Mercedes E320 CDI S211, Shite or Shiteable?

[bobdisk]

Thanks to @Snake Charmer for rescuing the Daf after the engine failed. Was going to a Daf club meet, but it decided it did not want to go after all.

[Snake Charmer]

V1.0 given a SORN last night and V2.0 Taxed. Running the car last night I had a serious quantity of blue smoke from burning oil and the EML lit. Hoping it was oil residue from having been idled for hours on end I set off to work this morning with ESP and ABS  failure warning. First few applications of the brakes were poor but did improve, with no ABS you can screech to a halt on the Chinese tyres quite nicely. Engine also felt like no boost and in limp mode.

Stopped in a car park and ran diagnostics on the laptop,  ABS and ESP were down to the right rear sensor and turbo boost showing a  sensor fault. Both cleared now and normal service resumed, but the power is nowhere near V1.0. The left hand mirror indicator possibly has a dicky wire as that comes up occasionally on the dash  seems the smoke has cleared too.

Still hopeful for the Mot this evening if the smoke and lights stay out.

[Snake Charmer]

I don't bloody well believe it. Passed Mot emmisions, brakes and suspension ok plus it looks quite good underneath. Celebratory G&T anyone?

[Snake Charmer]

One week on and a few problems to sort. Mot was amusing, ABS and ESP lights stayed off after the morning reset but came back on after the Mot 😆. Car looks very good underneath and far better than the old one.

Had a go at removing the right rear ABS sensor and no joy in shifting it and have a nagging suspicion the reluctor ring may be at fault. Tried removing one from the old car and no joy then rain stopped play on the other side. Normally I would order a sensor and ring then have at it but as I have two good ones I will wait until I have time to test the faulty one properly before destroying what's in there.

Drives well enough despite a boost sensor and EGR fault so not very speedy at the moment. The steering wheel is off centre, a bit of alignment will be happening before a new set of tyres go on my 18" wheels but I will run the last couple of thousand miles off the existing tyres first. The shocks have just about had it, crashy over bumps and generally soft with full on seasick inducing wallow in all directions so the good suspension off the old car will go over.

Satnav is old hat now, miss the big Chinese screen but not the radio sound quality as the original is far better. At least I can still find my way to work and back.  After a bit of cleaning the interior smell has improved but still retains a light whiff of dags. Needs a thermostat as very slow to temperature as the old car was originally and the duo heater valve seems to be working correctly as I can get each zone at red hot or freezing cold at opposite corners.

Still not keen on the beige interior but as a whole not a bad replacement with potential.

[Snake Charmer]

I was a brave little soldier tonight, stayed late to have a butchers at the rear ABS sensors and  unnecessarily took both wheelarch liners out completely to access the sensor plugs and check their resistance. I was also curious to have a good look for any bodywork corrosion around the arches and sills, l can't believe it's 21 years old they are so good. 

Left-hand brake pipe looks to have been changed, right-hand is on it's way, discs look barely worn and pads good. Resistance check on the ABS sensors shows them nigh on identical so l had a go at blowing all the dust and rust out of the hub. Did a reset and made it halfway to Sainsburys for beer supplies before the ABS and ESP lights came back on so I'm ordering a pair of ABS reluctor rings and leaving the sensors alone.

Chances are I will get the hubs off only to find a perfect pair of reluctor rings and the right sensor has a broken wire!

 

[spike60]

I did the rear reluctor rings on mine, one side wasn't so bad but the other fought me while I was trying to get 4(?) arms off each side to get enough movement on the hub assembly to get the driveshaft clear. I hope yours goes a bit smoother or you know an easier way! 

[Snake Charmer]

1 hour ago, spike60 said:

I did the rear reluctor rings on mine, one side wasn't so bad but the other fought me while I was trying to get 4(?) arms off each side to get enough movement on the hub assembly to get the driveshaft clear. I hope yours goes a bit smoother or you know an easier way! 

Thanks. Did you use original parts or aftermarket?

[spike60]

I used original parts, the rings were £14 each and in stock locally.  Merc rings of this era are a thin steel band with a rubber coating, not something I'd come across before. When mine went it put on quite a few dash lights and disabled the power steering, the rubber looked to have been hanging loose for some time but when I stripped the other side it was spot on.

