Mercedes E320 CDI S211, Shite or Shiteable?

[Snake Charmer]

Note to self; must purchase some other long series Torx screwdrivers before I forget how to take the door apart and fit the replacement lock on V2.0. I realised today V1.0 has not been washed since the early part of this year when I took photos for the insurance company. 😬 Very depressing when you walk up to the car on a sunny day, matters not during winter as it's dark morning and night when I get in it! I am making full use of the "Rest" function collecting beer on the way home, really is nice getting in and the car is warm and cosy.  

I have formulated a plan with V2.0 to swap the cars over when my insurance is due next year, just the mirror, lock and SBC to sort first. Trouble is the interior colour and lack of parking sensors is still bugging me. Lots of work to swap over. I'll have another couple of cold ones and keep on mulling it over.

[SiC]

Did you want this thread moving to the main forum?

[Snake Charmer]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

Did you want this thread moving to the main forum?

Yes please, I keep forgetting!

[SiC]

I don't usually do it or get involved in such things, but I think I've done it 😂

[Snake Charmer]

1 minute ago, SiC said:

I don't usually do it or get involved in such things, but I think I've done it 😂

Thank you for taking the time, much appreciated. 

[Snake Charmer]

After a couple of weeks sat in the back garden V2.0 has developed a saggy rear end. 😐

This car has all the W211 faults AND a beige interior! 😆

[SiC]

Mine will look like that on the near side after a week or so of non use and I didn't think that was bad going. 😂

Not sure how long air suspension is supposed to stay up for without an air top up? 

[Snake Charmer]

5 hours ago, SiC said:

Mine will look like that on the near side after a week or so of non use and I didn't think that was bad going. 😂

Not sure how long air suspension is supposed to stay up for without an air top up? 

It should stay up, the new units on the other car are fine and I don't remember when I last heard the compressor running. I have heard air purging from the compressor after a long drive after taking stuff out of the back. 

[SiC]

The only time I've heard the compressor go on mine is after a week or so layup the other day after getting food poisoning. Kicked in just after startup. It must be running occasionally though as it doesn't loose any height noticeably if I use it every few days. 

Interestingly it didn't cause both sides to equalise. It did after a drive but I expected it to open the valve on both when compressing. But iirc they are one way valves? If so, presumably there is another valve block that allows to both read the pressure and release excessive air. 

The leak isn't really bad enough on mine to justify fiddling around and replacing the air springs. If it leaked out enough to drop every day or so then I'd probably would. But only dropping over a week to me seems not that excessive. Especially as I'd only be replacing them with cheap eBay Chinese units rather than anything special. Certainly won't be putting MB ones on it - presumably that's probably what is on it currently. 

These cars do make all sorts of weird and wonderful noises with the ignition off. Usually just after you lock it and walked off. 

Pssssht!

Loud enough to make you turn round and wonder wtf that was. Then realise it must be the suspension self leveling and releasing excess pressure. 

Or Brrrr as the SBC re-pressurises.

Or the whine and klacking in the engine bay as the Throttle body/EGR/other valves cycles for a good 60 seconds or so after key out. 

[Matty]

39 minutes ago, SiC said:

The only time I've heard the compressor go on mine is after a week or so layup the other day after getting food poisoning. Kicked in just after startup. It must be running occasionally though as it doesn't loose any height noticeably if I use it every few days. 

Interestingly it didn't cause both sides to equalise. It did after a drive but I expected it to open the valve on both when compressing. But iirc they are one way valves? If so, presumably there is another valve block that allows to both read the pressure and release excessive air. 

The leak isn't really bad enough on mine to justify fiddling around and replacing the air springs. If it leaked out enough to drop every day or so then I'd probably would. But only dropping over a week to me seems not that excessive. Especially as I'd only be replacing them with cheap eBay Chinese units rather than anything special. Certainly won't be putting MB ones on it - presumably that's probably what is on it currently. 

These cars do make all sorts of weird and wonderful noises with the ignition off. Usually just after you lock it and walked off. 

Pssssht!

Loud enough to make you turn round and wonder wtf that was. Then realise it must be the suspension self leveling and releasing excess pressure. 

