ml 270 2000 manifold

[Cole@MBS]

Hi Chris, have you not taken it back to your man, it could be one of many things, but on the net its very hard to guess, i would guess he has left a pipe of something off!!!

 

[chris.d]

hi he is coming around in the morning but i just took it out for a run .. no smoke until it warmed up about a mile.. then very little smoke then totally clear for further 2 miles so i am guessing when he cleaned the egr he got some water in the exhaust and now it has blown out... as he took ther egr pipes off the head when he cleaned it.. fingers (and toes) crossed it could be ok now.. the first time i took it out i only took it for about a mile so could not have been far enough to clear it out... ( i felt quite alone for a while when there were no replies)

 

[Cole@MBS]

Your never alone on here Chris, Your post must have just been Missed for a while, see how it goes and let us no!

 

[chris.d]

i took it out today for a run did about 50 miles with 5 of us in it... no white smoke!!
must have been some coolant in the exhaust as we thought.what a relief

 

[soup nazi]

SAM/UNIT
I am about to do the manifold change myself and have been having a careful look at your photos which are invaluable.

I notice you have removed the thermostat and coolant reservoir. can I ask what's the reason these need to be removed? I have recently changed my coolant, flushed the sysytem and fitted a new thermostat and as such don't want to remove them unless it absolutely essential.

 

[Alex Crow]

i suggest you follow sam unit's (colin's) method exactly, colin is a real expert at this one. the thermostat needs to be removed to remove the manifold - it needs to move forwards a fair bit to clear the EGR pipe.

 

[cozmo1589]

hi tony thanks! i have now to decide if i am going to do it myself or get the boys to do it in the local garage.

Go on be brave, have a go yourself !!

 

[Cole@MBS]

i suggest you follow sam unit's (colin's) method exactly, colin is a real expert at this one. the thermostat needs to be removed to remove the manifold - it needs to move forwards a fair bit to clear the EGR pipe.

Thank you Alex, i think you have answered the chap.s question for me!!!!

 

[kebo57]

Hi also done this one back in april 07, but never removed the thermostat

Kevin

 

[soup nazi]

Thanks kebo and S-A-M U-N-I-T
This info is going to prove very helpful. Looks to me like you either remove the thermostat or the coolant/egr cooler to get the thing out. I gather S-A-M has removed the coolant reservoir to stop the coolant running out the thermostat oriface.

Sounds like its not too bad just time consuming and tedious. It will be about a month before I do the job because its too hot here to be in the shed. I was down there last night at midnight and it was still 30C outside!

Cheers

 

[chris.d]

i suggest you follow sam unit's (colin's) method exactly, colin is a real expert at this one. the thermostat needs to be removed to remove the manifold - it needs to move forwards a fair bit to clear the EGR pipe.

what he ^^ said

 

[soup nazi]

Can anyone help me out with the torque for the manifold to head bolts? My version of WIS does not list it.

 

[peppatoo]

W163 ML270cdi (C class CLK) inlet manifold oil leak- recommend Alex Crow

I just had the symptoms described here in my ML270cdi at 58k miles. First evidence was oil under the vehicle when it had been standing. There was oil on the cross member, nearside and down the block. I assumed it was the inlet manifold and contacted Alex Crow an independent in Stowmarket (a fair way away from me). He had posted previously on this problem I was impressed with his knowledge of the problem so booked it in .I guessed an inlet manifold would not be on the MB shelf so left it with him for a week.In the event the part had to come from Milton Keynes (the national parts store)

I have done most things on cars in my life, but was deterred by the amount of dismantling needed to change the manifold. Alex was very professional and with all the enthusiasm of a true professional. I was impressed with his modern (small) garage unit, well equipped and well placed for the station if you are travelling a way.

Picked it up today and saw the old manifold. The butterfly valve spindles are plastic, as is the manifold, so no surprise that the seals on all the butterfly valves leak at some time. Alex told me it affects the C class and the CLK too. I had got Alex to do some other small jobs too. By chance I had opened the sunroof on my journey to Suffolk and a bit flew off and hit me on the head. Alex fixed that too. Alex also recommends MBS (Colin) in Southampton and quite by chance he was visiting Alex when I dropped the car off. Their combined knowledge of Mercedes was obvious and I am pleased to heartily endorse both independents who offer great expertise and a very real saving on main dealer prices.

I have had an uneventful (long) journey home , so I am very pleased

 

[soup nazi]

Hey guys
I'm halfway through though this job. Started yesterday and spend about 6 hours on it so far. They certainly didn't make these things easy. I can't believe the amount of wiring and hoses that run through the manifold.

Its been fairly easy work but tedious and a methodical patient approach is definately needed. Anyway I have just sat the new one in place and am about to bolt it in.

I did notice a blue residue on the bolts that came out, could this be a thread retainer? I also found a torque for the manifold bolts which is only 16nm so maybe thats why. You would only wan't a light retainer considering it is into alloy. Anyway back to it if I'm going to have her running today.

 

[oigle]

Hey guys
I'm halfway through though this job. Started yesterday and spend about 6 hours on it so far. They certainly didn't make these things easy. I can't believe the amount of wiring and hoses that run through the manifold.

