2004 Mercedes C180K: Winter/ULEZ Beater of Distinction

[wesacosa]

I suspect it broke because the sleeve wasn't fully pushed inside the plastic. I have slid it back and used JB weld over the crack so lets see if that works 

[SiC]

Probably be fine but for only under 40quid delivered next day I'd probably still order a replacement tank. Glass reinforced plastic can be a right bugger to stay repaired. Would be a right pia to have it fail when under the most pressure. That'll be when sat stuck in traffic and its sitting there getting hot idle. 

[N Dentressangle]

Kwality repair - got to be worth a go! 🏆

But yes, it will explode in heavy traffic when you're late for something important, have nice clothes on, and someone in the car you're trying to impress

[wesacosa]

yeah will order a replacement but fingers crossed this might at least keep mobile for a few days 

[wesacosa]

ordered that part, thanks again @SiC

The stat is on the to do list too so if it arrives on time tomorrow I will try and hit both in the same job. Fingers crossed we will be back on the road soon

[SiC]

Febi seem to have a lot of parts available next day on Amazon. It's been a life saver when something has broken and I've been impatient to get the car back on the road. 

[rob88h]

That’s only a degas return line to the bottle, will be minimal flow. So long as your repair is stronger than the pressure rating on the cap then it’ll hold no worries. 

I think slam the bonnet shut and never go in there again. Enjoy winter commuting in blissful ignorance before finding anything else 🤣

[Floatylight]

On 20/12/2023 at 21:00, Stanky said:

I think it's generally reliable, though if it was only the BAS fault it might have been trickier than if you have all three errors.

It's the car deciding when IT thinks you need ALL THE BRAKING applied that slightly worries me, especially since planting the middle pedal pulls the car up pretty abruptly anyway, if I ever managed to trigger the BAS I could definitely see me ending up with the star logo from the steering wheel embedded in my forehead!

I've got the dreaded ESP / BAS fault with my R170 SLK, intermittently locks a front wheel for a couple of seconds, google hive mind seems to suggest lateral acceleration / YAW sensor in the centre console but a seems to be a common issue, the sensors are £100 second hand. Amazed it hasn't been a recall!

[SiC]

2 hours ago, rob88h said:

That’s only a degas return line to the bottle, will be minimal flow. So long as your repair is stronger than the pressure rating on the cap then it’ll hold no worries. 

I think slam the bonnet shut and never go in there again. Enjoy winter commuting in blissful ignorance before finding anything else 🤣

Minimal flow but will have all the pressure. Probably a good 10psi or so on a modern system? Not a huge amount but not inconsiderable. 

But if not completely air tight repair then the pressure (and evaporating coolant) will escape. Lowering the boiling point and risking the cooling system boiling over in traffic.

For the price of the bottle Vs the the pia if it does fail, it's a no brainer to lob a new one on there imo. 

[wesacosa]

new tank, stat and housing on. Not leak tested yet.  Minimal* coolant spillage on the drive 

[Back_For_More]

Glad you're sorted...... Was about to offer the use of the Forester but realised I have the only key here in Brussels with me! 

If you're still stuck when I get back you're more tham welcome to use that or the 330..... Just let me know 

[wesacosa]

Just now, Back_For_More said:

Glad you're sorted...... Was about to offer the use of the Forester but realised I have the only key here in Brussels with me! 

If you're still stuck when I get back you're more tham welcome to use that or the 330..... Just let me know 

ah thanks mate, very kind offer. To be honest I could use the Fav in an emergency, I'd just have to pay k*** for the privilege. Hope you have a good Christmas 

 

[wesacosa]

initial run up to temperature and run around the block. No sign of any coolant leaking so far and no sign of the poor idle or milf light. Too early to call success but hopefully encouraging

 

[Volksy]

22 hours ago, wesacosa said:

initial run up to temperature and run around the block. No sign of any coolant leaking so far and no sign of the poor idle or milf light. Too early to call success but hopefully encouraging

 

I do hope that it was that pipe, I knew it was a bear of a job to change, but not as bad as that! 

I hope it becomes a more reliable car now, as I really liked it. 

[SiC]

I was really disappointed when I missed the chance to buy this. So I ended up with the E320 which has been pretty faultless (so far!)

After reading your experiences of it so far, I've been even more disappointed that I didn't get a chance to have the challenge of fixing it.

I don't think I'm normal.

[wesacosa]

3 minutes ago, Volksy said:

I do hope that it was that pipe, I knew it was a bear of a job to change, but not as bad as that! 

I hope it becomes a more reliable car now, as I really liked it. 

ah to be honest it wasn't a terrible job it was just much more awkward than it needed to be due to the access.  To be honest if I'd have had the long handled pliers to start with and not dropped my phone into the depths of the engine bay twice it would have been done in a day. The broken plastic bits were just unfortunate too.  Stat was definitely faulty but without the temperature gauge being selected on the dash it was impossible to know as the heater was nice and warm

will give it a proper run out tomorrow and hopefully confirm the pipe has fixed the poor running, but as you can see from the picture it was definitely shot to bits!

[Volksy]

I wonder what the economy will be like if it's now repaired, it was always great on fuel, despite the idle. Think I managed 45+ mpgs on a long motoway trip. 

[wesacosa]

it was down to mid 30s  on mainly m/way but have had a few traffic jams last few weeks, it was this that prompted me to check the temperature display. I suspect its only just started misbehaving, or got worse, as it was doing late 30s when I got it 

[2flags]

Glad you got it done. I have had jobs like that where they fight you every inch of the way!