Or Brrrr as the SBC re-pressurises.

Or the whine and klacking in the engine bay as the Throttle body/EGR/other valves cycles for a good 60 seconds or so after key out. 

And to think after viewing yours I was just browsing ebay for one for me. Reckon I'm cured 😆

[SiC]

44 minutes ago, Matty said:

And to think after viewing yours I was just browsing ebay for one for me. Reckon I'm cured 😆

Rear self leveling air suspension isn't much to worry about. Mercedes bags are £600 each, Arnott are like £250 each or ...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353993173732

£144 (with eBay promo code) for a pair.

Air compressors can be rebuilt or £100 for a cheapy.

Valve block is similar but rarely has issues.

Pipe is just nylon pipe and nothing too special. 

I can understand why people get the fear with air suspension but the S211 self leveling is one of the simplest out there. The E320 petrol with the 5spd auto is about the most solid setup you can find. Really the only issue is on pre facelift with the SBC brake system. Thankfully mine is manufactured in 2010 and one of the last made. So not that old and not done that many miles either. The facelift does away with the SBC but the engines + gearboxes can have more problems.

Tbh they're cheap enough now that you can just use them and accept they may have a major fault then discard them. Flip side is they're comfortable to sit and drive in, massively useful and feel a nice thing to be using. Definitely a car that chills me out when driving. Glad I've got one (until I get bored)

If you want less risk then there is the C-class where it's a lot simpler electrically/mechanically and still the same solid drivetrains.

[Snake Charmer]

From working on my air suspension, l found the system to be really basic with no valve block only a pneumatic tee on the rear axle. Each air spring has a solenoid valve on top with a single air line going to the axle tee and then to the compressor under the front left headlamp. The compressor has a valve arrangement to discharge air and a dessicant drier to keep the system dry. I did not delve into the control system other than checking the rear axle level sensor worked and was not seized.

I just might have to look into the control system schematics now to refresh my memory and fill in the blanks I could not fill before.

[SiC]

1 hour ago, Snake Charmer said:

I just might have to look into the control system schematics now to refresh my memory and fill in the blanks I could not fill before.

I have heard that Tee can split and often why the bags go down on both sides. I wonder how the system knows the air pressure? Sensor in the compressor? Or maybe simply keeps pumping/letting air out until it reaches the correct height from the height sensor? Certainly seems a lot less to it than the full airmatic setup. 

I really need to get myself a copy of Xentry and have a poke around the docs to understand how this works. Ideally I'd like a STAR too but that's quite a capital expenditure and I don't know how many other Mercedes I'll have in the future. 

[Snake Charmer]

It all looks fairly simple......

Until this lot gets involved!

I was wondering if the ESP might be involved in part of the leveling process.

[SiC]

That second diagram looks like it is for full airmatic? Going by A9/1 mentioning airmatic.

If so, that makes sense as they will use wheel speed from the ABS to lower the car when at high speed. 

[SiC]

Self leveling might also use speed to throw warnings up if can't self level quick enough and you drive off. Only a CAN message broadcast the suspension module needs to listen to.

[Snake Charmer]

On 26/11/2023 at 20:22, SiC said:

That second diagram looks like it is for full airmatic? Going by A9/1 mentioning airmatic.

If so, that makes sense as they will use wheel speed from the ABS to lower the car when at high speed. 

If you Google GF32.33-P-0004A that document comes up as a PDF on MBWorld with the heading "Electronic rear axle level control model 211.2 except code (489a) Airmatic (semi active suspension)"

Im still learning how to navigate the WIS software, not the easiest.

[Snake Charmer]

Started up tonight at work, lights on auto, A/C on and hit demist then rear demist. Backed up and the big red battery warning came up. Knocked the rear demister off and A/C demist to get normal service. Battery is a few months old so suspect the alternator might be on the cusp of expiry so will be giving it an easier time on startup with the A/C etc off until running as the PTC draws mega current. Might also be additional load from cold PAS pump on an old belt.

Happy days. 

[Snake Charmer]

Not had a repeat of the battery warning, taken to adding the loads gradually.

