Mercedes E320 CDI S211, Shite or Shiteable?

[Snake Charmer]

Another trip to to Brands Hatch and back today, last one tomorrow. Best use of a tank full of fuel this week 

On the return trip a pheasant walked into lane 1 of the M25 and I had that split second decision to swerve or not. I had just checked my mirrors and looked back ahead to see it centre lane but didn't feel safe to swerve. Beautiful plumage. It went bang and under, that beautiful plumage made quite a cloud behind me. 

The impact pulled the undertray out and instantly started dragging on the road, thankfully just before Chobham services. Went in and parked up, used a bungee to pull it up away from the road as all l had was that and luggage straps.

Back out on the M25 and once up to 50Mph, down it goes and wears through the bungee. Dived into a refuge and forced the undertray back up.

Almost wish l had not bothered with taking all the other rear end parts in for paint. 🤪

When @bobdisk and l went to collect this car in my old S211 we hit a Muntjac deer, that saw the other bumper off after pushing the Audi along. Doomed.

[Snake Charmer]

Not used the car much since starting the new job as l now walk to work and last filled up September 23rd.

November 22nd l did little road trip to Redditch for a meet up with some members from the Mig Welding Forum l have been a member of since 2009. Met up in a classic motorcycle repair business, stayed overnight and had a few beers then slept in the car. Plenty of room with the seats down and toasty warm in the ex-army two piece sleeping bag system.

Still have plenty of fuel. 😊

Went to see the painter last Wednesday as he needed to do a colour shade check on the car, picked all the panels up Saturday morning. Not sure when l will be able to fit them so they will be living in the spare room for a while. Crap photos, they look dark grey not doom blue!

[Snake Charmer]

 Used the car twice this week. First was a commute to work as I needed to bring tools home to assist an injector seal on a friends W211 V6. Long commute, the god of traffic lights smiled at me and from driveway to work was all of 1.5 minutes.  Need to connect a trickle charger while its parked as the "Convenience Functions Unavailable" was lit but started easily. For no apparent reason the left air spring decided it would drop when at work, hopefully due to the battery being low. The compressor doesn't sound very healthy so swapping the not very old one out of the spares S211 might need to happen.

Second trip was to where l used to work for the W211 V6 repair and ended up 3 journeys as l needed more tools etc. as the OM648 tools would not work on the OM642. Job went well enough and we also ran a Xentry scan as the full Airmatic suspension seems to be bit vocal letting air out whilst driving, no fault found so might need further investigation. 

Had a bit of fun round the lanes and some horrendous potholes have appeared in the past 3 months. I keep looking at E55 estates and would be financially viable now as l walk to work but l do enjoy this car. Let's see how the Cancer treatment goes and my kidney function is in a couple of months, a bit of tuning or an E55. Or both!

[Snake Charmer]

Insurance due in a month, increased by 1/3. Tempted to SORN the car this weekend and get rid of it and the other 4 in bits.

[Snake Charmer]

Some reasonable touting for business from the insurance parasites have come through to tempt me, a considerable saving and that will be my weekend gone dealing with them.

Had the car on a CTEK for a while as l seldom need to drive it, nice and lively last night for a trip to Reading and no warning of "Convenience Functions Unavailable" as before so l now consider myself a well prepared old giffer.

I did enjoy driving it last night despite mostly motorway work, almost miss the stressful trip  to and from the old job!

Had a conversation with my tame bodywork geezer about buying another front bumper after the pheasant collision as l found one at the right price. This had been repainted and would need doing again and he suggested repair the old one.  Saved me a trip and l had another G&T.

[Snake Charmer]

Told Esure where to go this evening, car will be on SORN Friday and insured later in the year.

[Snake Charmer]

£131.66 back on the road tax this week after declaring SORN  treated the cars replacement to a pair of inner tubes, a bit of a clean and adjust the gears. Now have all 27 and the commute to work is now sub 4 minutes traffic permitting. I was 16 when l last cycled daily, 61 now! 🤣

[Wibble]

47 minutes ago, Snake Charmer said:

£131.66 back on the road tax this week after declaring SORN  treated the cars replacement to a pair of inner tubes, a bit of a clean and adjust the gears. Now have all 27 and the commute to work is now sub 4 minutes traffic permitting. I was 16 when l last cycled daily, 61 now! 🤣

How sore is your arse?

[Snake Charmer]

3 minutes ago, Wibble said:

How sore is your arse?

Not very, work is about 650 yards! Add the pub into it about 800.