[Snake Charmer]

46 minutes ago, spike60 said:

I used original parts, the rings were £14 each and in stock locally.  Merc rings of this era are a thin steel band with a rubber coating, not something I'd come across before. When mine went it put on quite a few dash lights and disabled the power steering, the rubber looked to have been hanging loose for some time but when I stripped the other side it was spot on.

Great information, thank you. In over 3 years of owning a Mercedes I have not visited a dealer for spares but have bought from them online. I should probably visit MB World at Brooklands and strike up a relationship.

[spike60]

I find even if you don't use them in the end it's worth asking , I've owned a couple of W126 and C126 and they're often competitive for bits . I sometimes use Mercedes of Newcastle through their Ebay site and even though they don't list stuff for my my 1985 500SEC  they'll come up with a quick price and availability, plus they post although it sounds like you already use this. 

[Volksy]

As above, I've bought quite a few bits from Mercedes for my W126 - Often cheaper than Ebay etc. 

 

[Snake Charmer]

I decided in a drunken moment to order a pair of aftermarket ABS rings for £17 delivered, what can possibly go wrong? Nearly ordered a thermostat but thought a better idea would be to remove the perfectly good two year old 92°C unit from the old car.

Having made those monumental decisions, I found a small box of enthusiasm today and applied the whole contents liberally.

Good thermostat out in no time using my vacuum brake bleeder unit to pull a few litres of coolant as not being changed, doing the same on the newer car changing later in a major servicing frenzy seemed a good idea.

An interesting colour coolant came out, in my green bowl it looked like a mad TVR paint code, a mix of orange and blue coolant over the green shimmering in the sun. No dramas, no broken bolts and no problem holding a consistent 92°C now. I did snap the old temperature sensor off trying to remove it, l wanted to do an old and new thermostat comparison using the same sensor. C'est La Vie.

Black death looks non existant and all dry around the injector area, swapped in the missing sound deadening foam and felt. Now wondering if leaving that out effects injector cooling leading to seal failure.

Swapped the spacesaver over as that has a new valve, added the missing warning triangle. Changed one of the broken floor panel handles, then gave the load area and spare wheel well a good vacuum.

A bit of soldering was order of the day swapping the ATA tilt sensor black box over as the original has suffered being sprayed with washer fluid from the bidet hose joint popping.(Added the anti-bidet-joint-spray colostomy bag for peace of mind.)

Finished off in the load area by straightening the big stainless step plate out where extra wires have been stuffed under for the towbar and clips broken. That wiring will need another coat of looking at when the towbar is swapped over. 

I might have shorted something on the alarm side as the fob radio door locking failed, only locked via infrared as F8 7.5A fuse had blown in the rear SAM. Found that out on the Tesco cider run, had to use the poxy key in a panic as they were nearly closed! (I'm not ruling out the alarm siren having gone titsup, I have set it off and thieves would just laugh at it.)

Out on the road the car feels smoother running a consistent 92°C and the mpg cruising at 60mph on the motorway is definitely better than the old car ever did resetting on the move. (If to be trusted.) Shame there's no noticable turbo boost and torque like the old car, that's next on the hit list and l suspect the odd clicking being made by the turbo actuator is the likely suspect. 

Could not be arsed swapping and cleaning the 18" wheels.

[Snake Charmer]

The thermostat replacement has improved mpg on my commute by 4-5mpg. The remote central locking is being intermittent, infrared works ok though. 🤪

[Snake Charmer]

ABS rings have arrived, might give the faulty side a go tomorrow night. Changed the drivers side wiper blade and arm over tonight, old one not wiping very well and the arm was better plus the nut was rusty. Adjusted the arm to park a little higher and gained three inches of clearer screen by the pillar, old car was the same when I first bought it.

Took the 18" wheels off the old car tonight, planned to give them a wash and brush up to get the last few miles out of them. A bit too much uneven wear and some pothole damage on the inner edges I had not seen so 4 new tyres on the way from Black Circles.