Repaired and refitted the r/h front fog lamp that survived Audi damage only to be taken out by a Muntjac deer at 50mph. Also realigned the parking sensors dislodged at the same time previously cable tied in place.

Quicksteel putty and other derivatives are superb for jobs like these.

Sensor now playing ball in thraffic and parking, foglight back in securely and working legally. Had to take the lense off as the metal cap shrouding the bulb had popped off its mount.

[Snake Charmer]

Not much to report. Tyres rotated  a couple of weeks back to get the last out of them, new set will be going on the other car eventually and the damaged rim sent off for refurb. I have enough good 16" to run about on if needed.

Mileage coming up to 190k, definitely should be taking the engine cover off and looking into the injector seals as there's that smell of cooking diesel again.

Arrived at work last Thursday with a rattling exhaust, the connector bar on the twin pipes behind the axle had come off one side due to corrosion and our wonderful Surrey leafy lanes. Did a temporary repair until I can fabricate a repair link bracket and fit two new centre mounts.

Yeah, I know. They are good quality second-hand hose cips though.

The previous owner of V2.0 sent me a few goodies in the week he found clearing out, a Mercedes dealer jacket,  Brienz Blue touch-up paint and lacquer, a bag containing two keyrings, Star logo highwayman mask and a miniature Mercedes replica key.

My first thought was a keyringtorch but none of the buttons work and no fancy LED in the end replicating the infrared. Missus suggested fridge magnet, wouldn't stick to the radiator though then she said USB stick? Bingo. The cap is such a good fit you can't see the join, 4Gb too, no porn or bitcoin unfortunately. 

[Snake Charmer]

Something made me check the paint code on my cars tonight, Tanzanite Blue 359U. Not sure why I've been calling it Brienz Blue and I didn't even notice on the touch-up paint I was sent!

[Snake Charmer]

My car groans a bit from the suspension and gearbox, more so when the weather is cold. This week I had the radio turned down listening for these noises and it seems to have developed a new one that sounds like a bearing and doesn't go when warmed up as most seem to. First thought is the propshaft centre bearing but that was replaced not long ago so I guess I will have to stick it on the ramp and have a nosey and see if I need to get a shift on and make the other car roadworthy. 

Major problems on this one are the SBC fault and leaking air springs, both cars Mot's run out at similar times so I was hoping to leisurely repair this one, Mot in the last 28 days then retire the other one as a supplier of parts and swap all the newer parts over in time.

I'm still not keen on the beige interior, l like the tan & dark grey Designo on the current one that also has parking sensors and electro hydraulic tailgate. An interior swap would involve changing the dash and headlining as they are different colours and there is a parkometer in the rear headliner. That would make retrofitting the tailgate hydraulics easier if the wiring can be fitted and then coded in along with the parking sensors.

The newer car has a memory drivers seat, I expect that could be coded out and the multi-contour Designo seats fitted but I'm wondering if I could build a multi-contour memory drivers seat out of the two being a glutton for punishment! Seems a shame to lose all the memory options.

[Snake Charmer]

I had a rare occasion yesterday just before leaving work, an empty two poster so I decided to have a look at what might be making the noise that has developed recently.

l found a bolt on the propshaft rear flex coupling had worked loose and of course it was a large Torx head, all I currently have at work are smaller or E Torx bought specifically for the Mercedes!  Made do with an Imperial hex key and a spanner, while it was airborne l adjusted the front wheel bearings.

l also had a look under the engine cover to see how bad The black death might be as I can smell it quite strongly in the car unless I use the carbon filter constantly.  I was quite surprised to see only a small amount of evidence around cylinder 6 so may explain the smell strength as it's close to the pollen filter. 

As the cover was off I pulled a little oil out as I trusted the dash display measurement a while back and added a little too much resulting in a big red warning on the dash after a few motorway miles. Only Mercedes could stress you out at speed for a few millilitres too much oil. 

The car was much quieter on the way home, better steering and brakes too. There is still a bit of bearing noise in the rear end and I found  little play on a lower arm bush but the good news is l don't have to rush the other car into service just yet. 