[wesacosa]

First proper drive since doing the vac hose and the stat

Happy to report a very smooth idle and no MiLf light action so far.

car now also runs about 20 deg hotter now.  Cracked 40mpg average on this mornings run do about 7mpg up on what I got before, but there was no traffic at all so might drop a bit when there is

Interestingly the abs light didn't come on either, although it did stay off for a short period once before so not calling that just yet. However it does suggest the sensor that caused the last fault code can't be totally knackered if the light stays off sometimes

I have bitten the bullet and ordered replacement cam VCT magnets, they are leaking pretty badly both down the front of the engine and oil wicking up the harnesses into the ECU.  Sadly the blocker harness from @Stankygot lost in the Christmas post so need to source replacements. Could try just cleaning and replacing seals I suppose first thing but autodoc have pierburg magnets including seal kits for less than £30 each so may as well just change them 

 

 

[Volksy]

1 hour ago, wesacosa said:

First proper drive since doing the vac hose and the stat

Happy to report a very smooth idle and no MiLf light action so far.

I have bitten the bullet and ordered replacement cam VCT magnets, they are leaking pretty badly both down the front of the engine and oil wicking up the harnesses into the ECU.  Sadly the blocker harness from @Stankygot lost in the Christmas post so need to source replacements. Could try just cleaning and replacing seals I suppose first thing but autodoc have pierburg magnets including seal kits for less than £30 each so may as well just change them 

Pleased to hear that! Great to see no lights on that dash as well! 

My S Class sits at the same temp (85-90 deg) now that the water system/thermostat have been replaced, must be Mercs ideal temp.

Do you have to open up the cam-chain area to swap the magnets? If so, be worth checking that cam sprockets for wear, as they are a known failing on these. Although there was never any notable chain rattle whilst I had it.

[wesacosa]

1 hour ago, Volksy said:

Pleased to hear that! Great to see no lights on that dash as well! 

My S Class sits at the same temp (85-90 deg) now that the water system/thermostat have been replaced, must be Mercs ideal temp.

Do you have to open up the cam-chain area to swap the magnets? If so, be worth checking that cam sprockets for wear, as they are a known failing on these. Although there was never any notable chain rattle whilst I had it.

you don't need to open up the chain to do it. I had heard about the sprocket wear issue but as you say there doesn't seem to be any noises of concern so might just keep fingers crossed instead

[SiC]

Best way sometimes...

Especially when there is no unusual noises.

[wesacosa]

interestingly the ABS light still not come back on.  Seems like when @Volksyhad it , it only came on after battery went flat. When @Pat Earringsbought it , it flickered on on the way home but went off.  For me it came on half way home after buying it and generally has come on at the start of every journey since. Only once it stayed off for about 10 miles then came on. I had a friend read and clear the codes (RR ABS sensor) but it still came back on.   All I have done is blow tyres up and have the battery disconnected for a week whilst doing the work.   Assuming its going to come back on at some point but interesting non the less its now been off for 2x 25 mile journeys today and a bit of running around the block during the week

[SiC]

Does the ABS kick in when braking randomly? When I've had sensor faults on other cars but no code, it's given that gravelly ABS feel, especially when coming to a near stop.

[wesacosa]

not so I have noticed, not done too much hard braking though as its mainly sitting on m/way and A roads. will have a proper look. I will also see if I can get live wheel speed sensor reading on my new IcarSoft scanner 

[CaptainBoom]

Good work on this sir, it looks like one of those jobs that whilst was a bit of a PITA it gives you peace of mind for the future.

I must admit I like the dash on these and the lure of ~40mpg is making me think unclean thoughts of the three pointed star persuasion.

[wesacosa]

Just now, CaptainBoom said:

Good work on this sir, it looks like one of those jobs that whilst was a bit of a PITA it gives you peace of mind for the future.

I must admit I like the dash on these and the lure of ~40mpg is making me think unclean thoughts of the three pointed star persuasion.

thanks. Interestingly it was 36mpg on the way home!!  Guess it needs longer to get a proper average. I suspect the normally aspirated is probably better on fuel.  what do you average @Stanky?

[Stanky]

11 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

thanks. Interestingly it was 36mpg on the way home!!  Guess it needs longer to get a proper average. I suspect the normally aspirated is probably better on fuel.  what do you average @Stanky?

On a run, my 2.0 NASP Manual will get 38MPG in the summer and about 36MPG in the winter.

On a mixed commute its 32MPG summer and 30 winter, and round town its mid-high 20s. I think @Talbot got better economy from his c180k (which now lives with @chaseracer IIRC) than I got with mine, and his like yours has an extra 15bhp/20lb.ft over and above mine. 

I bet a C240 with the 2.6 v6 wouldn't be much worse on fuel than mine, and would be a lot more torquey. I'd really like to try one of the early c200k with the supercharged version of my engine, even though its a fairly ancient 2.0 4-cylinder, its actually quite smooth with balance shafts and all sorts of gubbinz, considering it was the proper base version its fairly comprehensively equipped, and most things still work!

[Volksy]

12 hours ago, wesacosa said:

interestingly the ABS light still not come back on.  Seems like when @Volksyhad it , it only came on after battery went flat. When @Pat Earringsbought it , it flickered on on the way home but went off.  For me it came on half way home after buying it and generally has come on at the start of every journey since. Only once it stayed off for about 10 miles then came on. I had a friend read and clear the codes (RR ABS sensor) but it still came back on.   All I have done is blow tyres up and have the battery disconnected for a week whilst doing the work.   Assuming its going to come back on at some point but interesting non the less its now been off for 2x 25 mile journeys today and a bit of running around the block during the week

Yeh, it would randomly spool through a myriad of faults on the dash when the battery was low/flat. But once it was back up to charge, they disappeared. 

The ABS did work as and when required, It also manages the traction control, which, for a lightweight RWD car on summer tyres allowed it to usable in the snow.