesel engine. A number of knowledgeable contributors to our forum were very enthusiastic about the new OM651 4-cyl. twin turbocharged engine, and told me I'd be crazy to not change my order and get that powerplant; I was on the point of doing so when I came across a thread posing a question about reports from overseas (i.e. England) of premature timing chain failures. I followed a link he provided, which took me to this site. Noting that all of these posts are from the last few months, and indicated a real problem, I placed an overseas phone call to Star Motor Services. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the owner of Star Motor Services for taking time out of an obviously busy day to talk to me about my concerns regarding this engine; his responses to my query convinced me to stay with the V-6 engine/5-speed transmission combination, which has been a proven performer here since about 2006. I'm surprised-and disappointed-that a firm with the reputation of Daimler/Benz has yet to recognize that there is a problem; thanks to many of you who have taken time to post your experiences, and to the people at Star, I've likely saved myself considerable aggravation and expense. As the OM651 has only been out in the States for about 5 months, I'll be keeping an eye on our forum, sprinter-source.com, for any reports about similar failures here. Should I see any, I'll pass along the information to you.

Best Regards,
Daybreak Express
 
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Daybreak Express

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Any OM651 updates?

Greetings from Cape Cod! Has there been any news related to the OM651 timing chain problem? Judging by the postings I see on sprinter-source.com, it would appear that most of the Sprinters being bought stateside are equipped with the four-cylinder, and it's getting rave reviews on the forum. I still have the feeling that I'm going to be glad I stuck with the OM642 (V-6). Has Mercedes acknowledged in any way that there is a problem with the 651's timing setup, or issued any kind of a "fix?" If not, I'll be expecting to see, in about 4-6 months, lots of postings on sprinter-source related to these failures. I hope for the sake of those who bought them that it doesn't come to pass, but....

One gentleman on that forum chided me gently by saying that, with the cost of Diesel fuel what it now is here, the difference in fuel consumption over 100,000 miles would more than pay for a new chain, and thus I should have gotten the 651. My view; after spending nearly $60,000 on a vehicle, having to change the timing chain (which should last the life of the engine) at 100,000 miles isn't acceptable. Not to mention the downtime (it's a work vehicle) and the travel-about two hours each way (there are no Sprinter dealers on Cape Cod).
 

Pinenut

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Mercedes C220 CDi sport 2007
i have the previous engine to the 651...the one with single turbo and non blue efficiency injectors. now done 83,000 miles and no issues engine wise. I always wanted the newer blue efficiency model with better mpg and twin turbo.....now i think I may have avoided a potential issue as a private buyer

p.s how lucky are you to live in cape cod
wonderful part of the world.
 

cws196

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The OM646 EVO seems to be the pinnacle of reliability.....
 

stumo

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ML270CDI x3 2002,03,04 | Sprinter 316CDI 2003 LWB
The OM646 EVO seems to be the pinnacle of reliability.....
Not when driven hard and heavy in a sprinter they aren't. The Victorian ambo service used the 315cdi sprinter with the twin turbo om646 and they had 6 catastrophic engine failures in 6 months during call outs. So lives were put in danger and there was a public inquiry.

MB denied all knowledge. Meanwhile MB are busy replacing main bearings in those engines before 200km, because if they leave it any longer they are busy replacing whole engines with rods poking out the side, and patients are left at the side of the road while the ambo burns to the ground.

They now use the om651 powered 316cdi sprinter instead, doh.
 

Daybreak Express

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Sprinter 2500 144" high roof/2014/OM642 (V-6)
i have the previous engine to the 651...the one with single turbo and non blue efficiency injectors. now done 83,000 miles and no issues engine wise. I always wanted the newer blue efficiency model with better mpg and twin turbo.....now i think I may have avoided a potential issue as a private buyer

p.s how lucky are you to live in cape cod
wonderful part of the world.


We've only had the OM651 here since about September, not long enough for any of the aforementioned problems to show up. Everyone on the Sprinter forum (sprinter-source.com) who has them is crazy about them. We'll see around September or so if they still are. I hope for their sakes that this doesn't turn out to be a problem, but from what I saw on this forum (and what I was told when I called Star) I'm thinking I did the right thing by buying the V-6/5-speed combination.

Yes-the Cape is a great place to live-also, an expensive place to live. If I must work hard, though, I'd rather be doing it here than elsewhere!
 

star

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Time will tell, just spoke to a taxi firm and one of their 60 plated E classes which has done 200k miles is on its 2nd engine??

Why do our local dealer keep the plastic sumps in stock? Plastic water pumps, plastic rocker cover, plastic fuel filter mount combined with plastic water pipe?...

Dip stick seals are on back order???

Not a great lover of this engine.
 

Daybreak Express

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Sprinter 2500 144" high roof/2014/OM642 (V-6)
Time will tell, just spoke to a taxi firm and one of their 60 plated E classes which has done 200k miles is on its 2nd engine??

Why do our local dealer keep the plastic sumps in stock? Plastic water pumps, plastic rocker cover, plastic fuel filter mount combined with plastic water pipe?...

Dip stick seals are on back order???

Not a great lover of this engine.

Do those engines really have plastic sumps? Even on the Sprinters? If that's true, I'm even happier I didn't order the 4-cyl.:confused:
 

star

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Cars yes, sprinter couldn't tell you as we do not work on them. ;)
 

hod05

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E 250 cabriolet, 190E 2.0L
Seems Mercedes have not resolved their recent M271 timing chain issues with the new oM651 engine.

ca90006e9753d7f7b4c602f486499053_zpse0346835.jpg


This is with the tensioner still in. Note the pile of chain on the right side of the picture.

Does anyone know the cost to replace the chain before it snaps? my car makes no noise and seems fine but i want to change the chain before i hit 100000k
 

tristand

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6 months on, I'm wondering is there is any more info out there-
* What would be the cost of replacement before the chain snaps
* Are intermittent labored gear changes a sign of chain issues
* Is it an engine out job if the chain is to be replaced before failure or significant damage
* the car is due a service, should be done next week, should I ask the main dealer to check for any problems?
 

Davidfmercedes

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I have working on these engine for years in Mercedes and there has been various chain / tensinosrs failing . Recently I have had 212 651 engine camshaft sporket break into preices damaging the drive gear at the back . Engine has been rebuilt with genies Mercedes parts . Problem is engine back in car cranked over started ran for about and minute and now won't start . No fault codes timing rechecked .rail pressure goes from about 280 upward . But injectors don't open replaced injector rail tested all wiring but still no fuel plenty pressure at pipes when cracked . And also runs on the old go go juice but just won't open injectors .

Anyone every come across this . Confused as Ano the older engine shut injectors of if rail pressure too high at start up but does this engine do this as well . Also tensioners common for rattle at start up try first before replacing chain easy job
 
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ALFIEBEARD

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I reckon Mercedes Engineers must be too young to remember how crap single timing chains were even in the 70s remember the Vauxhall Viva :( chains and sprockets every 30k, and they were only driving a single Camshaft :confused:.

Duplex chains are the only way to go in my opinion;) and as for plastic Water pumps and Sumps etc that's just crap.

Alfie
 


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