They Said it Can't be Fixed - A Journey to the Inside of a Mercedes Bluetec

RandolphCarter said:

Komodo said:

Shait, that ditn`t look good!

What is MMO?

By the way, saw on the news the other day that your president bragged about that the gasoline price now was down to 1,98 USD/gallon (is that correct?). That is in the lower range of what we pay for one liter  

No, he's lying/delusional/misinformed by staffers. Pick one.

Lowest average gas price in the US at the time of his speech was $2.70/gallon, in Mississippi and Tennessee.

Returning to our scheduled content, I'm glad.to see this vehicle is one that keeps on giving.

 

 

 

He was talking about wholesale prices. The rest is taxes and a bit of profit for the store. It's 1.90 today.

In reply to FJ40Jim :

Actually, if you ignore the "Check AdBlue Level" messages long enough and it runs out, then you'll get countdown messages.  I might have procrastinated that a bit once....  When my tank needed to be replaced under the emissions settlement warranty, I went for about a month with it giving me the check message.

I've also noticed that it consumes DEF a little faster than it used to.  No big surprise, though, since the system is actually operational all the time now instead of just when the temperature is just right!

In other news, the check engine light remains on; I need to swap out the O2 sensor that it's complaining about, but I've got so many other shiny things to look at.  It's just about to hit 180,000 miles at which point I've got fresh oil, fuel filter, and air filters waiting for it.  It certainly could use some more attention - the tires are just about done and it would be useful to run down what's leaking oil all over the front of the engine.  Plus that O2 sensor that's it's whining about.  I'm not 100% sure how much I want to put into it, though.  Once I start the new job, I was planning to resume the car shopping that I started about this time last year so I'm not sure I want to spend $1600 for new tires and then another couple grand on new control arms, bushings, and all that.  Especially with the transmission hanging over me.

I fear that every modern car is just an "impossibly expensive slushbox failure" away from the graveyard. 

IH8 ATF.

Well, it looks like my portion of this tale has reached its conclusion.  Tonight, I brought home a QX80 to replace the GL350, so it is time to move the Merc along to someone new.  I've put about 55,000 miles on it since I rebuilt the engine, it got a new air compressor and a new front right strut 3k ago, and the front left was replaced around 12k ago, the turbo was replaced 25k ago, it got a new Adblue tank, level sender, and heater 37k ago, new left rear air spring 41k ago, new swirl motor 43k ago, a new alternator 48k back, the AEM 54k ago, and the other air spring was replaced at the same time I rebuilt the motor.  I've managed to put some battle scars on it, and the check engine light has been on for a while, complaining about the front O2 sensor again.  The tires have something close to 80,000 miles on them and should be replaced.  Otherwise, it's really not bad to drive.  But I'm going to be doing more driving for my new job and the new rig brings some more creature comforts by way of being 7 years newer.  I'm going to get it cleaned up and listed for sale and hopefully it can serve someone else well.

But I am always happy to talk OM642s and keep this support group going!

The good news is we just did a 800mi trip towing the RV with nary an engine hiccup or CEL. Drove from central OH down to VIR for a race weekend, then headed back west to Meadows of Dan and got on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Headed north through the mountains for several days going to the official north end of the BRP, which conveniently is the southern entry to Shenandoah Skyline Drive. Finished Skyline Drive and headed west through VA, MD, PA, WV and home to OH.

The bad news problem was/is the ABS pump started to run for ~30 seconds on the first start of the day. Brakes feel fine and there is no ABS light. I need to scan it and see if there's any low level fault code hidden in the ABS or SAM modules.

I'm not as smart as WAE, so the ML will continue serving as tow pig for the time being. I'm even thinking about a reflash, delete and uncork the exhaust.

Edit: This post is worthless without pics...

Well, this afternoon a family came in from out of town and drove the Merc back with them so it's officially gone.  It's kind of weird seeing it gone.  There was a time when I would have been really happy to see someone drag it away, but today was a bit melancholy.  I don't really need it - my daughter would be better off in something a little smaller to go to and from school and something that's a little cheaper to maintain.  But, really, there wasn't anything really wrong with it.  Who knows how many miles are left in it, of coruse, but it wasn't giving me any signs of trouble.  The only thing that is in dire need of attention is that it should get tires before winter comes in, but other than that, it's been pretty good.  The QX80 is body-on-frame so it's a little bit more truck-y.  And the suspension has some air components to it, but the front is all steel, so the ride isn't quite as cloud-like at the GL.  But it is a little more modern, which is nice.

