C230 Transmission Problems

Hey everyone.  I own a 1998 Mercedes C230 and have been experiencing probldems with the transmission.  I have 180,000 miles on it and lately when I floor it, the engine sits at 2500 rpm, trembles and goes very slow.  It's really bad when it comes to merging on the highway because I have realy bad acceleration.  I replaced the camshaft position sensor, because that was why my check engine light came on.  Is my transmission shot?  Is it the transmission, or something elsewhere, like electrical components?  Thanks for all the help in advance.   

I wouldn't spend another penny on the car until a diagnosis had been done by a competent shop to determine
exactly what was causing your car to do this. Any other way is pure guesswork, and on that car, or any car these
days, that can get really expensive. Just trying to save you money. We could speculate, but......why not do it the
right way?

Yeah that sounds like what i should do, thanks for the help.

I have a '97 C230 and I had a similar problem. It was diagnosed as a faulty coil and once both coils were replaced the car ran beautifully.

Exactly my point. You don't want to guess here, when guessing could cost you a ton of money and you
might be replacing something that doesn't need replacing. That could get REAL expensive. Real fast.

as mr coyote made a good point a note for most of us to remember is these arent small block chevys or ford v motors. EVERYTHING pretty much is run by our car's ecu even the brake sensors so having it scantooled / diagnosed
(and not by one of those cheap parts store actrons)is very safe and informative to allow you to monitor as well as inform you of whats starting to go. Like the last post read about coils once he figured that out and they replaced them a small tune up at home probably was considered or could have been done to strengthen his cars reliability and repairs as to ensure he stayed one step ahead of future problems. good luck let us know what you find out.

Alright everyone, thanks for all the help. I guess I'll just take it to my mechanic then.

Hi,
I am new to the forum and I purchased a C320 back in june 2007 and at the time it had 42,000 miles. As of right now it has 47,000 miles and for the past couple weeks I have been seeing light blue smoke coming from the tailpipe. It was determined that it is something with the pistons and rings and it is going to be about $4,000 to repair. Mercedes is not going to cover this under warranty because previous owner failed to change oil when needed. Is there a cheaper fix to this problem or was I just royally screwed from the dealer in PA I brought it from? My husband works with someone who works on cars, not mercedes, but said he had seen a similiar problem like this on a foreign car and there is a liquid he poured into the engine 3x's in 1 month and apparently it makes the rings expand and corrects the problem without replacing them. Has anyone ever heard of this? I really just need some help....I feel like I am losing my mind at this point.

Wow. Let's see. Where do I start. OK>>>
First of all, if there is bluish smoke coming from the tailpipe, that USUALLY indicates an oil problem. So that part is probably correct.
If Mercedes is blaming the previous owner for not changing the oil, I'm not surprised. I can't say if the rings are shot, but if they are,
and that is what is causing the problem, then there is only one solution. Well, actually two. You can take it to Mercedes and spend the money to fix it, or you can go back to whoever sold you the car and take it up with them. Of course, you know what's going to happen
if you do the latter. It will be like trying to get a dog off a meat truck to get them to pay for it, I guarantee you. Now, listen carefully to
this part>>>there is NOTHING that can "expand" piston rings and repair them if they are worn out. Nothing. Any magic elixir is only a
good way to flush good money down the toilet. If you choose to replace the rings on that car, 4K sounds cheap. It's an ENTIRE engine
disassembly and you know there are going to be other costs. JUST the supercharger alone (under warranty) on my C230K was 3.5K.
So, there you go. Sorry to drop a bomb on you, but whatever you do, don't start pouring junk into the engine. My own opinion would be
that you should go to a good independent garage and get another opinion (diagnosis) even if you have to pay a bit for it. OR>>>you could
call Mercedes Benz of America corporate and get customer service and tell them your dilemma and say that your car is still under the
factory warranty and the dealer refuses to take care of you, and that they are going to lose a Mercedes customer for life if they don't
take care of you.....and see what happens. Hey, it's worth a shot. Nothing to lose and a lot to gain if they can help you.

PS> It helps to cry a lot while you're explaining your dilemma.

for your car there are many possibilities relating to the lubrication system. a tear down or a good day long diagnostic will be required to get to the root or your problem.unfortunately for me i work nights so i can only again say you rfriend mr coyote answered you safely and correctly first time out. all i can add is if the tear it down and its a fault they can blame on user error or maintanence abuse then your up the creek ...sorry. you may get covered for the tear down you may not. but i know from yrs in this business and trade you cant fix burnt rings but there is a small test you can do. if you remove your plugs and dry them out remove and gunk on them you can set them to the side and proceed to place a droplet of oil in each chamber. fresh oil.you as most people and mb dealer have told you should always use synthetic oil in your ride for various engine operating tolerance resons and viscocity protection.once you do that with plugs out try turning it over once .
 
your cars ecu may not let you do this its ok. most cars have a sensor like mine that you can do it once but not twice and throw a mil light. expected.
this test is used by older mechanics to fix fuel vapor lock and to lubricate cylinder walls upon long term storage b4 start up.
 
when you replace the plugs reset you r stuff if the car still blows blue smoke see how thick or how quickly it does and to what degree of color and write it down!!!!!
 
this will verify 2 things...
 
degree in whick your rings conditions are.
degree and how rapidly blow by is happening.
 
your next set of problems will determine or be heat transfer due to lack of lubrication and start running hotter till a gasket or seal gives not so good.sorry for the bad news hope you can use this info/