One wheel needs a refurb and I noticed a little runout on a couple inside last time the car was on the ramp so they can all go to Lepsons for refurb and have the tyres fitted. Financial ouch, £480 for tyres so I'll ignore what Lepsons charge and pretend it never happened! Ebay for new centre caps, the old ones lasted well through a couple of winters and my neglect.

Gearbox needs a dip to see the oil colour, it was changing a bit odd this evening and has been upchanging quite early which I put down to the lack of boost. Maybe it doesn't like me manually changing (particularly down) and I've stirred all the sludge up.

Nasty nut.

Shiny nut.

Scuttle panel needs swapping out, other one is far better.

[Snake Charmer]

3 of the 4 tyres turned up today, for some reason the other will be delivered tomorrow. 🤔

Tread depth is ridiculous, 5mm to the tread wear indicators. ☹️

Old wheels being picked up Monday so I should have them on the car by Thursday. 😄

Psyching myself up to attack the rear ABS ring this evening.  🫣

[Snake Charmer]

Spanner festival tonight, took some time but the ABS  ring is changed and was the correct decision as the old one was bolloxed.

No ABS and ESP warnings on the way home, I can look into the boost problem next.

[Popsicle]

7 hours ago, Snake Charmer said:

Tread depth is ridiculous, 5mm to the tread wear indicators. ☹️

What brand is that? Most tyres seem to be listed at 7.5-8mm tread depth from new, 5mm seems pretty mean to me.

BTW great work on the Mercs 👍.

[Snake Charmer]

23 minutes ago, Popsicle said:

What brand is that? Most tyres seem to be listed at 7.5-8mm tread depth from new, 5mm seems pretty mean to me.

BTW great work on the Mercs 👍.

Thanks 👍.

Tyres are.......

Replacing Asymetric 5 in the same size that were on the other car about 26 months, not sure of the exact mileage they went on at but looking at the Mots 15-16k. 😯

[Popsicle]

10 minutes ago, Snake Charmer said:

Thanks 👍.

Tyres are.......

Replacing Asymetric 5 in the same size that were on the otger car about 2 years, not sure of the mileage they went on at.

I'm a big fan of Goodyear tyres, got Efficient Grip 2's (summer) and Vector 4 seasons (winter) on the couriering van. I'm sure they came with 8mm depth new, I'm pretty sad and check things like this as i do silly miles a year and like to eek every last mile/value out of them.

Maybe its a performance thing with the Eagles being a more performance aligned tyre? I've nothing sporty to fit something like those to 😒. I'm sure they'll be an awesome choice and transform the handling and feel of the car, just seems like you've been a bit short changed on the usable tread depth.

[Snake Charmer]

On 18/07/2024 at 23:12, Popsicle said:

Maybe its a performance thing with the Eagles being a more performance aligned tyre? I've nothing sporty to fit something like those to 😒. I'm sure they'll be an awesome choice and transform the handling and feel of the car, just seems like you've been a bit short changed on the usable tread depth.

I felt short changed once l saw them, do not recall the same feeling with the previous set pictured here from 26 months ago. 

I will line the others up on Monday and take a similar photo to see if the depth is obviously different.

I would not put the car in the performance category but the level of grip they give over the 225 16" Chinese tyres both cars were fitted with is very confidence inspiring although the original cars tyres were very good.

In other news...... Despite the heat yesterday and being tired from Thursday nights spanner festival on the ABS ring, last night we put the apprentices E200 Kompressor up on the ramp and had a good look underneath for a knocking noise he has heard. Nice ride for a first car at 18, nothing obvious at the front but the exhaust needs some attention.

We then put my car up and started the search for lost boost. With the undertrays off all I could find of note was oily dampness on each end of the intercooler joints. I'm 99% sure the fault lies with the turbo actuator as it has an indicator ticking noise when the ignition is on.

Plan is to strip the old car down to its turbo and see if just the actuator can be swapped or another spanner session at work is required to swap the turbo. 

[Snake Charmer]

The boost is back!! 

This morning I removed the air filter housing and turbo heatshield to look into the indicator relay clicking sound from the turbo actuator.

Quite a simple repair as the actuator operating rod had seized, freed off and lubricated the turbo boost is resumed. 😁

[SiC]

That must be one of the most sensible locations for a turbo on any modern car. 