But the important part to me is that in the end, this car didn't beat me.  It did it's best to try to break me, but I tamed it.

In reply to wae :

Well done 👍 

Way to triumph long enough to part on your terms!

wae said:

Well, it looks like my portion of this tale has reached its conclusion.  Tonight, I brought home a QX80 to replace the GL350, so it is time to move the Merc along to someone new.

Congratulations on your new car!

But I am always happy to talk OM642s and keep this support group going!

Good to hear, because the challenges will keep coming up for us who still owns one... In the mean while, embrace the victory that you won over the scheisswagon 

------------

Earlier I wrote that I got a lot of smoke from my car after the big job I did in February. But the smoking suddenly stopped, and the oil consumption also seemed to slow down. It definitely uses some oil, but I think the vast consumption and smoke generation probably was a result of overfilling. One less worry there then. 

But how long was Adam in Paradise? I now have about five new challenges. The left front strut has an air leak, the tailgate now only opens half way (rear SAM issu?), several lamps is malfunctioning, and the interior fan has taken its last breath. 

I drove by the local school where my best man is a teacher, and two of his bright students found out the problem with the fan, so a new was ordered immediately. They said it was some resistors, but I had to order a complete fan. Not very expensive anyway. We also found a small leak in the frond strut air bag, so that one has to be replaced. But as I can see from your description wae, that seems to be a manageable task. (Is there spesivic torques to the nuts in this operation?)

What I do not understand is some of the lamps. For example the left stop light. It dose not work, and I get a fault code. But the lamp is not broken, so what could that be? I also wonder why I get a fault code on one glow plug. I changed all the glow plugs while I did the big job in February, but I still get a fault code. 

Last it seems that I have to take out the turbocharger again. I replaced the turbo with a used one, but I noticed that the vgt system seemed to operate somehow harder than on the old one. I discussed the matter with a mechanic friend, but he said it was nothing to worry about, so I just installed it. I clearly should have followed my gut feeling, not the advise from my friend, because now the turbo probably has to go out again. 

Well, that is at least some of the issues on my ML these days 

Uhm, well, I didn't exactly look up the torque specs when I replaced the strut.  I just turned the bolts until they felt really tight.  Overall, though, it really is a pretty easy operation.  The biggest problem I had when I replaced the right side last year about this time was that I was working in the driveway, in the dark, at night, without all my tools.  When I did the left one earlier this year, it went much easier because I was at the shop with good lighting and access to things like the ball joint separator and stuff like that.  And I could use the lift to put everything in a place where I could comfortably sit on my little dumpster-dive-acquired stool and work.  Get that replaced sooner rather than later, though, because running the compressor too much is what kills it.  Also, I don't remember if you mentioned what scan tool you have, but it is a little easier if you can put all four corners in the air, depressurize the system, and then re-pressurize it before putting it back down. 

The tailgate is some sort of complicated hydraulic unit, so it could be a leak in that system.  With the right scan tool, you should be able to see what the computer thinks its doing with the hatch.  I believe that it will give you a code in one of the modules for the hatch if it's running the pump and it's not reaching the limit switch after a certain amount of time, so you might start there.

For the glow plug, one of the things that Pete told me that I always try to remember is: "new stands for Never Ever Worked".  So, maybe a glow plug that was bad out of the box.  I would bet on wiring, though.  I had one or two of them that got a little crusty so I replaced the tip with a bullet connector like this:

I can't remember if it was the male or female side that was a perfect fit for the tip of the glow plug.  You can always try swapping a couple of them and seeing if the trouble follows the glow plug or stays with the cylinder.

I feel for you on the turbo replacement.  The bolts in the back are a real challenge to be able to turn, but I found that one of those endoscopic cameras made it a little easier.  There's plenty of room to work -- well, that's a lie.  There isn't "plenty" of room, but there is some room -- but once your hands are in there you can't really see anything.  Are you going to just pop a whole new turbo on or are you going to just replace the cassette?

