C270cdi inlet manifold question

[motorsiklemad]

Hi
I have had my 2005 C Class estate 270cdi se for 6 months now and love it.
The problem is the other week the EGR Solenoid failed and threw an engine fault. I took my car back to the dealer I bought it from to get it plugged into the Star diagnostic and get the code and fix the problem. The garage were really helpful and only charged me for the part £116. When I mentioned that I was thinking about stripping out the flaps from the inlet manifold and removing the motor the guy at the garage advised me not to. His reason being that it could cause damage to other parts like the turbo etc and the bypass for the flap motor might interfere with other electrical parts. 1 other thing he said that I thought was rather strange was, (We never clean the EGR on that model as part of a service) That explains why my one was in such a mess then
They also said that they were pretty sure that my car would need the manifold changed soon as it would fail if they smoke tested the car. They are right as it does smoke under load.

Does anyone on here have any experience with the flap removal causing problems?

Is there anyone on here that has had the flap mod done on their car and done a decent amount of trouble free miles?

Thank you in advance for any information received. I just want to make sure that I do the right thing here.

 

[Taffy7hfa]

This quote is from Dieselnet.com
Swirl flaps.
"Their purpose is to ensure that the air entering the cylinder is sufficiently turbulent for good fuel-air mixing even at low engine speeds. This aids in reducing certain toxic emissions and may also improve low-end power and torque."

Why would you want to remove them ?

 

[monkeh]

I removed them on my OM642, No issues, No noticeable loss of power at take off. At most, the black puff of smoke is slightly larger, but it may only be me thinking that. My 642 is modified however, no DPF, No EGR, Larger intercooler, Straightpiped, Intake resonator removed. So I couldn't comment on affecting standard operation. Mine does smoke like a real diesel does.

 

[Wighty]

Yesterday I did something called a resistor modification to the swirl flap motor on my om642 engine , the resistor kids the car to think that the inlet port motor is still connected . I have noticed no change to how the car drives . The idea of the mod is that it should be done whilst the swirl flaps are all working which means they are locked in the open position . It is meant to be preventative for when these flaps break when the manifold starts getting gunged up .
The resistor costs about 10p from Maplins and took under an hour to fit .

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

I have never seen swirl flaps break up on any Mercedes engine. I have seen a few joints fail on the flaps so that the rods fall off, but that is only on really high mileage stuff.

The mod that Wighty has done is a fair mod, but personally, I wouldn't do it. There is no need to do it on the 642. And as someone has put, it effects the swirl of the charge air, which will cost you power and MPG, only small amounts, but it will nonetheless. The inlet motors are cheap enough that if they fail its an easy fix.

Its a bit of unnecessary scaremongering in my opinion. I am always of the opinion to fix to manufacturers spec where absolutely possible unless the cost outweighs the repair.

 

[monkeh]

I have never seen swirl flaps break up on any Mercedes engine. I have seen a few joints fail on the flaps so that the rods fall off, but that is only on really high mileage stuff.

The mod that Wighty has done is a fair mod, but personally, I wouldn't do it. There is no need to do it on the 642. And as someone has put, it effects the swirl of the charge air, which will cost you power and MPG, only small amounts, but it will nonetheless. The inlet motors are cheap enough that if they fail its an easy fix.

Its a bit of unnecessary scaremongering in my opinion. I am always of the opinion to fix to manufacturers spec where absolutely possible unless the cost outweighs the repair.

The amount of crud on my inlet manifold, and with one flap bent, I thought it was better to extract and weld up. Those fitting the resistor are just getting by with the issue that A) The motor is stuffed because of oil seepage or 2) the motor is stuffed because it is chock solid of EGR oil gunk mix. After extracting my flaps, I refitted the motor, so its free to swing away. With a new turbo gasket, Oil issues eliminated. EGR disabled, EGR sooty gunky paste eliminated. I intend to keep this one for a while so if I can 'make simple' the engine so that its going to give me at least 120k of miles where it isn't going to destroy itself from ingesting its own poo, I will be happy.
But in answer to OP's question, Put 6k miles on it, no trouble.

 

[V6Matty]

05 270, would that be a 647 lump, is it was me I'd replace the inlet manifold like you have as it will probably now last the rest of the cars life without much issue

 

[Taffy7hfa]

Anyone know what they changed on OM647 compared to OM612 ?

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

647 runs CDI3, electronic fuel pump instead of lift. Electronic turbo instead of vacuum, different EGR, I could go on...

 

[Willber]

I thought i would post a reply as a show of appreciation of the forum, even though this thread is old, as I have just replaced the inlet manifold on my CLK 270.

I knew my swirl flaps were leaking and had been trying to motivate myself to tackle this job for a while!

I bought a new inlet manifold from GSF and upon receipt found it was Vetech branded and as such figured it was a chinese version similar to those on ebay. I decided to buy a cheaper Chinese copy on ebay for £150 less and see if they were the same = they are!

I began stripping the bits off as per various threads on here after getting my head round the job. It took me almost a full day to remove in these winter day light hours and I really struggled with the wiring loom running through the middle and disconnecting the various plugs, access is very awkward!

Refitting was easier but still quite a bit of messing about as the new manifold was not made to the same tolerance as the original one and I have to file a bit off each end to clear the EGR cooler/heater casting thing that attaches to the block right at the bulhead end. I also had to file a bit off to clear the thermostat!

I decided to cable tie the flaps open and reconnect the swirl motor which has worked fine. I also cleaned the gunk from the EGR. The car feels much stronger and pulls hard after each gear change at full throttle, something it didn't do before. I assume this is due to a previous boost leak from the spindles being worn!

Anyway this post is more of a thanks to those who have posted on the subject as without all that valuable info I would have really struggled.

I have done pretty much anything when it comes to cars (engine removals, clutch, suspension change, timing belts, bodywork - you name it!) however this is possibly one of the most awkward and time consuming jobs I have done. If you can afford it and are even slightly doubtful about your ability to do this job I would just pay a specialist to do it!