[Snake Charmer]

19 hours ago, SiC said:

That must be one of the most sensible locations for a turbo on any modern car. 

Yes, not particularly difficult to access either apart from one fiddly bolt on the heat shield rear mount. I think the actuator could be removed easily enough with long 1/4" drive extension bars from underneath. Excellent position for the catalytic converter too, up out of the thieves easy reach. I did stand and consider how much heat is compacted into that small area.

Today is the first time I have driven to work with a properly working turbo and I think this car feels a little livelier than the old one. I tried a few emergency stops now the car can accelerate in an adult manner and the brakes feel better too with the ABS making the tyres howl.

Lepsons collected today and the new centre caps have arrived so hopefully by Thursday the old girl will look like mutton dressed up as lamb.

[Snake Charmer]

Lepsons delivered today, absolutely bloody factory fresh and ready to fit. 😊

[yes oui si]

Still love this thread

[Snake Charmer]

Stayed on at work to check the tracking as the steering wheel was not straight and I noticed a new steering arm fitted to the right hand side at the Mot. 1.5° toe in according to the good old Dunlop tracking gauges using my MkI eyeball and engineering squint. 😉

Bit of a faff getting the gauges on the rims as the spokes need to be in a certain orientation to clear the contact arms and meant creeping the car forward and keep getting out to check. Currently set at just under 0.5° total toe and the wheel is straight. Reset the steering angle with the laptop.

Plan was to do this for peace of mind then a Hunter 4 wheel alignment once I fit the Aerosus air springs and dampers off the other car. Well, like all good military operations this plan did not make first contact let alone survive and is dead in the water thanks to Microsoft. I contacted a friend who uses a Hunter 4 wheel alignment system and this was his reply:-

"Well due to Microsoft shitting it's self last week we have no aligner at all, all specs have been wiped and we need a hunter tech in to sort it out and at the moment I have no idea when as theres loads of centres down like us."

Bugger. ☹️  I will be checking tread wear daily now and I'm tempted to put the best of the 8 old wheels back on and save the new rubber as it only has 5mm.

[Snake Charmer]

Late evening out of the heat I removed the rear dampers off the old car to transfer over.  I did plan to do this on Sunday with the rear air springs and front dampers to transfer over at work on Monday and recheck the tracking.  The heat sapped my enthusiasm!

[Snake Charmer]

On 30/07/2024 at 06:53, Snake Charmer said:

Late evening out of the heat I removed the rear dampers off the old car to transfer over.  I did plan to do this on Sunday with the rear air springs and front dampers to transfer over at work on Monday and recheck the tracking.  The heat sapped my enthusiasm!

Did the same last night with the front suspension, a little easier as no special tools or interior requires removal. Loaded up and intended to fit the next day if the weather cooler. Walked out this morning and for the first time in a month on the road the rear end was sitting low so I now need to rape the old car for the Arnott air springs I fitted, I'm not taking all that trim out twice to remove the dampers. I'm in work Saturday with the apprentice and he has a set of Bilstein dampers on order for his W211 so if they turn up, Saturday afternoon may be a Bilstein party.

[Snake Charmer]

I removed the Arnott air springs from the old S211 and managed to save the barbed clips along with the hose fittings to reuse. Also took the additional Stebel "Nautilus Truck" horn and wiring off, all boxed up and in the car with the old dampers and springs.

I'm now on the hunt for a large box of enthusiasm to fit them as I used the last box on helping the apprentice fit 4 Bilstein dampers to his W211 on Saturday. Couldn't face working on my car after that and a diff swap on the bosses race Mustang.

I removed the outer bellows off one of the air springs once removed as it was not sitting parallel. Connected back up to the cars power I was able to manipulate the bladder back to shape. Nice to find out the bladders are made by Continental.

[Snake Charmer]

Front dampers and springs swapped over this evening, sitting better now. The compressor doesn't sound great so I will harvest the one out of the other car this evening.

Quite looking forward to having the rear suspension done and dusted now, had a message to say the Hunter 4 wheel alignment machine is back online so that can be checked next week.