[Snake Charmer]

Spent some time on the car yesterday with the pressure washer to remove some alge and dirt that has built up due to little use and now being on SORN. Gave it a good hand wash after using my new Meguirs snow foam kit. Realised l have not washed the car properly since lending the car to a colleague for Goodwood last year as it still had mud on the wings.  🙈

Crap photo. Needs the wheels removing and cleaning properly. Hoping to free up the garage soon by shifting a friends car then l can remove the bumper, towbar and tailgate to fit the painted parts. Tailgate screen needs swapping too, might farm that out.

Did the missus S204 too, came up quite nice so went to the cafe for lunch. Been a while since l have been there, hand car wash at the rear now! Better photo.

[Snake Charmer]

By not using the car and cycling, l have accrued a bit of cash and decided to blow some on the cars paintwork. Splashed out on an orbital polisher and not a cheap one plus a variety of lotions and potions hoping I can take my time and bring the paint back at my leisure.

After working on the missus S204 yesterday  l realised how much the chemotherapy has taken out of me as l struggled with the aid of a two post lift to replace the rear dampers and a pair of ARB drop links! At least the knocking front and rear has stopped and the car is nicer to drive, the trip to St.Helier hospital has some seriously rough road surfaces and the ride was awful keeping me awake.

 

 

[Popsicle]

Liked for the carrying on with things, not the chemo knocking you down bit, also for new tool purchases.

Incidentally, I used to deliver dialysis kit to St Helier hospital, a twat of a place to get to and the renal dept was round the back, virtually impossible to park up anywhere.

[Snake Charmer]

Detailing kit arrived  so l then used my scrap S40 T4 as a polishing practice exercise in preparation for the S211. Rear wing left untouched, front and rear doors washed and decontaminated with a synthetic clay pad then top half of front door only polished with a 15mm offset polisher and Meguirs compound using Rupes pads.

Will take more care on the S211 Tanzanite Blue, l quite like the colour on the few days a year we have sun!

Had a fight last night with the old spares S211 trying to inflate the rear suspension to move it. Had to reinstate a lot of electrical parts previously raped whilst working on the current S211 and forced the pump to run. Annoyingly,  the laptop with Star/Xentry would not communicate so ended up using the iCarsoft CR Max with a cheat l discovered in the software. Now have to add bavk some of the diesel l drained off for my Chinese diesel heater, bloody stuff is probably worth 80p more than l paid for it. Poxy front right tyre is flat too  mught get brave and swap that one out from the spares spares. Battery on charge seems to be drawing 2 to 3A continuously so something is still swithed on, could be the SBC backup battery and alarm.

[Snake Charmer]

Despite being a bit knackered from hospital yesterday, a large lunch, light dinner then a pork pie with pickle at 03:00 thanks to the steroids, l have a bit more energy today.

5 pints of St.Ella at lunchtime today as we were too late for the cafe  then a huge mixed grille, l should be able to run a marathon on my calorific intake.

Diesel back in the spares car, ignition on & off a dozen times to prine the filter and away it went settling to a smooth idle. Current draw on the battery charger has dropped to an acceptable 0.5A but the big red battery warning is still on the dash so l suspect something is not connected. Fiddled with the key batteries and the central locking works. Fired up the compressor and dragged an air line out  2ft short of the front wheel! At least it moves now so not a problem.

 Bit of car jenga tomorrow with a view to reducing the transport museum by at least on highly polished S40. Burgers for tea, sod these steroids.

Dreading trying to start the Jensen Interceptor, probably needs fuel but at least the battery is charged. Manta now unfortunately under a car cover instead of the Carcoon. Anyone want a matching pair of Volvo V40 T4's  a C90 or 1978 CG125?  🤣

Went a bit mad on the R-Tech welding site this morning, water cooler for the Tig l have been mulling over for 17 years just getting by with the horrendous sized WP26 air cooled torch for hot alloy work and a WP9  which us a lovely size for intricate work. Had to buy a WP20 torch, the water cooled version on the air cooled WP9. Then a sheath for the cables, a big teflon gas lens and 10ltrs of coolant. I have spent more on tools this week than either of the S211's cost me!

[Snake Charmer]

On 04/04/2026 at 22:12, Popsicle said:

Liked for the carrying on with things, not the chemo knocking you down bit, also for new tool purchases.

Incidentally, I used to deliver dialysis kit to St Helier hospital, a twat of a place to get to and the renal dept was round the back, virtually impossible to park up anywhere.

Thanks, still the same at St.Helier Renal Unit! 2007 l was admitted with kidney failure caused by Multiple Myeloma. Off to the Marsden for a stem cell transplant and remined in remission until recently. 

[Popsicle]

13 hours ago, Snake Charmer said:

Thanks, still the same at St.Helier Renal Unit! 2007 l was admitted with kidney failure caused by Multiple Myeloma. Off to the Marsden for a stem cell transplant and remined in remission until recently. 