Its been fairly easy work but tedious and a methodical patient approach is definately needed. Anyway I have just sat the new one in place and am about to bolt it in.

I did notice a blue residue on the bolts that came out, could this be a thread retainer? I also found a torque for the manifold bolts which is only 16nm so maybe thats why. You would only wan't a light retainer considering it is into alloy. Anyway back to it if I'm going to have her running today.

Good to see you finally got started - been talking about it for ages

 

[soup nazi]

Oigle
Yeah its one of those jobs I wanted to get done but did not want to do if you know what I mean. They could have made these things a little easier to work on though. Little things like the length of cable that goes to the swirl flap motor, the manifold has to be virtually in place to be able to attach it. Lucky I have skinny arms!

Anyway almost done with just the oil filter, thermostat and fuel filter to go back on. Probably two hours in the morning. So far I have spent 10.5 hours on it. One thing I was suprised about is the small amount of buildup in the manifold and ports. Very little really, in some places it may have been 1 to 2mm thick but thats all and certainly not enough to affect the operation of the flaps or performance. If it was'nt for the manifold leaking that filthy gunge I see no reason to change it. In contrast my VW golf had far more buildup with 20,000km less on the clock, a definate increase in performance after I cleaned it.


I now do not expect any change in performance or economy with the benz post new manifold but at least it won't make a mess of the engine bay.

 

[oigle]

Oigle
Yeah its one of those jobs I wanted to get done but did not want to do if you know what I mean. They could have made these things a little easier to work on though. Little things like the length of cable that goes to the swirl flap motor, the manifold has to be virtually in place to be able to attach it. Lucky I have skinny arms!

Anyway almost done with just the oil filter, thermostat and fuel filter to go back on. Probably two hours in the morning. So far I have spent 10.5 hours on it. One thing I was suprised about is the small amount of buildup in the manifold and ports. Very little really, in some places it may have been 1 to 2mm thick but thats all and certainly not enough to affect the operation of the flaps or performance. If it was'nt for the manifold leaking that filthy gunge I see no reason to change it. In contrast my VW golf had far more buildup with 20,000km less on the clock, a definate increase in performance after I cleaned it.


I now do not expect any change in performance or economy with the benz post new manifold but at least it won't make a mess of the engine bay.

That's interesting. Wonder if it has had some attention in a previous life?? Mine was very gunked at 100K. At least you will know it will stay good now with shunt in place. Mine is still running sooo well since the cleanup and egr mod. The engine is quite a delight now - admittedly with a remap in place since 10K to help. All in all, a lovely motor now. Pulls like a train and averages better than 10L/100k overall. Was going to change up to a new vehicle when ML reached 100K, but it is going so well now, seems silly to part with it. All the improvements have made it a really nice car to drive.

 

[soup nazi]

Oigle
I don't think its been replaced earlier, I purchase the car from a lawyer who had it through a lease company since new and serviced at the one benz dealership. They gave me the full history (or so they say!) and no mention of manifold, in fact nothing other than normal servicing plus a couple of minor items.

You never really know though. I saw one of these with a shot manifold with only 80,000km on the clock. So bad it had made a terrible mess of the side of the engine bay and all the covers under the car and underbody. Hard to see mine would have gone through two in 130,000km. Perhaps I'll phone the dealership again and twist their arm for more info.

I must admit she runs really nice since the shunt as well.

 

[soup nazi]

OK all done now.

Summary;

*I removed the thermostat and oil filter but was able to leave the rail and coolant expansion tank in situ, probably because I removed the EGR cooler, I just drained off enough coolant to get the level down below the thermostat.

*The old manifold is flogged out in the swirl flap shafts and they were leaking. I'm not sure if its flogged out from the EGR soot grinding away at the seals and guides or if its unavoidable wear. In any case its a crappy poor quality design which is assured of costing the owner lots of hard earned and make a mess of your car.

*The use of torx bolts in this case was a silly choice, it is very difficult to get a socket alligned properly and on some you simply have to improvise with an 8mm ring spanner wich makes it impossible to get a torque wrench on some. If I ever do the job again most will get replaced for standard hex head high quality bolts.

Result;
The car now definately runs better especially off the mark with much improved accelleration and as such I think perhaps better ecconomy may result-will report on this as I am travelling this weekend.

My biggest concern from here is that swirl flap motor should it fail. What a great spot they chose for that hey! I would like to hear from anyone who has changed one out without removing the manifold. Thanks also to all those who posted on this forum, your information and photo's was invaluable.

Edit: The job took me 14 hours total but I did take my time. I could do it in probably 10 hours now that I know what what i'm doing.
Cheers

 

[thebeard]

Just had my ML270cdi manifold replaced by local garage South London total cost £870 inclusive of manifold, they would happily do another and compared to Mercedes £1,680 it's a no brainer to get an indi to do the job.

The stepper motor was replaced by Mercedes before without the need to remove the manifold they removed the wheel and wheel arch liner and did the job from the under side.
Main dealer in Bromley ripped me off for that job.

It's hard to tell if it runs any better main reason I had it done was to stop the oil leaking mine has covered just under 50,000 miles most of that in London stop start.

Very poor design now it's fixed I'm back in love with my ML under rated IMO.