Swap 1993 Mercedes 190e - MOT Win

[BorniteIdentity]

Interesting.  Sadly, the cap came off with "heat and hammer" according to the mechanic.

 

Shiid.

 

I think I'm going to have to put some miles on it to satisfy him that it's not going to clear, and then drop it back to him next week.  Not great, but every other price for the works was in excess of £1200,

[hauserplenty]

Cap & rotor. Bosch or genuine M-B only. Also a new rubber gasket for the cap, which is often overlooked.

Fuel pressure test. One or both pumps may be clogged; the 300E has two but I dont know if the 190's do.

Clogged fuel inlet filter to fuel distributor. Lack of/incorrect control pressure.

OVP relay.

[richardmorris]

Start with the distributor. It's easy enough and it it doesn't make it better than at least you'll have a spare.

[BorniteIdentity]

Top advice.  Thanks.  I did press the guy to use genuine Merc parts, but I'm almost certain he went aftermarket because he has an account with the local motor factors.  Bit of a pisser, because in 90% of cases genuine Merc parts are the same or cheaper.

[mercrocker]

I had this with a so-called specialist I first entrusted my 190 to.   When trying to trace a subsequent ignition fault I found only 2 of the new leads were genuine, the cap was not but the rotor arm was.  To be fair he had only billed me for the price of GSF-alikes but annoying all the same because I specifically knew of this problem before I booked in the car....

 

If you have not already done so the 190E forum http://mercedes-190.co.ukis well worth a trawl, very helpful blokes on there and very little sign of the Panzerish attitude endemic to German forums.  

[hauserplenty]

If you have the SRS, ABS and/or other idiot lights coming on, that points to the OVP relay. But the cap, rotor and o-ring are the usual suspects. My old o-ring was brittle and crispy, so the $2 the new one cost was cheap insurance. I used Bosch parts; they're still working now. It sounds like he might have tried to hammer a smaller distributor cap over it...&c.

[BorniteIdentity]

Thanks for all your help on this.

 

Spoke to the mechanic who reassures me it was genuine BOSCHâ„¢ that went on with regards to alternator/dizzy cap.  He agrees that everything points to the OVPR, and I've got one coming to Mercedes Bedford tomorrow.

 

Hopefully it's plug and play and then we can all move on with our lives!

[BorniteIdentity]

For the sake of fuck.

 

New ovp relay fitted. Problem is still there.

 

Mechanic is now loathed to proceed much further without better knowledge. He's talking about cleaning injectors and the like. My worry is the problem wasn't there when the car went in for OMFGHGF surgery... So it's either a coincidence or it's a result of something that he's replaced.

 

Any ideas? Idle races on start up then plummets then stalls. Rev the car to keep it alive and it's not sharp. Rev up the band and it hesitates and throws lights on the dash.

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Rocket88]

Inlet manifold gasket?

[BorniteIdentity]

Would it cause that much of an issue?

 

(Not a rhetorical question... I'm genuinely thick AF)

[Rocket88]

If it wasn't replaced when you did the head gasket, and was damaged during the associated work, could well do. Would completely screw up air intake, as would any air leak.

I would get a smoke test done, which will show up any air leaks.

[omegod]

Is he sure the chain is timed up perfectly?

[BorniteIdentity]

No. And apparently you have to reset the tensioner or something or another. This is all double dutch but I've just read on another more formal forum.

 

I have a HBoL here. Ideally I'll take a list of ideas to him along with the book and say "try these lol"

[Rocket88]

I reckon it's either an air leak, or, as Sir omegod says, timing is out due to timing chain naughtiness. Would start by investigating air leak possibilites

[hauserplenty]

The lights coming on point to the OVP relay, but there could also be a mixture problem. I'd suggest ruling out the timing first, and start by making sure all the vacuum lines are correctly installed. There might be solenoids hidden behind the washer bottle, so check them all again. Pay close attention to the EZL (ignition module) as this vacuum supply must be correct at all times.

You may have several problems at once. It can be done!

[Rocket88]

No doubt all sorts of stuff was disturbed when the HG was done, it only takes one air leak to cause havoc...........