Thank you for your fast and thorough answer wae, gives me something to think about, and a new spirit to continue the troubleshooting and maintenance 

Replacing the strut seems like a doable operation, so that will be done later this fall. We are soon heading for Cyprus for a holiday, so it will not be done before October. But I certainly hope that the fan arrives soon, because late September back from the airport without a fan and heating system will be sad ...

Regarding scanning tool, I have a icarsoft CR max. But I don`t get a fault code on the suspension system, so I am not worried about that. The limitations seems to be troubleshooting around the tailgate, the lamps, and the rear SAM unit. I should mention that the tailgate stopped working a couple of years ago, and at the same time all lights went bananas, and the central locking system stopped working. After some troubleshooting and a couple of wrong/bad advices from a local shop, I found out about the weaknesses with the rear SAM. The unit had drowned i water, and I found at least 3 or 4 different leak sources around the tailgate. I ordered a new SAM unit, but I managed to salvage the old with a can of electro spray, a toothbrush, compressed air, and some patience. So the new unit still lies in its box in my garage  I also should mention that the ML 280 does not have the electro-hydraulic system on the tailgate, its only electro-mechanic.

Some pictures from the SAM unit before cleaning. I really did not believe this could work again!

So I think the tailgate issues is related to the old SAM, so I probably just should start with replacing that before further troubleshooting. I also had a couple of other issues after the salvation. The rear window heater has not worked since, and a lamp in the tailgate does not work. But do any of you guys now if it is just to swop the SAM units, or doses the new one have to be programmed or something?

Regarding the glow plug fault code I agree that it probably is a wiring issu. But that problem is so small, so it comes long down on the list. 

When it comes to the turbo, the plan is to rinse it like this guy does. This video shows the mechanism that is hard/stuck. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzDxOiW9B64&ab_channel=RSTeamBulgaria 

The used turbo I putted in has also 200.000 km on it, but it is original, and it not worn. I think the problem is just soot. The old one I took out moves perfectly, so maybe It is possible to swop the vgt mechanism? I haven`t studied that yet. 

The rear SAM has to be coded to the vehicle options (power tailgate, power/memory seats, trailer tow, LED taillights, etc).

 It is not VIN locked to the vehicle, so a used module from a vehicle with exact same options will work.

Free tool:

I ordered an oil change kit from FCPEuro. In addition to oil, filter, crush washer & O-ring, it included an oil filter wrench. I already got a fancy one, so if somebody needs this, post up here and we'll work out the deets offline.

A simple tire rotation a couple days ago uncovered this 

Two broken rear coils. Well, berkeley me. We're supposed to leave Saturday AM towing the camper. So I bought 2 new coils from Eeuroparts because they could get them to me quickly. Thrashed on it this evening and got 2 new coils swapped in. 

Miss Mercedes has not derailed our trip plans, in spite of her attempts. We shall overcome!

Update on the CEL and undefined code that has been occurring since the engine was "emission updated". It happens only when towing trailer & trying to keep up with traffic on a steep interstate grade. No limp mode, engine runs fine, just turns on CEL. My scan tools are all baffled by the code. 

The CEL came on while towing toward NCM. I knew there was an MB dealer there because I had to get a pair of new ABS sensors there at this event last year. They let me bring it in & wait while they checked it out. Xentry sez the code is "insufficient fuel consumption".

It is not insufficient fuel delivery in cyl X, indicating a restricted injector.

It's not low rail pressure. 

The WIS has no explanation, no test, no repair procedure under this code.

TIB (tech info bulletin) has no info, no reports of other techs on planet Earth fixing this fault.

Ultimately, after consulting with the tech & shop foreman & service advisor, no problem was found and no repair was done. It's on my permanent record now, so I can pursue it under warranty with a dealer here in OH, If I choose. Since I now know it's no something bad, like a boost deviation, cat over temp, EGT too high, etc., I'll just keep driving and clear the code occasionally.

FJ40Jim said:

The rear SAM has to be coded to the vehicle options

Thank you Jim  I`ll just have to replace the SAM unit, and go to a local garage and have them to code it then. New unit is already bought. 

