I discover one of the reasons for this code being so persistent....


My wife like driving the car so much, she won't let me take it to work on it.

:grin

 

WHAT? How?

Well, I am confused. I slipped the car into the shop, while my wife was distracted, to check on the timing. Since I checked it before and verified it was "OK", I was surprised. I was expecting to have to troubleshoot the sensor or the wire harness.

The exhaust pulse wheel was not in the correct position! So, either the pulse wheel pin is sheared off or I set the gear wrong...

Mercedes recommend the pulse wheel always gets changed ($25 per wheel). This pulse wheel has now been removed and install ~8 times. The pin shearing would explain how I can have pictures of it in the correct position after my last repair. It would also explain how it is at least 2 teeth off now. If it was the timing chain the intake would be off also. But, the intake is good.

 

We have had issues reusing those pulse wheels. We have even had issues with new pulse wheels not being made correctly. after doing 10 balance shaft personally and other techs doing them, we have seen a few have this issue with new wheels.

set gear to gear timing, replace the wheel, torque bolt and see what it does.

 

Thanks Vortecpwr..



Thanks...

The learning curve on timing this engine is tough. The pulse wheels only make it harder since I have had it together and apart so many times.

I have the part on order. I just wish the sealant was cheaper.

 

Code resolved!

I resolve the code issue. I would like to say it was some faulty part. However, I simple reset the gear too far the other way.

I will say, I have vision problems. I just could not see the alignment marks.
:wink

 

The B@##H is back!

The code is back <SIGH>. Time to go back to basics.

 

Cable is good...

So, I rang out the cable. Everything looks good. I traded out the sensor. No change.

I reviewed the manual. I have been looking at the timing with the spark pugs in place. This possible could be the issue.

The other possibility is the the cam can not adjust. So, the time is correct. But, when the cam should adjust it does not work. Perhaps the camshaft solenoid is bad?

 

swap cam solenoid/magnets around to verify that issue. They are all the same along with cam sensors.

I have done 10 balance shaft jobs. I have never removed the spark plugs to set the timing chain timing.

 

Solved... I think.

I spend part of Memorial Day trying to solve this issue.

Strangely, I found I was right and yet wrong. Pulling the cam position sensors, I discovered the pulse wheel was wrong on the right bank exhaust port. So, the code right - the exhaust cam timing is wrong. But, I know it was correct after the last time I reset it.

Even thought I have pictures showing it was correct, it was not. The issue is two fold.

First, since I can not look straight and see the timing mark on the crank. I was using my phone to take a picture. Yes, you guessed it; I was not exactly straight on. So, I was actual checking at an angle. I also, did the same looking into the front cam gear covers. So, it looked good.

The second, error was trusting the timing mark too much. The manual says to align the dots, etc. I actual found, once I had the timing set correctly, they did not align like in the manual. Oh, they were close.

So, the code is gone... Finally.

Now I have a code P0410, Secondary Air System. I think I damaged a vacuum line...

 

I have an MB w204 from 2011 and had the same error code.
I replaced the cam and crankshaft position sensors, checked the solenoids, the chain and vacuum lines but the problem still persisted when the engine was at max temperature.
The shop did a short analysis and told me it was the chain and the camshaft that was damaged. Since I already replaced the chain and the camshafts 2 years ago, I believed this was nonsense and must be something else.
The engine choke itself when idle, vibrated alot and missfired.
After oil and oilfilter replacement, the problem was solved.
This is something I should have thought of since the car has been mostly standing still for the last year and caused the oil to loose its lubricating properties which in turn caused the oil not to dissipate the eat and lubricate the timing chain properly. I hope this may solve p0017 error code for a concerned MB owner.

 

@Joew204 , thank you for sharing your story/result. As you might suspect, I have similar issues—and after having MB dealer, a few mechanics looked at it, I am still scratching my head to figure it out 😇.
Back to your experience: how many miles do you have now; at what point 2 years ago you had to replace timing chain and camshaft? Mine has 163K miles and I have not replaced either of those two.
My last oil change was only 3 months (had codes even before that) and only 1000 miles since.

 

@Seagull Thank you for post. I have the same issue on a 2011 GLK 350. My question is how do you move the exhaust gear one tooth over. The manual (attached ) shows a dowel pin 21 on the back on the camshaft adjuster that goes into 22 bore on camshaft which does not move.
Also wanted to confirm that the backlash gear should remain in locked position through out until pulse wheel nut is tightened.