Good luck with your treatment, I know how it can knock the stuffing out of folk. The polisher seems to be doing a good job on the S40, very impressive for a first go.

[Snake Charmer]

Late V6 OM642 E320CDI in the workshop today Jon is dismantling for oil cooler seals. Sod having ABS and V6 over the scary SBC system and straight 6 if that needs doing a couple of times during the engines life!

Water cooler kit for the Tig has arrived, keep thinking l should build a complicated air to water intercooler.  Then l found a nice Garrett air to air core just the right size to be mahoosive but inconspicuous. 🙈

Starting to worry l am becoming a car detailer, ordered 2ltrs of Bilt Hamber wheel cleaner. I had new tyres and another Lepsons refurb on all the rims when I swapped them over to the latest S211 in 2024 and other than normal washing, they are a bit neglected considering the tyres and refurb were more than the car. Will be interested to see if l can restore them back to 2024 condition.

Anyway, can't stand around here talking, gotta go stand somewhere else.  🍻

[Snake Charmer]

I'm not a fan of Faecesbook but tonight by chance while looking at one of the W211 Owners Groups l found a non 7 seat load space interior in the correct colour for my car for £20! Lighter weight and more storage.

Only downside it was in Colchester, a 200 mile round trip.  🙈  I had to use the missus S204  (1.6ltr supercharged) as my car is still on SORN, starting to go off this wee car each time l have to repair it as the quality is definitely not up there with the S211 E Class.

First time for me using the cruise control on this car at motorway speeds and l was surprised to feel it drop out of 5th at 60 or 70 mph uphill! (My missus refuses to use cruise.) The fuel economy meter would then drop to below 20mpg from 40+, not what l'm used to with the dirty old 3.2ltr turbo diesel weasel! Should have reset the trip before leaving to get a better idea of fuel economy as she had been out previously in the day but it was over 30mpg despite a bit of hoofing on the way up there.

Think the car needs a 4 wheel alignment and better tyres as it's a bit twitchy at speed.

[Snake Charmer]

Stopped at Halfords and purchased a bottle of Autoglym polish on the way back from chemo in Carshalton. Might have a go on the S211 rear panels this weekend in preparation for fitting the bumper and tailgate. Noticed a small area damaged just above the n/s rear light that may need repairing somehow.  I'm not expecting to build a Pebble Beach car but want it straight.

S204 now needs it's own thread as it's being a bastard. Supercharger boost has gone possibly from the "Boost Pressure Control Flap Motor". I think the loan Yaris automatic at work could blow the wee 1.6 S204 away in the traffic light GP!

[Snake Charmer]

Had a wee fiddle with the S211 today to see what's what in removal of the 6th & 7th seats.

Came with everything from a standard car to convert, most of this l do not need other than to match the Designo interior from my spares S211 in dark grey. Basically a few panels that eliminate the seat belts.

Just need to have a good look at the parts schematics and see if anything major is missing. 

[Snake Charmer]

Cheap sub £40 Ebay welding cart for the Tig welder and cooler currently undergoing modification with the addition of 2.5mm strengthening plates.

Had a play using the new torch and cooler, definitely an improvement over the WP9 air cooled torch on alloy. Looking forward to a bit of creative fabrication on the welding bench. 

[vaughant]

Nice set up and I love this thread. That must be the best serviced Merc on the planet 😀😀

[Snake Charmer]

13 hours ago, vaughant said:

Nice set up and I love this thread. That must be the best serviced Merc on the planet 😀😀

Thanks. Ironically the service due warning came up just after l declared SORN. 😄 Planning on 1st July to reinsure and tax again as the Mot is due shortly after. 

[Snake Charmer]

Added in a fair bit of 2.5mm sheet to strengthen the weding cart, much stronger now. (I have a stack of 2.5mm sheet that was going for scrap  so cost nothing.) Tig brazed the little U bend plates for the Tig to sit in. Found a set of velcro bottle wall mounts l was given and fitted them in place of the chains supplied. Still a bit to do but l can sit on a stool to work on it when my legs and feet are hurting, a side effect from one of the chemo injections. 

[yes oui si]

I'm in awe of the amount you do given what you continue to go through.

[Snake Charmer]

1 hour ago, yes oui si said:

I'm in awe of the amount you do given what you continue to go through.

Thanks, l do a lot sitting down if l can and started some new tablets Friday that should help sort the pain in my legs and feet. Work has been difficult and I'm knackered when I come home so going out to the workshop is not always possible.  

[Snake Charmer]

Had a play with a couple of new toys today  a short gun for the pressure washer and a Nano polisher. Gave the car a wash as there was bird poo, dirt and cobwebs on it then polished the left headlamp as the right is much newer and brighter. Slight improvement but it will never come up like the newer one.