[hauserplenty]

The tensioner must be disassembled, then reinstalled in the correct order on the m103. If it was simply removed, and then reinstalled, there may not be the correct tension on the chain.

[alf892]

You seem close enough to Rushden?? Have a chat to Albert Lock........HA Lock 01933 313077.........they have a well earned reputation for knowing more about Mercs than Merc do.

 

Alfcabs could be available if needed

[BorniteIdentity]

Hnnng. NOW we're talking.  Rushden is about 30 minutes from me, and I work in Northants regularly.  Top. Banana.

 

I'm going to get the current guy to properly set the timing because, in essence, this should have been done anyway as a matter of course.  If that doesn't fix it, I'll get it over to Rushden.

 

I was looking around for Merc specialists last night and remembered a place in St Albans. They charge £106 per hour in labour!!! 

 

Top stuff. Thanks a million guys.

[BorniteIdentity]

List of potential things has been sent to the mechanic, as compiled from 2 forums.

 

I mentioned the chain tensioner needing a reset and it certainly looked like news to him.

 

I've left him with a list and HBoL and hopefully by the weekend we'll have progress.

 

Thanks again guys.

[BorniteIdentity]

UPDATE:

 

Grease monkey is funny.  He's literally hates the telephone... I think he might have a genuine 'thing'.  Anyway, he left me a message a moment ago.  This is the transcript.

 

"Yep.

 

(silence)

 

... There's a breather pipe by the inlet manifold that's badly cracked.  I'm going to start there before I do anything else.  I've ordered one. "

 

(silence)

 

((akward fumbling))

 

MESSAGE ENDS

 

We'll see.  I'm still not convinced this is it, but we'll see.

[BorniteIdentity]

Update.

 

After much nagging the mechanic got me the car back. Breather repaired and running better. Timing was still not great so in the end i took it somewhere else and they improved things a lot.

 

Driving to work today I noticed I was down on power. Just as I was looking for somewhere to stop a loud tapping noise started up... Followed by all dash lights and no power. Pushed the car to safety and called AA.

 

 

Eventually got to work. Called AA again to get me home.

 

 

Closer inspection complete...AA man thinks timing chain has probably snapped at the link. Remember... the chain was off just a couple of months ago to do the head gasket. He thinks bent valves are likely.

 

Thoughts ?

 

I'm proper gutted.

 

 

[Tamworthbay]

Oh boy, cheap it won't be. Can you do it yourself or with a bit of help from here?

[BorniteIdentity]

I struggle wiring a plug.

[Tamworthbay]

Whereabouts are you?

[Split_Pin]

Makes my own car problems sort of pale into insignificance. I sympathise with you 100% right now.

[BorniteIdentity]

About 10 miles from Cambridge.

 

I'm genuinely pissed off. It's had everything it's wanted... all OEM... scrimped on nothing. Raaaa!

 

Problem is if I buy a reconditioned engine I may need to do everything I just did again (ie Head Gasket and pumps and alternator) so either way I'm going to hurt.

 

As is... despite being a lovely model with a nice spec... it's worth fuck all.

[danthecapriman]

Oh dear!

That does look pretty bad tbh. The chain definitely looks like it's come un tensioned one way or the other. Is it possible the tensioner has failed or not been installed correctly? I wonder if the tapping noise was the tension coming off and the chain flapping against it's cover.

 

At the very least it's going to need the whole chain area stripping down to investigate/clean out. And if the valves are damaged it's head off time again sadly.

With it being chain driven I don't know if it's worth repairing the chain related stuff then trying your luck with a compression test? Maybe you were lucky and got away with it, though I can't see it myself.

 

Are these known to be interference engines?

[beko1987]

Do you like plants and own a grinder?

[Tamworthbay]

Too far from me unfortunately or I would have been happy to lend a hand. A replacement engine may be the best bet but as you say it's an unknown quantity again and won't be cheap whatever you choose to do. They may be able to feed a new chain round with the old and avoid having to strip the bottom end but will still be same money as the head gasket plus cost of new head. Does it look like any bits have broken off and lost themselves? That could create hassle (not sure on these if you can drop the sump with the engine in). Good luck.