[Snake Charmer]

Spent most of Sunday sat in the other S211 with the laptop and a few beers mainly trying to bring the SBC into line, finally have the screaming red dash warning and white "Service Brake Visit Workshop" warning extinguished but not holding my breath it won't come back. Down to 4 codes at the moment, only one I need to work out what's causing the fault and that may be the rear interior light, something to do with glass protection. The rest are down to tge drivers door mirror and rear light off my car I swapped out.

[SiC]

That SBC warning is certainly designed so you really can't miss it. Yet people still ignore that warning and keep driving until the brakes fail!

[Snake Charmer]

I drove my car home with a burst rear hard line and the audible alarm noise was painful. This car nearly made it home before the audible alert came up on ths M25, that was a fun trip for the last few miles with next to nothing on the pedal and a parking brake.

The main code seems to be the "Service Threshold Reached C235C", once that comes up all sorts of codes appear. I thought l had cracked it before but must have missed something as I'm still finding my way around the software.

All l can achieve fault wise running the extensive tests is a recommendation to bleed the system. I have my pressure bleeder modified and working now so that will get done then run the tests again. I would quite happily fit new motor brushes and a pressure accumulator but that test OK. Worst case scenario is I swap my current cars SBC over when I put this car back on the road so buying a pressure accumulator would not be a total loss.

[Snake Charmer]

Tried the other car tonight, after a few brake applications and SBC recharges the white warning came up so I'm missing something on the reset.  Frustrating. 

[Snake Charmer]

Tasked myself this morning to change the bouncy drivers door lock on S211 V2.0 with the one from a spare door l purchased a while back. Should be easy thinks me, even the lock pin colour matched the giffer beige in perfect condition. Door card and ruined vapour barrier off, steel rivets drilled out of the window runners in no time and lock out.

Found three 5mm steel rivets amongst a thousand 4mm, this is going so well then I managed to save the spare door vapor barrier near intact and swap that over. Nearly done and about to temporarily fit the doorcard to test the lock and I notice three screws in the old lock and a very tidy lock pin.......

Drill out the rivets, swap the lock uttering deletive expletives. Find some more steel 5mm rivets hiding under a bag of alloy rivets. Test lock and utter words rhyming with clucking bell as that lock doesn't work. Order repair springs and 5mm steel rivets.

Lunch. Pull/smash the infrared sensor out of the door lock, hold the torch for @bobdisk whilst he digs it open and tries re-soldering the sensor, test, jump for joy it works even from a distance.

Swap the drivers door mirror internals for all the best of another. Works lovely manually but not with the memory seat and throws two codes......

Not having it with a fair bit of fettling from the laptop, need to see it the internals are compatible.

Beer.

S211's in Tanzanite blue are the devil's spawn.

[Snake Charmer]

I had another look at the drivers door mirror after checking part numbers, it would seem all Mercedes door mirrors are not created equal. The X-Y axis motors in the memory mirror have 7 pins in the plug and non memory have 3 pins. Stripping down the original mirror and testing the wiring loom I found this mess.......

I have ordered some silicone cable to replace the damaged section and the memory function should work once repaired.

Once the door card went back on the bloody door lock has decided to work, 10 minutes after I ordered the repair springs!

Ho hum.

[Snake Charmer]

I will be swapping towbars between the two cars at some stage, V2.0 has a fixed ball with two 12N/12S caravan plugs and the other a 13 pin euro socket and removable swan neck. I  was dreading venturing into the socket wiring on V2.0 in the rear SAM module that resides behind the left hand panel in the load space expecting wire twists, Scotchloks and insulating tape aplenty, quite pleased to find this.....

Easily swapped over and tidied up, bit of a result and I can charge a winch battery if needs.

I had a look in the opposite panel and found the rear wash wipe hose connector had popped at some stage, a common fault and sprays water over any electronic items located in that area. Luckily, neither car has much in that area except for the alarm anti-tilt sensor and the connector plug is perfectly in the line of fire.

There is corrosion visible on the plug but as no codes are showing I will leave it alone, add a bag cable tied over the hose then swap the wiring and box in at a later date I previously replaced.