But first I have to replace the front struts. I have had a leak on the left side from time to time earlier this summer, but now I think the right side is leaking as well. Probably on time to replace the shock absorbers also anyway. I see on Youtube that some people only replace the air bellow. What do you guys do?

Komodo said:

FJ40Jim said:

The rear SAM has to be coded to the vehicle options

Thank you Jim  I`ll just have to replace the SAM unit, and go to a local garage and have them to code it then. New unit is already bought. 

 

But first I have to replace the front struts. I have had a leak on the left side from time to time earlier this summer, but now I think the right side is leaking as well. Probably on time to replace the shock absorbers also anyway. I see on Youtube that some people only replace the air bellow. What do you guys do?

I figured that by the time the air bag was leaking, the strut was mostly worn out anyway.  Also, I figure that trying to attach the air spring to the strut is just one more thing I can screw up.  So, I've always just done the whole assembly.  Not sure what your options are there, but it's about $350 for a front strut from Arnott here.

I figured that by the time the air bag was leaking, the strut was mostly worn out anyway. 

Hello William, I see it the same way. My car has 220.000 km on it (137.000 miles), so it`s on time to replace the shocks as well. I also went back and red your old post about replacing the strut, and see that you sometimes had a noise on the highway. I think that most likely was a sign of a worn shock absorber. 

Also, I figure that trying to attach the air spring to the strut is just one more thing I can screw up. 

Yes, probably. But after having watched a couple of videos of replacing only the air bellows (or what it is called...), it looks rather easy to do. But it assumes that the shock absorber is in good condition, because the lower big O-ring is sealing directly to the shock. But this would only be relevant on a newer car, or on a car with shocks with few miles on it. 

Here is two videos that shows this exercise.

Annoying video from Arnott, with a guy in nice clotes, and a brand new car with no dust on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOH4IDHvgNo&t=468s 

A regular guy who is doing some maintenance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytJJg_wgqOk&t=322s 

So, I've always just done the whole assembly.  Not sure what your options are there, but it's about $350 for a front strut from Arnott here.

The cheapest complete Arnott unit I found was this from Autodoc.co.no, that is 7200 Nok = 725 USD:

https://www.autodoc.co.no/arnott/13243709 

But the prices vary a lot, and I am considering this one from Denckermann for 4200 NOK = 425 USD. Just want to call in tomorrow and doublesheck that it is correct to my vin-number:

https://www.eurodel.no/luftfjaerbein-denckermann-dsa001g?_gl=1%2a17vg5u2%2a_up%2aMQ..%2a_gs%2aMQ..%2a_ga%2aMTQzMzc2NTIzMS4xNzU5NTc5MDU1%2a_ga_JKPGWZ3ZN8%2aczE3NTk1NzkwNTQkbzEkZzEkdDE3NTk1ODAxNjAkajYwJGwwJGgxMzE0ODM2NTg.&gclid=CjwKCAjwi4PHBhA-EiwAnjTHuUXPCwJuDsKDWaBEiD42lVoJuiEJWxhARgU_ANGsxPkIN2V1nNPlORoCyOwQAvD_BwE&gbraid=0AAAAADuRESRG4pZJ_Ix4H1oRB7nPfvVUI 

Anyway, I can also report that the interior fan turned out to be an easy fix. A new fan was about 150 USD, and two students in my friends class replaced it in an hour or two. So obviousley they did not have to tear the whole car apart  Nice to have a working fan now as the summer is gone...

Earlier I wrote that my ML seems to use some oil. The smoke I wrote about was probably a result of overfilling, so I am not worried about that. But When I add up the mileage from last oil change, I see that I have only driven 3200 km (2000 miles), before we went to Cyprus last month, but still I got a warning of low oil level when I drove up steep hills. So before we drove to the airport in Oslo, I added one or two liters. 

And then to the question. I want to do an oil change even though I haven`t driven that much. Is it an idea to buy 5W-40 oil instead of 5W-30? Do you think this will help a bit on the consumption? I ask you since several of you have the same engine, and the temperatures in your area seems to be much the same as here (down to -15C in the winter, but seldom lower than -5, and up to +30C in the summer).

This is the oil in the engine now:

And this is the one I consider:

https://www.eurodel.no/motorolje-wolf-vitaltech-5w40-pi-c3-5l?_gl=1%2atx4t16%2a_up%2aMQ..%2a_ga%2aNTEwMTA5MzkuMTc2MDAyMTIzOQ..%2a_ga_JKPGWZ3ZN8%2aczE3NjAwMjMyOTgkbzMkZzEkdDE3NjAwMjMyOTkkajU5JGwwJGg3MTIwNjk5MTA. 

I've been using the 5W30 MB approved oil in the Benz and my wife's late model TDI, no issues of oil consumption in either engine. 

That being said, my old 2001 TDI got 5W40 M1 TDT oil for 300k miles, no issues. New owner is still driving at 350k miles, never been inside the engine. Always started, even in the coldest of winter.

I have also had two VW TDI cars, never had to add oil between the changes. But this OM642 seems to use some oil. Do you think the slightly thicker 5W40 oil will reduce the consumption? Will it make the engine increase the diesel consumption? The cold start lubricity should be equal, but the 40 oil should be slightly thicker when warm. 

Sorry Komodo, I missed your question about oil. My OM642 drank oil, 1 liter in 5-600km, when I bought it with 150k miles on the clock. I didn't realize it at first because the emission control system was working hard to catch all that soot & burn it off, so no visible smoke came out the tailpipe. The immediate cause was severely carboned piston rings. The root cause is the EGR system and crankcase vent system putting oil vapor & exhaust gas into the engine. 

With new piston rings on clean pistons, the engine use 1 liter in 2500km, which is not unusual for the ineffective oil vapor separator. I don't think changing the oil viscosity would have a significant effect on the oil consumption.

In other MB noises, there was a big clunk in the steering when changing direction. Turned out to be severely degraded rack mounting bushes. It's a pretty standard 2 bolts through 2 eyes cast on the rack. 2 shoulder bushings go in each eye. The bolts came right out, or should I say, came loose easily. The hard part is on the driver side the bolt is installed in the rack & front subframe before the diff is bolted to the subframe. The bolts can only back 1/2" before it runs into the diff. The correct procedure is drop the front subframe, remove diff, the remove rack bolt and reverse to reassemble. The cheaty way to do it is grab the bolt with a vise grip and hold it still (ish) while sawzall-ing off the bolt head. Slide out bolt remnant, replace bushings, install new bolt oriented other way.

With that done, steering is quiet and noticeably tighter on center. This weekend we're towing the trailer to the last race ever at PittRace.

FJ40Jim said:

Sorry Komodo, I missed your question about oil. My OM642 drank oil, 1 liter in 5-600km, when I bought it with 150k miles on the clock. I didn't realize it at first because the emission control system was working hard to catch all that soot & burn it off, so no visible smoke came out the tailpipe. The immediate cause was severely carboned piston rings. The root cause is the EGR system and crankcase vent system putting oil vapor & exhaust gas into the engine. 

With new piston rings on clean pistons, the engine use 1 liter in 2500km, which is not unusual for the ineffective oil vapor separator. I don't think changing the oil viscosity would have a significant effect on the oil consumption.

No problem Jim  May not have any effect, but I ordered the 5W40 oil anyway  

The parts arrived in short time, and a nice day without rain I used the opportunity to replace the strut. Also ordered new fog lights and a gasket-set for the turbocharger. 

The old fog lights had definitely done the job.

New vs old strut. It is about an inch difference in the length, so it was probably about time to replace it.

And job done.

It was a straight forward job thanks to good videos on the Youtube, e.g. this one. The hardest part was to remove the inner fender without braking anything. After 18 years on salted winter roads, the screws that holds it is pretty rusty. 

I am talking about these nuts.

One of them came off whole, the others broke. And of course, the plastic was also damaged 

The solution was a makeshift nut from a 1mm stainless sheet metal plate, and weld a M6 nut to it. 

As always when I am doing a repair, I end up by using twice as much time on these unforeseen problems as with the repair it selves. But now I did a picture search on the nut, and found these in stainless steel from China. So I ordered 50 of those